Denon 2930 settings. Help needed please.

[P-P-S-S]

Hi guys. I have just purchased a Denon 2930 and did a bit of research in the forum but couldnt find much in terms of settings. If this has been asked before i would like to unreservedly and wholeheartily apologise in advance.

Could anyone help me with some advice on the settings for this player please? And i mean settings in the menu and also conncetions. I have a Toshiba 37z3030 lcd (true HD) and an Onkyo650 AV receiver. Whatis the best connection between the three? I have connected the player to the tv via hdmi and also to the amp via digital coax for the sound. I believe i read somewhere that if i connect the dvd to the amp then it is the amp that does the upscaling. So i thought to connect the dvd straight to the tv so that the dvd processor does the upscaling. But of course i may be very wrong. so i thought to ask here for some advice. Are the above connections enough and correct? or do i need to connect any other cables? And what would the best menu settings be?

Thank you in advance.

[P-P-S-S]

No one knows?

[dbwinter]

I have my DVD-2930 setup with the following:-

480P/576P RGB - I use the internal scaler in my Pioneer plasma (much better than Denon scaler which softens the image)

Enhancer set on +4
Black level set on +3

HDMI set to enhanced

Remember to keep sharpness on your TV setup menu to around 0 to avoid any whiteness to edges.

Everyting else set to 0.

Also don't be fooled into thinking that a more expensive player than this will give you a significantly better picture. This is pretty much as good as it gets for picture. For CD audio buy an Arcam or Meridian CD player.

Hope this helps

[spooney]

Originally Posted by P-P-S-S

I believe i read somewhere that if i connect the dvd to the amp then it is the amp that does the upscaling.

this is not correct. An AVR does only do upscaling if you tell it to do so in the menu.

I would connect everything via HDMI.

I would set the enhancer to +7 and leave the black levels as they are.

[P-P-S-S]

So if i connect the dvd to the amp via hdmi then i dont need to connect any other cables? I plan to use the dvd player for playing DVDAudio and SACD as well.

Tried playing a DVD Audio the other day (BlueMan Group) and the sound was not the same as my old dvd player. The sound with my old dvd player was more deep, the bass was quite thick and made the sofa shake. The sound through the Denon is quite thin and you cant feel the bass from the sub the same wa asi used to. Is this because the sound is going through HDMI (instead of coax that it used to?)

[Ron240]

Originally Posted by P-P-S-S

So if i connect the dvd to the amp via hdmi then i dont need to connect any other cables? I plan to use the dvd player for playing DVDAudio and SACD as well.

I am pretty sure the 2930 will not output SACD via HDMI. To get this you you need to connect 6 analogue phono cables from the 2930 to the corresponding EXT IN sockets on your receiver.

[P-P-S-S]

Ah damn, just when i thought i was done buying cables.... Sorry for the dumb question but why 6 phono cables? Also does this mean that i have to keep changing the assignment in the amp between HDMI and analogue depending on wether i am playing dvd or sacd?

[spooney]

Originally Posted by Ron240

I am pretty sure the 2930 will not output SACD via HDMI.

You are right. The manual is very clear on this (believe it or not ): no output of SACD over HDMI at all except the CD layer.

I use DirectLink - hassle free not need to switch anything :-) - of course only applicable for a Denon chain.

[Ron240]

Originally Posted by P-P-S-S

why 6 phono cables? Also does this mean that i have to keep changing the assignment in the amp between HDMI and analogue depending on wether i am playing dvd or sacd?

You highlighted the number 6, so i assume you are wondering why there needs to be 6 cables?
You are using the players built in decoder, which is 5 full range and one subwoofer channel.
You make this connection to experience the full multi-channel audio contained on a SACD(assuming it has been recoded this way of course).

There is only one button to press, or at least thats all it needs on my receiver - EXT. IN.

If you dont want to have to press a button, you can of course run everything through the 2930's inbuilt decoder,rather than using your receivers decoder.

[P-P-S-S]

Thanks Ron240. I cant see an EXT IN button in my receiver so i think i will have to use the dvd's decoder. May i ask (pardon my ignorance) if the dvd is connected to the receiver via hdmi and the 6 phonos will the receiver recognise automatically that the player is playing SACD and as such transmit the signal coming out of the 6 phonos?

Also when you say the 2930's inbilt decoder do you mean the Reon (as opposed to the Faroudja that Onkyo receivers use? If that is the case then using the 2930's decoder would be better i am presumming.

[Ron240]

I cannot comment on your receiver, because i am not familiar with it. My Denon receiver has an EXT. IN button which means it will play the externally decoded sound it receives connected to its 6 analogue terminals.

The Silicon Optix Reon chip in the 2930, only handles video - the audio is handled seperately. This is what i am meaning when i say the inbuilt decoder, but it amounts to the same thing, because it will be your dvd player doing the audio decoding, and not your receiver.

[P-P-S-S]

The Onkyo manual says that i can connect the multichannel using a multichannel analog audio cable or several normal audio cables. If i use the normal audio cables does it matter which one goes where since they have a left and a right? Also is there any difference in sound quality between the normal audio cables and the multichannel one?

Sorry for all these questions. I am new to all this.

[Ron240]

Originally Posted by P-P-S-S

If i use the normal audio cables does it matter which one goes where since they have a left and a right?

I am only able to answer this one question.
The easiest way to make this connection is to use 3 pairs of phono cables. All of them must be connected correctly to their opposite, corresponding terminals.