Anyone know how to set up Rythmik subwoofers on an ARCAM AVE550 receiver?

Ataraxia,

I am glad to hear from someone who owns a pair of Rythmik F12 SE's.  It sounds like they might not be as difficult to set up as I have been told.  How did you decide to buy the Rythmik's?  I personally think their Direct Servo technology is quite advanced.  Good to know they do not sound boomy.  I would imagine they can dig deep down when needed.

Could you call me at 720-298-9232?

I feel like I am watching a soap opera, AS the Subwoofer Turns.

Larry, once again you are getting your best advice from @bdp24 

You say you are primarily interested in music but you are building a HT system. A great HT system will be decent at 2 channel audio but not great, as well as vice versa.

I believe you also mentioned that your main speakers cycle down to 30hz. If this is the case and you are looking for a subwoofer to just reproduce 30hz on down you are wasting your money. From a musical perspective there just isn't that much material that cycles down that low.

Do yourself a huge favor before you buy any sub and purchase the soundoctor test CD. It will set you back $18.00
http://www.soundoctor.com/testcd/
It contains among other things a series of test signals from 20hz to 120hz in ten cycle increments. Listen to the signals so you know what 30, 40 and 50hz really sound like.

Subs can be a wonderful addition to any HT or 2 channel system IF you know how to implement them. Unfortunately most people including most dealers do not. Specially for a music system.

If I was you Larry I would buy a good ported sub (Rythmik or SVS) and connect it to the LFE output of your ARCAM for the HT experience and let your main speakers run solo when your are in music mode.

I have a pair of Paradigm Prestige 85F towers that play down to 40 Hz.  Paradigm includes another spec number 28 DIM.  I think that number is possibly room gain or what they can play down to based on any given room.  Maybe buying just one ported sub for HT makes sense.  However, I purchased my system to be used for both 2 channel and HT.  I listen to music 60% of the time and thought it might be nice to hear frequencies below what my speakers play down to.  Thanks for your thoughts.

Hi Larry,

I guess it all depends on what kind of music you listen to. I listen to many different styles of music but mostly rock of various forms. I also like it loud with thumpin' bass and I have literally thousands of recordings but I would say only a handful that actually reach 40 cycles and maybe one or two that might go lower. If you listen to a lot of electronic music you may have a higher percentage of songs that get down to 40hz. This is why I suggest starting with this http://www.soundoctor.com/testcd/ test cd. Get a feel for what your current speakers can do and what 40hz and lower really sounds like.

 You should also decide what kind of audiophile you are. Are your ears good enough that you only want the minimal amount of electronics in the signal path because you can hear the degradation that the electronics cause or do you have more average ears and don't mind an extra piece of gear in the chain as long as it helps you achieve the sound you like.