After many months of reading this and other forums I finally took the plunge and upgraded my receiver and speakers. Currently have;
HDTV Mitsubishi Diamond Scan WS-65813 (DVI)
Cable Box Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD (HDMI)
DVD Toshiba SD-5970 (HDMI) (Junk sorry I bought it! Temporary till HD)
HDMI Switch Dtrovision HDS21R
Denon AVR-4306 Receiver
Polk (2)RTi10 Fronts
Polk (1)CSi5 Center
Polk (2)FXi5 Surrounds
Polk (1)CSi3 Rear Surround (6.1)
Martin Logan (1)Dynamo Sub
Monster Power HTS3600 Power Conditioner
Monster Cable Ultra 800 HDMI – DVI Cable (2.5M 8ft)
(2)Monster Cables Ultra 800 HDMI – HDMI Cable (2.5M 8ft)
(2)Toslink cables from DVD & Cable box for Audio
THX Certified 12 Guage Speaker Wire – UltraCap by Liberty
Had many second thoughts on the 4306, almost went with a preamp or lower end receiver/amp such as the R-965 Sherwood/Onkyo NR901 & Outlaw 7125, etc. Figured this was the simplest solution that would provide;
1. Enough Power to run the Speakers without being overtaxed.
2. HDMI Switching (Doesn't work with SA STB, had read about issues up front but it was working with my Dtrovision switch so took the chance.... Doesn't work though...)
3. 100Mbit Ethernet conection and the ability to play MP3's/WMA's/etc.
Issues -
1. HDMI switching does not work with SA box. Tried various power on sequences, component to 4306 and hdmi/dvi to TV & hdmi to 4306 & component to tv as well as hdmi/dvi all the way through... Works on DVD player. Denon claims its SA, and Charter has not responded back...
2. Can't download an uncorrupted managment utility from its PC interface (from the 4306), get the file but its only about 40k. PKZIP says it should be about 350kb. Tried from two different computers on my net and also used a crossover cable... Not actually sure what its supposed to do...
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15.Save/Load Tool
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System Setup Manager Download
Usage
1. Download 'SSManage4306.zip' to PC.
2. Unzip 'SSManage4306.zip'.
3. Execute 'SSManage4306.exe'.
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3. The volume Limit seems to get enabled by itself in some cases and I cant get rid of it consistantly.
4. Network mp3/wma/etc. streaming only works on a Windows XP SP2 supposedly haven't finished setting that up yet. Would rather get it runnning on Win2k Server though...
5. Horrible User interface on remote & on the front panel. A little better on screen BUT I am not using the video switching capabilities because of the HDMI STB compatability issue. Better UI on the PC but a little slow.
6. PC Interface is missing Network config setup.
Plus Points
1. Sounds Great!
2. Supposed compatability with new HD-DVD Audio standards via Denon Link/External In
Currently debating returning the receiver (30 days with Tweeter) and getting one of my other initial choices. I paid $1800 for the 4306....
Would like to get it working, but dont think as is I'm getting my money's worth currently.
Any recomendations to solve these short commings are welcome!
Thanks,
