readster, this was my thinking as well. Unfortunatly, my sub is passive (no internal crossover) and really draws attention to itself when I use the analog connections for the CD. The good news is, the digital connections sound really good. Also, it was Steve at Outlaw that confirmed this behavior (sorry about the mistype above).

So, is this bass management on the 7.1 input pretty much like having an ICBM inside the 990?

I would guess so, except that it's digital and not analog, thus necessitating an extra D/A conversion.

I did some testing with my Denon 3910 over the weekend, using the 990's BM vs. the Denon's BM & the 990's speaker set-ups set to Large. I preferred the Denon's sound, but I think it's more because there were less conversions than that it's BM is better. If I send 24-bit/192kHz sound out my 3910's analog outs, I'd like to know it didn't get D/A'd again before it reached my ears. But I *want* the 990's BM using my digital sources.

Personally, I'd like to see the ability to bypass BM on the 7.1 inputs but *not* the rest of the 990's inputs.

So who's correct?

I believe I am wrong. I stated that in another thread, but I forgot about this one.

ender21, can't you bypass the BM on the 7.1 inputs (by setting speakers to large), yet still have the BM not bypassed on the digital inputs by selecting any mode but bypass? That's what I did with my Denon 2910: I have it set with speakers to large and bass enhance on, so that the analog out and the 5.1 outs will have signal sent to the sub, but the digital outs are source direct. So I use the digital input on the CD input on the 990 for regular CDs if I want the BM of the 990 working, or use the 7.1 inputs if I want the Denon's BM working (like for SACDs or DVD-audios). I can also hit bypass mode on the digital input (CD input that is) if I want a pure bypassed signal with no BM from either machine.

At least, that's the way it seems to be working now, but there's so many choices to figure in I could be completely lost!

Good points grok. The 3910 is identical to your 2910 so I am trying to figure all that out myself. I think Source Direct will allow DSD to be passed without converting to PCM. I don't know whether to set all speakers to large on the Denon and make all distances the same or not. Do I set the crossover on the 3910 to a higher value than the Outlaw's highest setting for a particular speaker?

I don't want double bass management and double distance going on.

Gone are the days where you can hook up 2 speakers to your electrophonic 8 track receiver with tuner. It was so much simpler then!

My impression from Steve was that setting the speakers to Large on the 990 bypasses all BM on other inputs. Here's what he wrote to me:

If you'd like to disable the 990's bass management you must set all speakers to large in the speaker configuration menu. This will allow full analog pass through of direct analog inputs, however your other inputs will not have bass management applied.

I thought Source Direct was for analog outs only, and that it just sent the pure, unadulterated signal out the 5.1 outs, with no DSD > PCM processing of SACDs or bass management. The Digital outs wouldn't need Source Direct since they're sending bitstream (unless you've asked for them to do a PCM conversion). I haven't tried the Bass Enhance on my 3910 yet. How is it? I just figured it would add processing to the audio I don't want to have done. But admittedly I haven't fooled with it or read up on it.


Agreed, it's easy to get confused!!!

Rick