Audio problem with Yamaha RX-V2500 - Help!

[ryzvy]

Here is my setup:

Comcast HD-DVR STB --> V2500 via Optical
Oppo DVD Player --> V2500 via Optical

The audio on most channels is fine except on ABC-HD and CBS-HD. As long as these channels broadcast true DD 5.1 sound I can hear the audio fine but as soon as the broadcast changes to stereo I hear no audio except for some really low frequency sound that seems to be coming from the subwoofer. The strange thing is when this happens the display on the Yammy still indicates that it is receiving 5.1 sound and all speakers are active.

I experience a similar kind of problem when I play a DVD which is encoded in 5.1 but has certain songs which are in stereo. The 5.1 part of the DVD plays just fine but the songs sound really distorted with the higher frequencies subdued and the lower frequencies very pronounced.

The input mode of the Yammy is set to auto. I tried to search the forum but did not find anyone else reporting a similar problem. Maybe I am stuck with a bad piece but am really hoping that I missed something and that someone can help me fix it.

 

[MDS]

Strange problem...here's a guess:

Some receivers have menu settings to specify the preferred mode or decoder for various type of input signals; eg Onkyo has a setting for D.F. 2ch (digital format 2 channel - such as DD 2.0) Is there any such setting on the Yamaha? Perhaps the default is set to a decoder that doesn't recognize the format of the signal.

 

[ryzvy]

Strange problem...here's a guess:

Some receivers have menu settings to specify the preferred mode or decoder for various type of input signals; eg Onkyo has a setting for D.F. 2ch (digital format 2 channel - such as DD 2.0) Is there any such setting on the Yamaha? Perhaps the default is set to a decoder that doesn't recognize the format of the signal.

I know what you mean. I tried to look in the Yamaha menu and couldn't find any such setting. As I said the Input mode is set to "Auto". Besides, it does correctly detect the signals for other cable channels and plays regular two channel CD's just fine. It seems to me that I will have to just give in and buy a new AV receiver (a pity since this one is only 6 months old).

Thanks for your response MDS.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Here is my setup:

Comcast HD-DVR STB --> V2500 via Optical
Oppo DVD Player --> V2500 via Optical

The audio on most channels is fine except on ABC-HD and CBS-HD. As long as these channels broadcast true DD 5.1 sound I can hear the audio fine but as soon as the broadcast changes to stereo I hear no audio except for some really low frequency sound that seems to be coming from the subwoofer. The strange thing is when this happens the display on the Yammy still indicates that it is receiving 5.1 sound and all speakers are active.

I experience a similar kind of problem when I play a DVD which is encoded in 5.1 but has certain songs which are in stereo. The 5.1 part of the DVD plays just fine but the songs sound really distorted with the higher frequencies subdued and the lower frequencies very pronounced.

The input mode of the Yammy is set to auto. I tried to search the forum but did not find anyone else reporting a similar problem. Maybe I am stuck with a bad piece but am really hoping that I missed something and that someone can help me fix it.

Do you have both digital and analog interconnects running from your HD cable box and dvd player? If the receiver is set to auto, then you need both composite and coax/toslink.

 

[MDS]

Buckyeyefan1 makes a great point. I need both analog and digital connections from my cable box because there is a mix of analog and digital channels. I didn't think of that because ryzvy said ABC-HD and CBS-HD was causing the problem and I don't think the HD channels ever broadcast analog audio.

 

[ryzvy]

Buckyeyefan1 makes a great point. I need both analog and digital connections from my cable box because there is a mix of analog and digital channels. I didn't think of that because ryzvy said ABC-HD and CBS-HD was causing the problem and I don't think the HD channels ever broadcast analog audio.

Yes, I have both the analog (RCA) as well as the digital (optical) cable connected for both the STB and the DVD player. But thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Leprkon]

Yes, I have both the analog (RCA) as well as the digital (optical) cable connected for both the STB and the DVD player. But thanks for the suggestion.

do you have the digital and analogs from each device connected to seperate inputs on the receiver ?

if you have them connecting to the same input (ie DVD or CD), you may have set up a feedback loop that's waxing your signal.

you might try connected the analog to DVD and the digital to analog, or something similar.

 

[ryzvy]

do you have the digital and analogs from each device connected to seperate inputs on the receiver ?

if you have them connecting to the same input (ie DVD or CD), you may have set up a feedback loop that's waxing your signal.

you might try connected the analog to DVD and the digital to analog, or something similar.

I am afraid I don't quite follow do you mean I should try to connect the analog (RCA) cable to the Digital input (optical)? How do I do that? If I am misunderstanding then please let me know how you want me to connect it. Thanks in advance for your help.

To answer your question, for the STB cable box both the analog and the digital are connected to the inputs labelled as Cable on the receiver but for the DVD player the digital input is connected to the input labelled as DVD on the receiver but the analog input is connected to an input called CD.

 

[Nomo]

I think what Leprkon is getting at is feeding the reciever both analog and digital inputs to the Cable inputs is causing problems or confusing the reciever.
The problem may be coming from the cable box itself. Although it doesn't seem likely, as the cable box should be able to sent a signal through both analog and digital outputs, maybe it can't (??). I'm running audio out of my cable box to my 1500 via digital coax only (same as optical). 2.0 and 5.1 come through just fine.
As a test have you tried disconnecting the analog from one or both of the components?

 

[Leprkon]

I am afraid I don't quite follow do you mean I should try to connect the analog (RCA) cable to the Digital input (optical)? How do I do that? If I am misunderstanding then please let me know how you want me to connect it.

set the 5.1 inputs from your DVD player into the DVD input. set the fiber optic output from the DVD player into the CD input.

set the RCA (analog) output from your cable box into the Cable input. set the fiber optic to anything other than Cable, DVD, CD, or phono.. You could use Tape 1 or any other non-grounded input.

use the receiver input selector to use the best input for your situation... if you are running a move on your DVD player, use the CD input. If you are running a DVD-audio or SACD disk, then select the DVD input.

as Nomo explains, your fiber optic feed may be causing a feedback into your analog lines since they are on the same input circuit. If you split the signals to different circuits, there is no chance for feeding back.

 

[MDS]

To answer your question, for the STB cable box both the analog and the digital are connected to the inputs labelled as Cable on the receiver but for the DVD player the digital input is connected to the input labelled as DVD on the receiver but the analog input is connected to an input called CD.

That setup is fine, but you could just as easily have connected both analog and digital cables to the dvd player input. The receiver's 'auto' setting will take care of choosing the right one and besides you will have to change the dvd player settings to change from digital to analog. If you have 5.1 analog cables going to the receiver, the input is probably labeled 'dvd' as on most receivers but it will not conflict in any way with the analog or digital connections to the same input because the 'dvd' input selector does not cause the receiver to read from the 5.1 analog inputs - the input selector to switch to the 5.1 input will be labeled either 'multi-ch' or 'ext-in' (not sure what terminology Yamaha uses).

Leave your connections the way they are set currently. There is absolutely no need to use a different input for each of the connection types as has been suggested if your receiver is working properly.

 

[Leprkon]

The receiver's 'auto' setting will take care of choosing the right one

the input selector to switch to the 5.1 input will be labeled either 'multi-ch' or 'ext-in' (not sure what terminology Yamaha uses).

Leave your connections the way they are set currently. There is absolutely no need to use a different input for each of the connection types as has been suggested if your receiver is working properly.

MDS speak with forked tongue.... he wants you to use auto at the same time he expects you to select 5.1

Yamaha's auto input works on a priority system. If you set to auto, the receiver will look for (in descending order) 5.1, then digital coax, then fiber optic, then analog.

Using two connections on the same input only guarentees that one set of inputs will never be recognized. The DVD player is sending live feeds to all its outputs all the time, unless you have a really prime unit. Simply swapping a DVD for a DVD-audio does not guarentee the DVD player will switch from 5.1 output to an optical feed.

The only way to take advantage of multiple feeds is TO USE MULTIPLE INPUTS and avoid the priority that the receiver puts on the signals.

You would normally only use multiple feeds in two cases.

1) you have a 5.1 player and would rather your receiver process the movie signals than the DVD player (sensible for anyone with something less than a Denon DVD 3910 or 5910). You would run the 5.1 into the DVD input. To keep from being over-ridden on the Auto priority, you would have to run the optical signal to the CD input.

2) you have good optical feed, but would like to play your two-channel stereo using the "Pure Direct" mode on the Yammy. In this case you would feed the optical into the DVD signal, but you would have to run your analog signal into a different input to keep it from being over-ridden. "Pure Direct" does not work on a digital signal.

The only case where it makes any kind of sense to run both optical and another feed into one set of inputs would be if you choose your output to be 5.1 or optical at the DVD player (again, only those with high-end Denons need apply here and those with cable boxes should be hiding in shame)

In any case, using two feeds is useless at best and can cause problems.

You already tried it that way... and it apparently isn't working.

 

[MDS]

MDS speak with forked tongue.... he wants you to use auto at the same time he expects you to select 5.1

Yamaha's auto input works on a priority system. If you set to auto, the receiver will look for (in descending order) 5.1, then digital coax, then fiber optic, then analog.

Well Leprkon I will defer to your superior knowledge of how that Yamaha receiver works, but I will say this: If that is how it works then it is DUMB. I have no problem running all connections to the same input. I never said Auto will take care of switching from either analog or digital feeds to the 5.1 input - it doesn't on any receiver I have ever used or seen - there is a different input for that. You are saying the Yamaha comingles the 5.1 input with the normal analog or digital inputs and if true that is a really poor design.

Using two connections on the same input only guarentees that one set of inputs will never be recognized. The DVD player is sending live feeds to all its outputs all the time, unless you have a really prime unit. Simply swapping a DVD for a DVD-audio does not guarentee the DVD player will switch from 5.1 output to an optical feed.

See above. I never said it would and if it does it is broken. Again on the majority of receivers you have to manually switch to the 5.1 input.

The only way to take advantage of multiple feeds is TO USE MULTIPLE INPUTS and avoid the priority that the receiver puts on the signals.

Avoid a receiver that ties your hands with a 'priority' system. The only priority it should use is analog vs digital for the normal inputs. The 5.1 input is different and should not be part of the Auto switching.

The only case where it makes any kind of sense to run both optical and another feed into one set of inputs would be if you choose your output to be 5.1 or optical at the DVD player (again, only those with high-end Denons need apply here and those with cable boxes should be hiding in shame)

I did say you have to change the dvd player settings to get it to output analog instead of digital so Auto for those inputs isn't really useful for switching from analog to digital. In that case it is for picking the right decoder. The cable box is a different story. Mine outputs analog and digital signals simultaneously and some stations broadcast both at the same time. Auto takes care of selecting digital over analog and *I* get to choose whether it uses optical or coax. The receiver doesn't impose a goofy priority scheme on me.

If I recall correctly, the problem was only with a few stations. Maybe the 'priority' system on the Yamaha is part of the problem but you shouldn't make blanket statements about using multiple types of connections to the same input being bad because it isn't for most receivers.

 

[ryzvy]

Problem Solved

First of all thanks to everyone for all your help. I really appreciate it.

I managed to finally solve the problem I was facing. The solution was so simple that it I find it embarrassing to even mention it here. I can't believe I was so dumb The Yammy has a button on the front panel to select front A, B or A/B speakers. I think my maid while cleaning had accidently pressed the button and deselected the front A speakers. I discovered this when I was trying to run the YPAO and the receiver reported not detecting front speakers. Anyway, everything is all right with the world again

PS...I am running both analog and optical cables from both the DVD and the cable box because I have a zone 2 setup and the Yammy does not transfer sound to zone 2 from digital sources.

 

[ryzvy]

Well Leprkon I will defer to your superior knowledge of how that Yamaha receiver works, but I will say this: If that is how it works then it is DUMB. I have no problem running all connections to the same input. I never said Auto will take care of switching from either analog or digital feeds to the 5.1 input - it doesn't on any receiver I have ever used or seen - there is a different input for that. You are saying the Yamaha comingles the 5.1 input with the normal analog or digital inputs and if true that is a really poor design.


See above. I never said it would and if it does it is broken. Again on the majority of receivers you have to manually switch to the 5.1 input.


Avoid a receiver that ties your hands with a 'priority' system. The only priority it should use is analog vs digital for the normal inputs. The 5.1 input is different and should not be part of the Auto switching.


I did say you have to change the dvd player settings to get it to output analog instead of digital so Auto for those inputs isn't really useful for switching from analog to digital. In that case it is for picking the right decoder. The cable box is a different story. Mine outputs analog and digital signals simultaneously and some stations broadcast both at the same time. Auto takes care of selecting digital over analog and *I* get to choose whether it uses optical or coax. The receiver doesn't impose a goofy priority scheme on me.

If I recall correctly, the problem was only with a few stations. Maybe the 'priority' system on the Yamaha is part of the problem but you shouldn't make blanket statements about using multiple types of connections to the same input being bad because it isn't for most receivers.

Just to clarify, since this was mentioned, the Yammy does not include 5.1 input in its input priority. You can select if it should only look at digital or analog input but if left in auto it selects digital (coaxial before optical) and then analog in that order. To select 5.1 you have to manually select Multi Channel input from either a seperate button on the front panel or the remote. When Multi Ch is selected it does not look at any other input.