Denon AVR-X3300W behaving strangely.

MartinGH1369

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Hello there. I've got a an issue with my Denon AVR that I was hoping someone here might be able to help with.
Every now and then the AVR will make a really loud popping sound but the sound goes through the speakers, it's not the physical AVR that makes the sound. This sound can be incredibly loud. The weird thing about it is that when it does make this noise it launches the Audyssey setup screen. I've tried running the Audyssey setup but this hasn't stopped the issue. I've tried new HDMI and speaker cable to see if this helped; it didn't.
I've tried with the sub on and off/disconnected, this made no difference. It doesn't matter what the source is, they all do it.
It's not an issue I can record to show you as I can go for hours of watching something with no problem but then it will do it over and over with no warning.
As far as I can tell it's not an over heating issue, the AVR is well ventilated on all sides and doesn't feel hot to the touch, plus I'm yet to see any kind of warning signal.

I'm a bit stumped, can anyone offer advice or a fix please?
 
Have you tried (1) Disconnecting from the network, e.g. could it be signal from a device on the network with Audyssey app on it?

(1) Have you tried switching off MultEQ completely in the AUDIO settings?
 
I would try a factory reset in the first instance. You can save your settings first.

Resetting factory settings​


Perform this procedure if the display is abnormal or if operations cannot be performed.
Various settings are reset to the factory default values. Make settings again.
Ope Resetting X2200

Turn off the power using
Power Button
.

Press
Power Button
while simultaneously pressing TUNER PRESET CH + and TUNER PRESET CH -.

Remove your fingers from the two buttons when “Initialized” appears on the display.


Before restoring the default setting, the “Save” function of the web control function can be used to store the various settings of the unit. link
However, account information for network content and information on registered favorites cannot be stored.


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Have you tried (1) Disconnecting from the network, e.g. could it be signal from a device on the network with Audyssey app on it?

(1) Have you tried switching off MultEQ completely in the AUDIO settings?
I've tried turning all settings relating to Audyssey off and on and I've tried disconnecting the ethernet cable from the AVR but nothing has helped so far. I did have a weird thing happen earlier today, the power light started flashing to indicate wrong phase on a speaker, I ran Audyssey again and it says all my speakers are in the correct phase so I'm not sure what's going on there, I haven't changed the speaker wire configuration at all, it's been the same (other than replacing the speaker wire recently but I did each wire one by one to avoid confusing myself which is too easily done for me hahaha) since I bought the AVR when it was released, what, two years ago or more? At one point I was pretty sure that the sub was the issue as when I disconnected the the sub cable from the AVR it seemed to fix the issue for a week but then it randomly started again, almost like a software cascade failure or something. I even tried blowing dust out of the unit with my airbrush set to a low P.S.I. to see if that was an issue but it made no difference. This has been a persistent issue since late December but it seems to be getting worse over time.
I had considered that maybe there is an intermittent fault with the 3.5mm plug that the Audyssey microphone plugs in to as I can't find any other information online regarding why Audyssey would cause this issue.
Another thing I've noticed: the problem seems a lot worse when I'm using a DTS setting, it's still present with Dolby (I use mostly Atmos or DTS:X, preferring DTS:X) but it seems to be roughly 50% less frequent on a Dolby profile.
 
I did have a weird thing happen earlier today, the power light started flashing to indicate wrong phase on a speaker, I ran Audyssey again and it says all my speakers are in the correct phase so I'm not sure what's going on there, I haven't changed the speaker wire configuration at all, it's been the same (other than replacing the speaker wire recently but I did each wire one by one to avoid confusing myself which is too easily done for me hahaha) since I bought the AVR when it was released, what, two years ago or more?

Interesting. There could be a short inside one of the speakers. It's a long shot but it could be worth disconnecting some of the speakers and trying it.

E.g. watch a film in 2.1, if it still does it, try a different two speakers for the 2.1 and see it does it again.

Of course, as Gibbsy says, a full reset may do the trick, fingers crossed!
 
Did you have any luck solving this? I have started to have exactly the same issue with my Denon AVRX3600 and I am looking for solutions! Many Thanks.
 
I have just started having a very similar problem on my AVRX3300. Also interested in a solution !

Most instances have happened when running a BD or DVD, but this morning I had an occurrence while I was just looking through the menus - a loud crackle on the sound and it switched to the Audyssey setup menu.
 
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I have just started having a very similar problem on my AVRX3300. Also interested in a solution !

Most instances have happened when running a BD or DVD, but this morning I had an occurrence while I was just looking through the menus - a loud crackle on the sound and it switched to the Audyssey setup menu.
Hi DickB,

No solution identified yet unfortunately. Can't find any rhyme or reason to it. It can go a few days without issue, then suddenly become problematic again. At the moment, it looks like I am going to have to use the Richer Sounds six year guarantee to solve the issue :(

Have you also had issues with the receiver occasionally going into protection mode when it is powered up? (power light blinking every half a second).

I will certainly let you know if I find any more information on a cause and/or a solution to this issue. Please do the same

Danny
 
Hi DickB,

No solution identified yet unfortunately. Can't find any rhyme or reason to it. It can go a few days without issue, then suddenly become problematic again. At the moment, it looks like I am going to have to use the Richer Sounds six year guarantee to solve the issue :(

Have you also had issues with the receiver occasionally going into protection mode when it is powered up? (power light blinking every half a second).

I will certainly let you know if I find any more information on a cause and/or a solution to this issue. Please do the same

Danny
Thanks Danny - yes, originally the problem was the receiver switching to Audyssey setup, but now it more frequently goes into protect mode exactly as you describe. I read somewhere that when this happens there are Denon error logs available, but I don't know how to access them.

I did a factory reset as described above and that didn't fix it. I get the problem even if there is no connected input device powered on. Yesterday it seemed like it was happening within 5-10 mins of power on. It feels like a hardware issue to me. Unfortunately I bought my unit second hand, and it is not in warranty :-(
 
Thanks Danny - yes, originally the problem was the receiver switching to Audyssey setup, but now it more frequently goes into protect mode exactly as you describe. I read somewhere that when this happens there are Denon error logs available, but I don't know how to access them.

I did a factory reset as described above and that didn't fix it. I get the problem even if there is no connected input device powered on. Yesterday it seemed like it was happening within 5-10 mins of power on. It feels like a hardware issue to me. Unfortunately I bought my unit second hand, and it is not in warranty :-(
Hi Dick,

Just to let you know, yesterday Richer Sounds picked my unit up for repair as I had done everything I could do to try and fix the issue at home. I will let you know what the outcome is.

Danny
 
Hi Dick,

Just to let you know, yesterday Richer Sounds picked my unit up for repair as I had done everything I could do to try and fix the issue at home. I will let you know what the outcome is.

Danny
Thanks Danny - and good luck !

A good friend of mine suggested it might be a overheating problem. Interestingly, I did reconfigure my AV stack not long ago, and in doing so I reduced the clearance above the receiver from 2-3 inches to less than an inch. It has run like that quite OK for some time, but then again it is the coolest room in the house, not usually open to the outside air - until the recent hot spell, which is when the problem started . . .

I'm not completely convinced, but I have adjusted the stack to restore the 2-3 inches clearance above the receiver. And so far it has been behaving itself. We will see !
 
Thanks Danny - and good luck !

A good friend of mine suggested it might be a overheating problem. Interestingly, I did reconfigure my AV stack not long ago, and in doing so I reduced the clearance above the receiver from 2-3 inches to less than an inch. It has run like that quite OK for some time, but then again it is the coolest room in the house, not usually open to the outside air - until the recent hot spell, which is when the problem started . . .

I'm not completely convinced, but I have adjusted the stack to restore the 2-3 inches clearance above the receiver. And so far it has been behaving itself. We will see !
Thank you.

I considered overheating, but I don't think it's the issue in my case. I have reasonable good ventilation around my receiver. It was picked up yesterday, but before that, it was behaving it's self in the brutal heat we had earlier in the week, a lot more than it has been over the last couple of weeks! Also, I always seem to get the issues at the time I turn the receiver on or shortly after, so it hasn't really had time to heat up.

Additionally, when my receiver goes into protection mode, the power light is flashing red every 0.5 seconds. See the extract from the manual for my receiver below. If it was overheating causing protection mode, I would have expected the power light to flash red every 2 seconds.

Power turns off and the power indicator flashes in red approx. every 2 seconds.​

The protection circuit has been activated due to a rise in temperature within this unit. Turn the power off, wait about an hour until this unit cools down sufficiently, and then turn the power on again. link
Please re-install this unit in a place having good ventilation.

Power turns off and the power indicator flashes in red approx. every 0.5 seconds.​

Check the speaker connections. The protection circuit may have been activated because speaker cable core wires came in contact with each other or a core wire was disconnected from the connector and came in contact with the rear panel of this unit. After unplugging the power cord, take corrective action such as firmly re-twisting the core wire or taking care of the connector, and then reconnect the wire. link
Turn down the volume and turn on the power again. link
This unit’s amplifier circuit has failed. Unplug the power cord and contact our customer service center.
 
Thank you.

I considered overheating, but I don't think it's the issue in my case. I have reasonable good ventilation around my receiver. It was picked up yesterday, but before that, it was behaving it's self in the brutal heat we had earlier in the week, a lot more than it has been over the last couple of weeks! Also, I always seem to get the issues at the time I turn the receiver on or shortly after, so it hasn't really had time to heat up.

Additionally, when my receiver goes into protection mode, the power light is flashing red every 0.5 seconds. See the extract from the manual for my receiver below. If it was overheating causing protection mode, I would have expected the power light to flash red every 2 seconds.
Yes, my receiver exhibited exactly the same behaviour, which is why I too am somewhat sceptical about the problem being overheating. The mystery being why it doesn't occur more frequently, which I would expect if it were something like a bad speaker connection.

Interesting also that you say the problem occurred shortly after power on. Also exactly what I was seeing when it was really bad, One evening it failed 5-6 times, each time within 5 mins of power on, once with no connected input devices powered on.

I suspect I'm not out of the woods yet !
 
Thanks Danny - and good luck !

A good friend of mine suggested it might be a overheating problem. Interestingly, I did reconfigure my AV stack not long ago, and in doing so I reduced the clearance above the receiver from 2-3 inches to less than an inch. It has run like that quite OK for some time, but then again it is the coolest room in the house, not usually open to the outside air - until the recent hot spell, which is when the problem started . . .

I'm not completely convinced, but I have adjusted the stack to restore the 2-3 inches clearance above the receiver. And so far it has been behaving itself. We will see !
Denon recommended clearance’s are 5” above and 2” on both sides.
 
Just a quick update; my receiver has been with Richer Sounds for 3 weeks now. The only update I have had is that it is with the 'Denon Agent' and that they are hoping to have a further update for me this week.

I have to say, I am a little disappointed it is taking this long to sort out. TV speakers really are rubbish in comparison! :(
 
Just a quick update; my receiver has been with Richer Sounds for 3 weeks now. The only update I have had is that it is with the 'Denon Agent' and that they are hoping to have a further update for me this week.
Thanks for the update Danny. Very frustrating. I guess they may be trying to recreate the problem without success.

I haven't seen the problem since I gave my X3300 more air space above. But I'm not confident it's actually gone.
 
Thanks for the update Danny. Very frustrating. I guess they may be trying to recreate the problem without success.

I haven't seen the problem since I gave my X3300 more air space above. But I'm not confident it's actually gone.
I was right. The problem came back this week in spades, First, I noticed the amp came up with the setting "Video Game B-Ray", which is one I have never seen or used. Then, after less than 5 mins from power on, it shut itself down and started Audyssey. I powered it down and up on the remote, and then after a few minutes it shut itself down again and flashed the red LED to indicate a speaker connection problem or amplifier circuit failure. I powered it down at the wall, powered back on, and it ran fine for the rest of the evening.

The same happened today. It may be going terminal.

Did you get yours fixed ?
 
I was right. The problem came back this week in spades, First, I noticed the amp came up with the setting "Video Game B-Ray", which is one I have never seen or used. Then, after less than 5 mins from power on, it shut itself down and started Audyssey. I powered it down and up on the remote, and then after a few minutes it shut itself down again and flashed the red LED to indicate a speaker connection problem or amplifier circuit failure. I powered it down at the wall, powered back on, and it ran fine for the rest of the evening.

The same happened today. It may be going terminal.

Did you get yours fixed ?
Not fixed yet. I am now on week six without an amp :(

I have to say, I have been disappointed with Richer Sounds Six Year Guarantee so far. They can't get the bits they need to repair my 3600 (well they have ordered them but there is no indication on when they will arrive). With this in mind, they have offered me a 3700 at a discounted price. I have placed the order on the 3700 but it is out of stock. More units were expected in August but I haven't heard anything as yet. I had to pay the difference between what I paid for my 3600 and a discounted price of the 3700, even though the guarantee says they will replace a unit that is not economically repairable with 'an equivalent or similar product'. I was offered a 4700 at discounted price too, as they are in stock, but that would have meant forking out a further almost £250, which I am not prepared to do. Despite my efforts, even phoning local stores, I haven't even been able to secure a loan unit from RS either, so I haven't been able to use my speakers for six weeks now. I have even contacted Julian Richer's office, but they are standing their ground on me having to pay extra for a replacement too, though they do agree I should have been able to get a loan unit. I am awaiting further feedback from them this week, but I think my best option now is to just keep the 3700 order and wait for it to come back in stock.

Richer Sounds take on a risk when they sell a product with the six year guarantee and whilst I appreciate their are global stock/supply chain issues at the moment, I feel like they haven't properly accepted this risk and that their guarantee has let me down so far.

Anyhow, that was a bit of rant... I agree with you the issue may be terminal, as even if it was possible to find out which parts are at fault, it appears that getting hold of any parts is very, very difficult at the moment :(
 
That's not good. I don't have the luxury of warranty, so my amp is essentially toast. The last test I did was to disconnect all the speakers and then power it up. It still did the jump to Audyssey thing within 5-10 minutes, so no question it's internal. I've since disconnected all the inputs as well, and it now stays up, so there may be a clue there somewhere. If I can be bothered, I may plug the inputs back one by one and see if there is any correlation (no idea why), but it's pretty much the end of the road. I hope you get a replacement eventually. I'm back to the piggy bank :)
 
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That's not good. I don't have the luxury of warranty, so my amp is essentially toast. The last test I did was to disconnect all the speakers and then power it up. It still did the jump to Audyssey thing within 5-10 minutes, so no question it's internal. I've since disconnected all the inputs as well, and it now stays up, so there may be a clue there somewhere. If I can be bothered, I may plug the inputs back one by one and see if there is any correlation (no idea why), but it's pretty much the end of the road. I hope you get a replacement eventually. I'm back to the piggy bank :)
Richer Sounds have been back in touch with me today and I am much happier now. My 3600 has been repaired and is going to be sent back to me. However, they are allowing me to keep the 3700 order open and swap to the 3700 once it is back in stock if I wish. I will use my 3600 once I get it back then decide what to do at the point the 3700 is available again.

To give credit where it is due, given how long this has taken I think Richer Sounds are now being very reasonable.

I mentioned that there were others on this forum who have had similar issues with their Denon amps. I have asked for some details of exactly what parts have been replaced/repaired in my 3600, so I can share the details which will hopefully assist you in deciding if it's worth sending yours in for a repair or not. As soon as I have those details I will let you know.
 
Great news. Yes please, I would be very interested to know what parts were replaced.
 
I mentioned that there were others on this forum who have had similar issues with their Denon amps. I have asked for some details of exactly what parts have been replaced/repaired in my 3600, so I can share the details which will hopefully assist you in deciding if it's worth sending yours in for a repair or not. As soon as I have those details I will let you know.
Just wondering if you got the list of parts replaced from RS. I thought I'd sussed the problem on my amp - or at least found a workaround, I had pretty much <proved> that the fault only occurred when something was plugged into the DVD port. So I switched the DVD player to the Media Player port and everything was fine. For about a week, Then bang - same problem.

I've now replaced the amp with a lower spec Denon, But before I junk the old one or sell it for parts it would be good to know whether is is possible to repair and how much,
 
Just wondering if you got the list of parts replaced from RS. I thought I'd sussed the problem on my amp - or at least found a workaround, I had pretty much <proved> that the fault only occurred when something was plugged into the DVD port. So I switched the DVD player to the Media Player port and everything was fine. For about a week, Then bang - same problem.

I've now replaced the amp with a lower spec Denon, But before I junk the old one or sell it for parts it would be good to know whether is is possible to repair and how much,
Hi Dick - Sorry for the delay in replying. I have just seen your message on here. I must have missed the email notification.

Unfortunately, I haven't heard anything more regarding the repair, despite asking. However, the repair does seem have been successful as I haven't had any further problems.

Before doing anything with your receiver, it might be worth getting in touch with Sound System Technology or Sontec Electronics Ltd. According to the Denon website, they are the only authorised repairers in the UK for Denon equipment, so I suspect RS sent my receiver to one of those companies.
 

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