Denon and PLII

[murl]

I am using a denon avr 688. I have my ipod hooked up with a stereo to RCA cable hooked directly into the back of the receiver analog. The PLII sounds really bad coming out of the surrounds. The DTS Neo 6 sounds worse. It just sounds like distortion coming out of the surrounds. Any advice or has anyone else had problems with receiver decoding. It works great on DVDs. It isn't a speaker problem, they sound fine on 5ch stereo. Anyone ideas?

 

[3db]

The RCA cable that you are using....is it a true stereo cable with a seperate left and right channel or is it a mono cable with tow RCA connects attached to it?

 

[markw]

Just a rough guess...

All those fake multi-channel emulaters operate off of phase differences and other niceties that are hidden in the original signal.

MP3's, by nature, squeeze and discombobulate all kindsa stuff so as to only store the bare bones needed to convince our ears that what we're hearing is "real" music.

While our ears may think it's ok, perhaps these circuits need a bit more to work on.

Did you try DPL or neo with any other analog sources, like FM radio, phonograph or even a two channel CD?

 

[murl]

yeah, the few CD's that I have tried work fine, but I have only tried two I think. What mode would you choose to listen to the mp3s on just plain stereo?

 

[markw]

yeah, the few CD's that I have tried work fine, but I have only tried two I think. What mode would you choose to listen to the mp3s on just plain stereo?

I'd go for just plain two channel stereo.

 

[murl]

How do I tell the difference? I could understand why it might not work mono.

The RCA cable that you are using....is it a true stereo cable with a seperate left and right channel or is it a mono cable with tow RCA connects attached to it?

 

[corey]

Have you tried modifying the volume setting on your iPod? I use both an Xbox 360 and a Linksys Media Adapter to play high bit rate mp3's on my Denon 1803 in PLII with no problem.

 

[3db]

How do I tell the difference? I could understand why it might not work mono.

Listen to the music as much as possible in pure direct mode eliminating any of the DSP and listen to it. If the sound is identical on both speakers, you would have a mono cable. If the sound is stereo image, then your good to go.

The mono setting works well becuase it sends the identical signal to all 5 or 7 speakers. (can't remember if you have 5.1 or 7.1) . From what I understand, that DSP doesnt look for phase information from the signal but the others do.

 

[murl]

I have tried changing the volume, I only hear distortion at 95-100% volume. I found the optimum volume on the ipod is 75-85% other than that it doesn't really seem to effect what is coming out of the surround speakers. I will check out the linksys adapter if it helped you out.

Have you tried modifying the volume setting on your iPod? I use both an Xbox 360 and a Linksys Media Adapter to play high bit rate mp3's on my Denon 1803 in PLII with no problem.

 

[murl]

I am running 5.1. I will listen to it today. If I have a mono cable I will go out and buy a stereo cable.

Listen to the music as much as possible in pure direct mode eliminating any of the DSP and listen to it. If the sound is identical on both speakers, you would have a mono cable. If the sound is stereo image, then your good to go.

The mono setting works well becuase it sends the identical signal to all 5 or 7 speakers. (can't remember if you have 5.1 or 7.1) . From what I understand, that DSP doesnt look for phase information from the signal but the others do.

 

[markw]

This might be a contributing factor...

I have tried changing the volume, I only hear distortion at 95-100% volume.

Also, as far as your adapter goes, a stereo 1/8" mini plug has three rings on it (well, two plus the tip) while a stereo plug has only two.

 

[3db]

Also, as far as your adapter goes, a stereo 1/8" mini plug has three rings on it (well, two plus the tip) while a stereo plug has only two.

My thinking is that if teh cable is indeed monaural, then there would be no phase differences in teh signal for the DSP chip to work from and may contribute to crappy sound. And since 5/7 channel sound is essentially mono piped thru all the speakers, it would explain why that would work for the OP. Its just a WAG on my part.

 

[murl]

Also, as far as your adapter goes, a stereo 1/8" mini plug has three rings on it (well, two plus the tip) while a stereo plug has only two.

It has two rings and the tip. Should I try a linksys media adapter? That is mainly for streaming from your laptop to the TV right?

What about an ipod dock, would this improve my sound quality in anyway? I am under the impression that I would be getting the same signal, it would just charge the ipod.

So I ordered a new cable from monoprice, we will see if that helps.

 

[markw]

It has two rings and the tip. Should I try a linksys media adapter? That is mainly for streaming from your laptop to the TV right?

Assumong it has two RCA plugs on the other end, it's exactly what you need: A stereo mini plug to right and left outputs. That's what I use on my system, but if it statts to distort, I turn it down.

What about an ipod dock, would this improve my sound quality in anyway? I am under the impression that I would be getting the same signal, it would just charge the ipod.

Perhaps, if it outputs a constant high impedance line-level signal instead of a variable one designed to drive low impedance earplugs. You may or may not find your gain limited and find yourself cranking your stereo a bit more.

So I ordered a new cable from monoprice, we will see if that helps.

Good luck, but don't get your hopes up. It's a fine cable but technically it's no different from what you have.