hey, I am back once again (been quite a long time), and I got a question.

So far I am happy with my setup (the long thread about my subwoofer not giving out much output has been solved, took awhile for it to break it, output is now good), but I have one complaint.

The pair of M80's I have, are they suppose to give out any bass or little of it? It seems like all my bass is being redirected to my sub, and I only hear mainly the tweeters coming from the M80's and very little output noise from the bottom of the speakers.

I have my crossover at 80 hz with LFE+Main. I set my front speakers to small also.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

try 40 or 60 hz and see if the woofers make more noise.

I'd set the fronts to large. From what I understand, LFE+Main means both the sub and speakers will play the lower frequencies.

And again, double check that all 6 of the drivers are working and that the binding straps are securely in place. My 80s put out a fair amount of bass.

LFE + main and a small speaker setting makes the sub setting inconsequential. The small speaker setting overrides any sub settings and sends everything below the crossover to the sub.

I run my M80s at 60hz and sometimes 40hz, they can produce a good amount of bass but nowhere near what the sub does. Just to check out how much the M80s are capable of turn the sub setting to off in the receiver, which will default the mains to large and run the system without a sub. They should give you reasonable amounts of bass, just not anywhere near as powerfull as the sub will do.

Paul, good to hear from you again. What isn't clear from your description is how you actually have the bass management set up. The first point is to be sure that the connecting strips on the M80 terminals are tight so that the woofers are actually operating. Then, setting the M80s "small" with an 80Hz crossover generally works well. Although you say that you're using LFE+Main, that setting is only applicable when the M80s are set "large" and are running full-range. If that's what you meant by "also" using the "small" setting, then you're saying that you've tried it both ways, so it's understood. When using the "+" setting, if anything the tendency is for the combined bass from the M80s and sub to be excessive(assuming that the M80 woofers are working properly), so it's hard to see why the bass output wouldn't be adequate.

The internal xover for the lower drivers is 160hz. Regardless of the receiver's xover settings for the lowest frequencies, these drivers should always be outputting quite a bit of bass.
As mentionned a few times already, binding straps are the first candidates to check and then possibly the speaker itself.

The 80's put out killer bass, as do the 60's. During many auditions I hear "are you sure you turned off your sub?".

Paul, something is wrong with your setup if you are not getting bass from your 80's. Either it is related to your positioning in the room of the 80's, or the way you have your bass management setup.

I've always run my 80's on Small with an 80hz crossover, sometimes 60hz. What is confusing is you say LFE+Main, this should not be an option with the 80's set to small. That option opens up when they are set to large.

I found the 80s to be pretty anemic in the bass area. Lots of good bass in the 90s.

Were they building pipe organs differently in the 80s?

When using the option LFE+Main you can choose either setting the speakers to small or large. However setting them to small defeats the purpose of using LFE+Main. Setting your speakers to small and LFE+Main is the same as setting your speakers to small and LFE Norm. For the LFE+Main setting to work as intended you have to set your speakers to large (it should not even allow you to set your speakers to small using LFE+Main but it does).

Dr. House

Depends which century you're talking about.

Run them large. I can't believe anyone with a set of 80's wouldn't do so. The bass may not reach as low as a sub, but what they do have is tighter and you'll still get LFE and bass to the sub below whatever you have your X-over set to. My opinion anyway....

maybe he just wants really excessive bass beyond what the M80 and subwoofer together?

When I was at Randy's (Sirquack's) house to "help" demo this setup for another guy, he (not Randy) must have said it half a dozen times that he thought that the subs were still on when in fact it was just the M80 fronts. I chalk it up to good acoustical treatment of the room. Randy has taken the time to control first reflections and put in large bass traps which really show in that I was blown away by the performance of the M80 fronts vs. my M60 fronts (in my room that is a terrible acoustic nightmare).

Nick, your to kind, was it really that good?

Room is critical. The lowest I can set my M80s is 70hz (the setting I am using). My right M80 is too close to the corner and bass becomes sooo boomy (under 70hz) that it becomes annoying.
Otherwise, I would be tempted to put the crossover at 40hz, as long as the bass mixes well with the other sub-woofer(s).

You're doing that on purpose.

Know, he snot.

They're you go again!

Shouldn't that be "their you go a gain!"

I can't tell where the bass is coming from in my system. The only way I know the M80s are putting out substantial bass (above 80Hz) is when I forget to turn the sub on.

I run my front on small and my crossover at 80Hz (no choice on that with my receiver).

I gues how you view 80's bass is a matter of perspective. We didn't have cars thumpity thumping along the road in the 80's either (or was that the 70's?).

Hi, I tried all your guys suggestions but i am still having very little bass in the M80's.

GET AN EXTERNAL POWER AMP! I got an amp while I was still using my m22ti and it did a great difference in the sound (around 30% improvement). I was hearing base from them that I never heard before. I can't imagine running my m80s without the amp. If you want an impressive audio experience, an amp is mandatory.

Take your car and go to your nearby music shop. Rent a Behringer amp (I have an EP2500) for the w-end and see for yourself.

They have plenty of choice: QSC, Crown and more. They are not expansive to buy and well rated (my Ep2500 was 400$cdn).

Don't hesitate and rent it!! you won't regret it. You will need a pair of RCA to 1/4 cable.

Hey, I played around the settings, putting the M80's to large, crossover to 80Hz and LFE+Main and it sounded much better than before. Thanks for the advice!

I will also look into an external power amp as well.

depending of your receiver, you may have a Loudness setting (I have it on all my Pioneer avr). I really like how it sounds when it's turned on. I also play a bit with the EQ so that my speakers have a similar tonality.

Either you like a lot bass or there is an issue with your room that affects that region.