Denon 4308: can't decide if it plays Dolby Digital or Pro Logic II

[John Simpson]

Sorry if this has been brought up already... I seem to recall seeing it somewhere, but now can't find the thread...

This new Denon 4308 of mine: I'm feeding it an optical input from the PS3, and a coaxial input from the Denon DVD-5000. Both are set to "digital" input and the "PCM" light is coming up on the display.

HOWEVER, half the time the unit decides to play the sound in Dolby ProLogic II ("Dolby PLII") and the other half of the time in "Dolby Digital". Both sources should definitely be Dolby Digital -- so why is it thinking it's only getting a 2-channel input?

It's not disc-dependent either -- the same movie can come up as one or the other. It's like the PCM stream is getting corrupted or incorrectly interpreted by the receiver.

I've scoured the manual (and the web) and can't seem to find an easy answer (or solution)...

[jakewash]

Check to see if there is a firmware update on Denon's website or just hook up the denon to the net and have it check for you.

[purcellt]

John - I can't answer the question but I am also going to buy the 4308 and wondering how you like it? Did you resolve the PCM decode issue? Plenty of power? I'll be driving:
Klipsch RF-63 (2)
Klipsch RC-64 (1)
Klipsch RS-52 (4)
Thanks
Tim

[John Simpson]

Hi Tim,

I think I may have worked out the problem -- some Blu-ray discs are only recorded in DTS Master Audio, but that can't be transferred through optical bitstream (I'm not using HDMI). So the receiver is taking what it can from the bitstream and outputting that as DPLII. Something I can fix once we move the HDMI.

We watched "The Day After Tomorrow" over the weekend on regular DVD, and even my wife commented on how much better the sound was compared to our old AVP-A1. As a pre-amp, it's quite extraordinary -- so yes, we think it's terrific. Electronics have improved dramatically in the past few years.

For power, I can't really say, as I'm only running the rear speakers through the built-in amp. But I've heard from most folks that it's very good. Keep your receipt if you find it's not up to scratch with your Klipschs, but I'm pretty sure it will be.

Like all new technology, it does have a few bugs that need addressing. The on screen display vanished over the weekend, so now I'm hunting for the latest Australian update. I hear that fixes the issue.

Finally, it really is a drop-dead georgeous piece of equipment. Mine's going in a dedicated cupboard, which is a bit of a shame. The designers have really done well with the new curvey faceplate.

Big thumbs up!

[MatrixDweller]

Not sure if your problem is 100% solved or not but I'll add my 2 cents. I think the Denon's have an "Auto Surround" mode that automatically adjusts the input settings for DD or DPL II etc. If not set then it will not automatically switch and the last mode used will be used. If it happens again try hitting the "Standard" button to see if it switched to Dolby Digital or DTS. BTW DTS master is supposed to be backward compatible with DTS.

[HClarkx]

purcellt wrote:

John - I can't answer the question but I am also going to buy the 4308 and wondering how you like it? Did you resolve the PCM decode issue? Plenty of power? I'll be driving:
Klipsch RF-63 (2)
Klipsch RC-64 (1)
Klipsch RS-52 (4)
Thanks
Tim

Tim,

My 4308 has not arrived yet, but I have considerable experience with Klipsch speakers. Your RF-63's and your RC-64 have 99 db sensitivity. That means they require 1/4 of the power of a more typical 93 db sensitivity speaker (and many are even less sensitive than that). The 140 Watts of the 4308 will provide a huge reserve even if you like loud music in a very large room.

Your RS-52's are 95 db. They will need more than twice the power of your mains for the same sound power level. But that's still less than most speakers and won't tax the 4308 amps at all. And, it will be rare that your surrounds need to produce as much SPL as your mains.

Further, if you run a sub, that about halves the power the satellites need to play loud. The bottom line is the 4308 amps won't even breath hard driving your Klipsch speakers and will absolutely loaf if you run a sub. It's nice to have the headroom of several times more power than you need, that assures no risk of clipping and you'll have the power there if you ever go for a less efficient set of speakers.

Harrison