Blu-ray, PS3, PCM-direct, Denon AVR-888 = no bass

[TheZoof]

Hey all,

I decided to break down and take advantage of a deal for the Denon AVR-888. I am really happy with the clarity and options compared to my AVR-588 that I previously owned but I can't seem to figure something out...

I have the AVR-888 connected to my PS3 via HDMI.

The first thing I did was listen to some music. It seems the only option I have is "Multi Channel", "Stereo" and "5ch Stereo". If I choose "Pure" then it outputs in the front speakers only and doesn't use the sub. I think this is expected for direct sound. Problem is it seems I am in need of new front speakers now. LOL

I decided to load in my Blade Runner Blu-ray to see how this looked and sounded. On a side note I learned a few things about my PS3 tonight as well as my TV. I got the picture looking the best it has ever looked. Now comes to the sound...

If I leave it as PCM Linear then I only get the same options as playing music. If I leave it on "Multi Channel" then it sounds good. I mean definitely better than my AVR-588 on any Toslink connection I used. I can also use any bitstream output for PS3 and it detects Dolby Digital just fine and seems to sound ok(but I could not get it to do Dolby Digital EX or DTS but that is just a bonus question)... anyways... to my question.

I click the "pure" button and the sound is amazing. UNTIL... I realize there is little to no bass. It seems that it doesn't use the subwoofer. Am I doing something wrong or is this what you would expect from a bluray using direct PCM 5.1? I am thinking there is something wrong with crossover or subwoofer settings. I have tried all range of crossover and have the sub set to "LFE+main". I do understand that when I used the "pure" button that it only outputs the original source but I would expect the sub to have any low frequency sounds from the recording. Hopefully with your experience I can get things working 100%.

If this is working as expected then my question is how do you get 5.1 PCM or 7.1 PCM directly into your speakers if it doesn't recognize the sub to use that .1?

Thanks all!!