Official Outlaw Owners thread - Page 211

I know...it was a nice wine as well.


White Zin is not permitted in our house...

Hey dom, sounds like a good reason to stop by for a demo...

I agree! Email the best time/date!

Just want to update my situation. Earlier I posted about my LFM1-EX missing the threaded inserts for the spikes. Talked to Outlaw again today and they are on the way, along with a new port plug. They obviously didn't stock them so they had to order the parts before they could be shipped. Outlaw even discounted my sub off of the sale price for my issues. Communication has been great and their customer service is top notch. Emails are responded to quickly and I spoke with the same customer service rep every time.

What really impressed me was that the first time I called, Scott (rep) asked me if the inserts were inside the cabinet. Maybe they fell during shipping. He explained about removing the plate amp and I said that I would and call him back if they weren't in there. His response was "Call me back regardless. I want to make sure everything is taken care of." Outlaw's customer satisfaction is their first priority and that is VERY apparent.

First rate company.

BTW, the EX puts out scary amounts of bass. I fear for the structural rigidity of my house with just a single. Awesome sub. It actually sounds very similar to my STF-2 at lower volumes. The difference becomes apparent as you start approaching reference levels. The EX hits HARD and LOUD without distortion. Pairs up great with my Paradigm monitor system. So far it has taken everything I have thrown at it without a grumble. I'm running both ports open.
Edited by cjsiv - 9/10/12 at 5:33pm

Although I've had my Outlaw sub for some time now, it's good to see that the way the company treats their customers hasn't changed any. I remember calling Scott with a multitude of questions and he patiently answered each one He even had some of his own as to my equipment. Sure, some other sub companies have good customer rapport but Outlaw impressed me.

Done shillin'

The free shipping is a bigger savings than the price drop. It's normally 550 + 75 shipping = 625. On sale it's a flat 500 with no shipping fees. To some that's worth the wait.

Received my EX the other day. I've got it set up, ran MCACC, set speakers to small, etc. Not my first go around with home audio equipment; I've been doing it for years. I graduated from a Acoustech H100 to the EX. I must say, I am a bit underwhelmed. I spent a lot of money for not what I consider to be much of an upgrade. It shakes me a little more, but volume wise it doesn't seem that much louder although I'm scared to turn it up more. Here's why...it sounds like it's giving up or port chuffing. I was afraid to set it directly on my carpeted floor even with the spikes on it. So I've got it on two pieces of about 1 inch thick fiberboard at front and back to keep it off the ground. In other words, the wood is just under the feet (mostly) and not completely under the sub. I've got one port plugged and the switch is set to max extension. My volume is around 3.5 - 4 and bypass is on. My Pio set it at -11.0, but I like to run it a little hot (don't we all) so I'm up around -2 or so. Still, even at that level it just doesn't seem like it's putting out what it ought to. I guess I'll go ahead and just slam it down on the floor and see if that helps, but man it'll be close! Thoughts?

Is your carpet that deep that it could block airflow from the ports? The LFM EX will kill a H100, but you have to be able to take advantage of the extra power. You need to give it some serious bass to chew on. Also, if it isn't placed optimally, it could be completely wasted. It won't sound any better than your H100 if you are sitting in a null. Have you done the sub crawl?

Try pulling the port plug and using max output mode. May be more what you are looking for.

Turn down the gain (volume) on the sub and rerun MCACC until it determines a setting much closer to 0db. This will better optimize the sensitivity of the receiver output for your sub. Then bump it up 2 or 3 db and see how it sounds. Also, a sub crawl may help as shadyj pointed out.

Also, since you reran MCACC did you check to make certain it didn't reset your main speakers to large so that the sub is not being used? Some room correction software does that by default, and you have to reset the speakers to small and pick your crossover each time you rerun the room correction software.

If this still doesn't work and the Acoustech H100 still sounds louder, could also be that you are used to hearing distorted bass. Try some of the deep bass heavy hitting 4 to 5 star movies in this list and let us know how it sounds.

And yes. I would try using the carpet spikes on the carpet. That's what they are for

Even in bass extension mode, the EX should beat up the H-100. No contest.

cel4145 has given you good advice.

Thanks for the suggestions; and for the record, I'm using all EMP Tek speakers on a Pio 1021K. I've tried U571, Hulk, Dark Knight, and many more.

I removed the wood from under the Outlaw, no difference. All speakers are at small and xover at 80. Sub crawl has the sub in it's second best position just because the best isn't really available due to room constraints. For the most part, all movies I've tried sound really great I just don't seem to be getting the volume that I think there should be with such a huge sub. In other words, there is no way I'm breaking a wine glass with my sub. When I do turn it up to get high levels of bass I get that weird sound I mentioned before. Granted I notice it far more in music than I do movies, but I iPhoned a video of the sound I'm referring to. It's brief, but maybe good enough for others to compare. It's on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQsxzVRdBcc&feature=plcp and entitled odd sub sound dark knight. The sound is at the 8 second mark as the window explodes. I reran the scene with the volume slightly decreased and the distorted sound disappeared and turned into more of a thump like it should be. The EX's gain was at 2.5ish with subwoofer +2 in the receiver when the sound disappeared. At this setting though, all other bass really drops off in volume.

I understand about volume dropoff with lower Hz bass. However, not once has any of the music I listen to (80's rock) made my h100 make the sound that the EX does at similar volumes. It's the same sound as heard above in the clip...like there isn't enough speaker for the amount of bass going through. Maybe the volume is just a lot more than I think it is or for some reason my receiver doesn't like the Outlaw. Dunno.... Kind of at my wits end right now. I'd like for other Outlaw owners to run the dark knight scene (it's like 1 minute into the movie) and see how it sounds compared to mine.


Switch settings before I put it back in place. One port closed.
IMG_0478.JPG 1410k .JPG file

I listened to the clip, not sure what you're hearing or what I'm really listening for.

I have an EX and The Dark Knight.

I will listen to mine and give my feedback, but I need to know what volume you are listening to (preferably in relation to THX Reference).

The back looks almost exaclty like mine; except, I have the crossover as high as it can go (even though it's bypassed).

How big is your room?

OK, I hooked up your Youtube clip to my surround system and could hear an unflattering hollow "hhuuuummppp-h". I then poped in TDK, made sure Late Night was Off and set the volume to -15 (Dyn EQ On, Dyn Vol Off). On mine, it sounds very different. Mine is crisp and a very fast thud as the winow breaks. The resonate sound is also much cleaner. Yours sounds more like a muddy boot hitting a cow pie.

It sounds like your sub is working too hard with the distortion.

Mine is set around 1.5-2 on the back of the sub (gain) and Audyssey tuned it to -2.

I was able to replicate your distortion by turning the sub level from -2 to +12 on my Onkyo AVR. At least, as well as I can tell with your Youtube clip. Even at +12, I had much less distortion than what your is putting out.

My room is waaaay to small for that sub, but that shouldn't have anything to do with the problem at hand.
Glad you heard the sound I was referring to. It is a mushy, muddy sound that shouldn't be happening at those volume levels for a sub of this type.

It sure is and your amp settings are fine. I think it time to call Scott @ Outlaw and/or take out the driver and see if anything is amiss.

Is that +2db what your receiver set it to when the gain was at 2.5? Or did you change it? Just trying to get a feel for what the receiver came up with.

And sorry. I couldn't hear what as on that phone. But you mention having a small room. What size is the room? Is it sealed?

I would agree here. Take the plug out and run it in output mode first. I ran mine in Extension the first month after I got it, and every once in a while I would get port chuffing. Annoying. Tried out output mode and it can get much louder without issue, I haven't heard any port noise since.

I was worried I was losing out on the extension experience, but after A/B'ing, I realized i wasn't missing out on much; I couldn't really feel any of the subsonic bass, maybe my room is too large or the sub isn't sitting in the best spot for <20hz content. But I'm happy now, sounds great.

I have a feeling your EX might be defective, it should destroy the BIC Acoustech subwoofer no question.

I have a H100 too and I bought a Rythmik FV12 to use in the same room for HT (the FV12 is pretty much equivalent to the Outlaw sub.) I use my H100 for my computer 2.1 music set-up, and when I got the FV12 I swapped the BIC for the Rythmik just to test it out. At first I was a bit underwhelmed as well. The H100 seemed to get louder and have a more tactile, vibrational sensation when listening to music. I hooked up the Rythmik to my home theater, calibrated everything, and that made a world of difference. Movies and music now sound spectacular, with awesome output and really deep bass in my small bedroom. It did take a while to adjust to the cleaner and sometimes subtler sound of the FV12 compared to the H100. I can turn it up really loud and I hear no weird sounds.

For movies such as The Dark Knight though, there should be a clear and discernible upgrade in low-end compared to your BIC. From the clip you posted, it sounds like your subwoofer is giving out way too easily so I suspect there may be something that needs fixing.

I've owned a H100 and EX.
The EX should absolutely demolish the H100 all day long.
sounds like a defect

Yeah, I think I'll try to contact Outlaw and see if they think I might have an issue. Again, at lower volumes, it all sounds just fine. This is a BIG sub though and I am expecting more than the H100 delivers at equivilent volumes. So far, that's not really the case.

My room is approximately 11x13. I've tried one port, flipped the switch and tried both ports open. Same result each time. I've even laid the sub on it's side and gotten the same sound from the woofer. It bounces like crazy during that scene I posted, but makes the same sound regardless of position. MCACC placed the sub at -11 on the receiver when I had it about 4. When I turned the gain down to around 2, MCACC had it at -2.5 (I think is what it was).
Edited by PowerCreep - 9/13/12 at 11:08pm

There should not be any port noise at all when running with both ports open, i run mine TOO loud most the time in output mode and never hear anything untoward.

Yeah, you're probably gonna have to send her back.

I was just demoing the new EX with The Dark Knight and Super 8 chapter 14 after reading the previous few posts. All I can say is wow, there is so much bass, and I love this thing. I mean with other subs, sure you get bass and it sounds alright, it can be loud. But with the EX, I am there, in the movie and can feel the bass. It's awesome.

I did notice quite a bit of excursion by the woofer, just a subjective measurement, however. I think the amp was @ 3-4 with my Pioneer 1121 at about +4, so it could be a bit high. Has anyone noticed a lot of excursion and should I be worried about damaging my new EX?

May be I'm not used it as my old sub wouldn't be able to do anything like this. I'm sure it would reach Xmech well before the EX's Xmax.

Thanks!

doublej, as long as the driver isn't bottoming out, you don't have to worry. If you hear the voice coil start banging around in the driver, then it is time to back down on the volume dial. You also do not want to run it hard on a constant bass line like a sine wave, that can cause the VC to overheat and melt, thereby destroying your driver.

Just an update....
Contacted Outlaws and they listened to my video and think I need a new woofer. They will be sending a replacement. So far, so good. WIll followup when I get it replaced.

Got my threaded inserts yesterday. Popped them in with a hammer (rubber mallet wouldn't cut it), screwed it the feet....same as new. Outlaw support was amazing....as always. Loving the new sub. I don't think my foundation can handle 2.

Isn't that a great feeling? You know then that you got an awesome value for your money

Would you believe it; Fuse on my second LFM-2 popped as well. So back to outlaw the amp went. I'll see what the charge if to fix it and hope they will cover it. Have no idea how common the problems is.

If you have an Outlaw sub...just because: