Official Harman Kardon AVR 1600/2600/3600 owner's thread - Page 87

I had the same problem with a 3600, I switched to componet cables and set my Scientic Atlanta (Comcast) box to out put 1080i at all times. If not connectivity was spoty when going from a SD channel to an HD channel and vice a versa. No problems since and that was 1 1/2 - 2 years ago.

Good Luck!

I'll give that a try and report back. Thanks for the quick response.

Just out of curiosity - the Harman Kardon instructions for updating the 2600 say to hit the "front-panel avr button." What the heck is the "front-panel avr button?"

the slim row of buttons between the black and silver panels.

Quick update: Component out on the 2600 did not work because the DVR did not allow it (protected content warning? Anyone ever see this?). Strange that the DVR has component outputs though - I suppose they have to go directly to the tv to bypass? Not sure. At any rate, I updated the 2600 with the last update (v 1.1) and tried the hdmi out again. Seems to be working fine now.

Thanks for the help.

Great, so in theory I can leave the volume inside cranked up and always have audio going to zone two, but only make it actually audible when I turn on the volume outside
Can you explain this please?

Thanks so much, I'll need to buy that adaptor because it's my intention to run airplay outside.

Yes, but I wouldn't leave the AVR/Zone2 on continuously. Turn it on when you actually plan on using Zone2.
There are many volume controllers available that have a built-in IR receiver. The systems vary, but normally you will also need to run low voltage DC to the controller and have the IR signal fed back to a connection block near the source devices (with emitters or patch cables to the devices themselves). This can normally be done with a single cat5 cable. By using one of these you can relay remote commands to your devices while you are in the second zone. If you have an RF remote it is unlikely this will be needed, however.

As it will be outside - If the volume controller/IR receiver will be mounted where it is exposed to direct sunlight, you may have difficulty getting IR commands to pass through during the day.

So I have a weird problem with my 2600 that started I guess a few months ago.

I first noticed it making the infamous popping sound when I turned it on shortly after it had been turned off. Thought that was odd, but since I seldom do that not a major issue.

Then about two weeks ago, the receiver started making a thumping noise just out of the blue. THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP! All channels, even the line-level sub. Sounded like someone was trying to bang the walls down. I finally went to turn it off, and the character and frequency of the thumping changed as the receiver shutdown. Very strange.

It's repeated several times since - once at 3:00AM while I was trying to sleep. That was lovely.

I'm worried it's gonna damage my speakers, too.

Anybody have something like this happen before with their 2600 (or another receiver)? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

My AVR3600 just died on me myself. It randomly started showing the protection circuit, despite having no shorts in the external wiring, and then today it just went crazy. It was fine while no audio was being played back, but as soon as something played there was a random popping over the speakers. Each time the volume knob was turned past one notch, there would be a loud clicking noise over the speakers.

I'm thinking something is fried in the preamp section, because I also had the same loud clicking noise on changing the volume when I plugged in headphones. I swapped in my old receiver (a Denon 1909) without changing anything else, and it's working fine, so it's definitely the AVR3600 at fault.

Sure seems to be a fault in the preamp. I'll have to try headphones...

Sucks if she's dead. This thing is just out of warranty. Sigh.

H/K replaced two 3600's for me. One was because of a hissing problem and the other was because of the protect problem. I have had my share of bad luck with this series of receivers. My warranty period was over when both of these issues popped up, but H/K replaced them free of charge. Unfortunately they don't pay for shipping. At this point, I probably could have purchased a new receiver with the money I spent sending on shipping several rounds of receivers back.

I got the "Protect" problem for the first time last night. Hmmmm.

I'm hoping it's just a crossed wire somewhere, but that seems unlikely...

I have to say my AVR 3600 has been flawless. I got it for a mere $399 from HK. This receiver after broken in in time sounds so smooth and buttery. Perfect for an audiophile, It plays records from my Rega perfectly, the sound is perfect. Also super for Home Theater blu ray and HD-dvd just plain old Dolby digital from HDTV also. I've had the best out there Arcam, Marantz SR18, even the HK 7200 reference receiver. This one sounds better than any of them. If you want the quality sound and high end video codecs snag this thing. I have mine hooked up to Paradigm Studio Reference speakers and a HSU sub. It's audio nirvana, kudos to JBL/ Harmon. Wow no more $1200 they're giving it away.

Well mine's not. It's snap, crackle and pop city.

Color me unamused...

This sounds a lot like what happens with my HTPC on a daily basis, where HDMI audio/video will suddently drop out. I have yet to find a real solution. It has also happened a few times with my Xbox. It seems that there is an HDCP handshake problem happening between my 2600 and one of the other devices it's connected to. In my case, I find that sometimes cycling the power of the receiver will fix the problem. When it does not, connecting to the HTPC using remote desktop and then disconnecting seems to work because of the way it resets the display. Oddly enough, restarting the PC typically does not help.

It all seems very random and I can't manage to replicate neither the problem nor the solution with any kind of regularity. I'm wondering if the receiver is defective. This did not happen with the same devices and my old receiver, but I also did not pass video through that one.

So my 2600 had randomly started flashing a green screen during movie viewing. I don't watch much TV on it so I can't verify that it's doing it during tv viewing as well. Is this a sign that the HDMI board is going bad?

I've seen several reports of green screen flashes when using HDMI in/out from x600 owners in this thread. I've also experienced the same problem with AVR 7550s as well, which share many HDMI components.

You can first try a processor reset, and make sure you are using the latest firmware version!!

A rare, occasional green flash seems to be 'normal' with each unit I've had. But If the problem starts occurring frequently (as in every use, or multiple times each use), if the unit is under warranty contact HK support for an exchange.

I would first try swapping HDMI cables. When I first bought my 3600, I had experienced the same thing. After testing different cables the problem went away and never returned.

Hi to all 2600 owners!

I "upgraded" my AVR 247 to AVR 360 today.
New firmware in, no problems.

But something isn't "right" or like I've learned with 247.

VFD fade, no automatic option (247 could dim the display for example in 10seconds without key presses). This is something I'm going to miss. Or have I missed something in the settings?

More important thing, Surround mode logic!
With 247, coax/opt/hdmi in from a pc, 247 set to stereo, PC sends PCM---> 247 plays it at stereo.
With 247, coax/opt/hdmi in from a pc, 247 set to stereo, PC sends DTS 5.1---> 247 changes to DTS 5.1. After that with PCM itgoes back to stereo.

With 360 , coax/opt/hdmi in from a pc, 360 set to 2CH stereo, PC sends PCM---> 247 plays it at 2CH stereo.
With 360, coax/opt/hdmi in from a pc, 360 set to 2CH stereo, PC sends DTS 5.1---> 360 shows DTS but plays in 2CH stereo! After that with PCM it goes back to stereo.
With 360, coax/opt/hdmi in from a pc, 360 set to Auto select, PC sends DTS 5.1---> 360 shows DTS and plays in DTS 5.1! After that with PCM it sends it out as LOGIC 7 Movie.

It is the same with DVD or BD player.

Do I really have to play between autoselect and 2ch stereo to get PCM stereo output as PCM stereo and DTS/DD/DTSHD/TrueHD played like it should?

Is there a way to change the autoselect?

Things that I like:
OSD!
Remote is nicer, though a bit bulky. Kind of a shame I'm going to use Logitech Harmony one.
I feel the difference in power, 7x50W vs 7x65W with Transformers 2 Bluray!
Overlay infos.
The looks, White & round edges.
More HDMI inputs (the reason for buying)
USB firmware update! (Though didn't have problems with 247 with RS232-RS232)
DTSHD and DD TrueHD works bitstreamed, helps with PC stuff. Multi CH PCM worked fine with 247.
Dolby Volume, in a way

Don't like:
VFD
Logic of surround
Not so many inputs as 247
No speaker info in AVR display (did know that beforehand). Still a bit of a downgrade
Front panel buttons

I weighted these, 13.6kg for 247 and the same for 360! Without remotes or other stuff.
Edited by Peakki - 7/26/12 at 1:24pm

Just got my 2600. I'm having a hard time figuring this out.

Problem is I'm not getting Dolby Pro Logic II or Logic 7 options when using my Blu Ray player on DVD source; using 3.0 speakers sounds pretty bad but I admit the center is mismatched. I've set video via HDMI, audio via optical SPDIF; receiver reports DTS when using auto surround mode. I only get options for Auto, Virtual Stereo, and Stereo. Everything else is grayed out.

-Only using 3.0 speakers
-Zone 2 off
-Rear speakers off, subwoofer off

The sound via 2 channel is way better than 3.0 right now, maybe I should just forget about the center for now.

Dolby Pro logic II and Logic 7 are for converting 2 channel stereo sound tracks into surround.

So I would need to use the stereo analog output of the BR player and change from SPDIF to Analog for the audio input?

Wondering if the half-assed 3.0 setup will sound worse as a result, guess I'll have to wait to get home and try.

Sorry for being dense.

Any reason you are not use HDMI for video AND audio?
You need to have rear channels installed to use DPLII, which is why it is grayed out.

Logic7 can only be used on 2 channel analog and 2.0 PCM sources on HK 1/2/3 series AVRS even if you did have the rears.


With your 3.0 configuration you will want/have to use the Virtual Speaker or DTS:Neo groups to use the center channel, leaving the receiver in the auto surround mode will do this automatically depending on your source content. As you noted, might sound better running 2 channel stereo until you upgrade your system. Depends on the content and what audio tracks are available on the disc.

Check out the surround mode appendix in the back of the manual to see what surround modes are available with various incoming bitstreams and speaker configurations.

I decided I'm just going to roll with 2.0 untill I figure out the speaker situation. The fronts are old Athena asf2.2 floor standers so finding a matching center will be a little bit difficult. I also did not go HDMI for audio and video because I was only getting Multi Channel PCM via HDMI - maybe I have something wrong configured on the blu ray player (bdp-s370).

You need to set the bluray player to output the native bitstream rather than MPCM to avoid this. This is normally a simple change in the player's audio settings menu. This will let the AVR decode the track rather than the player, which in many cases also allows more post-process modes to be used (e.g. DPLIIx where/when applicable)

The lossless codecs (TrueHD+DTS-HD) found on most blu ray discs cannot be sent over SPDIF, only HDMI.

Thanks, after I did some deeper digging the BDP-S370 has a setting called BD- Audio Mix set to ON which I needed to set to OFF for bitstreaming which apparently was all it took!

After plugging the NHT center into an older avr 335 and matching NHT front speakers I have decided that the mtm center even vertical is just not for me!

Hi everyone and greetings from sunny SA. About a week ago i have replaced my 6 years old hard and with out any problems working HK 235 with HK 460. Very happy with the purchase, even i don't like some of the stuff, which i think is like going backwards. But let me start from the beginning. I have decided to buy the "old" 60 series, worried that HK is going down the hill trying to catch in price and quality with their competitors Yamaha, Onkyo, Marantz, which i owned and never liked. It came with the new Firmware installed, which was nice and i did not have to do the upgrade my self. Setting up the unit was easy and the On screen menu is god and easy to work with. I did manual setup with out using the EZ setup, that's why can not comment on that. After i have finished i could hear the same familiar, warm HK sound, which i love and enjoy for the last 10 years. Actually the sound was so identical, that i could not hear the difference between 235 and 460. I'm running pair of Quad 22L2. Expected for the amp to be more powerful compared to HK 235, but personally i could not hear it. Little bit disappointed with that. I saw lots of people don't like the remote. I think is not that bad and i in a way prefer it then an old one. What i'm missing from my remote this is the dedicated surround and stereo buttons. Now to change the settings, one must use the HK menu. Before was much easier. Also i could not find how can i use only 3 speakers. On the old one was an option to choose it. This is how i prefer watching my TV shows. On the new one i can not find how to do it. On the unit display screen on the old one i could see how many speakers i have connected. New one does not show that. If some one know if this function is available would be great. Also missing my blue light. I think was much better then a new white one.
Did not like the Dolby Volume, even i was looking in to it. For me makes the sound too dull and i had to disable it. Also disabled the upscaling and video processing. The job that this thing does is scarily awful. I have a Sony S570 which does much better job and the BD movies quality is much better with video processing off. And this is a some cheepo Blu Ray player. HD sound was played with out problems. Main reason for the upgrade. I think the sound from the movies is little bit better, compared to the DTS before, through the optical cable. Watched War of the worlds for a while and i think i could hear some details that i could not hear before. But that also could be a "placebo" effect But never the less i'm happy. Listening to the music in pure direct mode, the sound is great and reminds me why i love HK sound so much. For me the sound is so much more natural then the other mass brand amps. Too bad HK are not keeping to their high standards with other features that they offer with their amps. From what i have red lately looks like their new 65 series are even worst . Like another member said might be my last HK amp. But i hope i got pure joy of 5-6 years in front of me with my new HK 460, then will see. Sorry for the long post guys.

Is anyone using Zone 2 after flashing with the latest firmware?

Also, what do you see on the front of the AVR when Zone 2 is on and playing sound? I am not sure if I have a software issue or if I just don't have it configured properly. Speakers wired to SBL/SBR, Speaker Settting SBL/SBR to Zone 2, Zone 2 input CBL/SAT, analog rca red/white plugged in. Even tried the Bridge and no sound coming through. If I configure it to 7.1, sound comes from the speakers, but thats not zone 2.
Edited by JAQS - 9/7/12 at 7:23am

How can I set the LFE crossover frequency on the AVR3600? All I see is the ability to set the size of the sub.

Mains: DefTech Mythos 1 (recommended x-over is 60hz, http://www.definitivetech.com/products/mythos-one)
Center: 1 x DefTech Mythos 9 (recommended x-over is 80hz, http://www.definitivetech.com/products/mythos-nine)
Sub: 1 x Outlaw LFM-1 EX (http://outlawaudio.com/products/lfmEX.html)

I do not have rears yet. Working on it.

What should I select as my mains? i think they are currently set as "Full size" or something like that. What should I set the crossover for on my center? I have it set as "Large". What do I set my sub to? Should I bypass the receiver x-over in favor of the nob on the LFM-1?

You cannot bypass or adjust the crossover on the 3600. It is fixed at 100hz. The sub size adjustment only changes the EQ for the sub. It's a funny thing you ask. I was just going to ask if I should set the crossover on my sub at 100hz or lower? I have my mains set to 40hz, my center and rears set at 60hz. If I set my sub at 40hz, it sounds just empty because even though my mains are spec'd out that low, they roll off drastically.

I set the x-over of my fronts to 60hz, and center at 80hz as recommended by the manufacturer. I have the x-over on my sub set at about 80hz. I suppose that provides a little overlap with the mains. I would like to know if that is the correct thing to do though.

So what exactly does changing the size of the sub do? You said it affects the eq of the sub, but what does that mean?