The front mains are set to small. I also bumped the volumn levels a little at the subs and that seemed to help also.

One more question. I hooked up my OPPO to the analog inputs on the 970 to see what it sounds like with 5.1 DD movies. I set the 7.1 inputs on the 970 to the fixed 80HZ setting. The OPPO settings are as follows:

Speaker setup page
Down-mix: 5.1CH
All speakers: Large
Subwoofer: On

Audio set up page
Digital ouput: Raw

I noticed that the sub output from the 970 is much lower compared to using the Coaxial digital input to the 970. Is this normal?

There is a quirk of 5.1 audio relating to the LFE level, which I think is what you are running into. This AVS thread offers a detailed summary of the underlying issue as well as a few additional references. I suspect that this is what you are encountering. Unfortunately, I don't know right off the bat how the Model 970's analog input or the 981HD's analog output behave under this specific set of conditions (analog output with player bass management disabled, coupled with analog input being converted to digital). It's possible that the Model 970 is assuming that the source player is providing a boost while the player assumes that it doesn't need to because it isn't doing bass management. If that is the case, boosting the sub trim on the 981HD should get you squared away.

Gonk

This is good information and I tryed it every way and there is no way you can get the explosive bass that you get with the digital connection to the 970.

If this is the case with the new Blu-ray players I am not sure I would be happy with the 7.1 analog connections to the 970 for HD audio.

Do you think the results would be any different with he New OPPO Blu-ray?

I'd need to run some test tones through the BDP-83 to know for sure, but I don't think it would be a problem. The BDP-83 offers +/-10dB adjustment for each channel, so even if you need to compensate for the sub channel manually you could do so.

Gonk,

Thanks for all your help. I read some addtional reviews on the Panasonic DMP-BD80. It seems like there may be the same issue with this player. Hopfully the BDP-83's processor has better control with the sub output.

Gonk,

I contacted OPPO on this issue. Just wanted to share their response.

I think this is an important issue for 7.1 ananlog output to receivers that don't have on board processing of the new HD formats.

Joel,

There are inherent differences between a raw audio signal and a PCM (pre-processed audio signal) in terms of volume output levels and expected bass management.

When you are working with the DV-981HD and comparing the difference in bass performance between digital coaxial (bit stream) and multi-channel analog (PCM) are you using a SPL meter to ensure that your output volumes are the same?

The DV-981HD and the DV-980H have been called "bass shy" when the player is doing the audio decoding. The BDP-83 should not have similar complaints, but you may want to wait for third party confirmation.

Best Regards,

Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc.
2629B Terminal Blvd.
Mountain View, CA 94043
Service@oppodigital.com
Tel: 650-961-1118
Fax: 650-961-1119

James,

Have you tried setting the bass management toggle switch to 'Digital'? In this mode there is supposed to be a boost (I assume +10db) added to the LFE channel (along with the speaker distance and time delay settings). I asked the Outlaws about this awhile back and that's how they explained the 1070 worked.

John

First off the OPPO is on order and thanks for the feed back.

I have a friend that is going to purchase the 997 when it comes out. He has a 990 and has offered up a $150 trade for my 970. He has more money than I do!

I looked at the comparison between the 990 and 970 on the Outlaw product page but I am not too technical when comes to audio terms.

The only complaint I have with the 970 is it still has the lock up problems at times. I have a couple of questions concerning the 990 vs. the 970.

1) Is the 990 free of the lock up problem?
2) Why is the 990 better than the 970.?

Answers:
1. Never had a "lock-up"; I have two 990s
2. Better: I initially ordered a 970 but sent it back since to me it did not sound as pleasing as the 990.
HTH

The 990 is a completely different platform than the 970. I've not had any lock-up problems with the 990.
In some regards, the two are similar. There are some differences that I think are significant.

• Addressable component and DVI inputs (any of these five video connections can be assigned to any of the six video input).
• Editable input names (you can change "Video1" to "Cable").
• More inputs.
• OSD menu on component output.
• Better analog section. The consensus seems to be that the 990 sounds better than the 970.

Of course, on the flip side, the 990 lacks the 970's option for analog bass management on the 7.1 Direct input and it's significantly taller.