*Official* Denon AVR-1911/791 & AVR-2311CI/891 Owner's Thread - Page 102

Do I have to send the 2311 into the shop for updates?

I have the denon 1911 together with the mirage nanosat prestige(Power Handling 100 Watts) I did the audyssey setup and everything looks ok.The front has 120HZ, center 100Hz, and the surround 80Hz, the levels and the distance have normal values. It sounds great but theres something weird with the volume. At 30db you hear nothing, I have to raise the volume to 60db to hear at normal listening volume, before I had an Onkyo HT-RC260 and with the Onkyo at 50db was very very loud, was like the denon at 99db.
Setting dynamic volume to day, helps raise a bit the volume.
Is this normal? Should I raise the reference level to 30db instead o 0db?

Yes, 0db is considered "reference" volume.

Unless Denon releases a user installable update via the RS-232 jack, yes. To date there have been no user updates. The only reason to send your 2311 to the shop is if you are experiencing any problems with it.

You cannot compare another brand's volume scale (especially much older models) to the Denon volume scale which is logarithmic. Average volume levels for the "absolute" scale you are using would be 50db-65db (TV) and 65db-80db (movies), so what you are experiencing is normal. Not sure what you mean by "raise the reference level to 30db instead of 0db" as the reference level would be 80db using the "absolute" scale and 0db on the default "relative" scale.

Thanks for the answer, what I meant with raising the reference volume is an option in the receiver where you can tell the receiver that the initial volume instead of being 0db should be +30db, so the overall the volume is 30db louder.
It is better to leave dynamic eq and dynamic volume on, or just dynamic eq, because I hear louder with dymaic volume set to day than wiht only dynamic eq.

If you are referring to the "Power On Level" setting, most folks likely leave it set to the factory default of "LAST" so it powers back on at the last volume it was on before being turned to Standby. Generally you want to leave Dyn EQ always ON, with Dyn Vol (Evening) only used for TV or late night viewing and set to OFF during movies.

Thanks again for you answer, is it normal that with dyn eq + dynamic volume/day sounds louder than having dynamic eq without dynamic volume, is just that with dyn eq without dyn volume I hava to raise the volume even more to hear at normal listening levels(70db Normal listening) than with dyn eq+dyn volume/day(55db Normal listening).

Thank you for your answer JD,

I have another question if you don't mind.

I had a bad experience with the 3311 and decided not to bother with it. Which other unit in the midrange do you recommend that has access to the network?

I just don't want to deal with braking down the setup to take a unit to a dealer for software updates.

Also I want to keep the volume overlay not the black and white GUI.

Thanks in advance

The only current models that have networking capability are the 3311/991 and the 4311. The new lower level XX12 models to be released starting next month, 1912, 2112, and 2312 will all be network capable as well (with capability to be firmware updated via the network), although how reliable their NIC is remains to be seen.

avr 991 sounds like a good choice except is more expensive. If it was your choice what would you go with?

With the new models soon to be released, and the likelihood that the NIC will be much more reliable, I would wait for either the 2112 or 2312 as they will both have the same Audyssey MultEQ XT as is currently in the 3311.

yes, that is normal. Dynamic Volume not only reduces loud sounds, it also raises soft sounds... the whole point is to keep volume at a more consistent level, so you cannot compare volume levels with Dyn Vol on vs. off.

I had to share this story with you about my 891 adventure...

Oh god frys. So I'll try to keep this short. I went to Fry's tonight in Chicago to get this. The salesman said they were out of stock of them and said they would not get any more, so I asked if they would sell me the display model since they wouldn't need it anymore. He didn't want to sell it because it was on sale so much so instead he tried to offer me a yamaha for the same price (350) that had a tag on it for 450. I looked it up on amazon- $293 prime eligible. I had to fight not to LOL at him. After 15 minutes of the most weasley salesperson ever trying to sell me monster cables and more, I was able to talk to the electronics manager.

He made an ultimatum. He WOULD NOT sell me the 891 UNLESS I bought the protection plan and accessories. He knew I wanted it badly so after arguing I gave in and then he gave me the receiver with nothing but the power cord and remote when he had claimed it came with everything like manual and antenna minutes before. I tried to get him to give me a price reduction because I told him the unit was a year old but according to him "We replace them every two weeks."

I should have walked out twenty times during all this and I thought about it but they had me by the balls and I wanted it bad for that price. I ended up giving in and purchasing but am thinking about emailing a complaint and will for sure cancel the warranty. Anyone else have experience with how to cancel a Fry's warranty?

I'm sorry to hear the pressed you this way! I always had issues with such deals so if I were you I will return it, but it is your call. If you decide to keep it, make sure that they give you all the accessories, but especially the microphone! Without it you will not be able to run Audyssey!

Sorry cannot help you with the warranty question.

Question. I have a 1911 and a Panasonic V10 plasma, which I use to listen to Pandora via a seperate optical cable. I use the "multi-channel stereo" setting and it sounds nice. I have a Wii hooked up via component cable, and my only audio mode option is "2-channel stereo." Is there anything I can do to get multi-channel stereo or any sound coming from my rear speakers (5,1 setup) when I use the Wii? A buddy of mine has a Wii hooked up to an older (2005ish) JVC 7.1 receiver and gets sound from his rear speakers, so I was hoping that with my newer equipment I would be able to as well.

Yes .. you can. Using the STANDARD mode set to DD PLII, the 2CH stereo will be simulated to 5.1. You should also use this setting for the TV as well so it will play DD 5.1 when received. Mult Ch Stereo is a "stereo" surround mode and not real surround you likely want to hear especially when playing DD 5.1 movies or TV shows.

Thanks for the quick response. I'll mess around with it tonight. I thought my buddy's setup sounded like simulated 5.1 but I figured even if it was multi-channel stereo it's better than nothing.

Hi Chingochee, the Wii also has an audio output menu. Set it to Dolby Pro Logic II.

I'll check that out as well. I can't remember if I already did that or not. Thanks.

JD, why do you want Dyn Vol set to OFF while watching movies? Or are you saying about late night movies?

Has anyone had any issues with the top grill indenting? I pulled my receiver out of its place in the entertainment center and noticed the top left grill was indented. I have never noticed it before and can only think of heat at the culprit (it is confined to only one area). Everything I have ever read states that Denon's run fairly cool. I have the 1911. I do have it enclosed in a cabinet with a glass face door. Any ideas? A drunken stupor is not out of the question

Why would you want to supress the audio during movies unless of course it's late night viewing?


Even with a cool/warm running AVR you still want full circulation both front and back. Remove the front door and cut a hole in the back is your best bet.

I want to extend a 'thanks' to jdsmoothie for all the great feedback he's given everyone in this thread. ...Thanks to his continued input and support, I feel confident in buying the 1911 receiver, so I ordered two 1911's from Amazon today

My 1911 has this problem too, the left surround has intermittent hiss/static. My unit is only three weeks old, and it produced this problem on the first day. It is troubling because the static shows up occasionally during mic calibration and during normal viewing/playback.

Quite welcome and congrats. Post back with any setup issues you have.

Have you swapped out the right and left surround speaker to confirm it's not a speaker issue? Changed the speaker wire connection?

Question, I'm a Onkyo user currently but I'm thinking of upgrading to 3d ready.

Im torn btwn the HT-RC270 or RC360 and the Denon AVR-891

I don't do internet radio etc.

I know the 360 had only 2QED for sound balancing, but is that really important since I would really just balance it by ear?

Any info in the comparison of these models would be great thanks.

I would think that the stupor is probably the issue, but, as jdsmoothie said, even with cool running equipment, it is a good idea to make sure that the AVR and all other components are properly ventilated. This will prevent the formation of "hot pockets", which can damage your equipment.

Do either as jdsmoothie suggested or cut holes at the bottom, the shelves and the upper back of the cabinet to form a chimney that will make the air flow through all your equipment. Adding fans is also a good idea, but make sure that they'll suck air out if the cabinet, not blowing into it.

Hope this helps.

Sorry if this issue has been posted already but I purchased an 891 at Fry's last Friday, put it together, turned it on and had no problems. The next day I turned it on and nothing would happen once the initial setting came up on the AVR: no menu, no volume, no ability to go to another mode, etc. I thought somehow that I had messed up the settings when I was trying to get things to work via the remote. After hours trying to determine what the problem was, I switched batteries in the remote and viola, no issues. The point is that these were new batteries sealed in their own package direct from Denon and worked for only four hours before they only contained enough power to start the AVR. Hope this saves somebody else some time.

Thanks for the help! I will start ventilating it more properly from now on. I think I might go the fan route too. Glad you mentioned about sucking the hot air out versus just blowing hot air around.