Question Help me understand my new Denon receiver

[ttonks93]

Hi,

So i have just installed my 5.1.2 setup with a Denon X1800h and i need some help understanding the different sound modes.

I have Atmos enabled on my Xbox One X, how do i get my receiver to output Atmos? I understand if i use “direct” this would disable any EQ i have which i don’t want to do. If i select game i only get the choice of Dolby Surround and stereo, no option for Atmos.

Any ideas?

 

[dwd999]

How to you have your equipment connected together? Normally you would connect the Xbox to your TV with an HDMI cable and connect the TV's eARC output to your receiver. Also you describe your system as 5.1.2; does this mean you have 8 speakers including 2 atmos speakers. Did you set the receiver Set “Amp Assign” to “7.1ch” and set “Height” to “Front Dolby” in the menu as shown on page 45 and 191 of the manual?

 

[Aeacus]

Help me understand my new Denon receiver

You did read the holy bible of AV receivers, right?

If not, download it from here: https://www.denon.com/en-us/product/av-receivers/avr-x1800h/300773-new.html#specifications

Page 30;

Place the FRONT Dolby Atmos Enabled speaker on the front speaker.

About Dolby Atmos Enabled speakers
Dolby Atmos Enabled speakers reflect the sound off the ceiling to allow the sound to come from over your head by using a special upward-pointing speaker that is placed on the floor.

Page 31;

The “Speaker Virtualizer” must be set to “On” for Dolby Atmos playback with 5.1-channel speaker configurations or less.

Page 157;

The Speaker Virtualizer enhances the surround and height speaker channels to create an enveloping virtual surround effect.

* You can set this when the sound mode is “Dolby Atmos”, “Dolby Surround” or sound mode that has “+Dolby Surround” in the sound mode name.
* Usable when not using height, ceiling or Dolby Atmos Enabled speakers, or when not using surround speakers.
* Audio is not output from the surround back speaker if “Speaker Virtualizer” is set to “On” when “Speaker Layout” - “Surround Back” is set to “1 spkr” in the menu.

And there are actually quite a lot of useful reading in the holy bible of AV receivers. E.g page 121 describes all sound mode types.

But the bottom line is, that you need to have Dolby Atmos Enabled speakers, for Dolby Atmos to work.
Do you have such speakers?

Also, wired correctly?
Since based on the diagram on page 45, you either need 7.1 surround, with two Dolby Atmos enabled speakers pointing to the ceiling (FDL and FDR on diagram)
or
diagram on page 46, you need 5.1 surround with surround Dolby Atmos endabled speakers (SDL and SDR on diagram).

Since Dolby Atmos is 3D sound (including sound from above), it doesn't work with your standard, run-of-the-mill speakers.

 

[ttonks93]

Thanks for the replies. I will look into that link. I have a top middle setup. With the height speakers mounted on the ceiling angled down. A few degrees infront of the listening position as per Dolbys instructions. Hardware is setup fine, just need to fine tune the setting.

Regarding the Audyssey setup, i have done everything automatically. The only issue i have is the subwoofer is too quiet and my fronts have been set to full range. Should i keep my fronts at full range or add a crossover to protect them from very low frequencies? Also how many db should i increase my subwoofer if it’s too quiet for my preference?

Crossover frequencies currently are: front (full range), centre (60hz), surround (60hz) and top middle (80hz). What crossover should my subwoofer be set to? 80hz?

I can share my Audyssey results if need be.

Thanks

 

[dwd999]

I would set the crossovers for whatever the subwoofer manufacturer recommends; if they recommend a range then the middle of the range. And front should not be set to full range.

 

[Unolocogringo]

Do not set fronts to full if you do not have Full range speakers.
A full tower or something with an 6 inch or larger driver.
The low sub is probably from this setting. It is expecting the fronts to play down into the lower ranges so it is set to a lower crossover point and output lever.
Try crossover points about200-250 hz is you are using small speakers.
Knowing what speakers you are using would help it would tell us how far down they play before rolling off on the bottom end.

The sub will have to be tuned to your room.
Every set up is different and every room is different.
I always try to do a complete flat response from high to low.
My wife loves a little boomier bass so the kitchen and craft room are set to thump you in the chest and rattle dishes when she cranks it up.

 

[ttonks93]

So i cannot get my receiver to recognise at Atmos signal from my PC.

I have my PC connected to my TV via a high speed directional HDMI cable (get 4k144hz) and my TV connected to my receiver via eARC with the same brand cable. All settings how they should be but my receiver recognises the signal as “multi in” not Atmos.

Which way should i connect my directional HDMI cable between the receiver and TV?

Should i try connect the receiver directly to the graphics card with another port?

 

[Lutfij]

Please stick to one thread to keep thoughts on topic

 

[williamjeremiah]

A good low pass x-over frequency for subs is anywhere between 60 and 100 Hz. You may actually want to change it occasionally, corresponding to whatever you're listening to. If you want to utilize the sub more for movies, set it around 100. If you're listening to music and want more of a tight thunderous bass drum, set it to 60. As you increase the sub's frequency you'll probably notice that its level needs lowered, so that it isn't overpowering the other mids in the system.
You don't really need to worry much about setting a high pass frequency for the other speakers, as their internal passive x-overs will protect them from the frequencies they're not meant to handle.
One exception to this would be if you notice an unpleasant tone near the lower end of their frequency range, then you may want to increase the high pass cut off a bit.

What you don't want, is a large gap between the low and the high cutoff points, which leaves you with an incomplete reproduction of sound. If there are woofers in the front speakers robust enough to handle upper sub frequencies, then it's not an issue.
This is also where crossover slopes come into play, as they determine the steepness of how quickly the level of the cutoff frequency attenuates. I usually like to stick with the 12 db per octave slope, for high pass especially.

As for tuning the sub to the room, it doesn't have to be too technical.
Try moving it around the room, hearing and feeling what is best, relative to where you often sit.
If it isn't a bottom mounted driver or if it has its port on one of the sides, turning it in varying degrees will also affect the experience. Experiment with it.

 

[williamjeremiah]

So i cannot get my receiver to recognise at Atmos signal from my PC.

Your Denon receiver is basically your DAC. You must feed it a digital signal.
Beyond that, read the manual.

 

[drivinfast247]

So i cannot get my receiver to recognise at Atmos signal from my PC.

I have my PC connected to my TV via a high speed directional HDMI cable (get 4k144hz) and my TV connected to my receiver via eARC with the same brand cable. All settings how they should be but my receiver recognises the signal as “multi in” not Atmos.

Which way should i connect my directional HDMI cable between the receiver and TV?

Should i try connect the receiver directly to the graphics card with another port?

What TV? Does it pass-through ATMOS?

 

[williamjeremiah]

I'm not very familiar with the latest eARC capabilities, which is an integrated feature of HDMI, but ARC allows an audio signal to travel both ways (to and from), when connected to ARC compatible components, such as televisions and home AV equipment.
I've always stuck with using optical TOSLink, because my main media source is my PC, not a TV or game console.
Give this a read:
https://www.whathifi.com/advice/hdmi-arc-and-hdmi-earc-everything-you-need-to-know

Sorry, I don't know if this is relevant to your use case scenario, but it might be since there's been so much development with it and audio/video receivers. You'll simply need to check the specifications regarding the equipment you're using and their user manuals.

If your scenario can utilize HDMI for routing audio and you're also running 4K (or upscaled to 4K), you're definitely going to need HDMI cables rated for 48Mbps, which is basically determined by the gauge of the wire within, and it's the highest bandwidth currently available.

 

[drivinfast247]

BTW: You nees to have the Dolby Access app installed from Microsoft store.

The last few Windows updates have completely borked ATMOS for me. I just use DTS:X.

 

[dwd999]

So i cannot get my receiver to recognise at Atmos signal from my PC.

I have my PC connected to my TV via a high speed directional HDMI cable (get 4k144hz) and my TV connected to my receiver via eARC with the same brand cable. All settings how they should be but my receiver recognises the signal as “multi in” not Atmos.

Which way should i connect my directional HDMI cable between the receiver and TV?

Should i try connect the receiver directly to the graphics card with another port?

Is there a specific reason why you're using directional HDMI cables instead of regular bidirectional cables? As an experiment I would try this: directly connect your pc to your Denon with a normal 48Gbps HDMI cable and see if you can at least get the receiver settings into the proper atmos mode so that you know the receiver is properly set up and its not a receiver problem. If you get that working then you can go back to your normal wiring setup and see if there's still a problem. If there's still a problem then you'll know its either the TV passthrough settings or the cables. Perhaps if you need a directional cable only use that from the pc to TV and then switch to a regular cable from the TV to the Denon.

 

[ttonks93]

So got it sorted. Ended up purchasing another HDMI cable connecting it to the motherboard and using the integrated HD audio drivers, plugged straight to the receiver. Then the TV connected straight to my graphics card.

I’m using the Q Acoustics 3030i as the fronts, 3090ci as the centre, 3010i as the surrounds and 2 7000c as the top middle speakers. Sub is a Q Acoustics QSub120.

I have a calibrated mic and REW so i can fine tune my system, what db gain should i look at for my sub? And if someone could also advise on crossovers that would be great.