New set-up does not sound the way it should.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Setting the mains to full range through bass management, and going pure direct will accomplish exactly the same thing - it will send a full range unfiltered signal to the main speakers.

The OP ran Yamaha's auto equalization program, and that will benefit the overall sound of the system even if it is just two channel. If you use pure direct, that equalization will be defeated, and the OP will hear a less refined sound. While the auto EQ is not the best, it is better than nothing at all.

If you are going to use a sub, it is much more simple and easy to use the sub out or LFE out with bass management controlling the crossover point. Running a sub off the pre outs of the L/R mains(and old school two channel mentality) is overly complicated, and not necessary at all. Going this direction causes you to lose the precise high/low pass filters in the receiver which helps subwoofer to main speaker integration. Why make the setup more complicated than necessary, and still not get the best sound?

[blackraven]

Those PSB GB Speakers need time to break in. I would run them continuously for 8-12 hours a day for about a week and let the woofers break in. They are not going to give you deep bass. What they will give you is nice tight mid bass. Also, the GB's should have bass ports, make sure that the ports do not have plugs in them. Many speakers with Ports including some PSB models come with foam port plugs that you can use to tighten up the bass but they also decrease the bass. Removing the plugs will give you more prominent bass.

If you have all the settings correct with the Onkyo receiver, it could be that the receiver just does not put out much bass or it could be your music source such as your CD, DVD player, computer or mp3 player. Also try speaker placement. Moving them to the corners of the room will help with bass.

[StevenSurprenant]

If you are going to use a sub, it is much more simple and easy to use the sub out or LFE out with bass management controlling the crossover point. Running a sub off the pre outs of the L/R mains(and old school two channel mentality) is overly complicated, and not necessary at all.

Going this direction causes you to lose the precise high/low pass filters in the receiver which helps subwoofer to main speaker integration. Why make the setup more complicated than necessary, and still not get the best sound?

@ TheReturn0: In response to T's suggestion...

If you're just interested in 2 channel audio, then using the "Pure Direct" button and the L/R Pre-out for a sub, is the much simpler way to go (one button - 2 wires - no menu adjustments). Although I would suggest a sub with a sharp crossover slope. Many of the cheaper subs have a gradual slope and that makes it hard to integrate with your mains. An 18db slope should work well. Stay away from subs with a 6db slope.

If you are running your main speakers full range (Large), there is very little to gain by letting your receiver handle the bass. In fact, it might even make it worse since the sub's crossover point (with the control on the sub) can be more finely adjusted compared to what a receiver usually allows you to do. The only other thing is that going through the receivers circuitry you need to set your speakers up correctly. There is a slight learning curve here, but once you got it, you got it. The advantage of using the receivers circuitry for bass management is that it also allows you to use the tone controls. I should mention too that I have a Yamaha and while its auto adjust works well enough, I tend to adjust the EQ by hand for my preference.

Either setup will work well enough and we are splitting hairs on this issue.

Using the receiver to handle bass and setting your mains to "small" will set the crossover for both the sub and the mains, which is what T is speaking about. Whether it sounds better that way is a determination that only you can make. There is an added advantage of doing it this way and that is bass is removed from the mains allowing them to play a little louder, or lowering the amount of power the receiver needs to feed them during normal play.

With one set of speakers I have, I set the mains to small and used the receivers circuitry to split the bass. With the speakers I am using currently, I run them full range (large).

The bottom line is, what sounds the best to you...

We keep talking about a sub that you don't have. Without the sub gives you two choices for the present configuration. Run the receiver in "Pure Direct" mode or in "Straight" (On your remote) mode which allows you to use your tone controls. There are other options, but you can look into those later. I think "Straight" just bypasses your DSP effects.

As for your setup, go into your menu (if you haven' already done so) and shut off all of your speakers (including sub) except the mains (front). Then set the Front speakers to large. I assume you've already done this. Adjust your EQ (if you want) and you should be finished. There are other adjustments for movies, but this is all you need for music.

I noticed that your EQ is parametric... Great! If you already have everything set up and you're still not happy with the sound, try adjusting the EQ manually. This should really help.

There are many ways to do the same thing or variations, so there are will be omissions in what I've written. Otherwise, it would be confusing.

Good luck!

BTW, The only reason I brought this up in reference to T's suggestion is that there are many ways to skin a cat and many times the results are different. You're the boss here and only you can decide what works best for you.

I have a surround system set up one way. My 2 channel system is set up another way.

[markw]

Assuming you've done all that is suggested, like sending a full-range signal to those speakers, that woud lead me to question what you think it "should" sound like as opposed to what it "does" sound like.

I don't have those particular speakers but I do have a small bookshelf of the same class* and they do put out quite nice sound for what they are, given the realities of physics. In fact, They're one of my all time favorite speakers.

As others have said, mine will do a very, very credible job with music over most of the audiable range for music but when it gets down to the low lows, it peters out. Likewise, it won't produce chest thumping mid/upper-bass that some larger speakers will. That's to be expected from a passive speaker of this size. This means that for HT use or even the sub-bass notes some synth music produces, a subwoofer is going to needed to bring on the dinosaur stomps.

So, what do you mean by "the way it should" and what are you comparing it with?

* 6 1/2" 2 way Sound Dynamics RTS 3's being driven by 2 50 watt cannels of an old DPL receiver.)