The **OFFICIAL** Denon AVR-XX12 Model Owner's Thread - Page 506

No, it shouldn't.

I ordered this Phono pre-amp today. I want to go USB to my HTPC and RCA to my AVR-2312ci.

Will this work?

Is there anything else I need to know?


Important back view.


Less important front view.

EDIT: Incorrect product link fixed
Edited by Sammy2 - 8/22/12 at 9:34am

Why would you want to do this? This device is used to connect the computer with the turntable, not the AVR.
Edited by jdsmoothie - 8/22/12 at 9:12am

im not sure i get that either. a preamp would place unnecessary noise into the signal path. Just my opinion.

It has RCA pre amp line out too?

I do plan to rip my album collection to my HTPC but also wanted to be able to have that ritualistic experience of playing back a piece of black vinyl from time to time.

From the manufacturer's product info page:

I had the wrong product link in my post above which I now corrected. It is the ART USB Phono Plus Project Series. Sorry for any confusion..
Edited by Sammy2 - 8/22/12 at 9:37am

It's a "Phono" pre-amp ... designed to be connected between the "Phono" and the HTPC or the AVR or headphone (as noted in the line diagram above). Use either HDMI, optical, or 3.5mm connections from the HTPC to the AVR ... no pre-amp required.

Thanks a lot JD, for putting up with my inane set up and questions

But just to be sure I'm getting this right: you're suggest not one but TWO toslink connections? One btw TV and avr and one btw cable and avr?

Correct. Remember when we started this journey that you were having issues getting the HDMI Standby pass through feature to work correctly (which does happen with some TVs) so the suggested configuration to make it easier on your wife was to connect the cable box (HDMI) directly to the TV so she wouldn't have to turn on the AVR and then also connect the cable box (optical) to the AVR (optical) to provide DD 5.1 surround audio when you wanted to use the surround speakers. You would then connect TV (optical) to the AVR to pass the TV's smart app audio back to the AVR (if the ARC feature is otherwise not a viable solution). As there's only one optical input on the AVR, connect the cable box(optical) and the TV(optical) to a 3:1 optical switch and then connect the output of that switch to the AVR (optical).

Okay so let me see if I understand this correctly.

My HTPC is already connected to my AVR via HDMI. I can use the software included with the pre-amp to directly play back from the vinyl to the AVR but it will go through the ADC and pass via USB to the HTPC and then LPCM via HDMI to the AVR?

In the top portion of the line diagram the signal is passed untouched save for equalization or does the "Gain" control boost it for use by an AVR? The owner's manual states "Preamp Line Out Allows Use as a Stand-alone Phono Preamp".

I am a bit confused.

"Preamp Line Out Allows Use as a Stand-alone Phono Preamp".

This simply means it can be used between the turntable and an AVR that does not have a "PHONO" analog input rather than connecting it to the computer which is it's primary role.

So an example of an AVR that does not have a PHONO input would be an AVR-2312ci. So I can connect it to my AVR-2312ci for direct playback from black vinyl and my HTPC via USB for ripping my vinyl to a HDD in a (hopefully) lossless format.

Correct as the 33XX series is the lowest level model with a PHONO input. You have 3 choices for connections ...

Turntable ---> USB Phono Plus ---> (1) HTPC, (2) AVR, (3) Headphones

In looking at this further, it looks like I can get the auido from a any line level output into my HTPC for recording to a HDD too..

Oh, and directly connect headphones for listening that way too without having to use the headphone jack on the AVR is nice. I guess the signal would be touched one less time and more "pure"..

And Thanks Again jd!!

Bits Limited LEG3 Energy Saving Smart Strip with Volt Sensing:

http://www.smarthome.com/43998/Bits-Limited-LEG3-Energy-Saving-Smart-Strip-with-Volt-Sensing/p.aspx

Ordered one of these and hooked it up to my Denon AVR-3312CI.

Happy to report that it appears to be working flawlessly.

Regards,
Ivan

OK great. I'll get one of those. Thanks
Under that scenario, I assume I can just connect the blu ray via HDMI to the avr via the "BD" slot? Will the 1612 upscale to 1080p or does it degrade the signal?

Also: I'm still unclear as to whether I'd need an additional HDMI connection btw the TV and AVR (currently i have one btw the tv's HDMI 1 slot and the AVR's "output" slot/ARC slot, and when I switch over to HDMI 1 I get nothing. I think you said to move that to an input slot?

The Blu Ray would be connected with HDMI to the AVR (any HDMI input) while the AVR's HDMI Monitor out would be connected to the HDMI1 on the TV.

1. Okay, the crossover freq was posted from (faulty) memory. Looking at it, it was still WAY lower than I thought these bookshelves and surrounds were capable of producing.

2. LFE+Main can be set with front mains set to SMALL. I've checked, double-checked, and triple-checked: my fronts, center, and surrounds are all SMALL, yet the LFE+MAIN subwoofer option is available and can be selected. I've got the subwoofer crossover set at 80hz with the LPF at 120hz (default) and the LFE or LFE+MAIN set to only LFE. LFP to LFE is off (I really don't know what this does).

3. I found some odd settings in my submenus. Why would I have selected Surround to Stereo? I blame the kids. I reset that, like all others, to DIRECT.

I went through all the settings, one at a time. I fixed some oddities. However, I did find one problem and came up with one queston. The question first: A-DSX seems to be usable in a 5.1 setup, based on the description. I'm using my Zone 2 for a second room. I cannot find A-DSX in any menu setting (this is for my 3312). Is A-DSX available with a 5.1 setup? If yes, where is its submenu found?

Finally, the problem I discovered. Amid all the other odd menu settings (I still blame the kids), I found that the AVR had been set to Dynamic Volume, "Evening". (Apparently, if Dynamic Volume is set to "Yes", that's what it defaults to.)

I think I've got it all sorted. This has movies and music coming alive like never before.

Thanks,
Ken

NEW ANDROID PHONE/TABLET APP

There's a new FREE android remote app that was just uploaded today and although tested on the 1713, the author claims it should work on the XX12 models as well. Perhaps an Android phone and tablet owner can confirm whether it works or not on their XX12 AVR and if yes, how well it works? Thanks.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.compute4you.remotecontrol
Edited by jdsmoothie - 8/23/12 at 9:13am

jdsmoothie,

First, thanks for your patience.

So, A-DSX needs the physical presence of 7.1(or 2) speakers, but uses a 5.1 output and adds the width or height through the extra pair of front speakers? Why would anyone select 5.1 if they have 7.1 speakers set up? Wouldn't Audyssey run the extra pair of speakers in 7.1 "correctly" anyway?

"Direct": you stated that using Direct means I'm bypassing all the goodness of the Audyssey tuning. How would I set the AVR so that I can benefit from the Audyssey logic but without adding processing that isn't there? Meaning, if I'm listening to a CD on my bluray player, I want stereo, NOT some sort of "Cinema Effect Surround". Using Direct has allowed me to listen to the audio source the way it is being sent to the AVR, be it stereo, center channel, or 51.

I'm back to being confused...

Ken

With a CD playing, press the "MUSIC" button and select "STEREO". With a DD/DTS 5.1 audio track playing, press the "MOVIE" button.

Or even better, MULTI-CH STEREO with a CD!

A few shots of my living room system now that things seem to be running smoothly, including:
Denon AVR-2112CI
Oppo BDP-93
Samsung UN40D6420 LED TV
Monster HTS-1600 conditioner
Energy RC-30 fronts
Energy RC-LCR center
Energy S8.3 sub
Energy RC-R rears
NetGear GS105 switch
NetGear Powerline 200 adapter Aug2012_DenonAVR-2012CI_LivingRoomSystem_03.jpg 157k .jpg file Aug2012_DenonAVR-2012CI_LivingRoomSystem_02.jpg 178k .jpg file Aug2012_DenonAVR-2012CI_LivingRoomSystem_05.jpg 219k .jpg file Aug2012_DenonAVR-2012CI_LivingRoomSystem_08.jpg 202k .jpg file Aug2012_DenonAVR-2012CI_LivingRoomSystem_EnergyRC-R_01.jpg 113k .jpg file
Great performing system

Arrgghh. This is NOT what I wanted to do. If I am listening to music, I'd like the benefit of the Audyssey speaker/room customizations, but only through FL/FR/SW. If I'm watching a movie, I'd like the Audyssey speaker/room customizations, played though all of the 5.1 speakers, in the "best" format available, based on the movie soundtrack, e.g. DTS or whatnot.

Example: I placed an audio CD in the bluray player. It was The Black Keys' "El Camino". The audio stream from the bluray player goes through an HDMI into the BluRay input in the 3312. (If I play a DVD/Bluray, with 5.1 sound, it plays 5.1.) With an audio CD, the input field on the screen of the 3312 showed PCM, DIG, FL, FR. If I selected "Music" the on-screen menu popped up with a choice of surround music. If I selected none, the only sound being output would be FL, FR (that _may've_ been "direct"). What I'd LIKE would be 2.1 sound. That big sub is needed for a bass-heavy band like The Black Keys. In fact, with the CD, I couldn't get the surrounds to play. I could get the center, but not surrounds. However, and this is where I'm going in circles, that SAME CD is what I used to rip the music into my Windows Media Center playlist. Using the NET/USB input, I could stream the same song into the AVR. In that case, the song (WMA 128kbs) showed 5.1 input and would play as Dolby Digital PlII if I selected "music".

Same CD, same song. Why does it stream (after being ripped) as 5.1 but play through a 5.1 capable bluray player as 2.0???

How can I gain the benefits of the speaker/room tuning but not have music coming from the surrounds or center, but using the sub?

Ken

That's determined by the HDMI output configuration in your computer's audio menu. (I'm assuming you're using a PC running Windows 7.) By default, if you have configured your computer to output a 5.1 HDMI signal, that's what it always does, even if it's playing a stereo soundtrack. The front L&R channels produce sound but the other channels, although "active", are silent. So far as your receiver is concerned, it's receiving a full 5.1 signal, although only two channels are audible. Some player software packages will override this, but most don't.

In other words, the BD player is automatically changing the HDMI signal to stereo, but the computer isn't.

Wow, great help.

For the media streaming, I'm using a LAN hookup, not a direct PC --> AVR. The PC's I have are all hardwired to a switch. The AVR is hardwired to the switch. That's how the AVR accesses the media files on the PC's. It's coming through the ethernet cable.

Ken