Denon AVR-S960H - sound getting lower over time

audiodude1

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Hi there, first post. I recently (5-6 weeks ago) purchased my first serious audio setup:

Denon - AVR-S960H
2X Kef 750

Initially I was pretty blown away by how great it sounded. I do know (or at least was told) the amp was slightly under powered for the speakers but was also told it should be enough...which I def thought it sounded amazing. Basically turned my living room into a club lol. Anyways in the last week the sound output is getting lower and lower, basically having to turn it up higher just to hear what I'm watching. I used to be able to watch tv/movies at around 50% and it sounded great, but now I am having to turn it up to 70/80% just to hear what I'm watching.

Not sure what's going on, no settings were changed. The only possible thing I can think of is about a week ago I was listening to music pretty loud and it shut off. I assumed it was maybe getting hot? I let sit for a while and it turned on just fine and I didn't notice any difference, but over the course of the last few days I've noticed it's getting lower volume wise as described above.

The only other difference I'm noticing is, at least I'm 99% sure, but when I used to change volume the eco bar would be fluctuating along with whatever is going on sound wise with what I'm watching. Now it just sits there at like around 30%.

I've tried resetting to all defaults and running through the initial setup again, but issue persists.

I think I'm also past 30 days so if it's busted I'm probably SOL so I'm really hoping there's something I can do here. Any ideas? And thanks!
 
Hi

Try a factory reset of the AVR (unfortunately this will mean re running Audessey). I'd also turn ECO mode off - assuming the AVR has sufficient space for airflow (especially at the top).
 
It does look like you have pushed the Denon too far with the KEFs, certainly if you have inadequate ventilation and the Eco Mode on. It's not an amp I would have recommended with the, I presume Q750s, simply not enough grunt.

As mentioned above I would do a factory reset and re-run Audyssey. It does look as though the amp is currently misbehaving. You should be covered by your warranty regardless of the 30 day exchange. Don't know about US law but under British law you would have to allow Denon to make a repair.

Unfortunately it may not be that simple, the speakers themselves may have been damaged. You'll need to pay close attention to them and listen to for any crackles or chuffing. An underpowered amp can alter the sound causing damaging clipping.
 
Thanks for the replies! I'll try a factory reset and see how it goes. And yeah if nothing works I guess I'll have to call Denon since I think it should be covered by warranty. And def hope the speakers themselves aren't damaged, they weren't cheap.
 

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