Outlaw LFM-1 EX

[litmu]

Guys, please help me understand, as I am total newbie to sound and specs, but I do want to understand them.

Reviews on this sub, highlight:
The LFM-1 EX does a lot right and makes no major mistakes all while providing huge bang for the buck value and meaningful 20Hz extension

Specifications from outlaw site reads:
Frequency Response: 22Hz. -180Hz. +/- 2 dB
Crossover Frequency: 30Hz to 180Hz and Bypass
SPL: 118dB (subject to placement and room gain)

The problem I have is, it sounds aweful to me. It is huge (and bit ugly) as a monster, but sounds like a little tiny teeny mouse. I have run the Audessey setup on my Marantz AV7005 (very happy with it) and followed all setup instructions. The manufacturer suggested setting volume at 10 or 11 am, but at that level it hardly plays an audible sound. I have increased it to like 1 pm and it is still minimal, if you put your hand on it cabinet, you do feel its working, but its just very minimum. If i increase volume to 3-4pm, it gives fatiguing brrhhh brrrhh romps, but no crisp slams of bass music. The most bass still comes from the towers. So I figured that setting it to 1pm is the most optimal and just being content with what it does (as sending it as return is very expensive)

1. Could you please help me understand about what they mean by meaningful 20 hz extension, and how the specs of this sub relate to that.
2. Any owners of this sub, please chime in, your experiences. Thanks.

 

[Adam]

Hi. I'm wondering if it's due to how Audyssey set up your system. After you run Audyssey, are your speakers set to "large" or "small?" What speakers do you have?

On my past two receivers running Pioneer's MCACC, they set my bookshelves to "large" even though they should be "small." This is not uncommon, at least from what I've read here and elsewhere. I would just manually switch them to "small" and set my crossover point. For me, that's 80Hz, which is a typical setting and is the THX recommendation.

If your speakers are set to "large", then the only audio going to the sub will be the LFE track - which sometimes isn't all that much. So, I wouldn't be surprised by what you are experiencing if that's the case.

 

[randyc1]

Guys, please help me understand, as I am total newbie to sound and specs, but I do want to understand them.

Reviews on this sub, highlight:
The LFM-1 EX does a lot right and makes no major mistakes all while providing huge bang for the buck value and meaningful 20Hz extension

Specifications from outlaw site reads:
Frequency Response: 22Hz. -180Hz. +/- 2 dB
Crossover Frequency: 30Hz to 180Hz and Bypass
SPL: 118dB (subject to placement and room gain)

The problem I have is, it sounds aweful to me. It is huge (and bit ugly) as a monster, but sounds like a little tiny teeny mouse. I have run the Audessey setup on my Marantz AV7005 (very happy with it) and followed all setup instructions. The manufacturer suggested setting volume at 10 or 11 am, but at that level it hardly plays an audible sound. I have increased it to like 1 pm and it is still minimal, if you put your hand on it cabinet, you do feel its working, but its just very minimum. If i increase volume to 3-4pm, it gives fatiguing brrhhh brrrhh romps, but no crisp slams of bass music. The most bass still comes from the towers. So I figured that setting it to 1pm is the most optimal and just being content with what it does (as sending it as return is very expensive)

1. Could you please help me understand about what they mean by meaningful 20 hz extension, and how the specs of this sub relate to that.
2. Any owners of this sub, please chime in, your experiences. Thanks.

I don't own one ,but from all the threads i've read about them , there is Definitly something Wrong with your setup !!

 

[Slee_Stack]

Too many people speak positively about Outlaw subs.

I also suspect something is wrong with your setup and/or you might have a defective sub.

Are you using 'Bypass' on the sub? If not, do you have the x-over knob set high?

Your receiver may have the sub set to a low output versus your other speakers.

As suggested above, if all speakers are set to 'large', the sub will ONLY play LFE.

Your Marantz probably has a subwoofer setting of 'Plus' you can choose too. This routes the Front L+R bass to your fronts AND the sub.

If you have everything set OK, then it must be a defective subwoofer.

the Outlaw subs won't win many beauty contests. They aren't the ugliest, but they are built more for function, not form.

 

[litmu]

Hi. I'm wondering if it's due to how Audyssey set up your system. After you run Audyssey, are your speakers set to "large" or "small?" What speakers do you have?

Yes, I have set speakers to 'small' per instruction. (At 'large' setting which I dabbled with, the sub would not even turn on).

and set my crossover point. For me, that's 80Hz, which is a typical setting and is the THX recommendation.

The manufacturer recommended setting the cross-over to bypass, and let the Marantz take care of it, do you think otherwise?

 

[Slee_Stack]

Yes, I have set speakers to 'small' per instruction. (At 'large' setting which I dabbled with, the sub would not even turn on).



The manufacturer recommended setting the cross-over to bypass, and let the Marantz take care of it, do you think otherwise?

Bypass is almost always better. It allows for all bass management to be performed in one place...your receiver.

It sounds like you are setting things correctly. Its possible you got a bad unit. See if Outlaw will help you. They may have things for you to test.

Without a doubt, you should be getting significant output out of that sub!

 

[Adam]

Yes, I have set speakers to 'small' per instruction. (At 'large' setting which I dabbled with, the sub would not even turn on).

Hmmm, that might have been an easy fix, but you have that just the way that I'd do it. Darn.

The manufacturer recommended setting the cross-over to bypass, and let the Marantz take care of it, do you think otherwise?

No, that's how I'd do it. Sorry for being unclear. I set the crossover frequency on my receiver, and I bypass the crossover on the sub itself.

Let me think a bit more now that I know how you have it set up.

 

[litmu]

Your Marantz probably has a subwoofer setting of 'Plus' you can choose too. This routes the Front L+R bass to your fronts AND the sub.

As I ran the Audessey, the only thing I changed was front speakers to 'small'. Do you think there is a seperate setting for specifying the sub as plus? As far as I know the only thing to increase sub's role is to up the volume on the sub itself. And that I'm already above the guidance of manufacturer.

Other settings on the sub are not making any audible difference, like I have:
Port Mode: set to 20Hz bass extension
Phase: 0 (though no difference changing it to '180')

 

[Adam]

As far as I know the only thing to increase sub's role is to up the volume on the sub itself.

I haven't checked out the manual for the Marantz, but I'll bet that you can increase/decrease the sub volume on the receiver, too. Audyssey will set it at some level based on it's algorithm, but you can adjust it.

Seems like something else is going on, though, as it sounds so bad to you. Have you tried placing it in a different location? That's just the start of a conversation on sub placement.

 

[billy p]

As I ran the Audessey, the only thing I changed was front speakers to 'small'. Do you think there is a seperate setting for specifying the sub as plus? As far as I know the only thing to increase sub's role is to up the volume on the sub itself. And that I'm already above the guidance of manufacturer.

Other settings on the sub are not making any audible difference, like I have:
Port Mode: set to 20Hz bass extension
Phase: 0 (though no difference changing it to '180')

Were is the sub level set on your receiver? As mentioned before it could be a bad unit....

What Adam said....I type really slow...

 

[Slee_Stack]

Do you think there is a seperate setting for specifying the sub as plus?

See p.79, Bass Setting Section, of the AV7005 manual. This will tell you how to route your Front speaker bass to the sub AND your speakers.

 

[gene]

1. Don't trust Audyssey. Try getting the bass to sound right without it first.
2. Marantz has bass level settings per surround mode (ie. 2CH, 7CH, PLIIX, etc). I found this out the hard way myself. Make sure the sub level is set where you want it for each of those modes.
3. Experiment with subwoofer positioning
4. Make sure if you have your mains set to "small" that the subwoofer is also enabled for 2CH stereo mode too. Some receivers have a separate setting for this.
5. Make sure LFE setting is set to 0dB. This is a separate setting that the sub level.
6. go here for more guidance: Get Good Bass — Reviews and News from Audioholics

Good luck and be patient. You've got a great sub, it just takes time to get everything setup right.