Anthem D2/D2v/AVM50/AVM50v/ARC1 tweaking guide - Page 1281

Actually, for TiVo, you only need to pay for the first year. You can cancel after that. I had called them a few months ago during my initial explorations.

Check out the Channel Master CM-7001 Antenna and Cable Tuner. More info from Channel Master...

Hi

It appears that it maybe time to upgrade my avm 50v firmware form 2.11 for the first time since there is a posted 3.09. I am hoping I can get a bit of help from the ones in the know. I have arc software 3.02 installed.

1)
2)
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4)
Regards

Most people just do,
1. Disconnect HDMI sources.
2. Save User Setting
3. Load Default Settings
4. Start firmware upgrade.

Personally I just start without doing 1-4 but I prefer you do 1-4 so I don't get blamed if it doesn't work.
John

Thanks for the Channel Master reference. I had read a review about the ChannelMasterTV product on HomeTheater and was left with the impression of the extremely hot operating temperature. I didn't realize that they had other products too that were akin to more traditional tuner solutions. This looks like a good direction. Thanks for that reference. I'm going to look at this in more detail.

Theo

Hey all:

After much anguish and toil late into the night yesterday, i managed to find the source of the hum. It wasn't the D2v as i had thought but it was the external bass manager i use to phase/time align my subs(AS-EQ1). The sub RCA outputs from my D2v are plugged into the EQ1 and whose output goes to my subwoofers. Somehow, connecting the D2v into the EQ1 caused the hum i have been experiening. Not sure why the shields of the d2v subouts and the EQ1 created a ground loop of sorts.

Anyway, i used the XLR outs of the D2v and went into a balun whose output fed the RCA inputs of the EQ1. Then its RCA outputs are fed back into the balun, which outputs an XLR outs for my sub. Now the noise level is gone. Thank you all for the help .

- David

Thank you very much John. Status says 3.09 and i am listinging to Vavaldi again. Toke a really long time programing the video processor but it verified and gave me the green check mark of approval . Not the most relaxing thing i have done today for sure. Thanks again you guys are great.

Regards

Because you updated from a much earlier version, the video files took much longer to finish . Glad it worked for you.
John

Just by way of an update I have tried this - one amp, one XLR connection from the D2v to the amp, all other connectors removed - the noise remains. I also, switched over to a different amp, and performed the test again - the noise is still there.

Thanks again for the help with 3.09 upgrade. I am wondering if this is the firmware for the 3D board up grade and if so after the board swap should all be up and running or is there a difference and i need to flash again?

Regards

I believe you'll have to redo the V3.09 installation to properly initialize the newly installed hardware. Since your video board is now already updated with the new firmware, the re-install will take only about 15 minutes.
--Bob

Was the other amp also XLR? If not, then it sounds like a D2v problem. Please try RCA connection if you haven't and if noise remains contact your dealer or tech support (we usually can't fix something that we can't reproduce here).

This might have to do with the XLR side:

http://www.rane.com/note165.html
Edited by Nick @ Anthem - 9/12/12 at 7:37am

ah but it might have taken less time if you said "hum" in your last post, which said, "When i mute the D2v sound and place my ears next to my rear speakers(closest to the unit), i hear significant broadband noise from speaker."

There is a big difference between hum and broadband noise, aka hiss, pink noise, white noise, random noise, and waterfall sound.

Public service announcement: Please always be precise when describing a problem or noise. These are all different but often confused (certainly not singling you out dmusoke):

hiss - there will always be some, but should not be audible from the listening area with average-efficiency speakers

hum - almost always caused by a ground loop, can be caused by bad filter cap in power amp (or bad design) but I haven't seen that since the tube days

buzz - most often caused when there is a ground loop with cable TV connection, at least when I was in tech support. Quick easy test - disconnect cable to see if buzz disappears. It just occurred to me that I haven't heard anyone mention it since the switch to digital cable, no idea whether that amounts to anything. Also caused by faulty ground connection in interconnect. There are other causes but they're relatively rare as far as everyday HT is concerned.

snap, crackle, pop, whine - exactly what each name implies

digital noise - can mean anything, please be more specific

When reporting any of the above please always indicate relative loudness, such as how far from speaker one has ot stand to hear it, the speaker model or efficiency if known, and exactly when noise does and doesn't occur. This could save a ton of time in the end.

Yes, both tests were via XLR. I will try RCA tonight. Andrew in Tech Support is currently helping me try a few things to troubleshoot the problem.

To clarify on the noise, following your post above, it is a high pitched hum - I may have referred to it as a whine previously because of the high pitch (though I'm not sure at which point a high pitched hum becomes a whine? ) - this is combined with excessive hiss. It's just about audible from 15ft, clearly audible from a few feet.

Thanks for the link to the Rane article - I have been doing a fair bit of reading on the XLR wiring. Can you (or anyone else) confirm whether PIN 1 on the D2v's XLR terminals are wired to signal ground or chassis ground?

Believe it or not, BEFORE i had the problems mentioned a few posts above, i too had a high-pitched noise in ALL of my speakers from the D2v when i power the bass manager(BM) from my racks built-in 12VDC power supply rack-mount module. Regardless of whatever input i used on the D2v, it was always there which was frustrating.

I panicked for a long while until then ended up using a standard 12V AC/DC converter that i plugged into my 120VAC outlet to feed my BM. Powering the BM using the racks built in 12v supply caused high-pitched noise. Powering it using a standard 12V wall wart eliminated the noise. Why ???? Really don't know but it worked.

- David
Edited by dmusoke - 9/12/12 at 10:37pm

^ That's a perfect example of why it's important to keep an open mind, treating each case as its own and not relying entirely on previous cases to try and match symptoms with causes. Tech support makes seemingly unusual reqests at times like temporarily bypassing any kind of power conditioning and connecting power cords straight into the wall. Along with braking the system down to a basic one these are just inital steps which can lead to any number of findings. The rack itself can be the cause of a ground loop, so sometimes equipment has to be pulled right out, not just interconnects.

It's also about what's shielded in addition to what the shield is connected to, and our equipment meets Neil Muncy's good practice recommendations. The XLR socket's construction plays into it too.

By swapping in RCA as the first step I just wanted to see whether the noise was XLR-related for any reason before further investigation.

I tested again last night Nick, and basically unplugged everything both from the back of the D2v, and unplugged all equipment from each other and from the mains. Then I just plugged the D2v and one amp directly into the wall socket and tested firstly with and XLR cable and then an RCA cable. In both cases the noise was present, and was alternating between a constant high(ish) pitched hum/whine, and a warbling/variable pitched sound, every couple of minutes.

When I went back to the rear of the rack, and turn off the amp again, I could hear the exact same sound coming from inside the D2v itself - but with a more high pitched electrical/static type sound (I hadn't hear this before with all the other equipment on). This sound also changed from a constant pitch tone to a warbling tone. I switched the amp back on and checked the speaker, and the sound it emitted (from constant to warble) changed at the same point the sound changed that was coming from the D2v.

I switched everything else off and unplugged it, and just kept the D2v on and the noise coming from it continued.

I think therefore my beloved D2v must have developed a fault.

Andrew at Anthem Tech Support has already referred my case to the UK Support team, and Tom Garrett has already contacted me to arrange transport of my D2v to their premises for testing/repair. I guess I get to try out Anthem's legendary customer support!

Greetings all!

Is anyone else seeing an increase in the audio volume bug since 3.09 update? (I don't know if this affects D2v users too)

I have a 50v and since I upgraded to 3.09 (I was previously on the 3.0 build) I've noticed a pretty dramatic increase in the number of times I get the audio bug on startup. To summarize, when you startup the Anthem, volume sounds like it's been muted. You need to crank up the volume to -10 for it to be equivalent to somewhere between -55 to -45 normally. Turning the unit off and then on again normally corrects the issue and volume is normal again.

Prior to the 3.09 update, I'd get the bug perhaps twice or three times a month with almost daily use of the 50v. Now, since the update, I'm getting the audio bug as often as 2-3 times/week. It's very strange and I want to know if I'm the only one.

I'm also assuming that there's no further progress on correcting this issue?

Thanks
Theo

I experience the bug occasionaly on my 50v but I don't think the number of occurances has increased since upgrading to 3.09.

Thanks for that validation. It could just be a cluster on my end and perception that's why I wanted to ask around.

This occurred quite a few versions back but haven't had it since.
John

Running v 3.09 on my avm50v. Not a single issue after upgrading. Low volume before upgrade had happen maby ten times in a year

I noticed it also with my 50v, but a couple of weeks ago I had to run ARC again because of some changes I made to my system and I haven't had it happen since. Of course now that I said that, it will probably happen the next time I turn it on.

I have a 50v and have never had the audio come on low (muted). The audio would just not come on at all and I would need to cycle power or sometimes switch to another source and back would create the handshake. Maybe i just did not hear it since my on volume is set a -35 db but I think not since the sub did not power on with the knock sound? High speed HDMI cables helped but did not correct this problem completely. This was with 2.11 and as of yet have had no issues with 3.09. The wife mentioned "it is nice to turn it on and you get sound beofre you would not alot of the times" I have her monitoring the no audio for me also. Will repost if that changes but to date 3.09 seems to be a improvement.

Regards

Glad you brought this up. I have a 50V and had no low volume or muted volume issues on startup while I was running 2.10. Since I installed 3.09 I have low volume on startup approximately 20% of the time. Not muted volume always low volume.

I figured Anthem would be issuing a software upgrade shortly to correct this problem since it was reported by a couple of other users a while back. Maybe not, since it does not seem to be widespread.

I wonder if any new purchasers of their product are having this problem since new units apparently are being shipped with 3.09 installed? And if they are what happens if you are not aware that you are having a low volume issue and try to run ARC?

Did you try to reinstall 3.09 to see if that would correct the problem? I haven't to this point. I guess i was just happy that my first install seemed to go okay.

I just don't understand the root of the problem. Nick... I know you sometimes lurk this forum; is there any light you can shed on this for us????

^ So far very little... we've been getting reports for a while but it's been very difficult to reproduce. About a week or two ago someone mentioned that the problem occurs when powering on to a certain source, one which has an nVidia card. Aside from the problem apparently being AVM 50v-only, this is the first real clue! If you observe the problem please send details to tech support, especially the model number of the source being powered on to and what it's playing if anything. Hopefully we can put enough pieces of the puzzle together that way.

Hey guys ... need some advice here.

My rack is full on equipment that has many LED lights...red, green blue and amber. Some blink frequently but others are steady. Unfortunately, this makes for a Las Vegas style rack which is very destracting.

Anyone know of some HT light friendly covers?

I use small squares of tar paper left over from when I built my HT, and they let no light though them. The price is right but if you use the room during the day, you might not like the look. In low lighting they are invisible.
John