NEW SONY STRDN1030 RECEIVER - Page 3

Originally Posted by helvetica bold 

I'm sure this has been asked before, would the Energy 5.1 Take Classic Home speakers go well with this system?
I'm thinking about getting a new surround system for the new PS4 and Xbox coming soon.

Originally Posted by eaamon 

go to the BR player settings and see if the audio out settings are PCM instead of bitstream.
set the tuner to multichannel linear, it may show 48Khz.

Originally Posted by eah9 

It would do just fine. I have it running with energy rc70's and the veritas 5.2 center which are larger. The 1030 can pump out 145w per channel. No sweat for those speakers. Newegg has them for 299 with esaver code right now. That's a great deal.

Originally Posted by eah9 

I really like this receiver. I was able to reassign the video and audio inputs. Page 88-89 of the manual using the tools/options button (after turning gui on). I had to change the component in's and analog in's for the wii to video 1 (which the default is dvd, I believe). I then use hdmi from the receiver to the TV. It up-converts the video signal from 480p to 1080i. I also renamed the video 1 to wii so that's displayed on the receiver . The more I work the receiver the better.

Originally Posted by Hubertoliver 

Never mind. I tried one yesterday and although a step in the right direction for Sony...I'll have to pass on keeping it.

Originally Posted by gottahavit 

Ok thanks, that's too bad about the volume control. the dynamic volume option is pretty bad. gotta say I love the bluetooth music streaming though. MY TV is supposed to have it but I couldn't make it work with my phone. This works flawlessly.

Pandora and Slacker were nightmare to find the right place to register and as others have mentioned the GUI is the worst, but audio quality is very good.

Originally Posted by bas2001 

Hello STRDN1030 experts/owners,

I am facing two problems with this receiver I purchased recently last week.

1) The receiver fails to do 7.1 channel check clip with both Dolby and DTS. When I run the channel check clip, it provides audio only on the front channels on Front Left, Center and Front Right. No audio signals on Surround Left or Right or Rear Left or Right. I have 7.1 speaker setup. I called Sony Support to see if they can help to fix it, but they failed. I am testing the channel check video clip from Blu Ray discs of Dolby and DTS using my Sony Blu Ray player. Also tested with Dolby 7.1 channel check video available on YouTube. It works fine if I do a factory reset on the receiver which was first suggestion Sony support provided. But once I turn it off and turn it back on, it doesn't provide audio on the right channels especially on the Rear and Surround channels. As suggested by Sony support, I had PLIIx MV selected as Sound Field. Also tried some other 7.1 type options there. Also had "Auto", "Multi ST" and some other options tried from "A.F.D". But no luck with passing the channel check videos. I also have 2/4.1 as speaker pattern listed in the setup. I believe it is the default.

2) I also see the audio is totally missing in some cases especially with Video 1 and Video 2 HDMI inputs. This issue also gets fixed if I do a factory reset and goes back to same state once I turn it off and turn it back on.

I am totally puzzled about these two problems and about to return this receiver. And the most interesting thing is that this is the second receiver of this model I am testing. Both have exact same issues. I bought this receiver by seeing the Outstanding review by CNET.

I am trying to replace my Denon AVR-1910 7.1 receiver which doesn't have 3D support. In the past I had Onkyo TX-SR606 which is also a 7.1 receiver. And the first receiver I used was a Sony 5.1 receiver which was probably the best receiver I used. But I had to move on to the newer receivers as new technologies got introduced. The reason I mentioned this is that to let you know that I am not a complete newbie to home theater system or receivers and all the other receivers worked fine with the same 7.1 and 5.1 channel check videos I have been using.

Also wonder if any of you tried to run this 7.1 channel check on your receiver? I must be missing something in the setup. I can't think of any reason to no have the right audio signals on the right channels during the test. When I watch a movie, I do hear from all speakers though. But I am not sure if it is supposed to be the right audio coming out via those channels and that was the reason I wanted to make sure it passes the 7.1 channel check.

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions you can provide.

Originally Posted by eah9 

Sorry to hear about your troubles with the receiver.

I did notice you mentioned that you have 2/4.1 as the speaker pattern. That is 6.1 not 7.1. It should be 3.4.1. if you have 3 fronts (L/C/R), 4 surrounds and 1 sub. That could explain why you are not getting the second surrounds working or something else not producing sound. Make sure you set the speaker pattern first then run the autocalc with the mic. Hope that helps some. Also - you will want to change any large speakers that Sony autocalc put in there to small for all with a crossover of 80hz for fronts, c, and around 100hz for the surrounds (depending on the speakers you have) so that all the low end goes to the sub. I run autocalc for distance and eq only then switch the speaker size. Then use test tones in the sony gui - that would let you know for sure if everything is working correctly.

I would also (as a sanity check) check the speaker wires to make sure you didn't inadvertently switch red/white (+ and -) and that you plugged them into the correct plugs in the back. I recommend banana plugs if you don't have them. Saves tons of time and frustration.

One other thing - if your BD player can handle it change it to bitstream, so that you run lossless audio - for tru-hd, master-hd. That is such an incredibly clean sound.