First of all, thanks for replying quickly to my message.  I appreciate it.

I double-checked that my subwoofer was plugged into the pre-out subwoofer output.  My old powered subwoofer was also plugged into the same output and it worked fine.  I didn't have to turn the volume level all the way to get sound out of it.  (I'm also confident that it's not a subwoofer cable issue as it works on my old sub)

I also went into my system setup as you suggested and increased the db at varying levels and even up to the max of +10dB.  This was the first time I tried this.  At each level (all the way up to +10dB), my subwoofer reacted the same way.  It lets out very little sound at each volume level until the very last hair when it reaches maximum volume on the dial.  When I increase the volume level that last hair and it reaches its maximum level on the dial, the sound goes from virtually nothing level (you have to put your ear down to the subwoofer to hear anything) to "shake the living room, this is way too much bass" level.  I hope this makes sense.

 Your continued feedback is appreciated. 

 Jeremy