2805 and Dolby Digital

chrisw

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I've noticed the last couple of times I've played DVDs with Dolby Digital that the sound is, frankly, crap. The two DVDs in question are Spiderman 2 and Romeo Must Die, and they both sound really odd - it's quite hard to describe, but it sounds a little muffled - mainly the speec tho.

I've put the amp into Pure Direct mode and it sounds normal.

Anyone got any ideas?

Also, I've noticed that when in Dolby Digital mode the amp won't go below -5Db - is there a reason for this (its not actually that loud compared to stereo or pure direct at -5Db.)
 
If it won't go below -5db then it sounds like your Channel Levels must be set well into the + figures (+12 etc). Could just be a glitch so I would reset the Amp and rerun the Auto Setup etc. The manual describes how to reset it. Check under Re-Initialization of the Processor. Bear in mind you'll have to redo all your Digital In Assignments etc as it resets the Amp back to the Factory Defaults.
 
The channels are all around + or - 1db... just seems really odd.

I'm moving house on Monday so will re-set it up then... everything else is fine (including DTS etc), so just find it a bit strange.

Cheers for the suggestion.
 
If they're at + or -1db then somethings not right. Max Volume is +18 but this can be less if any channels are in the +db range e.g if there was a channel at +5db, max volume would be +13 on master volume.
 
chrisw said:
I've noticed the last couple of times I've played DVDs with Dolby Digital that the sound is, frankly, crap. The two DVDs in question are Spiderman 2 and Romeo Must Die, and they both sound really odd - it's quite hard to describe, but it sounds a little muffled - mainly the speec tho.

I've put the amp into Pure Direct mode and it sounds normal.

Anyone got any ideas?

Also, I've noticed that when in Dolby Digital mode the amp won't go below -5Db - is there a reason for this (its not actually that loud compared to stereo or pure direct at -5Db.)

When you're watching the dvd, and you select the dolby sound setting, does it show Dolby PLII on the display or Dolby Digital? Also, are you able to change the sound setting (by pressing the cinema button on the remote again) to DTS and then back to Dolby, or is it fixed on Dolby Digital?

Basically if you are listening to a soundtrack in Dolby Digital or DTS then the amp should effectively 'lock on' to that sound format.i.e. you should see Dolby Digital on the display, and you should not be able to change it to DTS, or vice versa. If you are able to change between DTS and Dolby while the film is playing, then the amp is not playing in Dolby. You will get a real muffled sound like you describe, and you will need to crank the volume right up too. You can see if there are sound options on the DVD that allow you to specify the sound format. For example, LOTR has sound tracks in Stereo, Dolby 5.1 and DTS, and you need to select which one you want from the menu before you watch the movie. Otherwise I think the problem is often caused by a poor quality DVD, or a dodgy copy. Have a go with something that you know works and I think you'll see what I mean.
 
Godvrey said:
When you're watching the dvd, and you select the dolby sound setting, does it show Dolby PLII on the display or Dolby Digital? Also, are you able to change the sound setting (by pressing the cinema button on the remote again) to DTS and then back to Dolby, or is it fixed on Dolby Digital?

Basically if you are listening to a soundtrack in Dolby Digital or DTS then the amp should effectively 'lock on' to that sound format.i.e. you should see Dolby Digital on the display, and you should not be able to change it to DTS, or vice versa. If you are able to change between DTS and Dolby while the film is playing, then the amp is not playing in Dolby. You will get a real muffled sound like you describe, and you will need to crank the volume right up too. You can see if there are sound options on the DVD that allow you to specify the sound format. For example, LOTR has sound tracks in Stereo, Dolby 5.1 and DTS, and you need to select which one you want from the menu before you watch the movie. Otherwise I think the problem is often caused by a poor quality DVD, or a dodgy copy. Have a go with something that you know works and I think you'll see what I mean.

i remember sitting watching a film a few months back....cant remember which now, but i was sitting there thinking given the action on the screen the surround transfer was a bit crap, lack of bass, dialogue a bit dull, effects mostly limited to front speakers......wasnt till i stood up to get a drink and saw on my 3803's front panel that it was Pro-Logic2......OMG....no wonder....spent next 10 minutes trying to figure out a way to get DD working, but nothing i did on the amp sorted it......so i gave up, decided to watch something else, that happend to have DTS, just as i was switching to DTS in the DVD menu i had the brainwave of putting back in the other film, checking the menus....it defaults to bloody stereo!!..lol..changed it to 5.1 and carried on watching the thing.....in nice rounded, bassy, dialogue rich DD...heh
 
Guys, thanks for the input.

I've changed the settings on the DVDs in question and yes they are 'locked on' to Dolby Digital correctly and selected correctly in the DVD menus.

I've got to take the whole system apart to move house this weekend so will spend some time starting with everything from scratch. I'll keep you posted.
 
Right, set it all up again last night (couldn't work out how to reset the unit - the manual is not user friendly). The problem's still there and it's very annoying. I'm thinking of getting my old kenwood amp out at the weekend to check that it's not the speaker...

Any other ideas?

Just to confirm, the DVDs have been checked to show they are outputting DD or DTS, the levels are all around + or -1db, the 2 fronts are set to large (B&W 603s) and the centre is set to small (B&W cc6). The amp 'locks on' to DD or DTS and I've re-run the auto set up etc.
 
Have you checked the actual centre speaker is ok? Might be worth just swapping over one of the front speakers just to check what they sound like.

To reset the Denon hold down both the Input Mode and Analog buttons on the front panel whilst turning the power on. You then hold these buttons for a few seconds and the display starts to flash.
 
chrisw said:
Cheers Jase. Guess what I'm doing tonight? :D

LOL

It's also worth trying out the DRC (Dynamic Range Control) settings. This can help with dialogue sometimes. It means you can have the overall volume higher but not been blown out of your seat when there's an explosion. The LOW setting works quite well, anymore and it compresses the sound too much.
 
Reset the whole thing and it's still crap. :-(

Didn't get a chance to swap over my centre with another speaker, but tested it through 5/7 channel stereo and it seemed to be outputting without a problem. Really have no idea what else to try.

Just wondering if the speaker is too small to deal with the large mains I'm using?
 
A long shot now, but if the amp is similar to the 3805 in terms of DSP, when a DVD is playing and you are showing DD or DTS in the display, hit the Enter key on the remote and continue to press it as you then sequentially select the channel levels in that mode. You can see if the centre has been minimised in terms of its output. If not, why not just up the level a notch or two to see if that makes a difference.

Also I thinkyou can access other DSP settings by pressing the SURR (?) key. Well there is one of the 3805!!! Again you can adjust the individual settings such as CINEMA EQ On/Off, tone defeat etc.
 
Hmm... thanks Malice - will give it another go when I get home tonight.... think i will fiddle with every different setting I can!

Will also rig up another speaker in place of my existing centre and see what happens - just hope I don't have to buy a new speaker....
 
A couple of things you could try similar to those already suggested;

1) Unplug the centre and turn it off in the Manual setup so the two fronts are doing the front three channels (you may actually prefer this long term anyway if the fronts are significantly better than the centre and you sit fairly centrally). Still run it in DD.

2) If that doesn't work also try unplugging the Rears and see if that works. Try switching between DD and Pure Direct as the difference should be minimal.

3) Reset everything and don't run auto setup but do it manually. To start with don't amend anything except which speakers you have.

4) Pure Direct sends the bass frequencies to both the fronts and sub so if this sounds better it may be that the crossover is too high on the fronts so they aren't getting any base and your sub is too low. Could therefore try turning of the sub in the menu, setting front speakers to large and see if that sounds correct. If it does it's something to do with the sub.

5) I assume the amp correctly identifies which speakers are which?

I can suggest some more if none of that works :thumbsup:
 
Right, tried all of the suggested and nothing has made a difference.

Until I replaced the centre with one of my rear surrounds... looks like its a blown tweeter, although I have no idea when this could have happened, as I've not really had the volume turned up that much.

The speaker is still outputting through it's two main drivers which gave the impression that it was working ok, just a bit muffled... which was in fact a blown tweeter (although I still have to get this confirmed).

Thanks for all your suggestions, and I'll let you know what the speaker doctor says.
 

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