Will Probably Need to Replace the SR605 at This Point...Can Someone Help Choose a New AVR Based on Specific Needs?

[lovinthehd]

Also, on both current Denon and Marantz AVRs, we can adjust the volume of each source separately in order to have equivalent volume when switching from one source to the other if necessary.

Yes, that's the feature I'm describing and how to find it....

 

[Replicant 7]

Still, more audio variety by going thru speakers vs receivers....or you can collect both

Not really about (collect) more to do with of they way the changing of technology so fast on AVR's. After getting burnt by the Onkyo bad chip issue, Yamaha is the longest as for one brand. Been with Yamaha the longest, since 2015.

 

[Kaskade89052]

Okay....sorry for the delay in getting back to all of you. I appreciate all responses!

I actually wiggled the HDMI out port around a little at the back of the AVR and suddenly I was able to see the onscreen display again -- so this is either a loose HDMI port, a bad/going bad cable or something intermittent.

Seems like I am back to square one again -- but I was at least able to get the OSD working by giggling the cable in the port a bit.

 

[Kaskade89052]

And that was my assumption. We see it over and over here, and it's repeated in a lot of the mediums you mention. Even some of the more well known sites. My goal is only to try and clear up those misconceptions when I see them and I can get a little long winded explaining it, lol.

I understand that you were trying to clear up any misconceptions; I have read almost ad nauseum that, for example, Onkyos have a "forward, energetic, punchy" characteristic inherent in their amps while brands like Denon or Marantz may be a bit "laid back" and "dry" with regard to delivery. I always thought, however, this was more closely related to speaker brands/settings, though I did concur that Onkyo had a "punchy" attack to the delivery, especially with HT.

I knew we were gonna revisit this one.

What do you mean? I was merely asking for clarification with regard to how you answered the original query.

No, what I'm referring to is different from the trim levels found under "speaker settings" from the "setup" button. I think it serves the same function as IntelliVolume, but it's labeled "Channel Level Adjust" reached by pressing the "option" button. It brings up a separate menu where you can add or cut +12 or -12 dB from the default "0" for each speaker, and it will save whatever you boost or cut for each source.

Okay -- yes, that is PRECISELY what I was referring to. The Level Adjust function to tweak the input trims at a preamp level. Good to know the Denons have this.

 

[Kaskade89052]

Yeah that Denon 4700H is nice.

The 4700, unfortunately, is somewhat beyond our budget; we were looking to stay in the $800 range if we could...

 

[Kaskade89052]

Think its like 2007/08 era.

Yes -- the 605 was from that era, it was the first AVR on the market to decode the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD codecs.

 

[Kaskade89052]

Also curious if the GUI is the only problem with the 605 currently. Everything else functions?

Yes -- everything else functions.

Here's why I need the OSD: This AVR is, obviously, not 4K/HDR compliant so we're not using it right now to pass 4K video through from our Panasonic UHD Blu-ray player. I am using the HDMI OUT strictly to check receiver settings from time to time in order to ensure everything looks right, as I like to do, as I simply can't see the receiver's front panel display readout from our 12-foot seating distance (I need to be able to see the menus on the television screen).

 

[Kaskade89052]

My Marantz doesn't have a ton of options under options either, but it does have a channel level adjust that's +/- 12dB separate from the trim levels and it saves what you change for each source.

That's the feature I am precisely looking for -- good to know the modern Marantzes have it too.

 

[Kaskade89052]

As to shopping for new avr I'm a bit shy on Onkyo/Integra/Pioneer right now due their financial issues of late. Not too worried about their issues from the 2009-12 models, altho they did take care of mine as mine did have the network/hdmi board issue within the extended warranty....not sure if they had another issue like that if they would act the same way....I'd hope so but costs $. I'd like to see how well they survive (and this stay at home thing could well have been just the boost they needed) but I do like the idea of some of the new units coming with Dirac capability, sure as hell beats their AccuEQ after they ditched Audyssey years ago.

Thanks for your thoughts here; indeed, I am a bit weary of buying something from this family of brands right now, too, given the way they almost went under a few times and were bought out. When they first rebounded from this financial pit, they released the NR5100 -- but that thing SCREAMS cheap, especially with the spring-loaded speaker terminals for all channels save for the right/left mains. When the RZ50 was announced, it definitely gave me hope for the big Onk brand once again, as that thing is built like a proverbial brick shithouse (it looks like a big power amp, as do all the RZ's) -- but the NR models in the current lineup just don't seem all that well-screwed-together to me, don't know what it is.

I don't care for the aesthetics of the Integras (even though it's Onkyo's integrator brand) and I don't have any experience with Pioneer products, really (except for an old graphic EQ I used in a stereo rig many many moons ago).

Personally I like the Denon 3700 for a nicely featured avr right now, altho depending on speakers and playback levels I might want an external amp (but that applies to most avrs anyways). I wouldn't particularly shy away from Yamaha normally, but they seem to be having some hiccups, but I really don't want to relearn avr terminology either; Onkyo and D&M generally at least use the same terminology (but haven't dug into their newest units/manuals).

I cannot stand the aesthetics of the new Yamahas with that god awful center-mounted volume knob...plus, I am reading some bad stuff about their gear on sites like Crutchfield.com. I think the 3700 Denon is outside of our budget...

I may not be in need of a new AVR right this very second, anyway, as I seemed to have gotten the OSD back up by gently giggling/wiggling the cable connected to the HDMI OUT...so either the connection is loose or something is slowly going bad back there.

 

[lovinthehd]

Okay....sorry for the delay in getting back to all of you. I appreciate all responses!

I actually wiggled the HDMI out port around a little at the back of the AVR and suddenly I was able to see the onscreen display again -- so this is either a loose HDMI port, a bad/going bad cable or something intermittent.

Seems like I am back to square one again -- but I was at least able to get the OSD working by giggling the cable in the port a bit.

Hopefully its just the cable not making a good connection. Don't know how hard it would be to repair the hdmi port itself....

 

[Kaskade89052]

I was wondering that too.

Did this coincide with a new tv or 4k player?

Everything else on the AVR works fine and we're very happy with it; amp puts out a ton of power that belies its on-paper ratings and rank status (as being part of Onkyo's 6 Series of the time).

We did buy a new 4K TV, a Samsung NU8000, as well as a couple of UHD 4K Blu-ray players (a Cambridge Audio CXUHD and then a Panasonic DP-UB9000 after the Cambridge began making strange noises when playing DVDs) but this old AVR isn't running any video through it; the HDMI OUT/OSD is being used strictly so that I can see the setup menu to check settings from time to time.

 

[Kaskade89052]

Hopefully its just the cable not making a good connection. Don't know how hard it would be to repair the hdmi port itself....

Thanks lovin...

Yeah, I suspect this is a loose/weak connection because of how tight the install is back there at the ports -- I don't know if, at this point, we're going to look into getting the unit repaired because it would just probably make sense to get a new AVR at that point.

In the meantime, I am going to see if I can get the OSD to stay up the next time I use it.

 

[Kaskade89052]

Bro, your a good AH member. Plus you been posting some cool movie recommendations on, what you watching tonight!

Thanks Replicant! Appreciate it, brother; didn't know you were following that thread!

 

[Kaskade89052]

This pretty much mirrors my thoughts. I think the Denon X3700H is the one to beat right now.

It's out of our budget, unfortunately. I was eyeing the RZ50, but that too is overkill for our needs and beyond current budget.

 

[lovinthehd]

Thanks lovin...

Yeah, I suspect this is a loose/weak connection because of how tight the install is back there at the ports -- I don't know if, at this point, we're going to look into getting the unit repaired because it would just probably make sense to get a new AVR at that point.

In the meantime, I am going to see if I can get the OSD to stay up the next time I use it.

Yeah the design of hdmi connections wasn't the best either, altho if tight really helps to leave slack so when things might get moved around they don't stress the connections. Reminds me of the heavy tech flex covered cables I got at first, just too damn heavy for the ports. I take it you only have the one hdmi output port on that model?

Sounds like it could still be a useful avr if you go new, tho.

 

[Kaskade89052]

ps. by the way, the remote button could be bad too. Do you get vide through it, out of it?

You mean do I get actual video CONTENT through the HDMI OUT, not just see the menus? If so, we always used this HDMI OUT when we were using this in a 1080p-compliant setup and got no problems; things seemed to change over time when I started using the port just to check the receiver settings through the new 4K TV.

As for the remote button -- I don't think this is the case because I can use the SETUP button (which opens up the OSD) to turn the feature on and off via the receiver's front panel display...so if the button was bad, it wouldn't allow me to even pull THAT up.

However -- I had been having issues with the factory remote of this unit no longer responding to some commands, such as volume up/down, and I ordered a generic replacement for it (because originals are no longer made). I suppose it IS possible the SETUP key is a bit wonky...but if this was the problem, why did the OSD menus begin to distort with green lines over time, until finally they wouldn't come up? What would this have to do with the remote button?

 

[Kaskade89052]

I saw you summon me earlier about the codec thing. My thoughts on that are simple. Imo/ime DSU is much better than pro logic II. It will definitely take 2.0 material and apply it to all available speakers. Meaning that it will use the center channel as the OP desires, and appropriately everything else too. DSU is built to use height speakers too. But OP doesn’t have any, and it will be just fine. All upmixing will be great.

Thanks for this, William.

Here's my question about the new Dolby Surround approaches in these AVRs, though: Will the receiver remember what mode you applied for a two-channel signal the next time you play such a disc AUTOMATICALLY? In other words, right now when I view a DVD with a two-channel Dolby Digital soundtrack, my 605 automatically applies Pro Logic II to correctly steer the content into appropriate channels (dialogue in the center, et al)...but with these new models, you have to physically press a button on the remote when one of these signals begin playing, correct? If so, does the AVR REMEMBER to switch to the proper Dolby Surround mode you chose the next time a two-channel signal is detected?

I liked your question about a new player causing the GUI issue. I also wonder if a soft reset might do the trick. Honestly though, I would use the situation as an excuse to move on to a new AVR, although I understand being reticent about new stuff. The Onkyo doesn’t owe him anything by now.

My Panasonic UHD Blu-ray player is not running through this old receiver -- I am passing audio and video separately via two HDMI outs at the back of the player, one direct to the display for video and the other direct to the old AVR for audio.

 

[Kaskade89052]

Also, on both current Denon and Marantz AVRs, we can adjust the volume of each source separately in order to have equivalent volume when switching from one source to the other if necessary.

This is the feature I am looking for; thank you for confirmation.

 

[Kaskade89052]

Yeah the design of hdmi connections wasn't the best either, altho if tight really helps to leave slack so when things might get moved around they don't stress the connections. Reminds me of the heavy tech flex covered cables I got at first, just too damn heavy for the ports. I take it you only have the one hdmi output port on that model?

I am going to try and give the cable some slack back there -- I think that's what it is missing, primarily. With regard to the heavy tech flex covered cables -- I think that is what I am using, precisely. We purchased this cable through an installer we hired when we were putting together our first lossless-based surround setup in an apartment my wife and I shared at the time, and it has stuck with me ever since -- the cable is a huge, thick, textured type that has that "rough, slippery" feel to it....is that the one you are referring to?

It may indeed be too heavy for the port...

Yes, this AVR has only one HDMI OUT.

Sounds like it could still be a useful avr if you go new, tho.

We would still keep it as a backup, definitely....the way things are going with home electronics, it seems you have to save every piece of gear because you never know when they're either going to just stop manufacturing something or build gear that's so unreliable you HAVE to use something old.

 

[mtrycrafts]

You mean do I get actual video CONTENT through the HDMI OUT, not just see the menus? If so, we always used this HDMI OUT when we were using this in a 1080p-compliant setup and got no problems; things seemed to change over time when I started using the port just to check the receiver settings through the new 4K TV.

As for the remote button -- I don't think this is the case because I can use the SETUP button (which opens up the OSD) to turn the feature on and off via the receiver's front panel display...so if the button was bad, it wouldn't allow me to even pull THAT up.

However -- I had been having issues with the factory remote of this unit no longer responding to some commands, such as volume up/down, and I ordered a generic replacement for it (because originals are no longer made). I suppose it IS possible the SETUP key is a bit wonky...but if this was the problem, why did the OSD menus begin to distort with green lines over time, until finally they wouldn't come up? What would this have to do with the remote button?

Another possibility, maybe, is that an HDMI cable was not plugged in all the way. That happened to me once. Picture had weird problems. Cable was not the first thing I checked though since my Oppo 103 had a dvd spinner replaced and thought that was also going out, again. Somehow, I unplugged the cable, re-plugged and it worked.