*Official* Denon AVR-1911/791 & AVR-2311CI/891 Owner's Thread - Page 50

Thanks jdsmoothie,

Appreciate your answer and your help answering all kinds of questions from others, helps out a lot when researching.

Best Regards...

SoM, appreciate the help. Thought about upgrading last year, but did not, crazy me here doing additional research...many thanks for your help.

I'm leaning toward a more moderate priced AVR, and think I have narrowed down to the Denon 1911 or the Pioneer 1120. There is a lot to like about the Pioneer... I did see the 3310 on Amazon for a mid-range AVR price...thoughts on this versus the 3311 you recommended?


I value your opinion and am curious, why Audyssey over MCACC?

Thanks again,
Jeff

I am a newbie in the home theater world, trying to set up my first home theater. I have already bought AVR-1911 receiver and now I am trying to find the right speakers to go with it.

At Magnolia AV, I listened to Martin Logan Motion 4 speakers paired with this receiver and I liked the sound of it. However, I read elsewhere that these speakers require more power than 1911 can provide. I don't understand the tech specs too much, and so I was hoping if the gurus here can help me find some answers.

1. Is it reasonable to set up a 5.1 home theater system with Motion 4 (front), Motion 8 (center) and Motion 2 (rear) w/ dynamo 700 sub woofer? Would my denon AVR-1911 receiver be able to drive these?

2. Is it considered an absolute no-no to mix and match speakers from various companies like Motion 4 front speaker with Definitive procinema rear and center?

Gurus, your replies would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi. The 3310 does not have MultEQXT and several other features of the 3311, but can be had for bargain prices. I think it was a bit of a dud, overpriced for the features.

Audyssey is based on cutting edge academic research by 2 leaders in the field of HT acoustics, cofounders of Audyssey Tom Homlinson (the TH of THX) and Prof Chris Kyriakakis (on the Audyssey thread as "audyssey"). It is highly regarded by many audiophiles and recording engineers. It has DynEQ/Vol and some newer versions have DSX. It filters in ways MCACC does not. All that said, there are no direct comparisons of the 2 systems that I can point to at the moment as reliable and unbiased.

The 1911 is a fine choice. I can't comment further in any other respect on the 1120 as I am not that familiar with the Pio models.

Those are 8 ohm and 89dB sens so they are easy to drive. What you heard is real, they work great with the Denon. "Timbre-match" your FRC speakers for sure, so using different models in the same line is fine, but not other makes, the 5.1 you described is fine. Do not put Definitive procinema center in there. Surrounds are less crucial and can be unmatched to the fronts if that needs to be done.

Thanks SoundOfMind. If I understand you correctly, my AVR-1911 should be able to drive the 5.1 setup I am looking at (Motion 4 Front, Motion 8 Center, and Motion 4 Rear).

I have one more questions- Since this home theater is going to be in an apartment with 25*15 Living+Dining area, would AVR-1911 be able to handle this area well? Also, Are Motion series speakers considered good for low volume listening, as more often than not I won't be able to turn the volume all the way up.

Are there guidelines I should follow for the break-in period of this Receiver and these speakers?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

About a month ago I bought an AVR-791 and a mix of Polk and Definitive Tech. speakers and set them up in a 5.1 arrangement. I send signals from my DVR box and BD to the receiver with HDMI and then route a single HDMI line to the TV (Panasonic VT25). About once a week I get a loud pop (or series of pops) from the speakers. The noise is so loud it causes me to jump, like a gunshot going off in the room. It comes from all the speakers simultaneously and happens for no apparent reason. After the third or fourth time this happened I exchanged the receiver thinking I must have picked up a defective unit. I found out last night that the new one does the same thing.

Anyone had this problem before or know how to try fixing it? It has only happened while watching cable but I believe I have isolated it to the Denon receiver because it did not happen with the pioneer receiver I had before.

This AVR is well designed for such typical use, iincluding such speakers and such spaces as you describe. I have no direct knowledge of those speakers but it is a well-respected company. Audyssey will improve the overall SQ of the speakers in the room and DynEQ will specifically improve the low-level listening SQ. An online search for reviews of any particular model before purchase is prudent, and you will find many suggestions for brands and models on the speaker threads. A general guideline is to buy speakers with an MSRP of 2X or so the MSRP of the AVR to maximize SQ/$ spent.

No break-in period is required of AVRs at all. Speaker cones typically loosen up within 30 minutes.

Verified on the Martin Logan site, apparently Motion 4 are 4 ohms impedance, 90 dB sens speakers. Does it make a huge difference that speakers are 4 ohms and not 8 ohms, and would it impact how they work with AVR-1911?

Sorry for so many questions, but I am trying to avoid the turnaround time of buying the speakers and then having to return them.

At average volume, no it won't matter, however, Denon AVRs (3311 and lower) are not designed to push 4 ohm speakers so if you like to raise the volume for movies, the AVR may shut down in protection mode.

Thanks jdsmoothie. In your opinion, which speakers make the best 5.1 systems with AVR-1911. Do you have any recommendations?

Best is only defined by your budget. The 1911 is an entry level AVR so you can either go with entry level speakers like Energy Take 5 Classic or Jamo and upgrade the AVR and speakers down the road when you move into a house or if you have the budget now, you can buy better quality speakers and upgrade the AVR down the road.

Hi griesjj, more ideas to isolate the problem from cable box.

Cable Box:
- hear if it only happens on SD or HD or both
- set cable box audio to output stereo PCM instead of Digital 5.1 surround
- use Optical cable for audio from cable box instead of HDMI audio
- use RCA (red & white) cables from cable box instead of HDMI and Optical audio
- if possible try a different cable box

Receiver:
- check all connection (including speakers)
- try a different HDMI input (or all)
- try a different HDMI cable from cable box
- reset microprocess (Auto Setup will need to be rerun)

HDTV:
- check all connection
- try a different HDMI input (if using ARC)

Hope this helps to pinpoint which is at fault. My guess is probably the cable box.

Happened/s to me ...just in the sub....not too too loud....I changed sub cable....to a better one,,,,,now it won't go away at all.....with any sub cable. (all 900 wires were moved slightly after changing out the 1st cable....)

Apologies if this has been covered already, a search and quick thread read-through didn't uncover anything on this subject.

I'm ready to buy a new receiver to replace my el cheapo "home theatre in a box". I'm NOT an audiophile by any stretch, and I'm no expert on all this stuff; but I do want to get something that's decent, that works well, and is future-proofed so that I don't wind up buying something else two years later. I just need something that will play a couple of HDMI sources, as well as connect some legacy stuff via the regular RCA inputs, and I'll be playing DivX movies through a Popcorn Hour device to the TV via the receiver.

I'm looking closely at the AVR-591 or the AVR-791. The big thing that's attracting me to the 791 right now is the idea of its upscaler, for the DivX movies; my Samsung LNT5265, as far as I'm aware, does not upconvert. I just have a couple of questions about this:

1. The specs I've read in various places are a little confusing and contradictory. Does the 791 upscale to 1080i/p, or does it only upscale to 480p?

2. How good is the upscaling? Obviously no upscaling will make a DivX-res movie look like the latest IMAX release in super HD or anything, but does it make a discernable difference? Is it worth the extra money over the 591?

3. Other than the upscaling and the 7.1 as opposed to 5.1 audio output, is there any other compelling reason to choose the 791 over the 591?

Thanks for your opinions folks!

1. 1080p
2. Some perhaps, however, if the 591 meets your needs, get it (although give Electronics Expo a call as they'll likely sell you the 1611 for less than you can get the 591 for).
3. See #2.

Thanks.

One general followup if I may--I see that several receivers, including the 591/791, have a way to "reset the microprocessor" if things get gummed up. I have owned a few simple stereo receivers in my lifetime, and have never had to reset a microprocessor (I'm sure these receivers never even had the facility to do so).

Is this something that newfangled receivers are prone to? How often does one typically have to "reset the microprocessor" in normal usage?

Never, normally. You only find mention of this procedure here because those with a problem post here for help.

Oh, okay....whew! Was afraid it was sort of "the price you had to pay" for advanced technology

Happy Turkey Day All,
Yesterday we installed for a client a Denon AVR-1911 in a home theatre setup. We used HDMI connections from a BD player, and a VCR/DVD combo to the Denon, and a HDMI connection from the Denon Monitor output to a Sony LED TV. In addition, there is a separate HDMI connection from a DirecTV box to the TV as well as a RCA audio connection from DirecTV to the Denon Sat/Cabl RCA input. Now, here's the rub, we connected two in ceiling speakers to the Zone 2 RCA output, but we cannot get it to work. In fact, Zone 2 Setup menu (4.4) does not appear in the Menu tree. Why would this be hidden and is that the solution to our problem?

BTW, sorry for posting this in this manner. I couldn't figure out where to start a new thread.

This is actually the best place to post your question as it concerns the 1911.

Did you turn Zone 2 ON (p. 39)? Is the cable box able to pass stereo audio over the RCA cable when set to DD 5.1? Is this a 5.1 or 7.1 setup?

Z2 light appears to be on. In selecting Zone 2 source, no sound is apparent no matter the sourrce. This is a 5:1 setup with the two additional speakers in another room intended to be Zone2, and yes, the DirecTV box does pass RCA audio signals to the Denon. We wonder what "AMP assign" should be set at and why the "Zone2 Setup" menu (menu #44) mentioned in the manual, is not acccessible.

Keep in mind that only analog audio can go to Zone 2 so at this point all you'll get is the HD Radio or the cable box. Your post is confusing though as you indicate in the 1st post that you're using the Zone 2 pre-outs to "powered" speakers, yet in your 2nd post you imply you have Zone 2 speakers connected to the Surr Back/Amp Assign posts. AMP ASSIGN should be set to Zone 2.

Per OM p54 amp assign is set to Zone2 by default, and if it has been changed to something else it must be reset to this to utilize Z2. Then as per OM p39, the speakers connect directly to the surr back terminals to be driven by the Denon, and then you switch the remote as directed.

ah, I see jd has fielded this one

Let me be perfectly clear: the zone two speakers are NOT powered. They are standard passive speakers and they are now plugged into Zone2 OUT. Does all this mean that speakers for zone2 have to be powered. And if so, What should we be doing with the passive speakers we do have?

Hi folks,

Just bought a new 891 today and hooked up all of the HDMI cables. Unfortunately, I'm running into several problems.

1. The receiver power keeps cutting out and I get the blinking power light. I kept re-connecting the speakers to satisfy the receiver but it's still being very finicky. Hopefully this won't be an ongoing problem because it's extremely annoying. Any tips on how to avoid this because I was pretty much ready to throw it in the trash.

2. When I finally got this thing to work the XBox 360 give me both picture and sound so no problem there. Ditto with the Ipod Dock I bought. However, for some reason neither my Blue Ray nor my PVR are working. I have them both connected to the Denon via HDMI (same as the Xbox) but I'm not getting any signal. I press 'game' and it works. I press 'Ipod' and it works. I press BD or DVR and it doesn't work. Any idea why this might be?

3. The FM radio only picks up a few channels and picks them up very well. I don't get other channels that should have strong signals. Not sure why this is. I haven't tested AM radio yet because I kept having the problems with the power.

I was really hoping that this would be easy to use but unfortunately it's been a huge pain. With any luck it will be smooth sailing once I get past these initial issues. If anyone could help out it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Okay, just checked something. I got 3 new HDMI cables tonight. All were from HDMI Labs. Just for kicks, I tried the new cable going directly from my blue ray into the TV and nothing came up. I'm guessing the problem is with the cable.

My next question is... why would this be? The label says that it does everything so anyone have any explanation as to why this isn't working? Did I just get a bum cable or does HDMI Labs suck? I'll test the other one tomorrow but I'm guessing that it's probably the problem too.

Here's the link to the cables I bought: http://www.shopxscargo.com/product_c...ry=Accessories

No, all Z2 speakers need not be powered. As you are running 5.1 in the main zone, you can make use of the assignable "extra" amps in the AVR. The passive Z2 speakers you have simply need to be connected to the surr back speaker posts, as per my answer above. You are currently connecting to the Z2 preouts, which are line-level signals intended for when there is amplification available externally for Z2. Once you have moved the speaker wires, pay close attention to what jd and I have said as to the remote and that you can play the tuner, but outside sources need be analog. Here is a helpful Z2 guide by batpig.

1. Re: flashing red power light .... generally caused by loose speaker wire connections. Ensure no speaker wires from one post touching another post.

2. Sounds like bad HDMI cables as noted below.

3. Are you using the FM antenna supplied in the box? You may also need to use a roof mounted antenna if you are in a rural area.


Bad cables are bad cables ... it happens. Buy your cables from AVS sponsor Monoprice or Blue Jeans.

Again, still confusing as "standard passive speakers" would use speaker wire posts and would not be able to be connected to the Zone 2 pre-outs with RCA cable.