Sequel II bass

[jvitez]

I would like to upgrade my 2 channel system, and am weighing my options. I love the mids and highs of my system, but the Sequel II's could use some more bass punch in my 18x20 room with high ceiling. So, a couple of questions:

1. Any suggestions on amps that would improve bass? I've been thinking about a Bel Canto eVo4. How about tube gear? I love what my hybrid tube SFL-1 did for my system, and the Parts Connexion Platinum upgrade I just did is fantastic.

2. Would a subwoofer improve bass enough to allow me to leave my musical but underpowered Classe 70 in the system? I've never heard any ML subs, so which ones would be best with the Sequel II's?

Thanks.

 

[JohnA]

1. Any suggestions on amps that would improve bass? I've been thinking about a Bel Canto eVo4. How about tube gear? I love what my hybrid tube SFL-1 did for my system, and the Parts Connexion Platinum upgrade I just did is fantastic..

Tube gear for the bass units? Surely that's solid-state territory... (I'm gonna get slammed now eh)
I've also found my SL3s lacking in the bass department. Bi-amplifying did the trick, but my monoblocks are all identical so there is no gain-matching involved.
Also remember that careful positioning can dramatically change the way your sequels sound. One foot further away from the back (or side) walls, can make a huge difference. Also experiment with tow-in and how vertical the panels are.

2. Would a subwoofer improve bass enough to allow me to leave my musical but underpowered Classe 70 in the system? I've never heard any ML subs, so which ones would be best with the Sequel II's?

Oh yes, a sub can work wonders, as long as it is carefully configured to blend in where the MLs start lacking. The crossover frequency may be lower than you think, the sub shouldn't really draw attention to itself at all.
There are more posts here regarding placement of sub(s), it is an area of interest for many of us...

 

[C.A.P]

As stated a SOLID state amp will help with bass. However; I would get a sub as they do not have a great amount of bass. You will get more slam from a sub than a new amp.

JohnA, I see your into Turbo charging MAX boost How does 55 lbs at 4000 rpms with 1200ft lbs of trq sound? Imagine where im getting that from ?

 

[MiTT]

jvietz, reading your system post brings back some warm memories. Mt first pair of Martin Logans was a pair of Sequels and my first tubed pre-amp was a Sonic Frontiers SFL-1. Very good memories there.

To your question, when I was running those components I also felt the bass was somewhat lacking. I eventually moved to ReQuests and that certainly helped, but since I listen to a lot of classical music I wanted to really get the bass foundation of the orchestra in place. I went out and bought a REL Stadium, and I've never looked back. a GOOD sub will make a substantial difference, but it does need to be a good one and, as John A says in his reply, you'll need to have one that gives you the flexibility to blend it well with your Sequels. Selection of the crossover frequency and amplitude level will be the key, and as John A says, it shouldn't call attention to itself in order to be very effective. Since you're dealing with stats as your mains you'll also want something that's very fast. I heartily recommend REL, but of course there are others including Velodyne, Fathom and lest we forget Martin Logan themselves might be the best match of all.

Good luck!

 

[jvitez]

Unfortunately I can't move my speakers any more away from the wall due to the configuration of the room. They're 1ft from the back wall and far away from the side walls.

I spoke to my dealer about bi-amping, and he essentially recommended against it based on the biasing issues. I was considering buying a nice low powered tube amp for the stats and keeping my Classe 70 for the woofers. I do have them bi-wired which made a huge difference.

I was pondering whether the real answer is keeping my electronics and trading in my Sequel II's for Summits. The Summits are more efficient and have the powered bass, so my 75 wpc amp will be less stressed essentially driving the stats. The smaller panels of the Summits have a better WAF but I've had my Sequel II's before we were married so she's gotten used to them. Now a subwoofer would be cheaper than trading up to the Summits. Hmm.....anyone have a Sequel II/subwoofer system that was replaced with Summits? Opinions? Thanks everyone so far.

 

[JohnA]

Unfortunately I can't move my speakers any more away from the wall due to the configuration of the room. They're 1ft from the back wall and far away from the side walls.

This can be a serious impediment acoustically, affecting all frequencies.
My 'trick' is to have curtains behind the panels. The curtains conceal an array of acoustic panels
This made a serious improvement to the panels, similar to drawing them another foot or two away from the wall.

I spoke to my dealer about bi-amping, and he essentially recommended against it based on the biasing issues.

I am not an expert on tube amps, but would not try to match one with a solid-state amp and biamp the sequels. They really need to be identical.

When I first biamped my SL3s, I used a pair of XA-200s for the panels and an XA-100 for the bass units. All Musical Fidelity, same voltage gain for all.
When I got hold of another pair of XA-200s I swapped them with the XA-100, not really expecting any difference. Hell, it is a 10" woofer in a sealed box - easy and conventional load, why would 400w (at 4Ohms) sound any different to 200w?
Well they did sound better, and I decided to keep both pairs of monoblocs for the logans. I had underestimated the power requirements of the conventional drivers.

 

[VanDaRo]

My vote is for the sub. I run a Depth with my Sequel IIs and the system has lots of slam (sub volume at 3.4 -- plenty of power left to crank). Everything from cellos and timpany to Megadeth's double bass drum attacks comes through crystal clear.

I love my sub and can't imagine life without it.

~VDR