Has anyone gotten an LFM-1 compact and can give us a review? It would be very helpful.

I too would like to know if anyone owns this sub and what their review would be of it. With the special that they have on this sub, I can't believe no one owns this sub. I am thinking of getting this sub, but I would like to see a firsthand review about it first.

Considering how well the (littler) LFM-2 has been received, my suspicion is that the Compact is a pretty potent little package - hopefully some Compact owners can weigh in with some first-hand experience...

I've never had a sub before and just received my B-stock LFM-1 Compact last week. Because it was a B-stock I was worried about its condition, however when I opened the box, the original box had obviously been opened, but the subwoofer looked brand new. This sub really looks great in my small 10'x10' bedroom. I really like the look of the smoked glass top. Nice deal at $349 with the free shipping.

I have the sub connected to my Outlaw RR2150 with PSB Image 2B speakers. Although the sub sounds pretty good so far, I'll hold off on being specific because I'm not sure I have the sub connected properly to the RR2150. I connected the sub to the receiver by way of the line-in connection. On the sub, I have the crossover set to "out" and the phase set to "0" and on the RR2150 I have the bass management switch on the back set to 60. Is this correct so far?

As for placement, I have it sitting along my wall, right in the middle. Should I move it to a corner?

Is there anything else I need to check? Any comments would be appreciated. ThanksI

Using the RR2150's sub out to the LFM-1 Compact is the preferred approach, so you're good there. Likewise, setting the crossover to "out" will disable it and let the RR2150 take care of bass management - so you're good there, too. To test the phase setting, you might try some low frequency material (pipe organ would be an extreme example) and see which setting (0 or 180) sounds louder - the louder setting would have the least cancellation between sub and speakers and would be the preferred choice.

It looks like the PSB Image 2B's start rolling off around 70Hz or 80Hz, so you might want to try using a slightly higher crossover setting. You could possibly even go as high as 100Hz, but I'd definitely give 80Hz a try.

Sub placement can be a bit tricky. Outlaw's own Peter Tribeman recently reiterated an old trick: put the sub in your listening position, play a test tone, and use your ear or an SPL meter to find the spot where the sub sounds loudest. That is going to be a good spot to locate the sub in your space. Corners are commonly used, but not essential or even guaranteed to be good locations.

New LFM-1 compact owner here. It energizes my 2500 cu/ft listening quite well. I am impressed with the deep articulate bass that it produces. I have it crossed over @ 60 hz and the volume control on the sub is set between the 11 o'clock and 12 o'clock position depending on whether I'm listening to music or movies. Music around the 11 o'clock pos. and movies I kick it up a little.

I love the look of the rounded edges and the smoked plexiglass top surface. It is a classy as well as great sounding subwoofer.

On some of the other forums I am amused by the graphs and the "I'm hearing 15 hz tones!!" folks. Some of these guys are a little over the top with gigantic woofer arrays. I'm more impressed on how this unit sounds playing music rather than how it measures.

Well done Outlaw!!

sterankoman,
I'm not in the forums you are mentioning .... but i do know you can't here 15Hz or 19Hz .... you feel it.

Thanks for the update. I was currious to the LFM-1 in action.
Thanks

I am about ready to pull the trigger on this subwoofer, but I have some questions to ask? I currently have a Carver Knight Shadow that has stopped working and will cost almost as much to repair as getting the Outlaw sub. The Carver is a front firing 10" 500 watt sub. The Outlaw is a downfiring 10" 225 watt sub. How is the downfiring going to compare to front firing? Also is the 275 watt difference going to be that much. My space is 13'x22'x8' with openings into the kitchen and the foyer. Thanks for your help.

For the sake of argument lets say the two 10" woofers are the same efficiency, doubling the power will produce 3 db more output. Would a little more than 3 db make a big difference? I don't think so. Did the Carver really put out 500 watts continous? Who knows without actual testing. I have noticed that mags like Stereophile do not test (measure) powered subwoofers.

On unexpected low frequencies I have to put my hand under the cabinet to feel the woofer excursion. Why? I don't know I cannot help myself. If it was mounted on the front I would just watch it instead.

The LFM-1 compact is a great "little" subwoofer and it stomps my older $600 sub that I thought was a good sub until now.

I have also noticed my dog being startled on some low bass notes. He jumps up and finds somewhere else to lay farther away from my Outlaw. He used to lay next to my old sub and never move.

Amp ratings can be a tricky metric for powered subs. Power rating alone doesn't determine output - cabinet design (both size and ported/sealed enclosure type) and driver selection play big roles. My older LFM-1 (the original, now discontinued) provides a tremendous punch in my 23'x17'x8' room, and it has the same frequency response with just three more dB of output (115dB rather than 112dB). I don't know how it will stack up to the Carver, but my suspicion is that it would serve you well.

I received my compact Saturday and have been very impressed with the improvement over my Mirage S-8.

I have a question about the plexiglass top. Is it supposed to fit flush with the cabinet top? In the pictures on the website it appears flush but on mine the glass is indented. Also the "Outlaw" emblem has glue residue around the edge that I have not been completely able to remove.

Did you guys get a manual with your sub? Mine came without, and there were no discs for the spiked feet included either. Was a little disappointed the feet were plastic and not metal, though they seem quite sturdy.

The sub is a real performance boost, but the attention to fit and finish detail is lacking just a bit.

The plexi top of my LFM-1 is indented - I believe that is intentional. I can't speak to the glue around the logo, though.

My plexiglass top is indented 1/2mm (.02").

Plastic spikes w/o disks (no problem IMHO). I noticed that the spikes looked very similar to the plastic spikes on my Celestion subwoofer only a little larger. Probably from the same far east factory.

I did get a manual and my logo is mounted cleanly.

I'm still impressed with the deep, articulate bass from this modestly priced subwoofer.

Ooooops - Plexiglass top - have to cover it up with a piece of black cloth. It will be just under the 106" screen - without the cloth, there will be a nice reflection.

Will post my comments after I get the sub (just ordered a B-Stock - will probably take 7 days to arrive...).

I got a SUPER offer on my Sunfire D-12. A friend needed a sub RIGHT AWAY - something very small, yet reasonably powerful (wife would only allow a SMALL sub), so I sold him the sub and will be "sub less" for a week.

The Sunfire's -3 dB was at 18 Hz, though it could not play as loud as the LFM-1 Compact (108 dB as opposed to 112dB).

I will eventually buy AV123's DUAL x-plosive or MFW-15 - just need something for the next 6 months or so.

No LFM-1 Compact for me. Little change of plans - got a B-Stock LFM-1 Plus instead. Plan to hold on to that for a while, if I like it (given the specs and reviews, I would be EXTREMELY surprised if I don't like it...).

That should be fun!

My LFM-1c arrived early this morning. Thankfully the excellent packing (double boxed with heavy styrofoam corners) protected the sub as it obviously took a hit. One corner was smashed through both boxes exposing the styrofoam. It shipped from Carson, CA although Outlaw is in Easton, MA. The FedEx driver is known to us and made a note just in case there was concealed damage.

The aesthetics are every bit as good as described, especially the black plexiglass inlaid top. No "industrial" look here. Very nice.

Mine arrived with those plastic spiked feet instead of metal too. This despite my specifically asking for the metal when I placed my order. I don't know if the metal is discontinued and this is what they're now supplying now or not. Anyone know what the deal is here?

Although I'm still tweaking the settings, thus far I'm quite pleased with the LFM-1c in my 3426 ft3 room (which I know is stretching things). I'm driving my 7+1 system with an Onkyo TX-SR705. Impacts are felt throughout the room and my body.

--Bob

Addendum: just found this on another forum which explains the conflict between what is delivered and what the manual calls out as being supplied:

"Update on the spike feet:
I contacted Outlaw via their web form and received a reply the next day. Apparently Outlaw has changed the specs for the Compact accessories. Because the Compact requires taller spikes (more clearance), they've switched to the taller plastic spike feet. As long as they're functional, well built and not an eyesore, I'm ok with them. Only time will tell whether they're well built. Also, the dimple discs should be included regardless of the type of spike feet, so Outlaw is shipping out the discs to me. Thus far I've been pleased with their customer support.
Last edited by laulau : 12-31-07 at 02:22 AM. Reason: Update. "

I agree with laulau and wish the dimpled discs were supplied proforma. Guess I need to ask for a set....

I got the LFM-1C and am driving it with the RR 2150. Sounds good for music in a fairly bright open concept living room+dining area+kitchen (hard to measure -- say between 400 (immediate sitting room) to 1,000 (neighbouring space) ft2). My experience is posted in the RR 2150 forum.

Basically: Solid base, not boomy. Fills the space well. The LFM can migrate under some conditions (i.e., my cranking the volume), but is generally fine on the plastic spikes + ceramic discs on hardwood floor.

Like Bob A's experience, discs weren't included in my package - had to request them, and they were sent along later.

And I remain quite pleased with the Outlaw products.

I am leading toward this LFM-1C model to argument with the Yamaha YSP and possibility with the big Sound labs I have. If money was no object I would look into the Thiel subwoofers. Long time ago I used to own the Thiel 3.5. Now both Thiel subwoofers and the 3.7 are now of body and mind condering their prices. I just do not have that kind of money and wanted the LFM to hold up for the long run. The only feature missing is a equalizer to reduce the peaks but not sure how important that is going to be at this point.

john57,

Being able to equalize a room peak/dip is very important when it comes to bass response.

My present home theater has a bass peak of +3db around 40Hz. If I did not remove that peak, the calibration of my subwoofer output to the required Dolby level would be off by +3db.

Equalizing the +3db peak out allows the whole subwoofer spl response to come up by +3db (assuming a flat subwoofer response in the area of interest) which is quite an improvement.

Just a thought.

Regards,
TCIII