The "Official" Denon AVR-4311CI/AVR-A100 thread [NO PRICE TALK] - Page 681

There should be on-screen instructions letting you know what is happening -- the point is to get your sub volume in a volume range such that it can be calibrated properly. As long as your sub's channel level isn't "maxed out" at +/- 12 after auto setup, you are fine.

My screen hasn't arrived yet so I'm doing things from the front panel at the moment. Once I got the sub at 80db, it looked like the calibration continued to run, but I didn't check the settings afterward to see where it ended up in regard to the sub level. I'll check tonight and try to get it into the recommended +-3db range.

Thanks.

I wouldn't stress too much about getting it to +/- 3dB. If it's at -6 or whatever I wouldn't bother to re-run, only if it's really extreme.

I have a small computer-type usb fan connected to the back of my 4311 and it works just fine. I just lay the fan on top of the AVR right above the power supply/amp section where it feels the hottest and it draws the hot air out of the AVR. It only comes on when the AVR is on. I got the fan at www.coolerguys.com.
They have all sorts of fans which can be used for home theater/hi-fi setups.

Thanks! That's exactly what I was looking for. I found something very similar on Amazon but it wasn't quite as big as I would've liked.

'

Nope. No harm at all as it puts out 5v, enough to power a USB fan.

Thanks RedBeemer & JDSmoothie . . .

. . . now back to chasing down some static in my line . . .. grrrrrr. The proverbial needle in the hay-field (forget the stack) . . . 👿

Batpig, I checked the settings and you were right once again. The Amp Assign was set to 2Ch. I changed it to Normal and now stereo works just fine.

Thanks very much. I am quite sure I would have been listening to music in surround mode for the duration without you and this forum as a resource.

I checked the levels and Audyssey set the SW at -9. Readjusted the dial to 2 on the sub and reran; 0 on the dot! Haven't really played anything through it other than some AirPlay music, but it sounded ok for now. I'm hoping my screen comes in next week so I can actually enjoy my 4311.

I've noticed that it's probably the mainboard that's too warm when the receiver shuts down (the slow blinking). This is when I'm playing music in stereo, via HDMI. The TV is off. Is there a way to make the mainboard work less? I've already disabled video conversion, and I've also selected "game" mode. There's no way to completely disable video output, right?

BTW, does anyone know where the temperature sensor is located?

Use a small fan to blow on one side of the 4311. That will keep it cool enough.

These work well and are very quiet:

http://www.buyextras.com/cocofanki14q.html

I have two on top of my A100.

I've recently added a 44U Middle Atlantic to my Home Theater, and mounted the 4311CI receiver with a RSH custom faceplate. Looks really neat.

Have a quick question, I was also looking forward to add few other components such as a rack mountable AM/FM tuner. The tuner i am looking at has a Amplifier/Pre-amplifier/Tuner built-in. Its a Technical Pro HB1502U Digital Hybrid Amplifier/Preamp/ Tuner.
http://www.amazon.com/Technical-Pro-HB1502U-Digital-Amplifier/dp/B0037VGMF6/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&qid=1357226974&sr=8-27&keywords=rack+am%2Ffm

Will this tuner work with the denon 4311ci? As the Technical Pro tuner is equipped with a powerful amplifier, and a pre-amplifier as well.. will it cause any damage to the denon avr if used togather. And if it can be used.. whats the best option to connect it?

You would want to connect the preamp outputs from the external tuner to one of the stereo analog inputs on the 4311 and I wouldn't expect any compatibility issues in that regard. But I have to wonder what this will do for you given that the 4311 already has a tuner built in? For $135, including amps and a preamp, I doubt you're going to get a very good tuner in that Technical Pro product (a name I've never heard of). If you're dead set on getting a rack mount tuner, something like this Tascam tuner would probably be a much better tuner. I also noticed that Technical Pro also makes an AM/FM rack mount tuner (without the amp / preamp functions), but the 1 review of it on Amazon wasn't exactly favorable (1 star and the comment said he'd give it 0 stars if it was an option ).

Yes, please tell us what possible advantage a second tuner would be??

Gsr, thanks for your reply. I dont know what i was thinking since last night.. had spent atleast 2-3 hrs researching on an AM/FM rack mount tuner... I completely forgot that the 4311CI AVR has a high end AM/FM and HD radio in-inbuilt. I guess i just have to install the antennas. Silly of me

Reason i am going crazy about adding components to the rack is i have a few slots empty, and i want to add something to it.. that isnt expensive and wont break the bank.

I will post the pics once everything is done. Until now i have mounted these on my 44u rack.

Rack Middle Atlantic ERK-4425
Panamax M5400-PM
Middle Atlantic LT-1RA Rackmount Light
Furman D10-PFP (extender)
Tascam CD-A700 CD Player & Cassette Recorder
Dish VIP722K receiver (with MA custom RSH faceplate)
XBox 360 Slim (with MA custom RSH faceplate)
Coolerguys 1U Bracket with (6) 40mm Med Speed CG fans / Programmable LED Controller
Denon 4311CI AVR
SuperMicro 24 Bay Server Chassis (72 TB)
Belkin Titan 17" Dual-Rail LCD Rack (model no. F1DC101C-US)
HTPC SilverStone CW02 (with MA custom RSH faceplate)
APC SUA1500RMU2 UPS
2U Drawer
Buttkicker BKA-1000-N AMP (with MA Custom RSH faceplate)
Dayton SA-1000 Amp for the THT subwoofer

There is a 1U space between few components that gets hot. The 1u fan is between the xbox and the denon receiver, to blow out hot air from above the denon receiver and below the xbox.
Now the delimma is, i have a 2u space thats vacant, and for now.. i have no clue what to add there. Hence the idea of tuner. but i totally forgot that the denon avr comes with an inbuilt receiver.

Any suggestion guys.
Edited by holyindian - 1/3/13 at 12:08pm

I was kind of wondering about that myself - especially since the 4311 has Internet Radio through vTuner, and there are high bit-rate options for many different genres, as well streaming some of the HD channels that local radio offers (WXRT and The Drive, for example, in our metro area). Most if not all of the AM stations are on the Internet as well.

If you've got rack space, and you're looking to flesh out your HT, have you considered looking at a different direction, such as video?

It's a few more $, but assuming that what you've mentioned is your core HT, I'd consider getting an Oppo 103. For a little under $500, you can add a state of the art BluRay player, which not only will play universal sources (DVD, BluRay, DVD-Audio, SACD), but has many other capabilities WRT audio, particularly for networked or mobile sources. Even if you don't have a 3D-capable display currently, you'll be set for at least a few years if you decide to eventually move in that direction:

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-103/

Yes, I'm aware of the irony, gsr
Edited by sdrucker - 1/3/13 at 12:41pm

Sdrucker, as usual you have been very helpful to me on this thread right from the very first day I brought the 4311ci receiver an year back. The Oppo suggestion is fantastic, I was initially an year back when i was planning to get the Oppo bd player, the 1200 dollar tag pushed me back putting the player on my todo wish list. While after that I built a htpc, and kept using the htpc's blu ray player. Now that you have introduced a new pricetag for an Oppo player I am already instigated to get this one. The older versions of Oppo player such as the bdp 93 94 and 95 are more expensive as compared to 103, is the bdp 103 any lower I features , sq and pq compared to the 9x series of players?

Just a clarification. The Oppo 103 is the same price as the old 93 that it replaced. No loss in features. There is no 94. The replacement to the 95 is the 105 which is actually $200 more than its predecessor. Feature set wise, the new units have much more capabilities than their older siblings. The only advantage that the older 95 had over the 105 was how the analog DACs were configured. This advantage, however, is only on paper. The new analog DAC configuration in the 105 is just as good if not better than the 95. The new features of the 105 more than justify the increase in cost.

Performance wise, the new units give up nothing to their older brethren in terms of video or sound quality. Anecdotal information states that the new 103 is now closer in sound quality to the old 95 and the new 105 has slight improvements over the 95 as well. All this is for analog audio though. For HDMI it's all the same and is dependent on your receiver. Picture quality is not improved for Blu-ray. You cannot improve on perfect. Both the 93 and 95 have been tested to reproduce the Blu-ray encoding perfectly iirc. DVD upsampling is a whole other story and I have no information on that.
Edited by duc135 - 1/3/13 at 3:25pm

the 103 loses analog video (component) ... does anyone still use that

Ah yes, I forgot about that. Thanks for the correction. Since I just built my HT from the ground up this last year, I forgot about analog video. Unlike audio, there is no quality benefits to analog video.

Great information, thanks. While i was researching between 103 and 105. Looks like 105 has advantages over 103 only if you are using XLR or analog input for the sq. How many people in here use 105 over XLR or analog with 4311ci, is the sound really that great compared to an HDMI?

You beat me to the punch .

Holyindian, one thing I'll point is that since you've got the 4311, you'll want to use HDMI output for your audio so that you capture the full benefit of the Audyssey XT32 room correction you ran earlier last year. Analog audio output won't be EQ'd by the 4311, but the HDMI audio can be decoded by the 4311 and processed by Audyssey (as would any audio from coaxial or digital out, but then you wouldn't be able to enjoy lossless audio as completely as you would from HDMI). Hence there's really no reason for you to pick up a BDP-105 (or a 95, for that matter) over a 103. The BDP-103 will be more than enough for your current needs, as well as any upgrade path to 4K you might consider in the future.

If you wind up buying the Oppo, here's a little more future advice:
Your best bet would be to let a prospective BDP-103 connect to your 4311 AVR on a single HDMI cable (HDMI 1 preferred), which will pass both audio and video from the Oppo to your AVR, and let the receiver do all the switching to your display. You'll want to let the Oppo 103 handle BluRay and DVD upscaling (I personally use the BluRay HDMI input for signal from my Oppo BDP-93), and set the video i/p scaler to "Off" on that input of the 4311. This will pass through the Oppo's HDMI video unmolested by any add'l processing by the Denon. Remember to gave Video Converter=On so that you can still access the GUI on that input, however.

Sdrucker.. thats it mate!! You've sealed this delimma with a definitive answer. 103 be it then!!
Denon 4311CI is a great receiver, along with this Oppo is a match made in heaven.
I am in the market for oppo now. Going off to middle atlantic website to see if they have custom rsh faceplates to mount the player... if so, i am placing the order for the oppo player tonight itself.

Sdrucker, thanks again, u summed up everything that anyone would want to know if they are using a Denon 4311CI AVR and are decideding between 103 and 105.

How about I throw a wrench in the works for you. I have an Oppo 93 AND 95. Running the 93 via analog vs. HDMI I can say is a wash. On any given day, I can choose one over the other for sound quality. Could be due to temperature, humidity, phases of the moon, who knows. (I kid about the last sentence). As for the 95, I prefer to go full analog over HDMI. The difference is not significant, but it is there and I do prefer it over HDMI with Audyssey. Oh, forgot to mention that I have them connected to a 4311 also. I attribute that to a well treated room though so ymmv.

The 105 has a few features that the 103 does not have besides XLR connections. It has a built in headphone amplifier, asynchronous USB as well as coaxial/optical digital inputs. The 105 can almost double as an external DAC/pre-pro for some users. Not to mention the better, upgraded DACs over the 103.

I'm glad I could help. We've all been there at one time or another in this hobby...and when I saw your list of A/V components, addressing BluRay and managing sources above and beyond what you get from HTPC or the 360 seemed like an obvious area to invest.

You'll find that there's a nice community of Oppo folks on AVS, and it gives you future upgrade directions, some of which are more time investments (networking DLNA devices or mobile to your system) than anything overly expensive.

BTW, my comment about irony dated back to when the 103 came out. I'd mentioned here or the Denon 4520 thread that I was going to resist upgradeitis because the BDP-93 was perfectly fine for me. But if I didn't already have a BluRay player, it's a no brainer given all its capabilities, and the price point relative to what Sony or Denon has as their flagships.

You should probably do some reading of the Oppo 103 FAQ on its BluRay thread to get your feet wet....my guess is that you'll be in a good position to "plug and play" when you get the player from Oppo that way.
Edited by sdrucker - 1/3/13 at 7:21pm

Sheesh, I go away for a few hours and this turns into the Oppo fanboy thread .

A few more tidbits:

1) The BDP-95 and BDP-105 have optional rack mount kits available from Oppo that don't require a Middle Atlantic RSH custom shelf.

2) If Middle Atlantic hasn't added the BDP-103 to their list of devices for RSH shelves yet, the faceplate for the BDP-93 is a perfect fit.

I currently have a BDP-95 and a BDP-105 in my main system (my system with my AVP-A1HDCI / POA-A1HDCI) and while the analog outputs are excellent, I generally prefer to use HDMI and Audssey XT32 to get the best result. I also previously had a BDP-93 before BDP-95's were available for beta testers and a BDP-103 before the BDP-105's were available and they're also excellent players, but the analog outputs are a definite step down from the 95/105.

I have almost the exact same gear as gsr here, including AVP, 4311, 103/105/etc. I don't have the POA, but do have the 95/105 and I also agree with all his comments. I'm using HDMI in addition to both RCA and (occasionally) XLR from the 105. HDMI + XT32 is my preferred method for multi-channel sound with my AVP. For about anyone else (i.e. not Denon AVP users) the analog outputs would likely be the best choice. I don't have the 105 connected to the 4311, but my experience tells me for 2ch purist sound, analog would be the way to go. HDMI or mch analog would be personal preference with the 4311.

Why would the analog outs be the preferred choice for anyone who doesn't own a AVP? The 4311 also has HDMI and XT32.