Official Denon AVP-A1HD/AVP-A1HDCI and POA-A1HD/POA-A1HDCI owners thread. - Page 784

Does anyone know how to
a) resetting the processor to factory defaults (not just a micro processor reset)
b) check to see what current firmware the unit is running

1. A microprocessor reset "will" restore settings to factory level defaults. You can also do a "network" reset (to include the microprocessor reset) by pressing/holding the UP/DOWN arrow buttons while powering on the AVP.
2. http://www.avsforum.com/t/1006957/official-denon-avp-a1hd-avp-a1hdci-and-poa-a1hd-poa-a1hdci-owners-thread/6200_100#post_14732191

I've tried to connect and update several times now, and reset the microprocessor and network a handful of times. Now whenever I try the time remaining just shows up and sits at 24 min... doesnt move from there. Im wondering if the processor has actually downloaded the update from Denon and is now stuck trying to actually install the update. I know most equipment I uses first downloads the update and then installs the update. So if my unit has downloaded the update and is now simply stuck at the install phase I suppose Id need to reset it, or somehow dump the update and start again from scratch? Would resetting the microprocessor/network accomplish this if it is indeed necessary?

AFAIK, the firmware is not affected by a microprocessor update .. once it's installed, there's no way to return to a previous update. As others have noted, if you plan on getting the 3D upgrade, let the repair facility take care of updating the firmware.

I just ordered the 1k upgrade, so guess Ill let the service center handle it

Ensure the service center that does the install is made aware that you are having problems with updating the firmware so they are sure to resolve it before shipping back to you.

I agree. I was told that the firmware updating was the most time consuming part of the upgrade for them.

When I checked the distance that Audyssey recorded for my 2 subs it was correct when I just ran Audyssey at the main position. But when I run the calibration again and do the main position first followed by the subsequent 7 positions I end up with sub distances at the end that are not correct.... any idea why? I was under the impression that the distance recordings were taken from the first measured position, the main listening position.

And with the new upgrade:
■Subwoofer Level Matching—Allows for proper level matching of multiple subs before Audyssey calibration

Is that to account for the issue I am possibly having with my sub distances?
Edited by sk576c - 9/22/12 at 6:18pm

Yes, distances are calculated from mic position #1. However, it might refine the calculations based on additional data points, especially when 2 subs are involved. But I'd guess you might have done something different in the run of 7 measurements.

are you using a boom-stand to hold the mic at the measuring positions?

How far off was the measurement?

Has anyone seen this US$1499 Signature Edition upgrade?

http://www.**************.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.pbv.v1.tpl&product_id=65&category_id=2&vmcchk=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=57

I particularly liked item #5: Banishment of grundge, haze, edginess.

Not sure what "grundge" is but it doesn't sound good - maybe I need to get the upgrade.

EDIT: Not sure why the link is blanked out - the missing info is "**************" in the link above..
EDIT: Well, I guess they must be banned by AVS? Oh well, I tried.
Edited by WillyJ - 9/23/12 at 6:29pm

The company involved has been in many many many threads discussions on this forum. Mostly not in the good sense in that their work is magical and involves a lot of blue paint , Having seen first hand what someone like cinemike is/was doing to several avp's / poa's during my visit (they did my upgrade for 3d) the difference is clear in things like openness and what they replace and why. Now the upgrade to a avp+poa at cinemike was i think 5200 euro so not for all but they replace hundreds of parts. I have no deep believes on modding yes/no but at least the work is real.

Daniel.

I am using a make shift boom stand . The subwoofer distances reported by the avp after just 1 measurement location were accurate within a few inches I would say. But once I performed the remaining 7 measurements the avp returned measurements that were more than a couple feet off of the original. I attached a diagram of the measurement locations I used. If I recall correctly the Audysset set up guide states that position 1 is the most important and the following measurement positions do not necessary have to be laid out in any specific pattern.

Damn I missed this It would of been very intresting to see what they offered.

Yeah.............After I posted I was curious to see why AVS was blocking the company name from being entered so I surfed a bit more and found a lot on AVS and Audioholics about them. Seems to be some back and forth going on over posts in the forums.

Google 'AVP Signature Upgrade' and it should be the #1 search result. I won't post anymore here as it would appear to be a sore point for many and not something AVS wants anything to do with.

Thanks WillyJ I just checked it that's an impressive upgrade. I wish Denon took the time and effort to do an upgrade like that for all of us.

Well make sure you run the sub level matching first, then I'd try doing five at the front couch and three on the back, also make sure that your measurement positions are all inside the front speakers' line of fire.

I wouldn't worry too much about the sub distance settings unless it sounds off. My sub is right beside my couch and Audyssey has it set as 38' because I'm using a wireless connection for it and it's compensating for the delay.

I'm curious at how you arrived at those sub locations though. You should do a little homework on the subwoofer forum regarding multiple sub placement. Ideally you want to get your subs dialed in as good as possible by adjusting their physical location before using any room correction.
Typically, corner loading of subs is used to increase SPL and not so much for accuracy or room mode cancellation.

By inside the front speakers line of fire do you simply mean don't set the mic outside of the speakers or the actual line of fire which is closer to my main listening position as i have the fronts and rears angled to fire towards the middle of the room..... I read in the Audyssey set up guide I remember reading about not setting the mic outside of the front speakers but didn't think it meant the line of fire but it would make sense.

I think that would depend on the amount they're actually toed in and on the speakers' dispersion characteristics. But the guide is right, inside the mains is probably the best way to say it, so if they're two feet from the side wall don't measure one foot from the side wall at any listening positions.

I don't know if it's the "right" way to do it, but since 2 channel audio is pretty high on my priority list I usually spend a fair bit of time dialing in the placement of my mains to get them as good as possible for that purpose before running Audyssey. I use 2 channel material I'm very familiar with and listen for proper sound-staging or imaging with good bass performance. I start with the manufacturers placement recommendations and then move them around from there. (A measuring tape and a set of those furniture coasters or sliders makes it easier to do.) I works for me, but then I don't really care about the cheap seats in the back..

Am i the only one who feels our thread feels cheap with this ad all the time in the border ?



I feel a strong pressure to click it and order 10 of them each time i check this thread.

edit: now i look at the picture better you can see the ugly 3d sticker so at sub $500 a even better deal !

Daniel.

I do a double-take on a regular basis. Man, I'd pick up three at that price

I'm going to assume since both my AVP and my 5308CI (2 of the most expensive AV pieces I've ever bought) went DEFECTIVE that a lot of other people are having the same issues. AVP went bad about 6-8 months ago output volume was extremely low to speakers and other issues such as unable to reset microprocessor and buttons intermittently working on front panel. Fortunately under warrranty come to find out it needed a new board and microprocessor total parts $850 and not sure how much labor would have been.

Now a couple months ago my 5308CI started to act strange, the power standby button on front panel would not function and some front panel buttons intermittently working. Took to same Denon repair center and told same thing had to replace even more parts thank god under warranty. 2 weeks now and I might finally get it back tomorrow because I was told parts took 7 business days to arrive. I even paid the $1060.00 (with tax) to do the 3D upgrade on it.......

Still having problems with volume up/down ramp with control 4 system. It was working much better now I did some software update and it is annoyingly slow again running RS-232 because IP control is flaky. Anyway so that's my report on my AVP and 5308CI apparently BOTH needing new microprocessors and other parts $850-$1000 in parts.....I own a POA as well thankfully that's been solid. FYI I have active cooling on all my denon equipment and repair guy said internals looked fine and clean.

^^
Bummer. How's your back holding up?
Edited by WillyJ - 10/2/12 at 6:05pm

Opinions wanted-should I buy an AVP-A1?

I've only owned my A1HDCI for a little over 3 weeks, bought it for a steal in near new condition and then found out about the upgrade deadline and went and did the update. I've been using it now post upgrade since Saturday night and I've been completely blown away. Over the past 5 years I've upgraded all my speakers to paradigm signatures and also parasound halo amps. My speakers were a huge improvement as were my halo amps but it's safe to say this Denon has delivered the biggest, and most easily noticbly improvement of any one upgrade I've done. I was using a yamaha rx-z7 receiver as a processor and it did what I considered to be an excellent job. But this Denon is in a whole other class.

I've had mine for 4 years and still very impressed. The upgrade benefited the add on of heights/wides speakers ( for me ) and the xt32( for many). The next question is how do you improve from that ( room treatments, proper speaker placement) apart from the future if you want to add more speakers ( Dolby atmos - when it will happen ) I cannot see the audio Improving anymore further with this pre amp as its up there with the best of them. I've read when people say Denon is harsh but that's not properly calibrated as its far from harsh. Music is pleasant to the ears. But anyway each to there own. Another thing is have a look at the internal build quality, that alone speaks for itself and the quality of audio you will get.

Sounds like you finally got all the kinks worked out and are enjoying the AVP.

Yeah definitely enjoying the Denon now. I guess when I tried to perform the firmware update at home over the internet it got stuck for some reason. The service center ultimately had to revert it back to a previous firmware and then redo the update I had attempted and failed. Then I figured since they already had the unit I’d just have them perform the 1K upgrade as well. I didn’t get to use the Denon more than 2 or 3 days before taking it to the service center so I wasn’t too familiar with the performance pre-upgrade. But comparing the performance now to what I had before I bought the Denon I can certainly say I’ve made a substantial upgrade.

I’ve learned over the past few years just how much of a diminishing return home theater is. I try explaining it to my friends who have begun to dip their toes in the home theater pool. Only a couple of them have jumped in the pool and only 1 other guy I know has gone into what I’d consider the deep end, and he’s using arm floaties. With my upgrades over the past few years I’ve had couple of upgrades that have met my expectations but mostly the improvements have been subtle. Which is most likely because my original perception was that for 2 or 3 times the price, more expensive equipment should deliver 2 or 3 times the improvement. My expectations have certainly come down and now I just expect some sort of notable improvement. The Denon has blown my expectations out of the water to say the least, and I’ve most likely got more improvement waiting for me once I learn more about the Denon and tweak things properly.

In the past I’ve been pretty anti Denon. I’ve had Yamaha receivers for the past 5 years and I really liked them. Especially the Yamaha rx-z7 that I replaced with this Denon. The Yamaha Z7 is Yamaha’s latest “flagship” unit. They’ve not really come out with a flagship unit since 2010 or 2011 when the Z7 came out so I guess you could say it’s still their flagship unit as far as build/component quality goes. The Denon though is just a completely different piece of equipment. It actually delivers the kind of improvement I use to expect before I woke up and realized the true nature of home theater upgrades. Hopefully I don’t subconsciously revert back to my old ways of expecting the world from a single upgrade….. otherwise this Denon might have ruined me.

What upgrade deadline? I did not upgrade my AVP yet as I have no need for it.... Only my 5308CI. FYI just got it back today was told that repairing my AVP and 5308CI both had bad microprocessors and some other parts would have been $1200 EACH labor and parts... Denon did extend my warranty on the 5308CI as it was about 4-5 months out of warranty which I am appreciating but wish they hadn't had to go in the first place.

So my 5308CI was supposed to have the NEWEST firmware yet I got it home and it says there is a firmware update estimated 17 minutes. ??? he told me specifically "this thing has the latest firmware and everything now"

Should I run the firmware update or no?

Tried to use IP control on my 5308CI to see if I have the same problem as the AVP where it keeps flickering connectivity and same thing with both so IP control isn't working at least not with my "certified" control4 drivers.

Interestingly when I got my AVP home I also checked to see if there was a firmware update available. The service guy told me specifically that he upgraded to the latest firmware but sure enough when I checked for an update there was a 17 minute update available. I decided since last time I tried to update the firmware at home it got stuck that I would just use is with out performing the 17 minutes update.

As for the upgrade deadline I was told that they would always offer upgrade kits through the end of this year and possibly early next year but that would be it. I confirm this with dead in tech support on 2 separate occasions just to double check.