I just ordered an Outlaw 950 to replace my old preamp which unfortunately broke.

I think I can ditch the ICBM now! The 950 has crude 80Hz bass management on the input, right? That should be fine for the few SACD and DVD-Audio titles I listen to I think.

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Philip Hamm

You are correct, sir. You'll have a 80Hz analog crossover available on the 5.1 analog input when your 950 arrives.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

The ICBM is of course more 'tweakable' but if you're just using it for an 80 Hz crossover anyway.....

Plus with this setup you avoid any double bass issues. What you're talking about is probably the best situation for a 950.

Phil,

Welcome to the Saloon!

The 950's BM for the 6 channel input consists of an 80 hz crossover on the five channels and a 120 hz low pass filter on the subwoofer channel. There is also a switch. When "on", it will filter low frequencies out of the five channels. When "off", it allows full pass (i.e. bass included) to the five channels. In both cases, the subwoofer gets the low frequency info. Hence, you get double bass when the switch is off.

Depending on your selection of DVD-As, some (maybe many) have been mixed with high frequency information in the subwoofer or sixth channel. The 950 filters out anything greater than 120hz in the sixth. The high frequencies in this channel are lost. The difference between the 950 and ICBM is that the ICBM's LPF on the subwoofer channel is set at 150 hz.

I think you'll be pleased with the 950 on its own for this. I would be very interested if you observe any difference with respect to BM between the 950 and your previous setup with the ICBM.

I wouldn't say crude. Why? Because no other pre/pro or receiver out there to my knowledge has analog bass management at all. Beasts such as the Denon 5803, Pioneer 49, and the Anthem AVM-20 are all digital. At least with the Pioneer and Denon, with the digital link to an accompanying compatible player, don't matter none.

Heck, a lot of cheaper receivers still only have a fixed crossover for CD/DD/DTS...

I think the Rotel 1066 has a similar analog bass management feature. It is a rare feature.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

The 1066 doesn't have analog bass management. The only thing it has, is the same exact double bass problem the 950 has. But with the 950 and using the 80 Hz analog crossover, no double bass problem.

Ah, thanks Kevin. I knew that I'd seen comments about it having the double-bass issue. I didn't realize that they had only partially implemented bass management on the analog 5.1 input. Weird...

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

I could theoretically get triple bass for my DD LaserDiscs. Since the 950 doesn't have onboard RF demodulation I'll be using an old Onkyo ED-901 DD decoder (I believe the first DD decoder ever sold in the US) for DD Laserdiscs. This unit does the same thing as the Outlaw, sending a summed bass signal from all the mains to the sub channel, as well as sending out five full range signals.

Oh, man, can you imagine the bass-overextended "Goldeneye" or "Event Horizon" Lasers? Man they would wreck my house!!!

[This message has been edited by Philip Hamm (edited December 11, 2002).]

Philip- How about triple bass on the depth charge scenes in Das Boot? Man...