[Captain Humble]

I have a Tempest two channel preamp with H/T bypass and extra pair of outputs on the way.

Currently run a Denon 3802 all speakers set to small and crossed at 80.

Denon drives center and surrounds directly.  It drives my Titan II LE via it's LFE out and feeds my Odyssey Dual Mono which drives the mains.

THE GOAL:
I will run 2 channel through the new preamp and in doing so will lose the bass management of the Denon.  I want mains in both 2 channel and H/T crossed at 80, and obviously want to continue to run my sub in both modes as well.

Questions:
Will the Outlaw Audio ICBM accomplish my goal, and or is there a better way or a better piece of gear to solve it?

Will the Outlaw ICBM hurt the sound or introduce anything negative into my system?

What approach would you guys take?

Thanks,
Jeff

[Chris]

my experience, with a setup similar to yours, is that the ICBM does negatively impact the sound.

i now run my main speakers full-range for music and use the ICBM on the sub only, with a 60hz filter.  A better solution would probably be one of the Marchand crossovers, but something like that will cost you close to $1000.

[Captain Humble]

Thanks Chris.

I think I'll try running my mains full range when my Tempest arrives and hopefully the system will sound good enough that I won't need to pop for another 1K.

[Chris]

i should clarify , i do still use the ICBM for 2 channel music - just not on the signal to mains. My setup is very similar to yours...i have an HT processor and a preamp with a bypass and dual outputs. One output from the preamp goes full-range to the main speakers. The 2nd output goes to the icbm and is crossed at 60hz, sending the low-pass info to the sub and the rest is discarded.

When the bypass is engaged and the HT processor is on, i use it's digital crossover to keep the main speakers from playing full-range for movies.

The ICBM works well in this situation becuase it has an LFE input as well as individual L/R inputs. This way you can run the LFE out from your receiver directly to the ICBM, and it will send the signal through to the sub untouched.

[randog]

Chris, does the ICBM allow you to input the sub outs from both your processor and 2-channel? I'm wondering how you do both and switch from one to another.

Randog

[Chris]

randog,

the ICBM passes the signal it receives on it's LFE input straight through, without applying any of its internal crossovers. this allows you to set up the sub for both 2channel and HT.

in the processor, with speakers set to "small", all the bass below the crossover + the discrete LFE channel bass is sent through the processors LFE pre-out. This then goes to the LFE input on the ICBM and then out to the sub.

the information above the crossover is sent from the main preouts to the pre-amp bypass input. Pre-amp output one goes to the main amp (this signal is > 80hz only as it has already been subjected to the crossover in the processor) and pre-amp output two goes to the L/R inputs on the ICBM and out to the sub, but this is mainly irrelevant for movies since very little < 80hz information is left in this part of the signal...only that which is left over due to the slope of the crossover in the processor.

for two channel, it is much simpler. One preamp output goes directly to the main amp, full-range. the 2nd output goes to the ICBM L/R inputs, is filtered, and sent to the sub.

hope this makes sense  

[Chris_B]

lets remember how much the ICBM cost.  New, around $250 and used near $160.  For the money, it is a steal.  

I use mine in a similar fashion as Chris.  For 5 channel bass management, it is (probably) the best option in town.

[JonPugmire]

NHT has a new crossover available called the X2.  The same as the X1 crossover, without the EQ required for the Evolution subwoofers.

It's only 2-channel, but it also has a separate input and gain control for the LFE.  More spendy at $350 plus shipping, but a little more flexible in some ways.  The high and low pass can be set at different frequencies, phase controls, and boundary controls.

See details here:

http://www.nhthifi.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=47

Jon