Hi Folks,

Rather than reinvent the wheel - hoping someone can give me a good Bass Management starting point. I’ve never owned a sub. Not looking to crack the drywall or rattle windows or beat up the neighbors - just want a tight, musical bass extension for my M80 V2s. If I like the effect of the sub, I’ll eventually upgrade to a better unit.

Anyway, hoping you can suggest the appropriate setting (or at least where to start) re Bass Management Switch on my Outlaw receiver. I don’t want to short-change the M80s….

Q: Do I choose: 60-80-100-BP

(We suggest that you use the rear panel Bass Management switch (RP15) rather than your powered sub’s internal crossover. You’ll find the RR 2150’s circuitry exceptionally clean and noise-free compared to similar circuits in most subs.)



Rig:

Klipsh 10” sub (yes, with apologies!):
https://www.amazon.com/KLIPSCH-Front-Fir...ipsch+subwoofer

Axion M80 v2 Speakers:

Outlaw RR2150:
https://www.outlawaudio.com/products/rr2150.html

Thanks,
Steve

Welcome SRP.
I am not an expert on this as I clearly proved over in this thread !
However the smart guys should be along soon to offer some advice. In the mean time there should be some good info for you in the thread I linked to above.

Good luck,

Steve, welcome to Axiom. Looking at the numbers for your equipment it appears that the K100-SW will add relatively little extension to the already good bass of your M80s. There should however be some reinforcement in the 30-60Hz octave available if you set the RP15 switch to 60Hz(incidentally, there's no need to use the FP15 bass boost switch, as the M80s have plenty in that area, and it should be left off). So, the Outlaw suggestion to use the RP15 switch is correct, but not for the stated reason, since subs have no "similar circuits", as was discussed in the previous thread which Dan linked.

There's no bypass on the low-pass control on the K100-SW, so it should be set to the highest 160Hz setting to take it out of the way of the 60Hz crossover which the RR2150 circuitry will be doing.

Thanks guys - very much appreciate the input. I wonder, too, John about just how much extension that K100-SW will provide.

BTW, I used to be around here back when I first got my M80s - that username and password now long forgotten... ;-(

I got the M80s originally in part due to having such good bass response that a sub would not be 'necessary'. And in truth I haven't really felt the need for one. But every so ofter I get into the 'what about a sub' loop - so, I'm kind of off on a whim here - may be that this Klipsch unit really brings nothing that I'm after to the party (at $150 my expectations are not high). Again, I'm after musicality not Armageddon. We shall see.

The EP350 is what I lust for. Turning 60 tomorrow - a worthy birthday present from me to me, perhaps! ;-)

Thank you both again for the thoughtful replies!

Steve

No time like the PRESENT if you buy a cheap sub your will get a cheap experience which may sour you against having a sub. Get a good sub and see what you have been missing. Do the subcrawl when you get it so it works the way it should. Your LFE should be set at 80 hz and the mains should be rolled off at 80hz as well, configured as small in your Outlaws setup menu so you don't get whats known as double bass. With Axiom you can always return it though I doubt you will. A sub adds a texture to the experience that needs to be experienced.

And Happy Birthday.

Or...
You could consider trading in you V2's for HP V4's.
You might get a more than reasonable trade in value AND have a bit more natural bass when your not even looking for it.
Worse case you ship em back.
More likely though you'll hear and feel what you were searching for when you purchased your V2's.
Someone else here might give your V2's a new home, so you won't have to worry about them...
Lol.

Topic display mode
Worked...
Thanks for posting that

Nope, gotta disagree with ya this time bro. theres no replacement for displacement.

SRP. What kind of music do you listen to. I did the sub vs no sub test with my M80s and vp350 shortly after getting them. I found that for the majority of music, I could not really tell the difference between the two settings.

With pipe organ music, there was a noticeable difference. For movies, the difference was huge. It depends entirely how much content you have below 35Hz.

On the other hand, if you really want to try a sub, then ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Thanks to you guys for the second wave of responses. Yes, @brwsaw, I've considered the upgrade path. I listen to just about every genre of music, @fredk. I certainly understand and share your pragmatic cut to the chase thinking, @Socketman.

Anyway, set up the K100-SW per JohnK's advice (thanks again) and moved and twisted it around within the constraints of its allotted space. With the gain at 10-11 o'clock it's a pretty seamless integration with the M80s. It can tend to sound boomy by 12. Steely Dan Aja SACD has a pronounced fleshing out of the bass and the bass drum. Wouldn't say that I'm over the moon - but I'm happier than I expected. Still, it's early in the game - first impressions can be misleading and tricky - extended listening may reveal significant flaws or fatigue. That said, it seems a good baby step in the To Sub or Not to Sub game, so far...

Yeah SRP i am a pretty straight to the point person In all honestly ,you should not need a sub with 2 channel music using he M80's unless you like organ music maybe. I mostly listen to classic rock and 80's an 90's music, my main speakers have 12in bass drivers and i recently added a sub just becasue i had an extra one. Honestly i am underwhelmed using the sub in a 2 channel system. For all intents and purposes, a sub is more suited to HT use for LFE effects. I understand most people have room constraints but the best method is the subcrawl. Put the sub where you usually sit and then crawl around the room until you hear the best response. This is where the sub should go if at all possible, at the very least put it there temporarily so you can see what is possible. Depending on the size of your room, you may not have a large enough sub to pressurize it properly. Bass waves are very long and they tend to come back on themselves causing a both boosts and drops in varying frequencies , this where some type of room correction software can come in handy if you dont want to add bass traps. Honestly you cant just buy a sub, dump it in the corner and expect a great result, for truly great results some effort and testing is required.

Final answer...
Have you moved your towers recently?
Sometimes a few inches forward or back can make a big difference at your listening position.
The M80 taught me that.
Sometimes no toe in is best.
They taught me that to.
Painters tape is a perfect tool for marking their current position before you move them. But...you need to remove it sooner than later. A month is too long.
M80...

@brwsaw: funny you ask - I'm constantly toeing then in or out (or zero!) a few degrees - 2", 4", 6" from the wall, etc - every slight move changes the character of the sound. The $149 sub is fulfilling a role at this point. May end up being a novelty and get banished to the TV room for movie sound fx - so, I may just end up full circle - 2CH M80. Then I can start pining for the V4 upgrade! Upshot is I'm more than happy with the M80 V2 - love them - every so often I get swept up in the 'the quest'... ;-)
Thanks again to you all and thanks for the b-day wishes (50s in the rear view mirror!) - forgot what a nice crew we have in this forum! Best to all, Steve

I'm with this thought ....
Why , I too was not concerned about a sub when listening to music. I preferred the M80v3 alone, but was just missing that little bit extra ummpfff.
As for the EP350, if you into music more so, I'd definatly do atleast the EP500 for that sealed more tighter approach.
But, that said you would probably get what you are looking for with the M80v4HP as opposed to that Klipsh