Denon AVP-A1HDCI / POA-A1HDCI Review Support Thread

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Is is my BAD LUCK year???

Please tell us ASAP if there is audible difference/better/sweeter than the 5308. Thank you in advance.

Okay, I just got the AVP-A1HDCI from FedEx.

Everything looked brand new. But wait...

Upon close inspection, there were SCRATCHES on the face of the unit!!!

I immediately called Onecall and they did not believe me. They asked me to take some pictures, so I did. Then they believed me.

View attachment 8636

There were also scratches on the 2 knobs.

So now I have to return this damn thing back to onecall!!!

Maybe I shouldn't be buying anything else this year!!!

But what the heck, while I have this thing, I might as well hook it up.

So I did.

How does it sound?

To my untrained non-golden ears, it sounds EXACTLY the same as the AVR-5308. Surprise, surprise.

So I guess I will send this thing back tomorrow (onecall paid for return FedEx label) and decide if I want to buy another one.

My damn luck this year!!!

 

[PENG]

Okay, I just got the AVP-A1HDCI from FedEx.

Everything looked brand new. But wait...

Upon close inspection, there were SCRATCHES on the face of the unit!!!

I immediately called Onecall and they did not believe me. They asked me to take some pictures, so I did. Then they believed me.

View attachment 8636

There were also scratches on the 2 knobs.

So now I have to return this damn thing back to onecall!!!

Maybe I shouldn't be buying anything else this year!!!

But what the heck, while I have this thing, I might as well hook it up.

So I did.

How does it sound?

To my untrained non-golden ears, it sounds EXACTLY the same as the AVR-5308. Surprise, surprise.

So I guess I will send this thing back tomorrow (onecall paid for return FedEx label) and decide if I want to buy another one.

My damn luck this year!!!

Are they made in Xxxxa? Anyway there are at least 2 reasons why they sound the same as the 5308 to you.

1) Your un gold plated human ears cannot discern the incremental difference.
2) You could hear the difference if you had better speakers, but of course that is unlikely in your case because those big DefTechs........

Seriously for that kind of money I would not accept any scratches either even if they do sound better than the 5308. Too bad you have to send it back after the long wait, but on the plus side you now have another chance to try out the Marantz pairs.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Are they made in Xxxxa? Anyway there are at least 2 reasons why they sound the same as the 5308 to you.

1) Your un gold plated human ears cannot discern the incremental difference.
2) You could hear the difference if you had better speakers, but of course that is unlikely in your case because those big DefTechs........

Seriously for that kind of money I would not accept any scratches either even if they do sound better than the 5308. Too bad you have to send it back after the long wait, but on the plus side you now have another chance to try out the Marantz pairs.

No, it says made in JAPAN.

I'll probably just get another AVP-A1 from my local dealer - the same place I bought my DefTechs.

I doubt if the Marantz, Cary Audio, Anthem, or any other pre-pro will sound any differently in Pure Direct Mode, bypassing all Subwoofers, EQs, DSPs.

...Especially with my Non-gold-plated-mortal human ears.

 

[Warpdrv]

Okay, I just got the AVP-A1HDCI from FedEx.

Everything looked brand new. But wait...

Upon close inspection, there were SCRATCHES on the face of the unit!!!

How does it sound?

To my untrained non-golden ears, it sounds EXACTLY the same as the AVR-5308. Surprise, surprise.

Well that blows.... glad you can allow your ego to get out of the way to give an honest first impression.

I think the room correction would make a large difference in SQ though. Moving from my crappy Pioneer to the D2v was an enormous change for me... The greatest change was after ARC was implemented, but even before that it was a noticeable improvement.

Sorry about the demo unit damage there buddy, but at least you had an opportunity to trial it, at the cost of shipping....

Maybe you should be looking at trying something like this if your satisfied for HT through the 5308.... I found Naim to offer some excellent SQ for 2 channel.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Sorry about the demo unit damage there buddy...

That's the thing. It wasn't a demo unit. It was a brand new unit.

I can understand a demo unit having scratches, but not a brand new unit.

So basically, Onecall was telling me that the unit came brand new from Denon unopened. So any scratches would have come from DENON. That is what Onecall said.

Can you imagine Denon selling a scratched unit as BRAND NEW?

Also, there were no thin clear plastic protective covering over that large LCD screen!

And the unit came wrapped up with that soft paper, instead of the usual heavier, thichker clear plastic covering.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I just ordered another brand new Denon AVP-A1HDCI & DBP-4010UDCI from my local dealer. They don't even stock these in the store, so it will be coming directly from Denon.

 

[gimp]

Congrats on your purchase! Just don't upload the latest firmware from Denon else you will lose bass for SACDs when using D.Link or HDMI

I unfortunately did the update. Seeing how this problem has been known since at least Mar '10, what does DenonJeff have to say about it? I suspect streaming (NET) music has the same issue. I'll submit a SACD problem report on their website. It would be great if everyone else did as well.

The reference number for my question is '100823-000293'.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

That sucks.

I have never updated any firmwares on any of the Denon in the past, including my AVR-5308CI & DVD-3800BDCI.

And I don't intend on updating any firmwares in the future either, including the AVP-A1HDCI.

 

[gimp]

That sucks.

I have never updated any firmwares on any of the Denon in the past, including my AVR-5308CI & DVD-3800BDCI.

And I don't intend on updating any firmwares in the future either, including the AVP-A1HDCI.

I've had good results with past updates. Kind of my own fault since I should have checked this thread before doing the update! I'm surprised they haven't aleady fixed this but they may not even know about it (well, they do now).

 

[WillH]

Firmware

Congrats on your purchase! Just don't upload the latest firmware from Denon else you will lose bass for SACDs when using D.Link or HDMI

Gene,

Can you please provide more help on this? I just placed my order for a new AVP which is being delivered Friday. Where can I find out more about this firmware - Which version in particular and who is confirming this bug?

I listen to A LOT of SACD primarily with the Denon Link so this is very important to me. I always update firmware on new gear but reading this post has me leery of doing this for the AVP.

I believe D.Link 3 already supports SACD multichannel so I don't see any reason to go to D.Link 4 but there may be something else in the firmware that is necessary?????

Thanks.

PS: Using Denon 5910CI Universal player exclusively for SACD/DVD-Audio and CD via Denon Link (3rd); Using Panasonic Blu-Ray player via HDMI for Blu-Ray and DVD-Video

 

[gene]

I've done all I could with my contacts at Denon. I spent hours measuring issues I found on the AVP-A1 and sent reports. They claimed to have forwarded to Japan. It's a bit ridiculous if you ask me. The only way this will get resolved at this point is if enough owners voice their complaints as well. Submit a ticket and title it "SACD Bass issue".

I found when listening to 2CH SACD’s if I set the AVP to “Direct” I get bass. If I listen in normal Stereo or PLIIx mode there is almost no bass.

For Multi Channel SACD: I get hardly any bass no matter what mode I listen in.

So at least for now, there is a work around for 2CH SACD assuming you don't want to run any post processing on it.

 

[WillH]

I found when listening to 2CH SACD’s if I set the AVP to “Direct” I get bass. If I listen in normal Stereo or PLIIx mode there is almost no bass.

For Multi Channel SACD: I get hardly any bass no matter what mode I listen in.

Do you know the firmware number that you are running? According to Denon's website, the last firmware was 2009.

I wonder if there is a way to save and reload the previous firmware? I don't know what version mine will have on it when it arrives but I can do some testing on it if it is different than yours and perhaps update the firmware and do an A/B comparison. Probably won't do this unless I can revert to the old firmware knowing the problem may be there.

Thanks.

 

[Franin]

Hi Gene,
There has been talk from AVP owners if we are going to see any new upcoming updates(Add-ons) for our units. Some of us written emails to Denon Hong kong but with just a reply saying were studying it. Have you spoken to Jeff Talmadge and has give you any idea if were going to see anything?

Thanks
Frank

 

[Seth V]

I've done all I could with my contacts at Denon. I spent hours measuring issues I found on the AVP-A1 and sent reports. They claimed to have forwarded to Japan. It's a bit ridiculous if you ask me. The only way this will get resolved at this point is if enough owners voice their complaints as well. Submit a ticket and title it "SACD Bass issue".

I found when listening to 2CH SACD’s if I set the AVP to “Direct” I get bass. If I listen in normal Stereo or PLIIx mode there is almost no bass.

For Multi Channel SACD: I get hardly any bass no matter what mode I listen in.

So at least for now, there is a work around for 2CH SACD assuming you don't want to run any post processing on it.

I also can confirm the weak bass on SACD's via Denon Link and HDMI. With mine however, I get very weak bass even when using "Direct" mode. When playing using the analog XLR's everything is fine. I really hope that Denon addresses this issue (along with my Denon A1UDCI PCM LFE issue) soon. I have let Denon know about these issues, and suggest that anyone else who is experiencing them let them know about it as well.


Seth

 

[gimp]

Any AVP owners here that also have a Popcorn Hour C-200?

 

[WillH]

No Bass SACD via DLINK HDMI

Hi Guys,

Being the owner of a brand spanking new AVP I have been playing with my new toy for hours and may have stumbled on the solution to the low/no bass with SACD via DLINK/HDMI issue reported by Gene in previous posts.

Tonight I was trying to duplicate this issue by playing a few SACDs and DVD Audios and did find the bass to be almost non-existent on SACD via DLINK and my DENON 5910CI when playing SACD and DVD Audio back to back.

I was surfing the GUI menus on the AVP making sure I had all the settings correct and noticed that the GUI menu was actually different when playing an SACD compared to the GUI when playing DVD-Audio. Yes - the GUI changed depending on the format being played. In particular, the menu choices were different for the PARAMETERS Menu. While playing an SACD, my choices under the PARAMETERS menu were AUDIO and PICTURE ADJUST. When I selected the AUDIO option I was then presented with an option called SURROUND PARAMETERS which then gave me the option of SUB or DEFAULT. Selecting SUB the choices were then ON or OFF. In my case, it was set to OFF so I switched it to ON and lo and behold I had bass!

Since my unit was brand new, I am assuming it comes this way from the factory as I didn't turn it off during my setup. In fact, I assumed the GUI was a static menu: The same all the time. So it was only by accident that I noticed it changed WHEN I PUT THE DISC IN.

So, I guess it is possible that with the firmware update you loaded may have included a new GUI on your unit OR it reset this value to DEFAULT which would be OFF. Depending on where you have your sub crossover set, you wouldn't get any bass below that threshold with it set to OFF.

Funny thing is that in the GUI for DVD-Audio, there is no ON/OFF setting for the sub - Only a way to increase or decrease the value (+/- dB) - Totally different set of menu options too. Check it out.

I looked through my manual extensively and this is not noted anywhere. In fact, it was a surprise to me that the GUI would actually change depending on what type of disc is being played - Pretty advanced software for a piece of music gear.

I hope you try this and it works for you. Please let me know so I can pat myself on the back

 

[gene]

Will;

I will try this in the morning. If this works you will be my Hero!

 

[Dennis12]

yah dat is true.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

So the GUI on the AVP-A1 actually changed based on the disc format?

That is really weird!

But thanks for the info.

 

[gene]

Hi Guys,

Being the owner of a brand spanking new AVP I have been playing with my new toy for hours and may have stumbled on the solution to the low/no bass with SACD via DLINK/HDMI issue reported by Gene in previous posts.

Tonight I was trying to duplicate this issue by playing a few SACDs and DVD Audios and did find the bass to be almost non-existent on SACD via DLINK and my DENON 5910CI when playing SACD and DVD Audio back to back.

I was surfing the GUI menus on the AVP making sure I had all the settings correct and noticed that the GUI menu was actually different when playing an SACD compared to the GUI when playing DVD-Audio. Yes - the GUI changed depending on the format being played. In particular, the menu choices were different for the PARAMETERS Menu. While playing an SACD, my choices under the PARAMETERS menu were AUDIO and PICTURE ADJUST. When I selected the AUDIO option I was then presented with an option called SURROUND PARAMETERS which then gave me the option of SUB or DEFAULT. Selecting SUB the choices were then ON or OFF. In my case, it was set to OFF so I switched it to ON and lo and behold I had bass!

Since my unit was brand new, I am assuming it comes this way from the factory as I didn't turn it off during my setup. In fact, I assumed the GUI was a static menu: The same all the time. So it was only by accident that I noticed it changed WHEN I PUT THE DISC IN.

So, I guess it is possible that with the firmware update you loaded may have included a new GUI on your unit OR it reset this value to DEFAULT which would be OFF. Depending on where you have your sub crossover set, you wouldn't get any bass below that threshold with it set to OFF.

Funny thing is that in the GUI for DVD-Audio, there is no ON/OFF setting for the sub - Only a way to increase or decrease the value (+/- dB) - Totally different set of menu options too. Check it out.

I looked through my manual extensively and this is not noted anywhere. In fact, it was a surprise to me that the GUI would actually change depending on what type of disc is being played - Pretty advanced software for a piece of music gear.

I hope you try this and it works for you. Please let me know so I can pat myself on the back

Will can you list the exact path from hitting the Menu button on how to get there? All I see is in Parameters is SB CH Out On/Off, LFE level. I also checked and have the latest firmware so this is quite puzzling that your interface is different. thanks.