You may have the gain control on the 500 turned up too high and the Denon is trying to compensate by setting it to -12.

Definitely a possibility,
However, I had the gain set at about 50% during the auto set up so I am not sure.

50% on the EP500 is still very loud, you could try it at a lower setting,25%, just to see what the Audyssey does.

It seems that no matter how I configure settings on my EP600, or where I place it in my room, I always get -12 with Audyssey. It really tames bass for music which sometimes is appropriate, but sometimes, not. If I feel that I need to adjust to taste i.e. to -6 or so I have to go to "Manual" on my Denon because I can't stand the red Audyssey indicator on the front pannel when "Audyssey" settings are tampered with. That's just me though.

hmmm. when does the audyssey indicator turn red? I usually just click in the circular channel button on the remote and adjust the bass from there.

It's at that level because that what it's supposed to do....balance ALL the channels. Until you verify with a SPL meter, all you are doing by changing that setting manually, is guessing.

This may not help you with Audyssey but it may help you with sub set-up.

I have an Epic80-600 and I've had one heck of a time getting "tight" bass in my 4,000 cubic foot room. I've been experimenting the last week and have found that by setting the cut-off in my Denon and on the 600 to 40Hz, I can achieve very tight bass. I also found that I had to turn the gain control on the 600 to about 7 o'clock and the gain on my Denon to 0. My previous settings were 10 o'clock, -7 on the LFE channel, 80Hz on the Denon and by-pass on the 600. The full setting works best for my case.

I find that when I turn the gain knob of the 600 up, the bass has too much "overhang" (technically called a long settling time). But I don't have the same problem if I turn the Denon's LFE gain up.

To really experience this tightness, I have to turn the main gain of the Denon up (over 20W/channel). This is extremely loud in my space and I can only do this when everyone is out. But with the previous sub configuration, even when I turned it up it wasn't tight. It was just more full.

Blending between the 600 and 80s is the same...astounding! However, I have lost some "transparency". Prior to doing this, string bass lines had their focal point in the front of my soundstage but nonetheless "floated all around me". Now, I don't have that "bass everywhere" feeling. This just convinces me even more that I can't have bass tight and transparent...at least not in my space.

By the way, this 40Hz setting is great for music and movies. I have found that in scenes like explosions and gunshots, the bass is not as full but it hits very hard...much harder than 80Hz. The criticism to this of course would be that I am missing some action from my QS8s between about 40Hz to 70Hz but I haven't found this to be a problem practically.

Tex, that is some very valuable analysis. Thank you.

That just means it's time to upgrade the Denon to a newer unit that allows multiple crossovers. I just saw Outlaw has the 970 PrePro/7125 Pwr Amp for $1385 delivered to my door(I was so close to buying it, but the sub must come first)

I just tried to get my sub to match up the M80s at the 40hz mark yesterday and I couldn't even get my sub to match the SPL! I had to increase the level in the receiver to do it and it sounded incredibly awful!

I could have swore I saw something about Santa Ian offering 20% off on the EP500 to those of us with such sucky subs

Yeah, Jason that's exactly what I was thinking too. I always thought that multiple x-overs were over-rated but now I think differently.

The problem with the 500 is that it wouldn't fit down your chimney .