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Are your speakers wired in proper phase with each other? If you hve a diffuse sound field, a lack of a stable central image, they are out of phase and could be why you have a lack of bass.
Is this Sony a home theater receiver? Make sure your bass management is off and that the speakers are seeing full freq response.
Also try to connect a 1,5 Volt battery to the posts on one speaker. Plus from the battery to the plus post, and minus from the battery to the minus post, which will make the woofer move outwards from the speaker. The wires should be connected the same way = + to + and - to -. That is absolute phase.
In addition to checking phase, you should also consider placement of the speakers and the listener. Due to room acoustics, certain sites in the room might subject the sound to cancellations (nulls) in the bass. Another factor is distance of the speakers from the nearest wall because that, too, can result in loss of bass due to interaction of the direct output with that reflected from the wall.
The best advice is to experiment but, if you give us a diagram/description of your room and setup, we might be able to offer some suggestions. EQ (not tone controls) is the last resort.
Kal
Good suggestion. I agree with you Kal.
I had a pair of Def Tech speakers, a larger pair with more woofers. While the company is known for robust bass, those are little speakers. Ever thought of a subwoofer? Have you heard more bass from the same speakers?
I checked that the speakers are in phase, that was the first thing I checked, and they are. I've thought of buying a subwoofer, but I just dished out a lot of money on these speakers, and I'm not really ready to dish out more yet. As for the room I'm listening in, it is 16'9" by 10'9". The speakers are placed about 6" from the long wall. The left speaker is 2'8" from the side wall, while the right speaker is 4'3" from the side wall. They are 8'4" from eachother, and about that far from my listening position as well.
I have listened to this receiver in different rooms with different speakers, and have had the same problem; lack of bass. The only time I didn't have that problem, other than when it was hooked up to a subwoofer, was when I had floor-standing tower speakers hooked up. They seemed to put out a nice amount of bass with the tone controls set flat. This leads me to believe that it's not the room or the speakers, but it's the receiver.
I really don't want to mess with the tone controls, but it's seems it's becoming my only option. Right now I have the treble turned down, as opposed to the bass turned up. I do that because when I turn the bass up it begins to sound muddy. Let me know what you guys think. If you have any other suggestions I would love to hear them!
Have you tried placing the speakers closer to the wall? This should give you more bass, without getting muddy.
I'm wondering if you do not have a defective receiver? This should not be happening with all you have checked.
The receiver is pretty old, and has been moving around with me the last few years between Long Island and Philly. Do you think that the wear and tear of being 10 years old and moved around a lot could have messed it up?
Do you have one that you could borrow from a friend and try in YOUR system and observe the changes the new unit makes? That is what I might try now.
Well my parents have a Yamaha receiver that I could try and hook up
Sounds like your weekend project is right in front of you. Good luck.
Haha, thanks. I'll let you know my results
Since it seems the problem is in my receiver, and there doesn't seem to be any other way to fix it than to mess with the tone controls, what would you suggest I do? Should I boost the bass or cut the treble? Like I said earlier, when I boost the bass it seems to sound a bit muddy, still I don't trust myself and want to make sure that I'm not making a big newbie mistake by doing this. Any input would help. Thanks!
I'd suggest you turn down the treble, and live with it until you have saved up enough money for a newer receiver.
I think you should turn your bass and treble controls all you want to. That is why they came with the receiver. Personally, I have the treble down a little and the bass up a little. Not much but just enough. My loudspeakers are known for crystal highs and not much in the low department.