Denon X3700H - Tearing my hair out and not much left

gedclink

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New telly bought 10 weeks ago - Samsung Q95. New Zealand model - don't hold that against me !

All good. Was running fine with my 7 year old Intel NUC and my 7 year old Denon amp. Decided to treat myself to a new 4k/8k amp in anticipation of upgrading the NUC as well...This is when the problems started...It's currently a 3.1 setup in the living room.

There are a few issues i am noticing. - Will also be buying some HDMI 2.0 cables tomorrow as suspect mine may be 1.4 as they are a good few years old so no idea if that is the holy grail to fix the issues below.

1. Sometimes the sound is missing when i swap between HDMI inputs. I have to select an alternative input, then flick back to the one missing sound. seems to fix it.

2. The HDMI connection between the amp and TV just drops off randomly. First time setup out the box I had a black screen and sound coming through from skyHD input. Lots of plugging in and unplugging cables and it then worked. Thought it was odd but forgot about it. Got the NUC running on another HDMI input and all was well. Has been running okay for about 6 days.

3. I often hear a loud static electricity sounding ' crack ' through the left front speaker when pressing play after using the FF button on skyHD input.

4. In trying to fix the sound issue by checking speaker connections etc I now have caused some ongoing hdmi dropouts. Generally on the Intel NUC HDMI input, screen goes black, dotted circle spins in the middle of TV, screen fixes itself, goes black for several seconds, comes back for 1, goes black...When it does this, the only way to fix it is to select another source or power everything down, then power it all back up 5 minutes later.

5. Tonight I was feeling the unit as it was HOT. It was on the NUC HDMI channel and my hand brushed the HDMI cable and above problem started. Then the " can't find any inputs from the source you selected page". Switching inputs didn't work. Unplugged and replugged cables, and took about 8 attempts at this before a picture re-appeared and all is well again.? !?!??? What I ' think' fixed it was unplugging/ replugging the HDMI-Out cable from the AVR- the one that goes to the samsung TV box.

Does this sound like a faulty AVR, cables ( am swapping out tomorrow) or something else. ARC and CEC are both set to off on the amp and tv. Never had as much trouble from a new setup as this thing is causing.

Thanks for any pointers to try.

Ged
 
Out of curiosity, where is your AVR located? Is it free standing (nothing on top of it or at the sides) or is it in a cabinet?
 
return it and get an arcam avr390 from peter tyson, i recently dumped my denon x4700 as the sound was naff and the hdmi 2.1 implementation buggy as hell......the arcam may not do 8K but its streets ahead otherwise.
 
return it and get an arcam avr390 from peter tyson, i recently dumped my denon x4700 as the sound was naff and the hdmi 2.1 implementation buggy as hell......the arcam may not do 8K but its streets ahead otherwise.
I'm not sure how the sound was naff is any help. It would be an assumption to assume it would be better to get an ACRAM receiver and he would have better sound?. There is a lot of people in the ACRAM thread with issues of their own which deters me from going down that route in the future, although the dirac sounds pretty cool but other than that I cant see its reliability beat a Denon.

I have had issues in the past with the screen going black and flickering back on, this was down to a faulty HDMI cable that I was using for a number of years for my Nvidia shield replacing it fixed this. I do not have much experience with the Intel NUC but have you set the input on the Samsung to PC mode if it has this and is your screen resolution on the NUC changing? This may cause the TV to black screen and switch back on once the resolution has been set again.

Also, it is worth noting when removing HDMI connectors make sure the device is off including the TV to avoid damaging your HDMI ports.
 
return it and get an arcam avr390 from peter tyson, i recently dumped my denon x4700 as the sound was naff and the hdmi 2.1 implementation buggy as hell......the arcam may not do 8K but its streets ahead otherwise.
To be fair, it also doesn't pass HDR10+, is an outdated model being sold off cheaply, and has been poorly reviewed on sites such as ASR. Just in the interests of balance, I am not an "Arcam knocker" and have personal experience of them as I own an SA20, but I would recommend that you read the owners threads.

Sounds like you have some handshaking problems, could well be cables. Make sure you get some Premium High Speed cables which are < 5M.
 
Another vote here for the Arcam AVR over the Denon AVR, I have had a Denon 6300 and 4400, and a Marantz SR7011. The Arcam AVR550 sounds much better. The soundstage is huge, and the clarity of audio is outstanding. That is before Dirac. With Dirac added, then the soundtage gets bigger and the placement of audio in the room is very precise, particularly the clarity of dialogue and placement of voices.

I am not brand loyal, I have Denon, Marantz, Yamaha and Arcam AVR's at home, for sound quality the Arcam AVR550 is the best by far, although the Cambridge Audio CXR200 was also quite special, it's a shame that Cambridge Audio don't make AVR's anymore. Denon / Marantz / Yamaha / Sony are all quite a way behind.

The ASR review was mixed, as with most of the AVR's that Amir has measured, the results were a bit disappointing, but maybe not audible in real world use. Having A/B'd a number of different amps, the Arcam sounds much better than the better measured Denon.

The Audio Science Review of the AVR390 wasn't all bad, it highlighted that a great analog engineer designed the amplifier in the Arcam AVR390 and did a great job both in measured performance and proper cooling. In stereo direct mode, it was ranked 18th out of 112 amps tested to date for SINAD, the next device up in the rank being a Devialet Expert 200 which is a stereo amplifier costing £5495.

So, essentially you are getting a very decent AVR, with Dirac, and an excellent audiophile quality stereo analog amp for free, in the same chassis.

HDR10+ may (or may not) be coming with a final firmware update. I actually can't tell the difference on my TV (Samsung 65Q90R) between HDR10 and HDR10+, but the workaround is to use the app on the TV for streaming content and pass the audio back to the AVR via ARC, or to use a UHD player for disc content with twin outputs.

You could buy the newer replacement model, to get HDR10+, and a new fancy display on the chassis, but you would pay twice the price for it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
New telly bought 10 weeks ago - Samsung Q95. New Zealand model - don't hold that against me !

All good. Was running fine with my 7 year old Intel NUC and my 7 year old Denon amp. Decided to treat myself to a new 4k/8k amp in anticipation of upgrading the NUC as well...This is when the problems started...It's currently a 3.1 setup in the living room.

There are a few issues i am noticing. - Will also be buying some HDMI 2.0 cables tomorrow as suspect mine may be 1.4 as they are a good few years old so no idea if that is the holy grail to fix the issues below.

1. Sometimes the sound is missing when i swap between HDMI inputs. I have to select an alternative input, then flick back to the one missing sound. seems to fix it.

2. The HDMI connection between the amp and TV just drops off randomly. First time setup out the box I had a black screen and sound coming through from skyHD input. Lots of plugging in and unplugging cables and it then worked. Thought it was odd but forgot about it. Got the NUC running on another HDMI input and all was well. Has been running okay for about 6 days.

3. I often hear a loud static electricity sounding ' crack ' through the left front speaker when pressing play after using the FF button on skyHD input.

4. In trying to fix the sound issue by checking speaker connections etc I now have caused some ongoing hdmi dropouts. Generally on the Intel NUC HDMI input, screen goes black, dotted circle spins in the middle of TV, screen fixes itself, goes black for several seconds, comes back for 1, goes black...When it does this, the only way to fix it is to select another source or power everything down, then power it all back up 5 minutes later.

5. Tonight I was feeling the unit as it was HOT. It was on the NUC HDMI channel and my hand brushed the HDMI cable and above problem started. Then the " can't find any inputs from the source you selected page". Switching inputs didn't work. Unplugged and replugged cables, and took about 8 attempts at this before a picture re-appeared and all is well again.? !?!??? What I ' think' fixed it was unplugging/ replugging the HDMI-Out cable from the AVR- the one that goes to the samsung TV box.

Does this sound like a faulty AVR, cables ( am swapping out tomorrow) or something else. ARC and CEC are both set to off on the amp and tv. Never had as much trouble from a new setup as this thing is causing.

Thanks for any pointers to try.

Ged

I have had enough of my X3700H too. Its behaviour is just irrational.

Through trial and error I've discovered it behaves much better when 8K isn't enabled.

I have had Denon and Marantz receivers before. They do two things I don't understand;

they arrange the HDMI inputs in such a way when they know there's possibly a benefit to doing the opposite and even suggest connecting components the opposite way

the receivers don't come with 8K enabled on the corresponding input. They also do this on previous models, they don't enable 'enhanced' by default

I'm just waiting confirmation RS will accept mine back and I'll wait to get the Onkyo TX-RZ50, in June, which has three 40Gps HDMI 2.1 inputs and doesn't use the same problematic HDMI board.
 
To be fair, it also doesn't pass HDR10+, is an outdated model being sold off cheaply, and has been poorly reviewed on sites such as ASR. Just in the interests of balance, I am not an "Arcam knocker" and have personal experience of them as I own an SA20, but I would recommend that you read the owners threads.

Sounds like you have some handshaking problems, could well be cables. Make sure you get some Premium High Speed cables which are < 5M.

HDR10+ is a dead format, only samsung are backing it.....if you buy from Peter Tyson you get a 5 year warranty and tbh my 390 runs way cooler than the denon ever did. As for outdated, it does HDR, Dolby Vision and HLG, plus Atmos and DTS X as well as 4K @ 60Hz, unless you are a gamer requiring 120Hz (which few consoles and their games will support) you arent missing much.

Want you don't get with Denon is a unique sound for both movies and music and Dirac.

If you install the 4.41 firmware and factory reset then you are golden and I have had zero issues with hdmi handshaking unlike the denon.
 
HDR10+ is a dead format, only samsung are backing it.....if you buy from Peter Tyson you get a 5 year warranty and tbh my 390 runs way cooler than the denon ever did. As for outdated, it does HDR, Dolby Vision and HLG, plus Atmos and DTS X as well as 4K @ 60Hz, unless you are a gamer requiring 120Hz (which few consoles and their games will support) you arent missing much.

Want you don't get with Denon is a unique sound for both movies and music and Dirac.

If you install the 4.41 firmware and factory reset then you are golden and I have had zero issues with hdmi handshaking unlike the denon.
The fact that you have to install old firmware in order to get it to operate in a stable fashion says it all recently. While I appreciate that you may have a warranty, soon it will not be replaceable once stock runs out, and then if it's out for repair you have no AVR for a month or so. As for running cooler, yes - it will be stone cold once it's packed up.

As I say, I take a balanced view on equipment, so don't take it from me, read the experience of the owners on the owners threads.
 
The fact that you have to install old firmware in order to get it to operate in a stable fashion says it all recently. While I appreciate that you may have a warranty, soon it will not be replaceable once stock runs out, and then if it's out for repair you have no AVR for a month or so. As for running cooler, yes - it will be stone cold once it's packed up.

As I say, I take a balanced view on equipment, so don't take it from me, read the experience of the owners on the owners threads.

who cares when that older firmware gives you everything you need? Balanced please....you are a Denon fanboy through and through.....I used to be like you:

John 9:25 "One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
 
who cares when that older firmware gives you everything you need? Balanced please....you are a Denon fanboy through and through.....I used to be like you:

John 9:25 "One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
Yeah - a "Denon fanboy" who has owned a Denon for precisely 6 months in total. A "Denon fanboy" who also owns an Arcam amp. Oh, and a Panasonic TV. Oh, and a Panasonic BD player.

But apart from that........:rotfl:
 
Ladies...pleeeease can we leave our hand-bags at the door. The OP has a specific ask

Does this sound like a faulty AVR, cables ( am swapping out tomorrow) or something else. ARC and CEC are both set to off on the amp and tv. Never had as much trouble from a new setup as this thing is causing.

Thanks for any pointers to try.

Posturing and willy-waving about whose AVR is best doesn't really help him out....
 
It looks to me like there are two people on this thread who own Arcam AVR's, and are saying that they are very pleased with them and that they sound much better than the Denon AVR's that they also have / still do own.

It's not a competition, it's just reporting factual experiences in a bid to share and help others. :)

The FMJ range are end of line, and as Arcam only bring out new models every five years or so, it is a brief opportunity to get the Arcam sound at half price, at a time when other bargains are thin on the ground due to Brexit and Covid stock issues.

I am not sure where the OP is at in their purchase, but if they are within the window of being able to return it due to it being faulty / not fit for purpose, then this might be of interest to them.
 
It's probably worth identifying the root cause of the issue first. If it's not the AVR then changing it won't mean anything.

I understand the whole Acram thing and I can't speak for experience only from what I have seen on the forums.
 
The OP said that the problems started when they changed their 7 year old AVR for the new Denon, so it does seem to be this new Denon AVR that is causing the issues.

Arcam, amongst others, do seem to have a reputation for releasing products too early, before the firmware is stable. The FMJ AVR390 is not a new product, and does have stable firmware.

Remember, that a high percentage of people who own products that they are happy with and never have any issues with, will never post about it on a forum.
 
Ladies...pleeeease can we leave our hand-bags at the door. The OP has a specific ask



Posturing and willy-waving about whose AVR is best doesn't really help him out....
Totally agree. which is why people diving in to make unsolicited pitches for him to get a new AVR was completely inappropriate. My advice was to try swapping his cables out first ,which seems a much more proportionate initial response to his issue.
 
The OP is already trying new cables, and seemed very keen for any pointers. There is no harm in offering alternative options and opinions, that could in the long term provide a much better solution.
 
Mod comment.

This is the second thread today that I've had to deal with two members trying their utmost to provoke each other. You know who you are. This is what is going to happen. The next comment with the slightest hint of trolling or baiting is going to get you banned from the thread.

Grow up the pair of you.
 
Posturing and willy-waving about whose AVR is best doesn't really help him out....
Best comment on AV Forums for a while right there! 😂😂

In all seriousness though, totally agree. It really is not helpful or constructive in any way. Nor does it answer his query.
 
I did try a Denon AVR 2500 a while back and it was surprising sensitive to cables, so. that would be my first port of call.
 
Do you have an 8K display with 8K sources?

No and I'm not sure what your point is.

For the uninitiated, you have to enable 8K on the relevant input in order to benefit from the capabilities of the next gen consoles such as 120Hz, of which I have one - a PS5;).
 
No and I'm not sure what your point is.

For the uninitiated, you have to enable 8K on the relevant input in order to benefit from the capabilities of the next gen consoles such as 120Hz, of which I have one - a PS5;).
I was wondering why you tried the 8K setting. I don't think that the 120hz is working well in the chip and causing some problems and Denon have said that a workaround of returning the audio via eARC with a direct connection by HDMI to the TV from the PS5. The HDMI roll out hasn't gone too well really. The 4K enhanced setting is very stable in my experience with my X6500.

I'm not a gamer, still having trouble with space invaders.
 
I'm not a gamer, still having trouble with space invaders.
This reminded me of getting one of these as a kid in 80s at Christmas:


Spent hours on it. Simpler times for sure!
 
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I was wondering why you tried the 8K setting. I don't think that the 120hz is working well in the chip and causing some problems and Denon have said that a workaround of returning the audio via eARC with a direct connection by HDMI to the TV from the PS5. The HDMI roll out hasn't gone to well really. The 4K enhanced setting is very stable in my experience with my X6500.

I'm not a gamer, still having trouble with space invaders.

Well, this is exactly the issue for me.

Rather naively, I believed Sound United when they said the PS5 isn't affected by the issues surrounding the Panasonic HDMI chipset. It allegedly, only affects the X-Box.

Hence, why I purchased an X3700H in January, even though I was aware of the issues surrounding the problematic chipset.

There's a single 2.1 HDMI on the Denon's, it's identified as 8K on the rear and you have to enable '8K' within the settings in order to benefit from the likes of 120Hz.

Doing so on mine has caused me issues. I shouldn't have bought it. I regret my purchase... mostly because of the bloomin' earache I get from the family when things don't work:rolleyes:.
 

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