Bass is my main concern. I want fast and tight bass and not to introduce boom and bloom.
Hi Muttley 2, (best cartoon ever BTW
) Obviously bass issues can arise from lots of problems like the room, listening position, amp without enough grip etc, so I can only state my own experience in respect of bass control, which you might find reassuring.
I use PMC 25.26 speakers, which are quite large floor standers (1040x192x439mm) that thrive on powerful, grippy amps and which you would expect to be more prone to bass bloom than smaller units. It can be an issue in my room if components or speaker position aggravate it.
When I installed LS-80 the scale and heft of the bass increased massively, but it was underpinned by a tight, clean delivery that revealed far more texture, shape and tonal variation in the lows, rather than just a monochromatic, low sound. The control of bass is exemplary, which is evidenced by the great variation in bass output between different pieces of music....in some recordings where you are used to hearing a lot of bass, the sound is cleaned up and bass seems tighter, drier and less prevalent, but in recordings where bass is genuinely coming on strong at source, the delivery is seismic, massive and refined. This to me is evidence of far less colouration and the LS-80 gives by far the best bass delivery of any cable I have ever experienced. Bass can be so dynamic it is more of a presence that seems to envelop the listener like a shock wave, rather than a sound coming from the speakers. It can be a thrilling listen and I keep trying to find tracks with kick drum just to experience it! This is blended with great detail, realism and balance in performance throughout the rest of the frequency range, so it is no one-trick pony.
Hope this helps,
Cliff.