the "official Denon AVR-2308ci / AVR-888 owners thread - Page 17

that is not normal, bass should be even across sources. yes, some source material will have more bass than others, but the differences you describe are not typical.

assuming somewhere a setting got screwed up or something, what I would do is RESET THE MICROPROCESSOR to give yourself a clean slate and then RE-RUN AUDYSSEY and see if everything is back to normal.

Question.. can I run 2 subs from the single preout using an RCA splitter?

I'm getting an 888 from a good friend who is a nitpicky audiophile for $350 (includes a pair of Polk R300 floorstanders) and I can't wait!

answer - YES!

make sure to read the section in the Audyssey Setup Guide on multiple subs, you want to have your positioning squared away and the output levels balanced on the two subs before running Audyssey, as it will EQ them together as one unit.

Positioning based on what the EQ tells me, or what my furniture and room layout dictate? lol. I only have like 3 possible options for the 2 subs.

On a related topic, is it better to put subs side-by-side or stacked (meaning.. close to one another) or to spread them out in an effect to cover more area and fill the room up?

I attached my options. You have the ent center with L\\R on either side, center on top, chair in the back corner and couch on the back wall, and surrounds on either side of the back wall.. all colored in black. The RED box is where my sub currently is. The other colored boxes are potentials for a second sub (side, stacked, inbetween couch and chair, left of chair).

why didn't he like the 888?

He did/does.. In fact he still uses his other 888 in the living room. This one was in bedroom on his 'old' samsung LCD and there was a consistent hdcp handshake issue. He bought a 789 this afternoon and had it up and running in minutes. I have the 888 in my living room now just begging to be setup! Unfortunately it'll have to wait until tomorrow night or Fri night.

Anyone have any suggestions on my dual sub placement from above? I bought the RCA spillter adapter today.

you don't want them side-by-side, if you put them together stacking is the way to go.

opposite walls is generally the ideal if you have two subs, so I would go with either of the two positions by the couches for sub #2.

ideally, you should balance the outputs of the subs BEFORE running Audyssey by using an SPL meter. but if you don't have an SPL meter you can just set both to the same gain and it will probably be fine, close enough anyway.

That's what I was thinking, thanks for your help.

I got my 888 last night! She's a beauty. I wasn't able to hook it up thought due to time restraints (theres no way I was going to rush it and risk not having ANY sound ready for LOST!!) and also due to the fact that the 20ft spool of cable i bought for the rears isnt long enough. I will be stopping by Fry's tonight or tomorrow night and then I will hook it all up. I have 4 different subs to mess with...

Speaking of, I also got the RCA splitter, but I thought of something. The preout is a single connector, whereas the RCA inputs on the back of all the subs are L\\R (red\\white). Do I just pick one? Or should I get 2 more splitters and turn the single output into a dual output so I can hook the red AND white cables to the inputs on the back of the sub.

Essentially (X= single preout on Denon 888; Y= RCA splitter):

what kind of subs do you have? the vast majority of subs will have one of the inputs (usually LEFT / LFE) dedicated to a mono connection from a digital receiver. You shouldn't have to split it twice.

They're all budget subs, but ya I think at least two of them designate one of the inputs for MONO. Is LEFT always MONO? Is there any advantage to splitting it 'twice' so that both inputs are connected?

They are:
-Dayton Sub-120
-BIC V1020
-KLH ASW10-120
-AudioSource SW-Four

nope, no advantage. just use the mono inputs then.

So is the left(white) always MONO? Also.. if I'm splitting the signal at the source (using a Y adapter on the single preout to create dual preouts) so I can run two subs - as we discussed before - would I need to plug the other sub in via the red(right) input or would it matter since it's still a mono signal and would therefore need to be in the left(white) as well?

left is GENERALLY mono, but you should consult the manuals of the respective subs.

it's mono so you don't want one to be left and the other to be right. just plug into the mono/lfe input of each sub.

I know this post is 2 years old but I am in desperate need of help trying to get my denon 2308ci working. The surround seems to be working fine (5.1) in the LR. I wanted to use zone 2 for 2 speakers out at the pool house. Pulled all the wires and have them hooked up to the surr back/amp assign outlets and no sound is coming out...Any advice?

oh ok then, you made it sound almost like he disliked it because of it lacking somewhere in dynamics of sound or something because you called him an audiophile.

Hi - I suggest you bookmark and read up in my setup guide and FAQ:
http://batpigworld.com/

In the FAQ page, there is an entire section devoted to zone 2. But, in short, the two key steps are:

1. AMP ASSIGN needs to be set to "Zone 2"
2. Zone is ANALOG ONLY

read more in the FAQ....

My ZONE 2 will Not Switch
Ok It serves me right but I had a house sitter for a week while I was away.
The problem is the Zone 2 sound is stuck on the DVD input. I have the Zone 2 out to a separate amp. I've tried to switch both using the remote and direct on the unit. I CAN turn the Zone 2 on and off but I cannot switch the input.
I know the Zone 2 setup is good because its been working well since I setup the system
Any ideas?

Hey all,

Just picked up a Denon DVD-1940CI for $100 - I plan to use it primarily to listen to DVD-A and SACD high resolution audio tracks. Unfortunately the 1940CI won't send multichannel information from SACDs through HDMI, so I plan to connect it to my AVR-888 using the EXT-IN analog jacks and maybe a component video for some of the visual displays on DVD-A.

I realize that this will require a bit of setup in the unit (mainly LFE management). Just wondered if any of you guys are already doing, and if so, do you have any tips before I hook everything up and set up my inputs in the input menu.

Thanks.

btw, if this is a huge PITA, I'll probably return the 1940 and try the Oppo 980 unit which does output multichannel SACD via HDMI.

switch to Oppo, their universal players give you a lot more bang for the buck and you can dispense with all the extra analog cables.

if you switch the Denon, just hook it up with HDMI + multich analog, and use it with HDMI for everything except when you want (edit) SACD. then just put input mode on "EXT IN" on those occasions when you want to switch to multich analog.

the only trick for setup will be making sure the channels levels are still balanced when using EXT IN, because both the AVR and the player have channel level settings. you also will have to set up all the bass management (small/large and xover freq.) in the player.

The 1940 will output DVD-A just fine through HDMI, it's just the multi-channel SACD that is can't do through HDMI.

On the other hand I don't own any SACDs yet, but was thinking of picking up the Dark side of the Moon.

you are right, I forgot it was just SACD. It doesn't really change anything about the points I was making though...

I was pretty excited about the 1940 for $100, but the SACD thing is indeed a bummer.

Will look into the Oppos. I don't actually own any SACDs yet, so it's not a crisis by any means.

Back to the DVD-1940CI ( I know, not an AVR-888, but it's connected to it).

Is there another way (other than going into the setup screen, audio, and then scrolling down to Output: HDMI or Analog) to toggle between these (HDMI output for DVDs, Analog output for CD/SACD)? Trying to set my Harmony up last night, looks like it is going to be a total pain to mess with that stupid setup screen every time I change disk type. The 1940 is smart enough to recognize disk type (DVD vs CD) why can't it switch itself to the mode which is compatible for each!?!

Other than that, it seems like really nice universal disk player for $100.

I got no idea, never used a universal player. it doesn't output both simultaneously?

another reason to just get the Oppo It seems like if you are paying for a fancy new HDMI receiver, it seems silly to have a universal player that can't send everything over HDMI. I'm a little shocked that Denon didn't include that functionality on their newer DVD players.

Nope. You have to go into the setup menu and choose HDMI or Analog. Can't select both. (not that I've figured out), or auto selection based on disk type.


I agree. I liked the aesthetics and feel of my Denon stuff, but this is a big bummer. I looked through the manuals, it seems even their higher end models lack SACD multi-channel via HDMI.

At this point, might as well just hold out for the Oppo BD player.

A couple questions:

- How do I force it to always output 1080p. I have A-to-H on and such, but when I have the PS3 connected and play a game, it switches to 720p. I thought it would output ALL sources @ 1080p no matter what.
- I have 3 sources (PS3 via HDMI1 (DVD\\HDP), UVERSE cablebox via Component-2 (TV\\CBL) and Optical-1 (AUX), and Wii via Component-3 (DVR) and RCA-4 (DVR)). On the remote I press DVD\\HDP for the PS3, TV\\CBL for UVERSE TV, and I have to open the back and press DVR (7) for the Wii. I really want to be able to press VCR (on the front of the remote) to access the Wii. That way all 3 sources are accessible via the front of the remote. How do I make this happen?
- How do I make FM radio play through all 5 speakers?
- Can I use the extra 2 amps to just drive 5.1 (I have no B speakers OR zone2.. just a normal 5.1).

That's it for now, thanks.

scaling is ANALOG TO DIGITAL only, the HDMI video will just pass through untouched:
http://batpigworld.com/fadq.html#section_03

in other words, if you want 1080p set your PS3 to 1080p


Hit the "SIMU" button to engage 5 CH STEREO mode, the SIMU button runs through all the DSP "simulated" surround modes. 5 CH STEREO is the first one so you only need to press it once


yes but it requires bi-amp capable speakers. if you have them, set AMP ASSIGN to "FrontA Bi-Amp" and then you will have run some extra wire:
http://batpigworld.com/setup.html#amp_assign


remember lesson 1 is IGNORE THE LABELS (except for composite red/yellow/white connections). think about what "name" you want something to use, and then connect/assign as needed.

So, if you want the Wii to pop up when you select the "VCR" name, do this:

1. the component video can simply be reassigned to the VCR name -- go to INPUT SETUP, select "VCR" at the top, and then go to ASSIGN and set the component video assignment to "RCA-3" (assuming you have it plugged into the #3 component video input) and set all other assignments to "none"

2. the analog audio from the Wii isn't assignable, so simply plug the red/white stereo RCA cable into the one called "VCR" instead of the one called "DVR".

3. if desired, renamed "VCR" to say "Wii"

Now when you select the "VCR" input it will grab the video from component input #3, and then take the audio from the "VCR" analog inputs.

Understood, thank you.


I just did that and it worked great, thanks

Will this effect any other sources when I switch to them? That's kind of a universal question too.. do settings changes like that effect sources globally? On the other hand, is there away to make it ALWAYS do 5 CH STEREO for all STEREO sources?


Ahhh, ok I get it. Not necessary. Thanks for the clarification


I will try this out later, thanks for explaining it out for me step by step though

first of all this is great that i can come here to discuss features of the 2308, secondly i need help with the whole bi-amp issue. I purchased a Denon avr-2308ci, a Klipsch Quintet III wall-mounted surround package, and a Klipsch SUB-10 subwoofer. I am looking to add my two Yamaha loudspeakers (15" woofer, horn-tweeters) to the front as to "fill-in" some mid-bass, because the Klipsch surround/sub set has hardly any, and the front A/B speaker setup would add fullness i believe.