My home theater system consists of an Onkyo TX-SR705, a Dish Network PVR-612 sat receiver, a Sony BR player, and a Mitsi rear projection monitor, all connected by HDMI. All have been working fine, but I decided to upgrade the amp to get some network and bluetooth functionality. So I purchased a reman Denon AVR-X2100W from the folks at Accesories4Less. I swapped it in and ran immediately into a problem which i can not seem to get around.
On the Cable/Sat input to the amp, from the PVR, I can get video but not sound. If I switch the digital audio input for C/S to optical and hook up the appropriate cable, I can get audio, but only for a period of time which varies from and hour to about 3 mins, then it drops, with or perhaps without some static popping. If I change channels up/dn and back on the pvr, I can get the audio back, again for varying lengths of time. Another way to get it back is to switch the amp from C/S to any other input and then back again; again it will work for a while. The third way to do it is to unplug the hdmi cable from the amp. This will turn the audio on rock steady and it will work indefinitely. So now, to work around it, I plug the pvr into the monitor directly and all is well, except of course the point of having an av amp has been lost. I can turn on the monitor speakers and the pvr is pumping sound over hdmi just fine. Additionally, the blue ray player works fine. It sends its sound and video over hdmi to the BR input just like it should.
Here is what I've tried by way of diagnostics. I have switched the BR and C/S inputs and the problem swaps as well; that is, the BR works fine in the C/S input and the pvr behaves just the same, no sound, in the BR input. I have swapped one of my other PVR612s into the system, no change. I have replaced with new the hdmi cables from pvr to amp and amp to monitor not once, but twice, with brand new Monster brand cables of different skus and cable sizes; no change. Both pvrs work fine over hdmi direct to the monitor and to the other tv they have been connected to.
So the conclusion I have to come to is that my Dish pvr and my Denon avr hate each other! But you won't be suprised to hear that A4L says the amp must be fine because the BR works in either input, and Dish says the pvr must be ok if it works everywhere except with the Denon amp. A4L says they ran my issue past the people at Denon and they come to the same conclusion. Let me also say the A4L was very patient with all this and spent a great deal of time trying to help me work thru it but with no joy.
So here am I, stuck in the middle. I have invested hours and over $100 in hdmi cables and torn apart two installaions. I can return the amp, and they might be nice about it and not whack me the 15% restock charge (not to mention they've lowered the price another $10 since I bought it 3 weeks ago!), and then what. I like this unit. For the price, it gives me all the functionality I could hope for. So I could ask them to send me another, and that will be quite a crap-shoot I think. Or I could pick a different brand, but it will cost me more to get what I wanted, and who knows will it work? Or I could just stick my old Onk back in and forget the whole thing!
Does anyone who has been patient enough to read thru all this have any thoughts on the problem?
Thanks in advance, ZZ03
