Best Bass management for complex system.

I would have preferred all the bass management be performed in the digital domain, but until they can build this in, this will have to do.

The ICBM is wonderful. I hooked it up and made specific adjustments and spent the remainder of the evening being WOWED! Needless to say the Velodyne Sub had quite a workout and the dogs went wild with all the loud noises from the sound/video room. I am still making adjustments to optimize the sound, so it will be exercised more this Memorial Day weekend to finalize the settings. This is a most exceptional product. I am totally overwhelmed. I didn't realize how much bass information was being sent to and wasted in the surround and center speakers. After redirecting that to the Velodyne, I could really wreck the house. On superaudio cd's the Michael Jackson Thriller is a real surprise and spectacular at blowing the dust out of the speakers. The current reissue of The Police in Superaudio CD is also quite good as well. So much more to Hear Again for the first time. ANyone getting this unit will be in for an ear opening surprise. This unit (for me) is the best and most comprehensive bass management system available today! I was and am a most surprised user. Certainly the best add-on you can buy for a home theatre system. A. Lee Potomac, MD

Transparent, very effective, cost effective

None so far

I just recently got into listening to multichannel formats specifically DVD-Audio. I am amazed by the new level of listening quality you can achieve with 96k24bit. The sound separation of DVD-Audio is astounding! I hear elements in the music that I didn’t notice before and hear the original music much more clearly and much more detailed. However, there was one fault. The level of bass for some reason was either lost or was not reproduced at a level that was audible and in some cases unacceptable. This frustrated me at first, but then I went to forums to see if others have had this problem. In my research, I was not the only one with this problem. To my delight, there was an answer: the Outlaw ICBM. Everyone was raving about it. This was my answer I hoped. I called up Outlaw and had questions about the unit. The technical support team was very friendly and knowledgeable (thank you Scott for your help). I must admit, I was doubtful at first when I purchased it. I received it a week later and hooked it up. Hooking it up was very easy and the manual exactly shows how to do it. You need a lot of RCA audio cables though – a total of 12 pairs! With the proper settings recommended in the manual, I turned on my DVD-Audio player with “Hotel California” track on Hell Freezes Over DTS version and I was blown away by the difference. It was like night had turned into day – it was amazing! The unit itself adds little if any noise to the system. It is always on and takes about the same power to run as your regular alarm clock. For those who crave bass with your multichannel output either DVD-A or SACD, this is your salvation. I highly recommend it! And the price is very reasonable for the quality you receive. It’s almost a steal! My system: Pair of B&W 604 S3 for Front Right and Left, B&W600 for Center, B&W602 S3 for Right and Left Surround, and Sunfire True Subwoofer Junior for the Subwoofer (I can finally hear it! Thanks to Outlaw’s ICBM). Driving these speakers is my Yamaha receiver RXS-1300 and my DVD-Audio player is Denon DVD1600. Base on my experience with Outlaw, I think I’m saving up to go to separates with Outlaw’s 755 Amplifier! Outlaw puts out amazing equipment and you have all the reviews on their equipment as your backing power for technical service, build quality, and reasonable price!

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None that I am aware of

Works very well without qdding any noise

None

I have a home theater system u Klipsch Heritage speakers with matching speaker components. The Klipschorns go down about 35 Hz but start rolling off around 40Hz. The LaScalas go down to 45Hz but start rolling off around 55Hz. The bass is incredibly clean and undistorted. Both speakers are extremely realistic due to their dramatic dynamic range and clarity due to the rapid speed of recovery (been termed as “hair trigger dynamics”). The center channel array of speaker components (same as others but with an Altec 511B wide dispersion horn coupled to the Klipsch mid range driver) in a custom made floor to ceiling TV monitor stand. Klipsch LH10s and a JBL Pro 4038 bass tower as well as a KSW15 used only for movie LFEs complete the set up. The bass management on my SACD player was limited, hence the ICBM. Like all Outlaw products it is of very high quality at a very low price due to direct internet only distribution. After a little experimentation I sent a full range signal to each Klipschorn / LH10 combo including the cut off bass from other speakers. I set it for 120Hz for the center speakers which probably due to being part of the monitor stand tended to muddy up the great bass from the Khorns more than slightly. The LaScalas side surrounds (2 stacked and angled like two giant Bose cubes) were set at 60Hz and the rear LaScallas (one in each corner – receiving matrix rear info derived by my 6.1 outstanding Outlaw 1050 receiver from side surround content) sounded best at 80Hz due either to their corner placement, the matrixing or close proximity to the JBL bass tower which got the .1 content. The ICBM has controls to adjust the levels of LFE and subwoofer (redirected) content from all the speakers. While the setting for the center seems too high (bass gets directional above 80Hz} it is not because the bass below 120Hz is redirected to the two Khorn/LH-10 combos and separated (another ICBM feature) between left and right origin with the center divided equally between the two. So, no problem, it seems to come from the center. Can’t do that with many digital processing receivers and preamps (can with 1050!} but none I know of can do it with an analog signal from an SACD or DVD audio player. The ICBM can plus other options! The ICBM does not add any noise whatsoever! The sound quality of the SACD portion of my system is nothing short of spectacular and breathta

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Supports stereo bass reproduction. Variable crossover frequencies and low pass slopes. Extremely quiet and transparent. High build quality.

None.

The ICBM-unlike any other product I know of on the market. My unit is the "Magnepan edition" and is used in a Magnepan home theater system. The only difference between it and the normal ICBM-1 are the higher center channel crossover frequencies. The actual frequencies are double the silk-screened value on the front panel of the crossover. The stereo bass capabilities are very useful in maintaining a solid stereo image when, as in my system, the center channel and surround crossover frequencies are failry high (160Hz for the center and 120Hz for the surrounds in my case). The unit is quieter than my B&K AVP 1030 preamp/processor and the analog outputs of my DVD-A player. It is totally transparent in my system and allows much more flexibility in bass management for audio or home theater applications. If the bass management in your preamp or receiver isn''t right for your speakers the ICBM-1 is just the ticket for better sound. Highly recommended

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Marchand XM-9 B&K AVP 1030 (Bass Management)

Very quiet, flexible and cost effective.

None.

This is a review of the "Magnepan" version of this superb multichannel crossover. The unit has higher crossover frequencies for the center channel than the standard unit (80, 120, 160, 200, and 240Hz). I use it in a Magnepan home theater system consisting of the MG 1.5, MGCC1, and SS speakers. To my ears, it is totally free of noise or distortion. The crossover frequencies were spot on in my tests with a signal generator amnd the build quality is excellent, actually amazing given the price. If your current processor, DVD-A/ SACD player, or receiver (if it has preamp inputs and outputs) lacks flexible bass management capabilities then the ICBM is just the ticket

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Marchand XM9

ICMB: Cheap, simple, effective, transparent. PCA Cables: Absurdly cheap, absurdly good.

ICBM: I would have paid extra for a more substantial chassis and nicer dials. PCA Cables: Somewhat inflexible. Frustrating packaging (who packs cables in Saran Wrap?)

The Outlaw Audio ICBM-1 (is the "1" an indication that more refined editions are on the way? We''ll have to wait and see.) is an electronic crossover geared towards the multichannel music enthusiast. You can read all about its features at www.outlawaudio.com, but basically, its front panel let you choose at which frequency you want each of the 6 channels to be rolled off. The remainder of the frequency band for each channel is then sent to the subwoofer output (mono or stereo--a big plus for fanatics). Each channel utilizes a standard 2nd order Linkwitz-Riley (12 db/octave) crossover at 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 or "bypass", though there is a "special mode" that you can choose for the subwoofer which rolls off at a very steep 36 db/octave. My application is a high-endish music-only system with seperate amplifiers for my B&W speakers and my custom built subwoofer. Electronically, the ICBM is practically transparent, as its excellent specifications would suggest. The "ear to tweeter" test at max volume (with no program material, of course!) reveals no added hiss. I had been using horrid little line level crossovers called "f-mods" as a temporary fix until I stumbled upon a more permanent solution. The ICMB cleaned up my bass considerably, and the flexibility of being able to choose my crossover frequency and subwoofer level (up to 9db boost) is a great feature. Otherwise, the ICBM imparted no signature of its own--it simply allowed me to clean up the interaction between my main speakers and my subwoofer. I must comment on Outlaw Audio''s PCA interconnects. I bought 3 1.8m phono cables as part of package deal. (See reduced price on ICBM above.) Two words--AWESOME and CHEAP! Each 1.8m cable was a little over $40 (a steal considering I have some Nordost cabling in my system cost a great deal more than the ICMB!) so I figured what the hell. I was shocked when I cued up Natalie Merchant''s "Tigerlilly". (Highly recommended for auditioning your system for friends.) The opening track "San Andreas Fault" now has mouth sounds and faults in the recording that I''ve never noticed. Simply awesome cables. Highly recommended.

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ICBM: None--are there any? PCA Cables: Nordost Blue Heaven

Bass tunning and build quality

None that I can see

I can''t believe how good this unit has made my system sound. If you are using a DVD Audio or SACD player without bass management or a reciever with limited bass management - this item is a must. It allows you to tune your speakers so that you can achieve the proper bass thru put. The build quality is also impressive. Current equipment is: Panasonic 91N DVD player NHT 1.5''s at all 4 corners NHT V-2SA at center Velodyne Sub Yamaha 995 as a pre amp Harman Kardon 2.1 amp Monster connects all around Based on how good this unit is - I am now thinking seriously about upgrading to Outlaws new 950 Pre Amp when it comes out

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Functionality.

The power supply. You need to design something better than a ''modem-adapter''

Other Equipments : Sony DVD player (7700) Hafler Pre-Amp Halfter Power-Amp Celestion SL600 Speakers Velodyne FSR-18 subwoofer. I am in the process of migrating to Home Theatre setup. After buying my subwoofer I found that I did not have a good crossover network. Subwoofer came with a built in crossover network. When I used built in crossover to seperate the sound sent to celestions, the sound quality just died !!. So, I was running full bandwidth to both Celestions and subwoofer. Not an ideal setup, the sound did not die. Then I bought ICBM (after reading reviews) and connected it to my system. I was ''blown away''. It was like ''clearing a huge sinus blockage and able to breathe again'' (sorry for the yucks). The sound through the satellites have been throughly ''cleaned out'' and are precise and ''fixed in space''. Velodyne, now sounds deep and precise. All in all, it just sounds great.

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It does exactly what it advertises.

None apparent.

Every once in a while a product comes along that promises to fill a niche market, in this case Bass Management from sources such as DVD-Audio where the actual player (in my case a Panasonic RP91 DVD/DVD-Audio Deck) does not provide this function. The ICBM delivers on that promise and performs flawlessly and seamlessly.

Well constructed, packaged in very rugged box to survive the rigors of mail order shipping, and complete with a very good, informative and concise manual which you may download from the Outlaw site at

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/icbm_manual.html

the ICBM does exactly what it claims. Without the ICBM in my system, the bass was lacking (actually unacceptable) when listening to DVD-Audio. This was because the player does not have the capacity to route 5.1 DVD-Audio output signals properly to my speakers (5 M&K 150 speakers and two subwoofers - an M&K 350 and an SVS 16-46PC). Without proper bass management the lower frequencies are directed to the satellite speakers rather than to the subwoofers as is done with, for example 5.1 digital sources for DD5.1 and DTS.

Once I placed the ICBM in the 5.1 signal path between the outputs of the RP-91 and the 5.1 inputs of my Denon 5700 receiver the difference was astounding. DVD-Audio went from being a "so what" feature of my audio/video system to something I will use and enjoy on a regular basis.

The day is probably not too far away when most players will add bass management to their DVD-Audio and/or SACD multi-channel audio capabilities. They have to if the media are too survive. And I firmly believe that a product like the ICBM will be the impetus for this enhancement to the newer equipment. But in the meanwhile Outlaw has provided a solution for us early adopters of DVD-Audio that allows us to use our current players without the need to upgrade when units with bass management in the DVD-Audio domain become available.

I highly recommend this accessory to all DVD-Audiophiles.

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1.tremendous flexibility in directing and controlling bass in multi channel dvd-audio set -up with 2 full range,1 center,3 surround ,and 1 sub woofer.
2.easy to purchase , outlaw customer service people are great. prompt delivery.
3.easy to install and set up
4.audio purity and sound quality excellent

power connection a little chintzy . minor point though.

overall an excellent product. build quality and performance exceed my expectations.strongly recommend

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nothing similar except a BBE DYNAMIC RANGE device which really serves a different function.