I did some testing to see if I could duplicate what you were getting and the answer is yes. I tried both digital and analog signals with a test CD. Using the SPL meter I could hear and see that when changing the Fronts to Small resulted in a lower SPL reading with both digital and analog when in Bypass mode. For this test my sub was disconnected. I tried several frequencies and the difference between small and large was significant with some frequencies such as 40hz. I wouldn’t have needed a SPL meter to tell there was a difference.