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Strange Denon AVR-X1600H issue

3900 Views 6 Replies 4 Participants Last post by KurianOfBorg, Sep 16, 2021

thetube0a3

Discussion Starter · Jul 9, 2021

Hi all,

I've got a fairly new Denon AVR-X1600H that I've had a minor issue with that's more of an annoyance than anything.
If the power goes out, even if the receiver is in standby it seems to cause a software problem and when I go to use the receiver again I cannot get sound from any HDMI input.

I'll have basic stereo sound when the receiver is first turned on but any interaction with the decoders like trying to switch to DD will cause no sound at all. The OSD says something along the lines of "Signal unknown" from every HDMI input I try. I've got a Firecube, a cable box, a PC and a PS4 connected.

I've tried changing settings hoping it would reset whatever gets messed up but the only thing I've found that works is reloading my setup from a USB stick. Short of a full reset, nothing fixes it. All of my custom settings seem to stay after the power loss, only the receiver seems to lose it's ability to properly interpret HDMI audio so I tend to think it's not an internal battery issue etc. But honestly, this is above my pay grade to troubleshoot.

I contacted Denon's support via email about it but the response I received seemed to feel awfully "standard, copy and paste" to me and they seemed to think I needed to try a different TV. I'm not sure why that would matter when the receiver is doing all of the switching and pulling audio directly from the sources and the TV is only a display? Am I missing something?

Has anyone else experienced this with a similar receiver from Denon? Is it worth trying a different display?

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thetube0a3

Discussion Starter · #2 · Jul 9, 2021

Well, I got home from work and to my surprise I had no sound again but the TV speakers did and shouldn't have.

No settings in the receiver seemed to help except turning off "HDMI control" under video settings. No other options seemed to effect it even the ones that setting grey's out.

So far turning off HDMI control fixes the issue but why?

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pgscubadiver

· #3 · Jul 9, 2021

I have a slightly different issue along the same lines. If i shut off the tv before the receiver i get no sound when i turn the receiver on until i turn the tv back on. I must turn off the tv first! If the power goes out i have no sound UNTIL i turn the tv on.
If you turn the tv on does the sound come back?
I too think its a software glitch (my receiver is the x2400)

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thetube0a3

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 9, 2021

pgscubadiver said:
I have a slightly different issue along the same lines. If i shut off the tv before the receiver i get no sound when i turn the receiver on until i turn the tv back on. I must turn off the tv first! If the power goes out i have no sound UNTIL i turn the tv on.
If you turn the tv on does the sound come back?
I too think its a software glitch (my receiver is the x2400)

No, I've tried turning it off etc and it didn't seem to matter.

I'm not sure what changed since the power went out or why it got worse.

My TV is a 2013 Panasonic plasma so it's getting older.

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KurianOfBorg

· #5 · Sep 3, 2021 (Edited)

I have the same issue on my factory refurbished X3700H.

It can play PCM, but any codec like Dolby Digital or Atmos stops working and it says Signal: Unknown. Decoding works for the first 20 minutes or so and then the sound starts cutting out and eventually stops completely.

I've tried both HDMI input as well as eARC:
Apple TV (Atmos over HDMI Output) > X3700H > LG CX
LG CX (Bitstream over HDMI eARC) > X3700H

When the sound dies, if I switch from eARC to the TV's internal speakers, the TV decodes and plays Atmos successfully, so it's not an issue with the content.
Similarly, if I switch the Apple TV sound format to Stereo, the AVR plays the PCM audio successfully. If I switch the Apple TV back to Atmos, the AVR says Signal: Unknown.
If I power off the AVR, the Apple TV audio is passed through to the TV and the TV decodes and plays Atmos successfully through its internal speakers.
If I power cycle the AVR, it may work again for a few minutes.

I don't have this issue on my X8500HA which was upgraded to the new HDMI 2.1 board.

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jdsmoothie

· #6 · Sep 4, 2021

To mitigate HDMI handshake issues, power on the TV first, pause 5 seconds, AVR, pause 5 seconds, and lastly the source.

Note also the X1600H is a 2019 model discussed in the 2019 Denon AVR Owner's thread. Review posts 1-8 in that thread for additional general helpful information.

"OFFICIAL" 2019 Denon "S-Series" / "X-Series" AVR Owner's Thread + FAQ (Posts 1-8) | AVS Forum

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KurianOfBorg

· #7 · Sep 16, 2021 (Edited)

jdsmoothie said:
To mitigate HDMI handshake issues, power on the TV first, pause 5 seconds, AVR, pause 5 seconds, and lastly the source.

Note also the X1600H is a 2019 model discussed in the 2019 Denon AVR Owner's thread. Review posts 1-8 in that thread for additional general helpful information.

"OFFICIAL" 2019 Denon "S-Series" / "X-Series" AVR Owner's Thread + FAQ (Posts 1-8) | AVS Forum

Nothing has made a difference.

I have confirmed that the AVR is defective because even when I use AirPlay directly to the AVR from an iPhone, the AVR says "Signal: Unknown" and there is no audio. It does show the album art and track info. Another sign that the AVR has not detected a signal is the "Movie", "Music", etc. mode buttons keep reverting to "Stereo" even if I choose another mode like "Dolby Surround". This happens while AirPlay is streaming and indicates that the AVR is not picking up the stream. I also unplugged the TV and the AVR still couldn't play audio from AirPlay. It's odd that a hardware failure could affect a software controlled system like this.

I also found that once the audio drop out starts, even if I set the AVR set to output to "TV Speakers" under "HDMI Settings", there is no audio from the TV and the TV does not detect an incoming audio signal. If I power off the AVR, the audio passes through to the TV successfully. If I power on the AVR again, the audio cuts out even though the AVR is still set to output to "TV Speakers".

Even stereo PCM from the Apple TV does not work anymore. It was a fluke when PCM worked before. Changing the format between PCM / Dolby Digital 5.1 / Dolby Atmos may cause it to work temporarily.

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