Denon 3805 pure direct

[dfm0069]

I just bought a 3805 and have set it up to bi-amp my Martin Logans. I am having trouble getting it to play in pure direct mode w/o the subwoofer kicking in. I followed the suggestions here for the bi-amp setup (vdp, zone3 etc). I can get around it by turning the sub volume way down but it seems like I should be able to get it to work in the config somehow. Any suggestions?

 

[Privateer]

What martin logan speakers are you running?

 

[Duffinator]

The sub will always play in pure direct if you have the sub on in the setup menu. This is different than some other receivers but the way I prefer.

 

[Jase]

You can disable the Sub output by going into the individual channel levels for that mode and lowering the SW channel to -12db then OFF. It's on Page 72 of the manual in the small Notes box.

 

[dfm0069]

Thanks Jase. I will give that a try today. (fyi I am running ML Arius i's)

 

[dfm0069]

What martin logan speakers are you running?

ML Arius i speakers. Nice midrange. A little power hungry. I had run them before now with a Jolida 801 tube amp. I think I need to tweek some stuff on the Denon before I get quite as nice a sound as the Jolida gave but I do like the convenience of the functionality it gives me. I used to run a technics processor to decode dts and 5.1.

 

[MarkH]

Dont want to start a flame war, but to me Pure Direct is all about "Pure", hence why only the left and right speakers should run in this mode. All amps that have a Pure Direct mode on board will also have a 2 Channel Stereo mode that will allow a subwoofer to be played if so required.

 

[Jase]

Got this info from Denon a couple of years ago with regards to the Stereo, Direct and Pure Direct modes when dealing with an analogue signal.

"Quote from Denon:

"Stereo with an analogue input, stays analogue as it passes through an analogue High-Pass Filter (if the speakers are configured to small) while a seperate but parallel signal goes to the DSP for Low-Pass filtering. In DIRECT Mode the Hi-Pass Filter is bypassed, while the digital Low-Pass is still active. In PURE DIRECT Mode, both the analogue High-Pass and digital Low-Pass are bypassed, however an analogue Low-Pass takes over, so in PURE DIRECT it is 100% analogue"

 

[dfm0069]

Dont want to start a flame war, but to me Pure Direct is all about "Pure", hence why only the left and right speakers should run in this mode. All amps that have a Pure Direct mode on board will also have a 2 Channel Stereo mode that will allow a subwoofer to be played if so required.

Hi,

I tried Jase's suggestion yesterday about page 72 in the manual. (adjusting channel levels) It worked as suggested. I was able to play my full range left and right speakers only and the subwoofer did not kick in at all. Sounds pretty good. I may still want to tweak it though. Perhaps I could use a little subwoofer but not as much as I was getting before.

I agree about the "pure" stuff you mention above. On my previous setup I had run my cd player directly to my integrated tube amp and it sounded very clean. I had also a receiver that fed the amp for movies and such for the left and right channels only. Sounded nice but too complicated for my family.

 

[PENG]

I have never had to do anything that page 72 described and my subwoofer is not on in pure direct. I did reset the receiver to factory default a few times so I believe in factory default setting the subwoofer must be off in pure direct.

 

[gene]

I tried Jase's suggestion yesterday about page 72 in the manual. (adjusting channel levels) It worked as suggested. I was able to play my full range left and right speakers only and the subwoofer did not kick in at all.

You can have the subwoofer on in pure direct even if the mains are set large if you go into the Bass Management menu and select "LFE + Main".

 

[Duffinator]

Look on page 83, it states you have the option of having the sub on or off in Direct and Pure Direct mode just like Gene stated. If you don't want the sub on just select Main. This is a nice feature as you can have it either way you want. I use my sub in Direct and Pure Direct modes. And several of the other comments in this thread are incorrect. Read page 83.

 

[Jase]

Look on page 83, it states you have the option of having the sub on or off in Direct and Pure Direct mode just like Gene stated. If you don't want the sub on just select Main. This is a nice feature as you can have it either way you want. I use my sub in Direct and Pure Direct modes. And several of the other comments in this thread are incorrect. Read page 83.

You don't need to go into the Setup Menu and adjust the speaker setup (Large/Small, LFE/Main etc). The sub can be switched On or Off in Direct/Pure Direct by adjusting the channel levels whilst in that mode. The original poster has done that in the same way I've been doing it with my Denon for last few years. Why do something you don't need to?

If you select Main in the Setup Menu then that will affect ALL modes. Becomes a bit of a problem if you run a Sub/Sat system or want all speakers small, all bass to the Sub. By allowing you to switch the Sub off via the individual Channel Levels Denon has given you the option of the best of both worlds. Optimum performance for movies (all speakers small, all bass to sub) and the ability to run full range with or without sub for music. Both Direct and Pure Direct Modes ignore any bass management settings and pass full range signals to the front left and right speakers.

Out of interest, what other comments in the thread are incorrect??

 

[shokhead]

I've tried cd's with direct,pure direct and 6 analog from my dvd player and they just dont do it for me and all sound alike.

 

[Duffinator]

You don't need to go into the Setup Menu and adjust the speaker setup (Large/Small, LFE/Main etc). The sub can be switched On or Off in Direct/Pure Direct by adjusting the channel levels whilst in that mode. The original poster has done that in the same way I've been doing it with my Denon for last few years. Why do something you don't need to?

If you select Main in the Setup Menu then that will affect ALL modes. Becomes a bit of a problem if you run a Sub/Sat system or want all speakers small, all bass to the Sub. By allowing you to switch the Sub off via the individual Channel Levels Denon has given you the option of the best of both worlds. Optimum performance for movies (all speakers small, all bass to sub) and the ability to run full range with or without sub for music. Both Direct and Pure Direct Modes ignore any bass management settings and pass full range signals to the front left and right speakers.

Out of interest, what other comments in the thread are incorrect??

The first item I thought was incorrect was the method you suggested. I did not realize that you could set that and it ONLY effected Direct mode. I thought you would have to reset that every time. I stand corrected and learned something. The other was the comment about resetting the receiver and the sub would be set to off. According to the manual the default is sub on.

Smokhead: the three methods you use should sound the same since they are all analog. I can't tell the difference between direct and pure direct either, I don't use the external inputs as I don't have a DVD-A or SACD player. I use direct so I can see volume adjustments on screen.

 

[Jase]

The first item I thought was incorrect was the method you suggested. I did not realize that you could set that and it ONLY effected Direct mode. I thought you would have to reset that every time. I stand corrected and learned something.

No worries. We're all here to help each other.