![]() I want deep bass with the frequency, impact and warmth I hear in the concert hall. ![]() However there are few who love TRUE AUTHENTIC "REAL" DEEP BASS more than I. I have no way to confirm as I am a devoted 2 channel stereo music lover and abhor multichannel in any form. In the thread on this SACD, some have actually claimed to hear deep bass so perhaps it is only the stereo layer so adversely afflicted. This review is of the 2 channel high resolution stereo layer. These recordings prove that BIS can record the full spectrum of sound even at 24/44.1kHz! Listen especially to the double basses and deep wind instruments! There are thousands of SACDs and other recordings that actually have realistic deep bass including two I have discovered (so far) on the BIS label Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring, Petrushka - Litton and Aho: Symphony No. Not the worst BIS I've heard, that honor goes to Grieg: Holberg Suite, Music for Strings - Ruud with it's shrill CD-like string tone. Through Sennheiser HD 580 headphones whose frequency response is 12Hz-38kHz the lack of bass is even more disturbing plus there is an irritating shrillness to the strings. The problem could be something as simple as microphone placement. The bass was anemic through both speakers and headphones even at uncomfortably high levels. I adjust the volume to suit the recording, on the best recordings there is a level where the soundstage snaps into place and magic begins. And my high current power amplifier is the Adcom GFA-555II with 325 watts per channel into 4 ohm loads, it's frequency response is 1.7Hz-100kHz - 3dB and has a damping factor greater than 800 for excellent woofer control. My vacuum tube preamplifier is the AMC CVT 1030 whose frequency response with high level inputs is 4Hz-80kHz - 3dB. They have a frequency response from 37Hz-45kHz +/-3dB and in reviews they were down about 8dB at 25Hz. My loudspeakers are the Infinity Reference Standard 7 Kappa with 12 inch woofers which give the weight and body to bass instruments that smaller cones cannot, very smooth sounding 3 inch midranges and EMIT tweeters which are perfect for high resolution sources. Show 2011 and recordings that actually have REAL bass. I have verified that my system does great bass by hearing megabuck systems at CES and T.H.E. By contrast audiophile labels achieve deep bass with weight, intensely and impact nearly all the time. The nearly inaudible deep bass on this recording is too low in level thus lacking depth, weight and impact of other recordings of Sibelius' Tone Poems. And string basses should ALWAYS have the deep bass sound of string basses whither playing softly or loudly. It does not count if there is a little deep bass but it is recorded at such a low level as to be nearly inaudible, soft bass should be "soft" not non-existent. Of the thousands of recordings I have heard on hundreds of labels I have only heard two so far from BIS with deep bass, yet with other recording companies such as Telarc, Reference Recordings and Delos all of their recordings have deep bass. It is just NOT bass percussion, double basses and deep wind instruments need to be both heard and felt. In Sibelius' music sometimes the bass is soft, however even soft bass still needs to be captured, as can be verified by any other version of these tone poems. For me everything is important, the lows, the highs and the critical midrange, I want it all! The double basses are almost inaudible, the bass drum is weak and the strings could be smoother. I am sorry but I have to strongly disagree with this quote, in my system the low frequencies are almost non-existent. Geohominid said in his review "There is plenty of extended bass, especially from the thunderous bass drum and deeply-digging string basses." I wanted desperately to LOVE this SACD however it was sonically a big disappointment and musically it was not competitive to my favorite performances. Jean Sibelius is one of my favorite composers and the Karelia Suite is my very favorite composition of his, so I was thrilled at this release.
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