Your sub clipping may be due to a known issue with the 990's subwoofer test tone - the tone is full-range. The recommended workaround for powered subs is to turn on your subwoofer's internal crossover and set it somewhere near the upper limit (150Hz or 200Hz) before running the test tone, then go back to bypassing the internal crossover afterward (since the 990's bass management takes care of it for everything except the sub test tone). Another option in your case is to manually set the sub using a test tone from a DVD like Video Essentials or AVIA.

Thanks Gonk!

I hadn't heard about the problem with the subwoofer test tone, but that would definitely explain my problem.

I have both the Video Essential and AVIA test disks and will try manual configuration with them this weekend (time permitting).

Do you have any thoughts about crossover settings in the 990 for the speakers I listed?

The -2dB point on the Kappa 9.1 II is listed as 27Hz. Since they are also acting as your subs, I'd assume you have them set to "large," which means we're not concerned about the crossover point. The -2dB on the Video II is 90Hz. Normally, folks look at the -3dB point when determining crossovers, so you could probably start out trying 80Hz as the crossover for those channels. I wouldn't go lower than 80Hz, and you might even try 100Hz just to see how it compares.

The Kappa 9.1s are bi-amped so that the high/mid and low portions of the speaker are effectively running like seperates. The amplifier driving the high/mid is connected to the left and right outputs on the preamp, and the amplifier driving the low end of the 9.1s is connected to the subwoofer outputs from the 990. I have the upper portion of the 9.1s and the Kappa Videos set to small.

I was coming to the same conclusion that 100Hz is probably the right crossover point, but that I may want to try 80Hz to see if I can note any differences. I noticed that the lower internal crossover point on the 9.1s is 180Hz. That makes me wonder if the mid-bass coupler is running on the lower half of my bi-amped configuration.

Oh well... Even partially configured it still sounds great.

Hey, gonk, what do you recommend for someone who can't bypass the crossover in their sub? Run it wide open (i.e. crossed at 150 Hz, in my case), and cross at 80 Hz in the 990?

If your sub allows crossover adjustment but doesn't allow the crossover to be bypassed, I'd set the crossover as high as possible (the 150Hz point you mention).