Denon AVR-791 center channel connection stopped working...help!

FuegoJohnson

FuegoJohnson

Audiophyte
So i've had my Denon AVR-791 for about 3 years now and other than the manual/menus, i've had no complaints. Great receiver. However, I recently moved my living space around and now I no longer get any sound from the center channel. I've hooked up 3 different speakers using a few different speaker wires and i've had no luck. All the speakers i'm using work fine when connected to other inputs.

The strange part is, when I run the test tone, I get feedback from whatever speaker is connected via the center channel input. The receiver seems to detect that there is a speaker connected, but when I go to adjust the channel levels, the "C" option is mysteriously missing. I also tried re-adjusting the amp output but no luck there, either.

I'm seriously baffled. I was ready to chalk it up as defective until I ran the test tone and I was able to get sound(it's a scratchy feedback that tells you how loud your speakers are) coming through whatever speaker I had connected to the center channel input.

I know many of you are far smarter and more experienced than me, so I was hoping by slim chance one of you could help me! I've searched but nobody else seems to have this issue that I can find. I would greatly appreciate some feedback. Thanks!
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
The test tones ignore any sound mode/DSP. What sound mode do you have the receiver set to?
 
agarwalro

agarwalro

Audioholic Ninja
Does the center speaker work fine when hooked to a different channel?
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Does the center speaker work fine when hooked to a different channel?
OP already said all speakers work fine on other outputs and other speakers have the same issue on that output.

I forgot to ask, how about making sure the center channel is enabled in the speaker configuration? I would expect sound would not be output via the center in the test tones if it was turned off, but you never know.
 
FuegoJohnson

FuegoJohnson

Audiophyte
OP already said all speakers work fine on other outputs and other speakers have the same issue on that output.

I forgot to ask, how about making sure the center channel is enabled in the speaker configuration? I would expect sound would not be output via the center in the test tones if it was turned off, but you never know.
When I go into the menus under speaker configuration, the center channel speaker type is set to small(I have a Polk CS10) and unless there is somewhere else, that seems to be the only place I can look to see if it's enabled. I can disable it from here so I guess my answer would be yes? The Denon menu system is a nightmare and it's been a while since i've been menu diving so it's possible I could be missing something. When I go to change the levels of each speaker, however, there is no option to adjust the center channel so that may say something there.

As far as what sound type i'm using, if I understand correctly, I've tried both stereo and dolby digital surround mode and neither seem to work. If that's not what you meant, I apologize. I appreciate the feedback though! I have faith I may figure this out yet...
 
FuegoJohnson

FuegoJohnson

Audiophyte
Ok, so when I switched over to my PS3(Bd input via HDMI) and changed the mode from stereo to surround(I currently have a 3.1 setup right now, my back two remain unhooked for the moment), I was getting sound from my center channel! When I switched back to my cable input(DVD input via HDMI) and put on DD surround, however, I wasn't getting anything from the center speaker :/

I thought that was odd, so I switched my cable box HDMI cable from the DVD input to Sat/Cbl on the back of the receiver. Still no sound from the center channel. Could it be my HDMI cable? I would think since it's digital it would either work or not, but then again i'm not entirely sure. I'm happy to have at least made some progress, and know that it works with at least one of my devices.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
When I go into the menus under speaker configuration, the center channel speaker type is set to small(I have a Polk CS10) and unless there is somewhere else, that seems to be the only place I can look to see if it's enabled. I can disable it from here so I guess my answer would be yes? The Denon menu system is a nightmare and it's been a while since i've been menu diving so it's possible I could be missing something. When I go to change the levels of each speaker, however, there is no option to adjust the center channel so that may say something there.

As far as what sound type i'm using, if I understand correctly, I've tried both stereo and dolby digital surround mode and neither seem to work. If that's not what you meant, I apologize. I appreciate the feedback though! I have faith I may figure this out yet...
You've got it right, I meant that if you "force" a sound mode like stereo, it will remove the other speaker's ability to play. Setting the sound mode to "auto" with properly configured sources should give you proper sound. The fact that you get the test tone suggests the receiver is configured correctly and based on your findings, it is. It would have said "off" or "none" rather than "small" and would not have played the test tone.

Ok, so when I switched over to my PS3(Bd input via HDMI) and changed the mode from stereo to surround(I currently have a 3.1 setup right now, my back two remain unhooked for the moment), I was getting sound from my center channel! When I switched back to my cable input(DVD input via HDMI) and put on DD surround, however, I wasn't getting anything from the center speaker :/

I thought that was odd, so I switched my cable box HDMI cable from the DVD input to Sat/Cbl on the back of the receiver. Still no sound from the center channel. Could it be my HDMI cable? I would think since it's digital it would either work or not, but then again i'm not entirely sure. I'm happy to have at least made some progress, and know that it works with at least one of my devices.
Your devices need to be configured to send a signal that the receiver understands and decodes as surround as well - try going into the audio configuration for each and set HDMI to "bitstream" and set the receiver to "auto" and see how that goes. The PS3 will usually auto detect HDMI and configure it properly for video, but usually not for audio, so you may have to set it to bitstream as well (on the slim only, can't be done on the older "fat" model).
 
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