Hi rjohn,
I may be missing what is going on here, but here is my guess.
When you set up multi=channel, you have to set the levels to each channel. That is on any processor I have ever seen.
And it sounds like your LFE channel is set too high. (Well, too high is a relative term, it is not too high if you like that much bass, but it might be too high to be the same level as the other channels.) This is usually done with a sound meter.
And / or you can turn down the level of the sub in the Tritons.
I don't think you have anything going on, just think you have not got it set right.
The whole idea of all this is to give flexibility to let you set the response for the sound you prefer. NOT an absolute, one is right and everything else is wrong.
I hope this helps.
Enjoy listening, and IF you can go with the Ones, I would think you should go for it, maybe just thinking about what I would do.
ha ha
God Bless,
Wayne

Hi, Wayne

Thanks for the input. The sub level was set for 0 db gain, and was on in both stereo and multi channel mode. Per the receiver manual, all bass would go to the large front in stereo mode (none throught the LFE channel), and only the bass under the crossover point for the other channels would be redirected back to the front AND sub/LFE channels (both channels of course going to the Triton in this case). The puzzling part for me was that the added bass (a nice, deep bass that only the Triton subs could produce) would appear in any multi channel mode, and with the same settings, disappear in stereo mode, when it's the sub section of the Triton that would be playing that deep a bass in all cases, including in stereo mode. So some kind of amping effect is being created when some of the bass (redirected from the other channels) is beng sent down the sub channel to the Tritons, vs the Tritons getting all that same bass signal through the large front channe when in stereo model? For reference,the center channel, a Supercenter XL, was at 0-3db, 80 HZ crossover in all cases,, and this added bass was way under 80 HZ. The folks at the stereo store, who are extremely knowledgeable, had not seen that happen beore when switching between stereo and multi channel listening (they had been using the standard setup of speaker cable only for Tritons, and added LFE cable, with sub on for this experiment) are going to try the same thing with other brands of receivers.

Thanks for your interest!

Rick

cont'd:

In any case, adding the LFE cables with sub on answered the question I had been asking since I got the Triton Cinema system, "where's the deep, rich bass when playing music"?

I may never understand why the same bass settings get amped somehow with LFE/sub on in multi channel music listening, but I've found the bass I was looking for... just wish it was there in stereo mode also. It's not unpleasant or muddy at all... it's deep and rich and I love it, and I will keep those LFE cables connected and sub on from now on.

By the way, when I first listened to Triton 2's at the audio store, they were being driven by a stereo pre amp/amp (no surround receiver involved), and they had that same deep, rich bass that is now restored on my NAD AVR set-up with LFE connected, bass on, in multi channel mode only, but not stereo. I wouldn't have purchased the Triton 2's if they had sounded as bass shy as they sound in my system w/o LFE/sub help on music (5.1 dolby is fine).

There is SOMETHING in the way the receiver's and the Triton's sub amps interact, whereby the Tritons process more bass from a non amped sub pre-out signal, than from a large/front amped signal.

Rick

Thanks for the follow up Rick,
Can you get hold of a pre-amp and amp combo to try out with your Triton 2s? I feel sure you will hear bass in all its glory.
I have to set my subs in the T2s at around 10:00 or there would be too much bass.
What are yours set at?
All the best,
God Bless,
Wayne

Hi gang -

We know what's going on (several things actually). Some of it has already been discussed on the forum and is the reason we are now recommending the LFE cables and Sub to Yes for all "non-stereo" setups. This is due to the receiver's bass management reducing LFE and possibly bass level output when full range (no sub) speakers are selected. This is done to protect the amplifier (and speakers, presumably). We do not know how universal this is, or whether it is the same for same-brand Pre/Pros.

When you play back multi-channel music you are selecting a "mode" of decoding the stereo signal into 5.1 (or more) channels. This decoding mode typically includes matrixing, EQ, and level setting - often with a significant increase in bass channel content to "correct" for the number of speakers now playing.

If there is a bypass mode on the receiver, and the receiver is functioning as one would expect, this should sound exactly like the stereo (no bass management) setup you heard the first time.