Will LFM-2 work in my space???

Hello outlaws,
We have a 15x15' living room/listening space, but the heigth is 2-story, 16+ feet. I have the outlaw rr2150 receiver (the best receiver or integ. amp ever!) and a pair of Alon Model 1 3-way floor standing speakers. They are great speakers but roll the bass off at about 50Hz (-3dB at 49Hz, -6dB at 40Hz).

My wife and I want to add a subwoofer. We think the footprint of the LFM-1 just won't work (too big). We listen to mostly stereo music (vinyl, CDs) but have an ever enlarging DVD collection. So, here's the question, will one LFM-2 be sufficient, or would it be advisable to order a pair of LFM-2s given our space considerations (i.e., small living room with very high ceilings)?

Thanks,
Jim

You've got about 3600 cubic feet of volume to fill, which is about 600 or 800 more than I have with my LFM-1. For me, the LFM-1 is plenty in my space, and I'd expect it to be similar in yours. A pair of LFM-2's should certainly be able to do the trick for you, but rather than just say "get two!" I'm thinking much the same thing you are - maybe one would do the trick for you. I'd probably get one and see what it did for me. If it wasn't enough, a second ought to get you where you need to be, but (particularly for music listening, where the lowest octaves don't see as much activity as action movies' LFE tracks) that single LFM-2 may very well be just what you're looking for.

For what it's worth, when I first saw pictures of the LFM-2 from last year's HE show, my first thought was, "An RR2150, a pair of nice monitors, and an LFM-2 could be a killer music setup." It really does seem like a well-suited combination, especially when you factor in the LFM-2's price tag.

If you do give the single LFM-2 a try, I'd love to hear what your experience with it is - it could help others with similar decisions.

Not sure if this helps, but may give you another reference point...

I've got an LFM-2 in a room that's about half your room's size by volume, and the gain knob is set halfway with -2dB trim on the 990. This setting produces strong bass, but not to the extent that objects, windows, or my teeth are rattling during movies (something I just don't dig). My room also has wood floors.

Thanks for your replies. I ordered one LFM-2 today. Looking forward to receiving it. I'll let you know whether one'll do the trick in our high ceiling space

Just got the LFM-2. I've been listening to it for a couple of hours. It sounds great. Played some vinyl: One Night in Vienna (Windham Hill, can't think of duo's names); Cat Stevens, Greatest Hits; Brubeck, Time In, and I played a DVD, Jimmy Page & Robt Plant, No Quarter. Even with the high ceiling, the single LFM-2 adds a nice deep bottom end that was missing before. It also allows the smallish 3-way Alon model 1 floor standing speakers (tweeter, midrange and 8" woofer) to really fill out the mids and highs with the LFM-2 doing the heavy lifting for the low frequency range. In other words, not just better bass; better overall performance. A major improvement! Very pleased.

Outlaw RR2150 Retro-receiver
Toshiba SD-3950 DVD/CD player
Nottingham Horizon Turntable with Audio-Technica AT440ML cartridge
Alon Model 1 speakers
Outlaw LFM-2 sub

Very cool - thanks for the feedback on the LFM-2.

Great news. Out of curiousity, what do you have the gain knob set to and are you using +/- trim on the RR2150?

I have the gain on the LFM-2 set just an eyelash beyond the mid-mark (12 o'clock). I'm bypassing the sub's crossover and using the bass management feature on the rear of the RR2150 set at 80Hz. Bass trim pot is set at neutral and speaker EQ is off. I'm not real technical, so I thought it best to leave everything neutral coming from the 2150. It sounds so good, I haven't fiddled with settings since initial set up. Any suggestions?

It sounds like a nice, reasonable approach - and if it's making your ears happy, that counts for a lot. I suppose to you could use a frequency response sweep (the CD version of my Devious Tiny Disc would work, but there are others as well) to listen to the system as it transitions from sub to speakers and fine-tune the sub level if you wanted to.