Advice on new system for Basement Gym- Denon AVRS930H?

[Chaos85]

Just purchased Denon AVRS930H, Klipsch Subwoofer R12SW, Klipsch Speakers R28F for listening to music while working out and using exercise videos. Really need the motivation of a great sounding system. May even move it to the Family room and swap that system to basement if we can get it to surpass the sound quality. My husband hooked the system up and it sounds bad. Sounds worse than the cheap stereo we were using. Unsure if its just the set up, or the receiver can't power the speakers or the subwoofer isn't strong enough for the speakers. How do I look this information up? Miss the old days where you could go to an A/V department and hear different combinations of equipment and decide which one is right for you.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Hard to help with such a generic complaint, “sounds bad.” What’s bad about it? No highs? Sizzling highs? Honky midrange? Weak bass? Muddy bass? I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the idea...

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes, what are the particular issues? Might also describe what "hooked up" the system means. Did he run Audyssey to assist in setup? Are you just using stereo for playback mode? Are the speakers set to "small"? What crossover for the speakers/sub? Where are the speakers and sub placed in the room? How was sub location chosen? The R28F speaker is fairly sensitive so you should have enough amp to drive the speakers to quite loud levels well enough.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Are the speaker wires connected correctly?

Is the sound mode in Direct Mode?