smokypup said:
The receiver is set at Dolby Digital. There are no pre-in/maim-out connections on this receiver. Can I ask a dumb question?? If the audio source (eg. TV or DVD) is not Dolby Digital encoded would the center speaker not work and not show up as active on the receiver screen?? This is new territory for me so please excuse my lack of knowledge.
Most receivers will automatically detect the format of the signal and switch to the appropriate sound mode unless you set it for a specific decoder (instead of 'auto'). Mine remembers which format you used last and automaticallly switches to it.
Let's assume the speaker itself is ok (since you said it worked in another system) and that the center channel amp is fine in the receiver. Then it's a matter of setup and signal formats that determine which speakers play.
1. If the signal is analog, you can only engage the center (and surrounds) if you set the receiver to a surround mode like PLII, Neo:6, etc which can convert the 2 channel analog signal to 5.1.
2. If the signal is digital (like PCM from a CD or digital cable), but not Dolby Digital or DTS, then same deal as #1.
3. If the signal is DD 2.0 (alot of digital cable channels and music dvds), then again you only get center and surround if you use one of the matrix decoders, like PLII. Note also that you can configure some of the matrix decoders, like PLII Music. If you set the PLII Music Center Width to 0, then you have a 'phantom' center like was mentioned in an earlier post.
4. If the signal is DD and has three or more discrete channels, then you will get all of the channels and their respective speakers will play, IF the setup for the receiver is correct; ie you have properly set the number of speakers and the digital inputs are configured properly.
This is the part where 'The Receiver is set at Dolby Digital' comes in. If it is set specifically for DD, then it will not play anything that is not DD (like PCM). Generally you want this set to Auto.
