Outlaw Audio LFM-1 Review

Outlaw Audio LFM-1

• Product Name: LFM-1
• Manufacturer: Outlaw Audio
• Performance Rating:
• Value Rating:
• MSRP:
  $
  579

Specifications

Driver Type:
Down-firing 12” long-throw woofer
Ports: 2
down-firing
Power: 325Wrms; 1300W peak
Freq Response: 25Hz
– 180Hz +/- 2dB
Crossover: Linkwitz-Riley 4th Order Low Pass
Network
Crossover Freq: 40Hz – 180Hz; Bypass
mode
Phase:
0/180 degrees switch
Dimensions: 21.75” x
15” x 22”
Weight: 58lbs

Pros

• Plays strong and low down to ~23Hz
• Relatively small enclosure
• Excellent value
• Excellent performance for both music and home theater use

Cons

• In higher pile carpet the sub may sit a bit low
• Occasional ultra-low <22Hz frequencies missed

Introduction

As a teenager living in Orlando , I remember parking out near the International Airport to experience the jets as they came in for a landing – Wayne’s World style. Anyone who has lived in Orlando knows the “ Jet City ” is plagued with an almost non-stop barrage of aircraft coming in from all directions to land at what is arguably the world’s nicest airport. Trouble is, the surrounding area is naturally pummeled with the constant overhead noise of McDonnell Douglas/Boeing engines and the steady ring of planes on final approach. But up close, the jets take on an altogether different feel. Noise becomes power.

 

As a
teenager living in Orlando , I remember parking out near the International Airport to experience the jets as they came in for a landing
– Wayne’s World style. Anyone
who has lived in Orlando knows the “Jet City” is plagued with an almost non-stop barrage of
aircraft coming in from all directions to land at what is arguably the world’s
nicest airport. Trouble is, the surrounding area is naturally pummeled with the
constant overhead noise of McDonnell Douglas/Boeing engines and the steady ring of
planes on final approach. But up close, the jets take on an altogether
different feel. Noise becomes power. Power is felt in a tactile way that
pervades every part of your body and rattles you to the core. That feeling –
the extreme low-end thrust that accompanied the landing was what I thought
should be the mark of a great home theater subwoofer. In fact, I knew
throughout the years that many of the subwoofers I experienced in people’s
homes or as part of home theater satellite systems were merely toys – shadows
of the “reality” they were attempting to portray.

Several
weeks ago, during a discussion about surround sound system, one of my newest
friends said to me : “All subwoofers
are the same – boom is boom. It doesn’t matter who makes it.” I sat
him down in my living room (it was the first time he had been to our home) and
proceeded to play one of his favorite movies. After having him listen to my
system, and with his mouth hanging open, he and his wife commented that it
sounded “better than a movie theater.” It was at this point that I asked him if
he would like to hear the same scene with the subwoofer turned on . The rest, as we say… was history.

Subwoofers can fall
into one of two uses in any given home theater system. Quite often, in a budget
system, they function to supply the required frequencies that a satellite
system cannot attain on its own (sometimes including upper-frequency ranges
that even allow dialogue through). Subwoofers in these systems cover a broader
range of sound resulting in greater harmonic distortion, less efficiency at
lower frequencies, and having to appropriate power across a wider range of
material. The second use, where subwoofers are configured to handle frequencies
anywhere from 80Hz and below, is where subwoofers have a fighting chance to
really shine. Though capable of more, their amplifiers and drivers are used
within a narrower frequency spectrum and the remaining home theater system is
fully capable of driving the main thrust of the listening experience. Let’s
begin here with the Outlaw Audio LFM-1
and SV Subwoofers’ PB2-ISD, two subs that are utilized in a system modeled after
the second scenario.