*Official* Denon 5308 Thread - Page 162

I'm planning on it ... thanks.

JDSMOOTHIE: I got the call today (two months and a day from when I brought in the AVR) to pick up the upgraded/repaired AVR-5308CI. As it turns out, I'm out of town until this weekend (my father in law had outpatient surgery). Therefore, I can't pick up the until until Monday. I'll keep you posted on what SQ improvements I hear.

Thanks for your support and various replies to my messages ... Dave

Help...

I have never understood how SW's work.

I'm watching Journey DVD Live in Houston 1981. The audio choices are PCM and Dolby 5.1.

Using either one, my SW light does not come on. My 5308 displays it is using DTS NEO 6- Music

What's going on?

Thanks,

If the FL/FR speakers are set to SMALL/80Hz (as recommended with XT), then the sub should come on anytime there is any audio frequency < 80Hz as well as when there is a dedicated LFE (ie. 0.1) track (eg. DD/DTS/PCM 5.1). Suggest you do another Audyssey setup to ensure the sub is setup correct.

The fronts were set to large. I set the fronts and rears to small and set the sw cross over to 80. I'll report back how that works out.

Thank you very much.

Larry

I haven't been on AVS for a while, especially since I sold my 5308 just before Denon came out with the upgrade. But, I miss that badboy. The 4810 just doesn't do the same for sound. Anyone heard if Denon is coming out with a 5308 replacement? They are way over due for a new upper end unit, and I figure that since they stopped making it, one might be on the horizon.

I see Jeff Talmadge and Jo T are no longer at Denon. Thats too bad, they were good folks.

I think Denon has given up on high-end audio. If you check their website they have none of the upper-level products such as the 5308 or separates. Even their well-regarded ( and pricey ) headphones have disappeared and been replaced by lower-cost models that seem aimed at the portable audio crowd.

That's too bad. Seems they are going down the same path as Kenwood did years ago.

Hi all,

Anyone used a 5308 in Europe with a transformer/converter?

I'm trying to decide whether to bring with me (I'd really love to), but don't want to stupidly fry the unit because I either don't use a powerful enough converter or there is something else I'm not considering.

Thanks for any help/advice/info.

-J

The O-conomy has pretty-much killed high-end from mainstream manufacturers. I doubt we will EVER see anything besides cheap Chinese garbage from Denon in the foreseeable future. My outlook is negative for the USA.

Actually, the 4520CI is still mfr'd in Japan.
Edited by jdsmoothie - 3/25/13 at 2:48am

This is a bit off topic, but I am buying all of my tools, nails, and anything else I can as a home builder that is made in Japan. They are the only ones left in the World who care about building quality goods. Even Dewalt sold out to the Chinese.

I took a look at Yamaha and Onkyo, and you are correct, no AVR's over about 2,500.00, and for sure nothing to get excited about. I also noticed that there are very few 5308's for sale anywhere, even my 4810 is going for almost what it cost new.

Why buy nails that are made in Japan, when you can buy high quality nails that are made right here in the US?

http://www.mazenails.com/

I'm not so sure about that. Denon is having a lot of problems with the Japanese-made 4520ci. I bet at least 60% of that unit is Chinese components. Probably the only thing actually produced in Japan is the metal frame and the cover/front panel.

I used to buy DeWalt exclusively but got burned on their newer 18 volt and 20 volt drills. I should have known those " compact " ( ie. cheap ) drills/drivers were pieces of garbage. Now I just buy stuff like Skil, Black&Decker, and Porter Cable, which I believe are all made in China for Bosch. They are cheap but at least I'm not paying for the name. I've been thinking of buying Makita when a tool dies but I'm just a casual builder and don't do that many projects a year.

DaveC56 says "I got the call today (two months and a day from when I brought in the AVR) to pick up the upgraded/repaired AVR-5308CI. As it turns out, I'm out of town until this weekend (my father in law had outpatient surgery). Therefore, I can't pick up the until Monday. I'll keep you posted on what SQ improvements I hear.

Thanks for your support and various replies to my messages ... Dave"


OK, like it is already Tuesday (a full week and one day) here in California and I have nothing to do but check for your update. We all want to know if you think it was a worthwhile upgrade. So stop stalling, give up the mistress, quit your job and just set the damn thing up. Please....

Manny

Does anyone know of a reason the 5308A would not load a config file? I was trying to return to my settings from two weeks ago and got a "Load Not Completed. Please retry again" in the internet interface. The error doesn't appear until about 5 minutes into the load and seems to happen either time I try the two config files I have.

I'm left with a 5308A that will not play audio with any of the inputs that use HDMI or DL for audio input. If I reset to factory defaults then the receiver plays audio again. So I have to believe this is caused by the lack of a complete config file load.

Any ideas? I searched through this thread and didn't see anyone with the same problem but then again how many people load a config file?

Thanks for any help! I may just have to take a piece of paper out and write down the settings to reload later.

Edit: I tried the load with the receiver in standby. The network app said loading the receiver display stayed off and then after 7 minutes the receiver rebooted but it looks like I got a partial load again (or nothing loaded from the previous partial load attempt).
Edited by alk3997 - 4/14/13 at 5:08pm

I sent a pm to DaveC56 about his upgraded 5308. He informed me that he went ahead and sold the unit and purchased a new Marantz AV8801, MM8077 & M7025 Pre/Pro/Amps as a replacement. I think he was upset that it took so long for his 5308 to get repaired. So he decided to purchase a newer unit. He also mentioned that his unit sold very quickly. I would suspect that if someone sold a upgraded unit that it would be very desirable. Other than the 11.1 channel system, the new Marantz lacks WIFI, but has Ethernet. It is newer technology. It will pass through 4k video. I am still really happy with the upgraded unit I have. I cannot imagine what would give me a better sound. And of course it is a balance between your receiver, amplifier, speakers, and monitor. Any one of which can be a weak link. I much prefer to have a premium receiver even if it is a bit long on the tooth.
Manny

Review the tips provided in my post below ....

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1334369/the-official-denon-avr-xx12-model-owners-thread/0_100#user_E10

Manny: I wasn't upset -- my main concern was the possibility of future repairs and Denon not able to find parts for the AVR-5308CI(A). I had owned Denon Receivers since the year 2000 and never had an issue of any kind. It took Denon two months to find an HDMI video board that failed after the XT32/3D upgrade was installed; and yes I realize the receiver was 5 years old and out of production. Before upgrading the Denon, I had debated whether to sell the Denon and go for the Marantz Pre/Pro. After the part issue, the decision was more clear to me.

I am enjoying the Marantz Pre/Pro/Amp combination, and haven't had enough listening time before coming to any conclusions between the Denon AVR and Marantz. So far, the video upscaling is a "wash" between the two video scalers. For me, wireless wasn't an issue since I have a wired FE switch to my AV rack, and the Marantz also has a built in FE switch.

Thanks to all who gave me encouragement, and patience during my two month AVR absence.

Dave

Thank you! Based on your suggestions and after reviewing the files, I could tell my later config file was not complete. The size was correct but the data was missing for the last half. I went back to an older config file and that had data until the end and loaded correctly. BTW, the correct length of file for the AVR-5308 is 727KB. After re-adding things that had been added since the older config file was saved, I think I'm back up and running again.

One more question that I'm hoping you can point me towards the answer...These last Audyssey runs have produced more of a high frequency boost than I think is necessary (or it could be this cold I have). Kind of harsh sounding treble from all of the speakers. Assuming it isn't the cold bug I have, is there a way to reduce the treble manually? Or do I need the pro kit?

I just saved a new config file and it looks complete. So, I'll add checking the file to my save checklist. Thanks again!

I did the same A/V tug-of-war last year but my only real options were the 4311ci or upgrade the 5308ci. I opted for the upgrade and put the rest into speakers and amp. I don't see myself opting for 4K for a long time and the current audio is good at least until Atmos becomes a reality in the home market. Hopefully I can get another two years out of the 5308ci.

Right. The 43XX and higher model file size is 727kb. If you haven't already, try using "Audyssey" vs. "Audssey Flat".

Sorry, I did not mean to imply you were scared. You are certainly justified in being concerned. Electronics are great marvels of engineering. But when they break they can be devils to repair. I imagine that our units have some proprietary stuff in them or at least ICs that are not necessarily easy to get. And when you start going down to the component level you are talking about reworking surface mount components that you can almost not see without the aid of a low power microscope. Trying to heat up a board to remove a questionable cap or resistor can be a very difficult thing. I suspect they looked around for a complete board that was functional and of the correct version so that they could swap out parts. Why it took so long could be that this board was a weak point and failed before. I have the service manual for the 5308ci and when you look through it you realize this is a complex unit. Not as bad as a camera, but close. To dismantle you need to unsolder a number of connections just to get some boards out. And the testing just tells you the board does not work, not how you fix the board. So all of us should be really good to our Denons and say nice things when we turn her on or off. Keep her space clean from dust, and don't put a big load on top of her. Heat, and vibration are the enemy of electronics.

I might mention that I retired a few years ago. I am currently on SS and Medicare. Boy Medicare is a dream, but that is another story. For me, my 5308CI was the most expensive receiver purchase I had ever made. I was really happy that Denon decided to support an upgrade. It was like getting a new machine all over again. So I am committed to getting everything that puppy can deliver for a very long time. I still marvel at how well it works. Everyday we listen to internet music (zenradio.fm) from France. Just great. Even our two kids (Great Pyrenees') love it. High Definition TV was the last big improvement that has revolutionized how we enjoy home theater. I went from a high end rear projector that I kept from 2000 to 2009 to a 65 inch flat screen plasma. Everyday I watch stuff on the plasma I think how great the picture quality is. 3D is interesting but better at the Theater. So I have it all right now and will try to keep it going for as long as possible. This forum is so helpful in that respect. So many thanks to all out there.
Manny

Thanks - I'll try to switch to Audyssey flat.

I think I know what happened. I installed some additional sound shaping panels in the room. Two of the bass absorbers are behind the main listening seat. Of course, bass absorbers also will attenuate other frequencies. So I'm thinking the Audyssey microphone is finding itself near essentially two big pillows and is compensating for those. My ears pick up more of the room sounds and therefore the high end sounds overly extended. I checked the EQ plots and they all have +9dB peaks in the upper frequencies.

Luckily there is a way to test my theory. All I have to do is take the panels off the wall and rerun the calibration. It will at least prove/disprove my theory.

I've attenuated the room reflections enough that Audyssey XT32 is reporting the subwoofer to be twice as far as it really is. At least I think that is the cause...

Keep in mind that althouh the "distance" settings for the speakers are generally spot on, the "distance" noted for the sub is a "delay" setting to account for the sub filters and is more often than not, much longer than actual distance as a result.

Manny: No worries. I retired on 2/1/2013 and enjoying not having a schedule any longer.

For me also, the AVR-5308CI(A) was the most expensive receiver I ever bought - although I was able to get a great discount through an authorized dealer when I bought it in May 2008. The same dealer gave me nearly a 40% discount on the Marantz Pre/Pro/amps - the only way I could afford the change in equipment (my retirement gift). I was surprised how quickly I sold the upgraded Denon without any price haggling.

So far, the Marantz combination seems to be a more natural sound than the Denon, but the Denon had more of a power punch - at least to these 62 year old ears! I'm still performing more listening test and will provide feedback.

Thanks for your comments.

Dave
Edited by DaveC56 - 4/16/13 at 2:46pm

That's good to know. I won't touch that distance.

I reran last night using a full 8 measuring points and again there is a massive peak in the high end. It's +10dB at about 8kHz and that peak does not tail off much by 20kHz. It's in all of the speaker graphs.

This is making me suspect that my microphone is faulty. I'm using the Audyssey mic that came with the 5308A upgrade.

I've ordered the Pro kit since I really need to get more insight into what is going on. Until then, the best sounding option is to leave Audyssey off, which is not the way it should be, of course. Even Audyssey flat had a giant peak at around 8K. BTW, Audyssey set to off with the accoustic treatment we've added actually sounds great. It sounds nice and even with no bass ringing.

With Audyssey enabled, the audible result is that any amount of hiss in a recording becomes very apparent. So I know my tweeters are working and I seriously doubt my ears have become more sensitive to high frequencies as I've gotten older (unfortunately works the opposite way).

So, I'm down to either a mic defect or a processing problem in the 5308A. I'm doubting the processing problem since it does produce a coherent graph for each speaker. Anyway, I'll know more when the pro kit gets here and I get the license from Audyssey..

With a much better quality mic as the stock mic has a +/-2db error rate while the Pro kit mic has a +/-0.5 db error rate.

Jumping ship, With all what I have been reading looks like parts on 5308ci are getting hard to find. So I am thinking about selling my Receiver. This is what I am looking at Denon 4520ci, Marantz SR7007, Onkyo TX-NR5010, Pioneer SC-68.Looking hard at the Denon,Marantz. This has been a great site and learnd a lot so I know I will get great help.