The "Official" Denon AVR-4306 Thread - Page 3

Hey guys,

My trusty AVC-2000 recently gave up the ghost and I've replaced it with a 4306 that I've been working on setting up for a few hours now. (I tried looking around for the answer to this already with no luck)

I've managed to waste a bit of time on the good old DirecTV-HD10 issue, but the 4306 is definitely easier to configure with a PC. (Sweet!)

Anyway, I have a Polk RM3000 (Great Grandaddy of the RM6000) setup for my front and subwoofer which is not self powered.

Any thoughts on options powering up my trusty subwoofer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. -Joel

Over the last couple of days I've read the entire huge 4806 thread and the 4306 ones, and I'm still not clear on the video capabilities.

Earlier people were bugged that the 4306 had Faroudja DCDi but the 4806 didn't.

But I looked on the Denon site and don't find any mention of DCD for either. If the 4306 does have it, are any of its features adjustable (as they are in outboard scalers using the chips).

Also, has anyone compared the 4306 and 4806 sound quality? I'll be building 96 dB efficient LCR speakers, so I won't need a lot of juice from the amps. And the 4806 is a lot more $.

Does the 4306 let you set different XO freq's for the frontas and surrounds?

Thanks

Noah,

the scaler is limited and I have never seen confirmation of it being DCDI. You can pick res, RGB mode, black level, screen shape and thats about it. Pass through on HDMI. I have a 3910 and HD motorla box going up to a Sammy 710 projector and it works perfectly.

4306 currently has more features I believe with ipod but that will even up eventually. I went with a cheaper 4306 as a preamp for now based on having to buy something new anyway in the near future for blu ray audio.

OK, thanks lsd

Hey guys,

Well I have just spent about 4-5 hours goving over MANY details today.

I am currently faced with a decision and stumbled across the 4306 in my researching (I didn't even know this one existed) and I am having a hard time not going with the 4306.

My setup will be used 98% of the time for movies/TV.

My options are an

1. Inexpensive Pre/Pro setup (very much in my price range) but would not have the bells and whistles of any receiver (HDMI switching, etc etc)

2. More expensive pre and inexpensive amp. Same issues as above but the Pre is truly awesome in sound quality

3. Denon 4306

The Denon hits about mid price point. Its not as cheap as I would like but its at least $600-$700 cheaper than option 2.

The Denon just seems the way to go. The Auto setup sounds like it works very well and the 4306 just seems to offer a crapload of stuff for the $$ (still not cheap though).

What are the major pitfalls of this unit. I have read this as well as the other "big 4306" thread and a lot of the complaints I see stem from IPOD setting, cable boxes, and some Internet music issues. Cable box is a nonissue for me (DirecTV), IPOD is also a nonissue (don't own one and probably won't own one), Internet Music/MP3 stuff does interest me.

Anyway just looking for some thoughts.

Thanks

Greg

I can say that the Internet Music/MP3 issue is very big! I love it, works like a charm. Plenty of good quality stations that opens up a whole new world.

I had a few problems at first with connections, I think due to my computer (Norton internet security crap & windows bs) and home network (bad connection) - nothing due to the 4306. Simply put it not an issue, but an extreme pleasure. My internet radio is going most of the day, it cuts out at times, more with some stations than with others. But can be esaily connected back up.

Groove.

Hi all,

I have an odd situation. When watching cable TV (TWC, SA 8300) routed through the component inputs on the 4306 and then back out through the HDMI output, I get a vertical moving band that moves across the screen like a wave of higher contrast. I have a ground loop isolator and a power conditioner, so I don't think that would be the cause.

I've swapped out the SA 8300 DVR and it didn't make a difference. In the brief moment I was able to get the HDMI handshake to work between the DVR, TV and the 4306, it appeared that the vertical banding might have gone away. But then the handshake failed and I've not been able to get it to work again.

The key components in my setup are:

Denon 4306
Sony KV 34XBR800
Scientific Atlanta 8300 DVR
Samsung 841 DVD player
Monster 3600 Mk II power conditioner

Thanks for any suggestions/help!

I think you are in a similar situation as me. I have the Moto 6412 III with Comcast Cable in San Francisco. The HDMI from the 6412 works fine when it is connected directly to my display (Panny 900), but when I go through the 4306 receiver, I get a blue screen. I've been told this will eventually be resolved with a firmware upgrade to the 6412. It's been over three months and the HDMI handshake issue is still not resolved. In January, I was on cable box version 12.18. Now I'm on version 12.31 but Comcast has still not gotten the HDMI handshake issue fixed. But at least now I get a specific error message on my display for a few seconds that says something like, "Set top box not HDMI compatible" before I get a blue screen.

To all Denon AVR-4306 owners:

Making use of Denon's PC interface "Save/Load" tool, I downloaded the managment utility (SSManage4306.zip) from the receiver to a PC.

However, when PKZIP is used to extract the actual file, it reports the downloaded file "SSManage4306.zip" as corrupt - see below:

Using Denon's PC interface...

***************
15.Save/Load Tool

***************
System Setup Manager Download
Usage

1. Download 'SSManage4306.zip' to PC.
2. Unzip 'SSManage4306.zip'.
3. Execute 'SSManage4306.exe'.
********************************

If anyone has succeeded in doing so, please post a working copy of this utility for the rest of us. Thanks in advance.

Hey folks,

I've had my 4306 for about a week and have finally gotten around to configuring windows media connect. I set up a share and threw a .wma file in there... sure enough my 4306 finds it and is able to play it.

I excitedly dumped several mp3s in the shared folder (mp3s that I basically ripped from CD) and unfortunately none of them show on the denon when I attempt to play. What am I missing here?

Quick question on the multi-zone setup of the 4306. i have the main zone setup in 5.1 and zone 2 setup with the back channels and power amp assign. I'm assuming that I'll need an amp (got a Audiosource Amp300) to power Zone 3. Anyone know the proper settings to enable Zone 3 to power the amp and send output to the attached speakers in the 3rd zone?

Cable from Zone 3 audio output into your Audiosource Amp300.

Turn zone 3 on and the "slave" amp and you should get sound.

Try re indexing the music folder, or shutting down WMC then restarting.

Are you sure the MP3 files are not protected files?

Try using a different web browser, worked for me after changing to firefox instead of internet explorer.

mrfreezetas,

Can you please email me (winware2000-at-hotmail-dot-com) this Save/Load tool?

Thanks in advance.

I had no luck accessing the utility from a Windows 2000 system but was able to download it from the 4306 from a Windows XP system. Both computers ran IE 6.0....

-- Dave

Hi guys,

I am planing to get a Denon 4306 but i have heard that it has no built-in decoding for next-gen HD-DVD and Blu-ray audio formats. Is this true? If yes, does this mean if I buy a blu-ray player, it won't work with it? If not, could you guys recommend me an other Denon receiver which would work with a blu-ray player?

Although I don't have the source at hand, I recall reading that the BluRay and HD-DVD players will be doing all the processing on-board and sending the info directly to the receiver, which will use HDMI to send 1080p to your monitor.

Gorilla,

I think that you should not worry about it not being able to play. The AVR just passes the info through - most likely no problem. However, any new DTS or Dolby processing schemes that are introduced with BluRay and HD-DVD are not included with te 4306. However, these may be in the DVD players....so, again, possibly no worries.

I just moved up to a 4306 from a 3805, and am thrilled with the features on the new box, but like a lot of you, I'm a bit overwhelmed with the complexity of some setups. The main complaint I have right now is the output to my 5.1/7.1 speaker arrangement with SACD and DVD-A from my 2910. I'm hooked up with the proper 6 cables into the "Ext In" section of the 4306, but get no output from my sub or surrounds (everything worked perfectly with my 3805). The other surround modes work fine, but not the Ext In. Any of you 4306 gurus have any idea what I might be doing wrong?

Whatever you do, don't read the manual. Seriously. I did. I'm still in therapy.

Is your therapist taking any new patients?

I wonder if the German language manual is any better?

I have been doing a lot of research about this A/V receiver and even went to Magnolia to hook the ethernet plug in their room correctly, just to see the web control page. There is a lot more I want to look at before pulling the trigger, but they will only give me about a week to play with the Demo model. (not enough time)

I am interested in really having a central receiver to be the central place to manage the Listening Zones and integrate with my 1000's of MP3's. I plan on getting a speaker switch (4 rooms) that will be hooked up to Zone 2 (TV in one room and Music in the other).

Here is what I like to use the A/V for:
1. Watch TV and Movies 50%
2. Listen to MP3 30%
3. Play CD's 5%
4. Listen to music off on the internet 5%

So whats the question, you may ask.. well there are a lot, so bear with me.

1. I am planning on getting a Buffalo Terastation to store all of my Mp3's, or possibly a linux server to do this. Can someone tell me if I HAVE to have DLNA server to be used with this receiver, or can it access MP3's off of a windows/samba share. (this might be too technical, but I think you all know what I mean)

2. When using a shared directory or server (with or without DLNA), how does it display the Artist, Album name, genre and names of the songs it finds on the display. (email me pictures if you can)

3. How easy is it to select whole albums to play or create songlists (play all 80's music etc), is this even possible? Do you have to select each song to play.

3. Can someone in detail tell me the steps on how to configure/attach to the right share or server where my MP3's will be located. RTFM is not an answer for we all know I can't read chinese. (email me pictures if you can)

4. Using the Internet accessible control page (webpage), has anyone figured out how to create your own webpage that will send the appropriate commands to the receiver. The page that is displayed when you go to the IP address of the receiver is just plain UGLY, and I would like to create a nicer looking webpage that will send the commands to the receiver. I am trying to do this in HTML, so that I can goto a webpage I will serve on my server. This way it will look sooo much better.

5. How reliable is the auto speaker set-up (with the microphone) (Pros, cons?)

6. I have read many posts on how bad the remote is, should I invest in a Logitech/Harmony Remote. If so which ones would you reccommend and are all of the codecs upto date with them?

7. Has Denon updated any of the Software on this receiver for it has been on the market for a while now. (different revisions)

8. Does anyone know if and when a newer model will come out, don't want to buy this if a new one will be out in 3-4 months. (I can wait a little)

9. Lastly has anyone heard when a new firmware update will be released to fix any of the HDMI switching issues. Will this even be fixed with a firmware update, or is it a problem with the attached equipment.

I know these are deep questions, but I need to know to make sure this is the right path for my planned setup.

Thanks for all your help.!!

I have little experience so far with my 4306 re questions 1 through 4, but will give my experiences with the others:


This has worked great for me - I replaced a Denon 3600 with the 4306 and the auto setup works very well. Night and day difference from the older 3600.


I have not had any issues with the remote so far, bt will probably program my universal remote system soon just to eliminate clutter.


I don't believe they have done so


The 4306 isn't that old yet, I would bet another year+ before a replacement shows up


This has been the best part of the upgrade. My DVD and Dish HD sat receiver work great with the HDMI connections. No issues whatsoever. Those with cable boxes have had different experiences, but I understand that's a cable box issue.

HDMI will carry 8 channels of raw PCM 96/24 - so any future audio formats will at least be decoded to pure PCM in the player and then transferred to the receiver in plain PCM.

Full digital path.

Only problem is if the audio would exceed 96/24, but my humble ears will never hear downsampling from higher levels to this anyway.

1. I think that if it is DLNA it should work - Not sure about this though. If you go away from DLNA you are at risk of not working. I'm interested in the Buffalo servers as well, but have not tried yet.

2. It depends upon how you search for files with the 4306; if you search by artist you get the artist name and so on...

3. Play lists are the way to go. i make the lists with winamp on the computer. Maybe this can be done in a different way - no ideas. One thing about playlists is that when they are displayed on the 4306 - they use the song title I believe and not the artist. This is a problem for me because I have whole albums in one mp3 file and then several albums within a play list. Thus, on the 4306 it might say "greatest hits" four times and I'm not sure which one is which.....

Hi
I have been using 30 year old McIntosh separates for that many years so autosetup is a new experience for me. I bought a Denon AVR-4306 yesterday. I have Martin Logan Ascent ii speakers and Mirage Omni S12 SW, Scientific Atlanta 8300HD cable box and Samsung HLN507W rp. (Using HDMI cable box to 4306 and HDMI to DVI adaptor to Samsung)

When trying to follow the setup instructions for both auto and manual in the %$&%$ Manual, I can get neither sound nor image. I see mention of "detecting speakers" in the manual. The Martin Logan electrostatics sleep in a standby mode when not receiving a signal -- as does the selp powered mirage.

In searches on this site, I have not found major complaints with the 4306 setup.

My Questions:

Is it possible that
1: the 4306 doesn't detect the speakers so does nothing.
1.5: and or / there are issues with the HDMI

2: the 4306 is DOA ?
or
3: the obvious-- there is a loose nut on the controls.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Ken,

I have had many issues with the Denon AVR-4306 setup... Your new AVR-4306 might be DOA, but as you have obviously already noticed, the manual leaves a LITTLE to be desired... I'd go so far as to say that it is my opinion that it is nearly possible to figure this thing out by just reading the manual. The problems you are experiencing with the speaker setup is probably (?) due to the fact that the instructions are not clearly written and --- for me anyways --- impossible to understand and follow. I'm usually pretty good at working my way through such things. But not with this...

There are other people on this great forum who can greatly help you. It might be something as simple as having a setting wrong. At least, that was the case for me. I forget now exactly what it was that I had to change, but it was something rather obscure in the setup menu. My problem was that when trying to use the MULTEQ auto-setup feature --- the microphone wasn't picking anything up... Reason: I needed to change one setting. Most frustrating. Worked great once I changed that one setting... I felt dumb that I didn't figure it out on my own. That's the deal too! The receiver does a FINE job. Sounds great to me... And it has many very useful features... Receiver: Grade = A --- Manual: Grade = D-

I am anything but an expert or a dreaded tech. (see name) But IMHO this is definitely one time I won't suggest that you SIMPLY read the manual. RTFM does NOT apply.

Just my 4 cents worth.

EDIT: Check out this link to a different thread on the 4306

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...19#post7291919

and also postings numbered 735 and 742 following that posting.

Fobe:
Thanks for the thoughts and kindly suggesting the fault is in my manual and not in myself. Heading for the other post.... TX

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