Hey all,

Here is what someone was telling me to do as far as settings for my 990 and Pioneer BDP51FD. I'm not sure if this is correct or not.

If you're connecting the 51 to the Outlaw via the 7.1 analog connections, the first question is: does the Outlaw apply bass management to the analog inputs?

If it DOES, then set the 51 to LARGE for all speakers.

If it DOES NOT, then you've got to choose between the lesser of two evils in the 51 (i.e., Large vs. Small).

Potentially Bad Choice #1--Set all to LARGE. But, if you select Large, ALL of your speakers will need to be pretty bass capable. If you don't already know them, look up the -3db points for all your speakers. That will tell you whether or not it's even worth trying to run them as Large. Then, you'll need to add (approx.) +10db to the LFE channel. You can add up to 6db in the 51, but you'll still need another 2-4db to be added by the Outlaw...assuming that it can do that. If it can't, well...you're kind of hosed LFE-wise. The last consideration should be how efficient your speakers are, how capable the amp is and how loud you like to listen. If you have relatively inefficient speakers, a relatively low power amp and like to listen at reference levels...don't bother setting them to Large.

Potentially Bad Choice #2--Set all to SMALL. In this case, you'll need to add 15db to the LFE channel, so if the Outlaw can't add up to 9db, you can rule this option out right away. If it can, then you just need to decide whether or not the sub is becoming overly boomy and/or localized.

Try it both ways. See which you like better. If you don't like either, a third option is just to connect via toslink. You won't get the hi-rez codecs, but you'll get the appropriate bass management, which, IMO, will often trump any benefits of the codec.

Then someone else said;

The Outlaw 990 does do BM on the analog inputs, so set the 51 speakers to large. Also set the levels on the 51 to -3db on all speakers except the sub. Set that to +6db. That way you will get back the 10db LFE that otherwise would be lost thru the analog inputs.

Then someone else;

Does the Outlaw not make the 10db correction when applying bass management to it's multichannel input? Just wondering as my Anthem AVM20 does apply the boost so I don't have to make any adjustments on the BD player.

Now I'm really confused. I have all my speakrs set to small and my subs, Sunfire Jr. crossovers set to bypass.

Help and thanks so much again.
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Yes, it does. Set the speakers to "large" in the player (and set the sub to "on).
I'm not sure about this one. You could ask Outlaw support. I can also think of an experiment that you could try comparing the sound of a bass-heavy sequence on a standard DVD three ways:

• analog input, all player channels' trims set to 0dB
• analog input, all player channels' trims set to -3dB, and player sub set to +6dB
• digital input

The digital input will behave properly, so pick the option between the first two that matches it. I've never tried this myself, just tossing it out.

Hey gonk,

Thanks again so much, but...remember you are dealing with a non-tweaker. I was a set it and forget it kind of guy.

Not sure I follow. Can you please go over all the settngs you think I should be starting with on the 990 and the 51 when you have a chance.

Thanks so much again!!!!

What I'm describing is a way to find the right setting to use to set once and leave that way. The reason I can't offer a single answer is that I'm not sure how the 990 handles this situation. My suspicion is that it does not give the subwoofer channel an extra 10dB boost when using the 7.1 direct input, but I'm not certain of that. Hence the test I described, which compares the exact same digital source (a DVD, so that the digital signal can also be sent to the 990) listened to three ways. Let me see if I can walk through it again briefly.

First, you want to set all speakers on the Pioneer to large and the sub to on. We know that much. Also leave all speaker distances set to zero. The 990 will take care of delays and bass management. Check the digital output options and make sure you have bitstream enabled for the coaxial and optical outputs. That should be the default. The HDMI audio output settings don't really matter in this case, since we aren't using HDMI audio.

Second, you'll want to have two inputs on the 990 set up to work with the Pioneer. One is the 7.1 Direct input, which you'll use for Blu-ray (particularly discs with TrueHD, DTS-HD, and multichannel PCM tracks). The other is an input (it can be DVD or any other video input) that is assigned to a coaxial or optical digital input from the Pioneer. You'll use this one for DVD's. If you are using the 990's video switching, you can assign the same video connection to both inputs.

Next, we need to compare two options for channel trim on the player. First, make sure all of the channel trims are set to zero (that should be the default). Take a DVD that has a decent bit of bass (summer blockbuster of your choice, any scene with things blowing up nicely should do), queue up the bass-happy scene, and listen to it while switching between 7.1 Direct and DVD inputs. If the bass response seems a bit weaker with the 7.1 Direct input, that will suggest that we need to boost the player's sub output. To verify that, go back to the player's setup and change the channel trims. Set all speakers to -3dB except for the sub, which should go to +6dB. Now listen to that scene on the DVD again, once again switching between 7.1 Direct and DVD. If the bass response seems roughly equal with both inputs, leave the channel trims alone. If the 7.1 Direct seems overly bass-heavy and you think the previous settings sounded closer to the DVD input, change the channel trims back to 0dB.

Wow, thanks so much again gonk. I will give it a try, you really know your S*#t, lol. What I just don't get is how good it sounds the way it is now, not saying it can't sound so much better, but...What really is the right way, or does it really have one. In other words, why can't there be one setting that would be used for 7.1, you know what I mean, lol.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!

Hey gonk,

One more quick question for you. If I am going to try to match the digital input as close as possible then why don't I use the digital input, probbably a dumb question but I have to ask.

I did take your advice and run a digital coax out of the Pioneer 51 Blu player and will use it for SD DVD's as I believe the claim was it will be better sounding, yes?

Thanks.

Hey again gonk,

quick qestion again, do you keep you amp on all the time? Just wondering if you don't, how do you incorporate that into turning on with your universal remote?

Thanks!!!

I use the 990's 12V trigger. In my case, the trigger controls a pair of switched outlets on my power conditioner, which in turn powers the amps on and off. You can also simply connect the trigger cable directly to the amp.

We're only doing this exercise to determine if you need to give the sub output a 10dB boost when using the player's analog output. For DVD's, you would use the digital. For Blu-ray, though, you can't get the new audio formats over coaxial or optical.

Thanks again gonk. You have been and will always be a massive help to everyone who uses this forum.

THANKS and I will keep you posted!!!!!!!!