I just recently purchased my first dvd-audio disks and am totally confused...My setup included a toshiba dvd player that handles dvd-a, pioneer vsx-912 receiver and AV123's ELT speakers (a sat/sub system).
My main question is am I currently sending the full range signal to all my speakers or is my receiver filtering out the low frequencies and giving them to the sub like it does for movies?
I also noticed that when listening to dvd-a I need to crank the gain on my sub up a bit to get it to reasonable listening levels. It seems from some other posts here the icbm will correct this, but if this is the main thing it would do in my setup I'm prefectly willing to just modify the gain on my sub rather than buying another component.
Am I missing something?

Thanks for any help!!!
Steve

If you have the six-channel analog output of the Toshiba connected to the six-channel analog input of the Pioneer, then you should be getting nothing but volume control and amplification at the Pioneer -- no bass management or other signal manipulation. Placing the ICBM between the Toshiba and Pioneer will provide you with some valuable bass management control (it is exactly the application for which the ICBM was developed). Also, the ICBM does include a trim control for the subwoofer, although that is secondary to providing bass management to insure that your speakers get a frequency range they can reproduce well (which you can select as everything above 40Hz, 60Hz, 80Hz, 100Hz, or 120Hz) and that the remaining material be passed to the sub rather than being lost. Basically, your case is very well suited to adding an ICBM.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

It turns out my dvd player is the toshiba sd-4700 and from doing some poking around on the web it would seem that it does not have any bass management. It also seems as though my receiver does not have analog bass management. Although I'll have to wait to get home to verify both those facts. If indeed that is the case I guess I have two options. Get the ICBM or upgrade to possibly the denon 2200 dvd player which has bass management and adds playability of SACD (which I wouldn't mind having).
Does all that make sense? I'm just trying to make sure I have a handle on this whole bass management issue.

Also, do many receivers or pre/pros (like the 950) have analog bass management?

Thanks!!
Steve

The SD-4700 is far from the only player that lacks bass management for DVD-Audio or SACD -- it was nearly universal, which is why Outlaw developed the ICBM. Likewise, analog bass management on six-channel inputs was unheard of until less than two years ago, when it appeared on the 950 and the Rotel 1066 pre/pros. Even still, it is very rare (especially on receivers).

The Denon 2200 is an appealing option, with the addition of SACD in a single unit -- if I were in the market for a progressive scan player (which I may be later this year), the 2200 would be near the top of my list. The ICBM, on the other hand, will offer more bass management options than the 2200 (multiple crossovers with several crossover points to choose from).

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review