Denon AVR789 Receiver

[dennisqdw]

I have a new Denon AVR789 Receiver. There currently are 2 hdmi inputs -satellite tv and a dvd deck. When I set the receiver to tuner in order to listen to the radio, the sound cuts in and out -it will sound for 2 seconds and then silent for 2 seconds and will alternate like this indefinitely. If I turn the tv set on then this "fixes" the problem. I can then turn the tv set off, and the audio will remain correct. The Denon tech support has no ideas. Anyone out there have any? thanx.

 

[Highbar]

Sounds like you are talking about a few different things here. As for the tuner issue, it sounds like you have a very weak signal and the receiver can't get the stations in clear so it is cutting out. There are aftermarket powered antennas that you could look into getting.

Now as for the other question about turning the tv off and keeping the audio playing. I'm guessing you would be tuning into a radio station on satellite? If that is the case then yes you should be able to turn the tv off and keep the audio playing as long as you have the HDMI going from the Sat to the Rec and then out to the tv. You would need the Sat box and the Rec on to do this.

 

[dennisqdw]

I guess that I didn't make myself clear. The strength of the signal is just fine. When I turn on the tv, I am not turning on the satellite receiver. The radio tuning is only coming from the denon receiver itself at all times. It is simply the act of turning on and off the tv that clears up the radio problem. I hope this helps.

 

[mperfct]

I guess that I didn't make myself clear. The strength of the signal is just fine. When I turn on the tv, I am not turning on the satellite receiver. The radio tuning is only coming from the denon receiver itself at all times. It is simply the act of turning on and off the tv that clears up the radio problem. I hope this helps.

how does the tuner perform if you unplug the HDMI cables?

 

[dennisqdw]

You may be a genius (but I want to see what happens in the next couple of days to confirm it). I unplugged the hdmi cable from the dvd deck, and the tuner worked fine. Then I plugged it back in and the tuner continued to work fine. I turned the receiver off and on several times to see if it would continue to work correctly and it seems to. So far so good. If you can spare another moment -what made you suspect the hdmi cables?

 

[mperfct]

You may be a genius (but I want to see what happens in the next couple of days to confirm it). I unplugged the hdmi cable from the dvd deck, and the tuner worked fine. Then I plugged it back in and the tuner continued to work fine. I turned the receiver off and on several times to see if it would continue to work correctly and it seems to. So far so good. If you can spare another moment -what made you suspect the hdmi cables?

haha, genius...that's a good one!

I was just trying to eliminate things from a troubleshooting perspective, I didn't really suspect the HDMI cable. What I was trying to do is see if you remove everything if the tuner works properly, if it did, then you were having some flaky problem with either your TV (I assume that's HDMI connected) or either of your sources.

The problem still escapes me, it sounded like similar behavior to a HDCP handshake issue (flickering on and off every few seconds) but usually manifests itself between a cable box and a receiver. This connectivity really has nothing to do with that. I think your receiver had just flaked out. If it happens again, I'd go for an RMA. Nothing externally connected (HDMI/Component/etc) should affect tuner reception or performance.

 

[Mike JL]

I am in no way an expert, but I read a lot. Flaky things are being reported on Denon receivers IF you set HDMI control to 'on'. This setting allows a pass-through of the HDMI to your TV without the receiver itself being on.

Your symptom falls well within the range of the flakiness being reported. This is just something to check - not a diagnosis.

The same problems may also affect other brands, but I don't follow threads about other brands, so I don't know. I have two Denon receivers - the 3808CI and the 789, and I really like them both.

 

[Imposter]

I just purchased a 789 from Circuit City for the ridiculous price of $350. The problem is all I got was the unit. No remote, no manual, no setup microphone. I downloaded the manual from the internet and I can use my Harmony remote as the remote, but does anybody have a setup microphone they would be willing to borrow to me? I would only have it for a day and I would return it immediately.

DLH aka The Imposter

 

[Adam]

Hey, DLH, welcome to the forum!

Just in case you can't find anyone with a mic, you can get them online for not much money. Here is one site that has them for under $25.

There was a thread here recently about using another microphone instead. Some members have indicated that you won't get optimal results doing that, but I think that it would be better than not using the auto set-up at all.

 

[Imposter]

Thanks Adam! I've bookmarked the site in case I don't get any hits.

 

[jostenmeat]

I would call Denon to see how much the replacement mic is. The mic for my Onkyo was only $18 shipped, but it seems Marantz charges a lot more. See what Denon charges.

It's well worth it to have. Anytime you move your couch, speaker positions, change anything, add treatments, you'll want to rerun MultEQ.

the mics are calibrated for each receiver model. Therefore, you need the stock mic.

people easily spend this much on an SPL meter, or more. In this case, IMO, it's very well worth it to get the mic. In fact, my belief is that it is mandatory.