Hi,
I have a couple of quick questions regarding the bass management and the LFE of my 990. I am using a Denon 2910 connected with optical (for Redbook 2 ch.) and 6 RCAs for hi-def and surround audio, all 5 speakers small, w/80Hz xover. For the auto cal, I have to turn the volume almost all the way down on the sub amp for a –-13 db auto cal setting? The subs volume is very touchy down there; I would prefer it to be mid-range. Has anyone else experienced this? Am I doing something wrong? Should I build an attenuator?

Also, at the end of Telarcs 1812 SACD there are some test tones, when they do the LFE tone I hear / feel nothing? Telarcs’ book says that the subs RCA cable should be disconnected from the player to the 990 when using bass management, that you will get better bass this way? Is this correct? Am I losing anything if I do this, it bothers me that their test tone didn’'t come through?
I have upgraded to 3.11 firmware.

Thanks in advance,
jpk

My first suggestion would be to follow up the auto setup with some manual adjustment of the sub, as sub calibration can be quirky. If you have an SPL meter, run the sub's manual test tone and see what the meter gives you. Also try a few bass-heavy demos (depth charges in U-571, Darla tapping the fish tank in Finding Nemo, and any of the other common bass-heavy scenes). Most people end up adjusting the subwoofer level "to taste" and I wouldn't be afraid to do the same.

Telarc's suggestion about disconnecting the sub cable is pretty odd - presumably their 1812 SACD is mixed as 5.0 if they are doing that, and they're assuming that the bass management is happening at the receiver or processor (which is rare with SACD). Without digging deeper into how the disc is mixed, I can't really condone their suggestion even for a single specific case.

I do have a couple questions about your setup. First, I assume that you are handling all of your bass management in a single place - meaning that you have either set the 2910 to do no bass management (all speakers large and sub on) or the 990 to do no bass management (all speakesr large and sub on). If you have small speakers set in both places, you are applying bass management twice and the crossovers will be overlapping. Of the two options, I would tend to recommend that you set the speakers to large at the 2910. Also, are you using the multichannel analog connection for regular DVD's as well, or just for DVD-A and SACD? As a general rule, I recommend using the digital output for DVD's even when the DVD player supports Dolby Digital and DTS decoding. For one thing, the 990 has the more robust bass management. For another thing, the 990's Pro Logic II processing is probably better tweaked and refined (not to mention easier to control), so Dolby 2.0 discs will yield better surround sound if the 990 does the processing than if the player does it. Lastly, the 2910 cannot provide Dolby Digital EX, DTS ES, or Pro Logic IIx decoding or processing. Not all of these matter to everyone (if a global 80Hz crossover works the better bass management isn't a big deal, and if you only have a 5.1 system the EX/ES/IIx modes aren't relevent), but in most systems at least one of these will apply.

Hi Gonk,
Thanks for the quick reply, I will follow up with manual cal with SPL. When auto sub cal runs it is loud and does cut it way back?? On playback, as you mentioned, it may be cut back too far?

It just surprises me I hear nothing on Telarcs LFE test tone. I just tried it again; trying differant settings on the 2910, no sound?

To answer your questions, yes I have the Outlaw 990 doing all the bass management, I've just looked at the Denon 2910, I believe all the bass management is off. The 990 is very user freindly compared to the 2910, but I believe I have the 2910 in direct out, no management mode.
CD's and DVD's are via optical, I programmed a differant input for each, one with Dolby IIx movie, the other with Dolby IIx music. Currently 5.1 channels although I may add the back two.
SACD and DVD-A analog cables to 7.1 direct.
Life was simpler with 2-channel!
Thanks,
Joe

You've got your setup behaving very similarly to mine (7.1 Direct for DVD-A and SACD, CD for audio CD's, and DVD for DVD's - all from the same player).

My suspicion is that the auto calibration had a hard time with the sub and set it too low. A 12dB drop in the LFE track can make a significant difference. My advise is to check the following settings in the 2910's Audio Setup menu. In Audio Channel | Multichannel | Speaker Setup | Speaker Configuration, set all speakers to Large and the subwoofer to On. In Speaker Setup | Channel Level, set all channels to 0dB. In Speaker Setup | Delay Time, set all of the distances to 0ft (the 990's handling this for you so there's no need to do it twice). If you are still having trouble with the Telarc LFE test tone, go back to Speaker Setup | Channel Level and set the "SW +10dB" to On - the manual doesn't say why they would offer this, but the fact that it exists makes me suspicious. That setting isn't going to affect the 990's internal test tones, but if the sub trim is set low to begin with and the player's sub output is 10dB cool, you're going to have a real hard time getting any LFE on the player's analog outputs.

Hey jpk_fx,
FYI: My sub volumne is around the 9 O'clock position. If i tune to SPL meter - i would lower to roughly 8 O'clock to 7:30. Standard setup position is 12 O'clock.

If you have a THX movie - menu to the THX section. I beleive the 3rd part of the audio has a test sweep from 200Hz-20Hz. This works w/ Dolby Digital 5.1. give it a spin.

....and welcome to the Forum.

HI jpk_fx, I also have a 2910, if I'm not mistaken there is a setting in the 2910 menu for + 10 on the sub, I think it is in the audio menu, than go to multi channel submenu it's under the sacd 50 or 100 khz setting if my mind serves me right{can't Find the manual at the moment}

Thanks everyone for the replies. I have reset the 2910 to defaults and verified the settings as per Gonk. Previously I had trouble seeing the speaker size menu, it has beed grayed out? All is large and sub is on. No delays and all at 0 db. It was late last night, so I'll try tomorrow and report back!

I really like the 2910 and SACD's, I don't have much experience yet with DVD-As.
Is it me, or could the 2910 be more user freindly with the menus?
Joe

Let us know how it goes!

Based just on looking at the manual, the menu layout seems pretty complicated. Some of that is justified by the complexity of a player like this, but I still agree with you that there probably are opportunities for simplifying...

I have the bass back! Not sure exactly why, other than resetting to factory defaults? I believe this is the first time I saw the speaker size(s) in the menus?
When playing some multi channel audio disk, I get an LFE light on the 2910 and on other disc I do not. Is it safe to assume that the 990 will mix the bass from small speakers (as set by the 990) and the LFE and send it all to the sub?
Thanks,
Joe
My monitor out may have died, I'll start a new thread.

It sounds like the LFE light on the 2910 indicates the presence of a ".1" track - the 990's bass management will always cross over low frequency from small speakers to the sub independent of the presence (or lack) of an LFE track.