Thanks to all the people on this board who give advice and recs. I've learned a lot in the last few days!

That said, I just got my board reg approved and I wanted to ask for advice on setup for my system.

I'd like to be an audiophile but I'm not there yet. I'm currently getting advice from a buddy who is one but he's not close enough to come over and tell me what to do with his ears. Thus, I have to setup my own system and make it sound like I want it to sound.

I'm going to lay out my system and ask for thoughts on what I should do.

This is a pure music system, stereo only. I play DVD music on it all the time but I've never liked the surround sound of DVDs so I always do 2 channel.

I use RR 2150 as the base of the system. I have Epos ELS-3 speakers (have to use bookshelf). My disc player is a Denon 3910.

Recently, I was considering upgrading to floor standing full range speakers. After a lot of tape measures and discussion I decided that it wasn't going to work with this room no matter how I did it. The room is actually large but I use it for multiple purposes and I just can't figure a way to put a pair of floor standers in here. So, we decided to get a subwoofer for the system instead. I ended up buying a used B&W ASW 4000 Sub on the web and it arrives tomorrow.

Should I use the RR2150 bass mngt with this thing or go straight to the active woofer for that?

Any ideas on where to start testing for the roll off? I'm still learning about this stuff. The ELS-3 speakers sound pretty good alone but I've always felt there was a certain bass missing in them. Where should I start testing the "rolloff" for the best possible stereo music sound? I listen to rock almost exclusive and I'm not picky. The room is about 17x26.

Being a newbie I'm trying to use terms I've read here in the last few days so any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

Welcome to the saloon, Huskerwing.

I did a quick search on the Epos ELS-3, and the -3dB point looks to be around 65Hz. With that in mind, I'd tend to recommend using the RR2150's built-in bass management (setting it to 80Hz), either bypass the B&W's crossover or set it as high as possible (so it doesn't interfere with the RR2150's crossover), and take a little time with a calibration disc to get the sub's trim dialed in relative to the speakers. You may already have a disc like Digital Video Essentials (which has a test tone in it somewhere that will do a sweep from 20Hz on up, so you can use an SPL meter to tweak the sub level relative to the speakers), but if all else fails there's also my Devious Tiny Disc (see "Gonk's DTD" in my sig) - it's not really a calibration tool, but it will give you a frequency response sweep that could be used for this task.

Thanks Gonk!

I do have that disc so I'll give that a shot.

I'm still really learning about this stuff so forgive dumb questions.

Should I use a sub cable from the "sub out" on the reciever or should I run my speaker wires to the sub and then out to the Epos? I've been told to do it both ways by different people.

The "bass mngt" setting of 80hz, is that the knob on the front of the RR2150 that I'm currently using to bump the bass on my two speaker setup?

Glad to help. Use a sub cable from the sub out to the subwoofer and leave the speakers connected as they are now, and you'll want to set the switch on the back to set the bass management.

Wow, what a difference in sound! Adding the subwoofer made a HUGE difference. Thanks for the help. I've ended up setting the bass mngt to 100 on the Outlaw RR2150. After many hours of playing my music that is the best sound for my ears. Now I need to get the test disc out and start tweeking!

Thoughts on cables? Right now all I have are Monster cables for the interconnects and sub cable. I was thinking of upgrading those but I'm getting conflicting info from friends and the internet. Will it make that much difference in a lower level system like mine?

In general, I don't recommend buying Monster when starting out (priced higher than they're worth). If you've got them, though, I'd be hesitant to put money into replacing them.

For what it's worth, I'm using a mix of Outlaw and Blue Jeans Cables for my two systems, with some spare BetterCables speaker cables on my RR2150 (although I've also got a set of DIY speaker cables on the 2150 because I've got the old Studio60's hooked up until I can sell them) and some TMC speaker cables on the front speakers of my theater setup.

I second using Outlaw or Blue Jeans Cables.

Blue Jeans can't be beat for pricing and the fact they cut everything to custom lengths by the foot for you. And it's quality stuff.

Plus they don't sue people frivolously for trademark infringement.

Well, I had the cables I'm using now from previous home theater setups... before I knew about the utter ripoff that is Monster. But, when I was talking about buying some Audioquest interconnects with a friend, he said that since I had the Monster just to stick with it. Nothing much to be gained basically.

I'll never buy another Monster product now that I know. Although I am currently running a rca cable to my home theater sub that I'd like to get back to monster with because it does make a difference in the bomp

I'd concur with your friend - stick with what you've got if it works. As for the sub cable, if you need something I'd look at Blue Jeans first: get the exact length you need, and they're well made. Outlaw's stout PCA's are available in a couple long lengths, but the lengths offered may not be what you are looking for.