Anthem D2/D2v/AVM50/AVM50v/ARC1 tweaking guide - Page 589

Bummer. It does seem to be working okay. And I managed to find where I had stashed the 2nd remote.

Everyone:

Appreciate all the suggestions. I raised the noise floor 7.5dB and set the ARC to correct all the way up to 20kHz. Not sure if that has disadvantages vs setting it to correct to, say, 15kHz, but what the heck. Also, I didn't change the subwoofer volume, as I did this before I saw your post, Bob.

Here's the resulting curves:

Noise floor ^7.5dB, ARC correcting to 20kHz:



BTW, something curious happens during the measurements. The front speakers are clearly louder than the surrounds and the rears when the test tones are played. Shouldn't they all sound the same amplitude?

Anyway, thoughts as to the new curves? Is there any way to further augment the high frequency response of the fronts/center? There's still quite the dropoff at the high end.

Thanks as always to the great board and its members.

It is normal for the speakers to produce different volumes during the test sweep tones as that is precisely what ARC needs so that it can decide how to adjust the volume for each of them. ARC zeroes out any volume adjustments you have made in Setup > Speaker Calibration prior to running the test sweeps and replaces them with new values according to what it hears. The only value it uses is the Noise Level as I stated above. [If the speakers are too out of balance for ARC to correct via the available speaker volume trim settings, then ARC will complain.]

Look at the speaker volume trim (Setup > Speaker Calibration) that ARC has now Uploaded for your Subwoofer. If it is a few dB either side of 0dB, then you are OK as is with the volume knob on your sub.

Your high frequency Measured curves for the LF/RF and C speakers may improve if you take some care in repositioning/repointing them. You are likely seeing the natural drop off due to directionality in the speakers. Keep in mind that the vertical dispersion of high frequencies in most speakers is less uniform than the horizontal dispersion, which means that speaker mounting height and vertical pointing can make a big difference in high frequency goodness. Check your speaker manual to see if they show any vertical and horizontal response diagrams for higher frequencies.

For example, for the LF/RF speakers: Try toeing them in a bit from being directly perpendicular to the screen. Don't overdo this. Try a mere 1/3 of the way around from perpendicular towards the direction to the center seating position. You will need to re-Measure after moving/repointing any speakers -- even inches matter.

You can do a set of re-Calculations with different Max EQ Frequency target values to see what happens to the Calculated (green) curve for each speaker. Look for a compromise setting that gives you much of what you can achieve in high frequencies by cranking it up to 20KHz but without introducing too much in the way of residual error wobbles either side of the dashed black Target curve in the lower frequencies. Your 20KHz results are not looking that bad, but you might get better by pulling back to something smaller like 18KHz. It is trivially easy to try different values -- you don't have to re-Measure, just re-Calculate using your current Measurements and see how the green curves change. When you get a result you like, Upload it and give it a listen.
--Bob

i am running video out from an HTPC (over HDMI) thru the D2 to an HD1. >50% of the time (intermittantly), as i am watching a Blu-ray DVD (from hard drive), i will start seeing VERTICAL BANDING. Over time, it usually gets worse. Last night was especially bad - and when i increase volume, the OSD (from the D2 on the JVC) would garble the fonts - making them unreadable.

anyone seen this? when i watch regular TV from Vista Media Center (Tivo), things normally fine, but watching blu-ray movies seems to bring out the banding. And it doesn't happen all the time...

ideas??

thanks
brad

Thanks. So much to do, so little time.

I'll try shimming up the speakers (they are a little low, though I have already shimmed them a little.) Also toe them in a little more.

So much easier, better sounding with my old monolith Snell B's. Of course, the theater would still look like crap if I had kept them.

As the Manual states, the Dipole setting merely simplifies distance (timing) adjustment for dipole spears -- i.e., matches the largest distance for your other speakers. Since dipole speakers work by bouncing sound off the surroundings, their direct line distance from the listening position is not relevant.

In any event, if you have the surround speakers themselves set to Bipole you should use the Direct setting in the Anthem so that the speaker distance (timing adjustments) are properly applied by the Anthem. If you set the speakers to Dipole, use the Dipole setting in the Anthem.

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You didn't mention this time what you were using for the Max EQ Frequency target when you did the ARC calculation. I think you should probably try raising that from the default 5KHz value to something closer to the max 20KHz value and see what sort of results curves you get.

You can try a few different values up there quite easily to see how the Calculated (green) curves change. Do this with both the Bipole/Direct and with the Dipole/Dipole Measurement files. Discard the Dipole/Direct Measurement file as you do not want to use that configuration.

It may just be that your surround speakers are weak in high frequencies, but if you tell ARC to correct up that high that should help.

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Bass and Treble are "on the fly" adjustment controls you can make for your personal preference according to whatever content you are watching at the moment. Their settings do not affect the ARC setup. In the 2+ years I've had my D2 I don't think I've ever used them.

I listen mostly to movies with multi-channel tracks, and I have a 5.1 speaker system, so there are no choices for me to make on surround audio modes -- i.e., there's no work for the D2 to do. 5.1 in just goes to 5.1 out.

Since you have a 7.1 speaker system, I suggest you use PLIIx to raise 5.1 channel input to 7.1 speaker output. It's entirely personal preference which of the PLIIx modes you use to do that -- read the Manual for some discussion of the differences between them.

When listening to stereo content, my personal preference is:

1) For Music stereo content: Stereo -- i.e., no surround speakers. Just the LF/RF and sub.

2) For regular TV programs: Anthem Cinema

3) For Movies with stereo sound tracks (on disc or broadcast TV): PLIIx, to raise the 2.0 channel input to 5.1 speaker output. Note that I don't have to chose between the different PLIIx modes as they only differ in what they would send to rear speakers and I don't have rear speakers.

I used to add THX post processing when watching movies, but now with ARC I don't do that any longer.
--Bob

This doesn't sound good. Since you are only seeing it from the one source, one thing to try if it happens again is to immediately switch to another source -- see if the problem happens there -- then switch back to the HTPC source and see if the problem is still there.

Another thing to try is to bring up the Video Source Adjust menu (press and hold the "7" key) -- it is generated by a different circuit than the volume OSD so may work fine -- and go to the Info panel to see if the video input/output information has changed at all from what it shows when things are working properly from your HTPC.

Any time video interference problems are reported another thing I suggest is that you temporarily disconnect the feed from the wall to your cable or satellite TV receiver. An awful lot of garbage can come in on the shield of that cable and sometimes it will jump from box to box along the shields of the cables connecting them and screw up other electronics (i.e., it doesn't matter that it's not directly connected to either the HTPC or the Anthem). If you never see the HTPC problem when your cable/satellite feed is not connected to the outside world then you may have an improperly grounded cable/satellite feed.

Your problem may be video resolution dependent. Temporarily set your HTPC to a lower output resolution and see if that makes the problem go away. If so, your HTPC may not be putting out the correct video timings at the higher resolution.

Also try to describe the vertical banding more completely as the details may suggest the source of the problem.

Keep track of all the details you learn as you try this stuff. Your Anthem may need hardware service -- or it may need a re-install of the firmware -- and the details will help Anthem tech support sort that out with you.
--Bob

Whenever we play an HD movie on our AppleTV through the Anthem D2, it shows up as "Dolby D" - 5.1. I've tried to change the Audio mode (i.e. to PLII Movie or EX), but I can't change it. I want to get my rear surrounds to work for 5.1 movies (I have a 7.1 system). Any ideas?

I had a similar problem once and I was told to check my speaker configuration in the D2 set-up. It had changed from 7.1 to 6.1, and I wasn't able to get PLIIx. Pehaps yours is set at 5.1.
Tom

Bob

Thanks man. Why didnt I think of that? At least you arent one of the naysayers when I just use the D2 as is without speakers and an amp. I wonder how much this upgrade to the V2 is going to call us?

Other than the Apple TV input I have no problems with choosing the other modes.

I don't have the Apple TV, so I don't know specifically any peculiarities with its audio, BUT if its outputting a DD signal ,either 2.0 or 5.1, you should be able to set your D2 to DD-EX or PLIIx.
There have been some messages on this thread that Apple TV's hdmi out didn't work with the D2, and needed to be hooked up via component (and optical or coax, I assume) to work with the D2 properly.
It makes no sense to me. If your speaker set-up is configured for 7.1 in the D2 menu then you should be able to use DD-EX or PLIIx.
Maybe someone with an Apple TV can help. It might be something in its set-up. Sorry I couldn't be of any help.

I've been lurking daily since I got my Pioneer 6010FD last February. I Finally decided that it was time to upgrade just about everything else.

I'm going with the Anthem Statement D2v, Anthem A5 amp and Martin Logan Spires, which are amazing together! I just auditioned them (well, not with D2v as that would be impossible) for several hours this afternoon, and I'm delighted. I currently have a Sony Blu-Ray player, which is a piece of garbage, and an Oppo 981 DVD player, both of which I will replace with the Oppo 83 that is due out soon. My rears are Polk Audio dipole surrounds, as the couch is against the back wall, and can't be anywhere else.

Should I make all of my connections that are possible to do so with HDMI cables to the D2v, or is there any reason to do otherwise?

I appreciate your opinion(s). Thanks in advance!

Yes, connect your listed gear with HDMI cables. The only exception I can think of is for some satellite and cable receivers, that when connected via HDMI have a 2 second pause when changing channels due to having to do the "handshake" every time.

Here a dumb question: as everyone probably knows, often in BDs you need to specifically choose Dolby TrueHD as your language - the default is usually just 'English', which presumably is regular old Dolby Digital.

The questions is, when using the PS3 for BD, which transmits audio as LPCM to the D2, is there some way to see on the display of either the PS3 or the D2 that the TrueHD soundtrack is being properly sent? I always feel like choosing something in the menu is somewhat unsatisfying. Also, I sometimes just plain old forget and don't notice.

Dumb question, I know, but somewhat practical for the D2/PS3 combo.

Thanks,

David

Hitting DISPLAY on the PS3 shows the Audio selected - such as TrueHD, etc.

Thanks - makes sense - I wish there was a more automatic way to see, but that works fine.

There are only a limited number of things that can be screwed up here:

Go into Setup > Source Setup for the input you are using with the AppleTV and check whether you are using Movie or Music speaker configuration for Bass Management. If the wrong one is specified, correct it.

Now go into Setup > Speaker Configuration for Movie or Music (as chosen above) and verify that the rear speakers are included in the configuration. If not, correct that. If you are using ARC then this is set by the ARC Upload, which means you may have forgotten to tell ARC you had 1 or 2 rear speakers when you did the Measurement pass. Double check that in your ARC results file (open the saved file in ARC Advanced mode and see if charts are displayed for your rear speakers. If the ARC stuff doesn't include the rear speakers you will need to redo the ARC setup (Measure, Calculate, and Upload). If the ARC stuff DOES include the rear speakers then you can just redo the Upload without having to re-Measure.

If you are using ARC, then while you are in Setup > Source Setup, also check that Room EQ is ON for that source input so that ARC is actually turned on for that source.

Also remember after you do an ARC Upload to go into the Setup menu, check that everything looks as you expect in there, and then do a Save User and/or Installer Settings to capture the changes ARC Uploaded into those memories. This will prevent your accidentally screwing up the ARC changes by reloading settings from those memories.

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Presuming all that is correct, play some AppleTV content and press Select a few times on the Anthem remote until you get to the display of which channels are present in the audio input. You should be seeing all 5.1 channels.

Continue pressing Select until you see the speakers included in the audio output. When you get the surround audio mode set correctly you should see al 7.1 speakers.

While still listening to the AppleTV content, press THX on the remote and use the Up or Down arrows to toggle THX post processing to OFF. Some surround modes are only accessible while THX is OFF.

Now press Mode on the remote and use the Up or Down arrows to cycle through the available surround mode options. You should be able to see all the non-THX choices for a 7.1 speaker system playing 5.1 channel content (see Manual section 4.8.8). If not, report what it is showing as available choices and we'll see if that suggests anything else to try. [If the movie from the AppleTV is presenting 2.0 audio to the Anthem, then of course you will see the different set of surround modes shown in Manual section 4.8.7.]
--Bob

First of all, welcome to the Cool Kids Thread!

Your output to the display should be HDMI of course.

For Blu-Ray (and HD DVD if you have that) use HDMI input for both audio and video. For everything except Blu-Ray and HD DVD you can choose whatever is most convenient for you. For example, the audio from a cable TV box's optical digital output is identical in style and quality to what it will present on its HDMI output. Some devices may have reduced quality video on their Component video outputs compared to HDMI however, so my usual recommendation is to use HDMI for video to start and then try Component if you wish after you get used to what the HDMI video offers from that device. If you see no degradation when using Component, then you can feel free to use Component video (plus optical or coax digital audio) from that device as you choose. With the D2v, you've got lots of HDMI inputs of course, but if you get enough sources, then you may want to use Component from some of them.

HDMI inputs will exhibit a "handshake delay" every time the source is selected or the format of its output changes (e.g., video resolution change when switching between SD and HD cable channels -- if the cable box is set to output the same resolution as it is receiving from the channel). In addition, some HDMI devices include a SECOND handshake delay after video starts and before audio starts. Each handshake delay lasts about 2 seconds -- longer if it fails and has to retry. This is just the way HDMI works (i.e., it is not peculiar to the D2). Quite a few folks use Component+Optical or HDMI+Optical from their cable or satellite box to avoid one or both of these handshake delays.

When comparing HDMI vs. Component video from any device, be aware that you need to calibrate the video settings separately for each of them as there is no particular reason why the best video level settings for HDMI should be the same as for Component from any given source device. See the "Video Calibration for non-ISF Techs" post in the links in the first post of this thread for guidance on setting up video properly.

Personally I use HDMI video from every source that offers it. (Component if HDMI is not offered, S-Video if neither Component or HDMI are offered -- avoid using Composite video from even cheap devices as the D2 will not process or scale Composite video inputs.) I use HDMI audio for those as well except for my Comcast HD/DVR which I have hooked up as Optiical digital audio to avoid its extra audio startup handshake delay.
--Bob

I figured it out today (we watched Dark Knight). The bass manager was on Music, when I changed it to "Movie" I was able to change the settings.

In our house we have a hood over the cooking surface that has a pair of 50 watt flood lights. If you have something like that it will help the drying. Steady gentle warming which over hours will penetrate inside without overheating.

Glad to hear it. It always seems so simple after you finally figure it out.
Tom

"Suddenly! As if by logic!"



Glad its working for you now.
--Bob

Bob P.
A few months ago, you provided us specific details on how to set up our D2's ARC in our home theater system. Recently, your advice helped us configure our D2's video output using a newly purchased 1080p plasma display along with a PS3.

All sounds & looks great.

Thanks again for all your support helping us get the most out of our D2s. Your expertise is greatly appreciated!

We wish you & your family health & happines this new year.

We here at "Bob Pariseau" thank you for your kind words!

Oh, and it looks like these guys are headed over to your place:
--Bob

Latest episode with ARC 1.2.13.
1. New measurement for music took only 4 position test tones, forgot the 5th position.

2. Settings were wiped out. Had to reload user settings

Use of test software should be used with caution
John

I currently have a Panasonic DMP DB55 Blu-Ray Player; this player will decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio either to analog or PCM. It will also output these as native digital bitstream. It has HDMI, component video, digital coax, digital optical, and analog 7.1 out.

I have a Motorola QIP 6416-2 (DVR/FiOS) which has HDMI, component video, digital coax, and digital optical out. I have a Mitsubishi 55819 display which has three component inputs: one 1080i input and two 480p inputs.

I also have an Anthem Signature A5.

I have the opportunity to buy a new D2 (version 1.xx) with ARC for $4500 US. I want to take maximum advantage of all of the D2's features right away.

Can you tell me what the ideal audio and video connection configuration for me would be? Would this advice change if I had a D2V2?

If I were to buy the D2V1 and have it upgraded to D2V2, what would distinguish the upgraded component from one that was originally a D2V2?

The D2 will be a very short distance from the A5 (my current interconnects are 0.6 meters long); in your opinion, would it be worth my while to buy a set of balanced cables to connect th D2 to the A5?

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

I take it your display does not have an HDMI (or DVI) input. That limits you, as copy protection prevents the Anthem from converting HDMI inputs to Component output. It can only convert in the other direction (Component in to HDMI out).

In your situation, most people would use Component video and Optical digital audio from each source device to the D2 until they could get an HDMI display. For Blu-Ray, that means you will be listening to the "associated" or "core" lossy DD or DTS audio track present on each disc for just such compatibility purposes.

If your Blu-Ray player has its HDMI and Component outputs live simultaneously (many Blu-Ray players won't do this), then you could send HDMI audio to the D2 and Component 1080i video directly to the display. In that case you would send HDMI LPCM audio from the player to the D2 -- i.e., have the player do the audio decoding -- which will get you the full goodness of the lossless encoded tracks. However, since your display only has one Component input capable of 1080i input, this too is problematic as there would not be a place to connect in the D2 output as well.

I would probably punt and use Component+Optical into the D2 and Component from the D2 to the one 1080i input of your display until you can replace the display.

None of this would change with the D2 v.2 (or D2v, or whatever they are calling it now). Again the limiting factor is your display (no HDMI/DVI and only one HD Component input).

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You really don't need balanced interconnects over a short distance like that. Their primary purpose is to help reject external electrical interference over long runs or in environments with a lot of equipment (which is why they are used in studios). If you use a mix of balanced and normal connections to your amp, keep in mind that there is a 6dB output difference between them. So it is normal that you will have to trim the volume differently for each. See the audio connections section of the D2 manual.

An upgraded D2 -> D2 v.2 will be identical to a new D2 v.2 except that the front panel isn't replaced so you won't see the new logos for things like TrueHD and DTS-HD MA. The components replaced during the upgrade (and only those components) get a new warranty of the same type as the replaced components had (3 years for the audio stuff, 2 years for the video stuff). In your case, since your D2 would be so new, this is not really a distinguishing factor.
--Bob

Hey Bob,

Just wondering, which one of these would have the better audio processor, the panasonic bd55k or the anthem avm50v and why? Thanks for your help!

I would not be surprise if the price change since it was based on a quite different exchange rate. The CDN$ droppeed 20% since this announcement.