Older Firmware for Expert Pro CI

[audio_engr]

@audio_engr My mistake, missed that one, GIK is a good company. Can you be a bit more specific as to what you are not happy about in the bass/mid with the B&W? I don't think moving to beta firmware should be considered as the solution. Devialet should soon anytime will be releasing the Roon-RAAT firmware. And as you are a Roon user looking at your signature you won't want to miss that one.

okay .. here it goes ..

I've been a B&W user for more than quarter of a century and in this spell, the newer B&Ws line esp. the D3s have a different sonic signature from the much earlier '80s / '90s Matrix 800-series sonic signature. When you directly compare them, today's 800-series D3s are a lot "correct & accurate sounding" loudspeaker. The Matrix 800-series did have a midbass bloat that extended to bass as you went from 802 to 801 and to 800 models. Such do not exist with the new 800-series D3. Quite possibly, since I've had my 802 D3s for just about 2 years now, may be my expectation of that earlier midbass bloat now non-existent is causing me the urge to complain. 

Also, this is the 1st time I am using B&W speakers in a room with wall boundaries made of drywall. Earlier having lived in South Asia, South-East Asia, East Africa & West Africa, room boundaries were usually brickwalls with plaster. Those rooms gave a very solid texture of bass and midbass against a softer texture now from the drywall surface. This could be another factor. 

Although I have 24-inch diameter cylindrical basstraps in the 4 corners of my room, adequate broadband absorption and mostly broadband diffusion and scatterplates in all the right locations incl. the ceiling, drywall vs. plastered brickwall does tend to matter I feel. 

I toyed around with different acoustical company's products before settling for mostly GIK Acoustics and some RPG Acoustical Systems (earlier called RPG Diffusors Inc) products. RPG Acoustical Systems IMHO are the industry stalwarts when it comes to acoustics for the room BUT they are really-really expensive ... However, they are the Gurus and some 1000++ best studios, performing venues, listening rooms etc. have been done by them. I used their schematics but had to turn to GIK for most products to curb my expenditure as RPG gave me a quote for US$ 58,000 for my 18-1/4 Ft wide x 18-1/2 Ft long room [5.5 m Wide x 5.6 m Long]. When I saw the quote I realised this ain't gonna happen ever !! 

Now that I have completed the acoustics of the room, addressed power too, addressed vibration also, someone suggested I toy around with the DSP of the Roon but (I feel I'm a purist who wouldn't like to mess with tone controls + the Audio Engineering aspect in me as a profession irks me of it) so I am still to delve in and try. May be I will .. I don't know !! Its just that I wish I can get a bit more 40~100 Hz into my room which should give me the "right tonal balance" being a hobbyist musician too (I play the classical violin from age 5 & own a Stradivarius copy gifted to me by my late dad). 

Hmmm!  Its a tough call ...