Answered Best setting on Denon AVR-X2500H

MZC24

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I have the Audio mass speakers and the denon amp, fairly new to the AV world.

There are various options you can choose in movie mode.

To me the Multi channel stero sounds the best, but I haven't had much time to play around with the settings. I also find the DTS Virtual good.

Any recommendations on which one is best?
 
Depends on what your source is outputting. Use Auto. For stereo broadcasts use the green button and select Dolby Surround, this will turn a 2.0 signal to 5.1, the receiver will remember that setting for the next 2.0 signal. Dolby TrueHD will play as is and so will DTS HD.

There again, it's your receiver, you choose what you like best. Just press the green button and experiment.
 
Depends on what your source is outputting. Use Auto. For stereo broadcasts use the green button and select Dolby Surround, this will turn a 2.0 signal to 5.1, the receiver will remember that setting for the next 2.0 signal. Dolby TrueHD will play as is and so will DTS HD.

There again, it's your receiver, you choose what you like best. Just press the green button and experiment.

Thanks for the response.

How do you select auto? Also, does the multi channel stereo provide proper surround sound of does it simply use all the speakers, at all times?
 
Yellow button on the remote cycle until Auto shows on the display. You are correct about multi stereo. The rears mirror the front's sound in stereo.
 
I have tried the auto mode and put in onto netflix, watching stranger things and it stays on stereo TV?

Any suggestions?
 
What speaker configuration do you have? Have you a 5.1, a 7.1 or a 5.1.2 speaker layout?

Are you wanting to create the effect of pseudo surround or Atmos when handling sources that may not actually be encoded as such or are you simply wanting to portray sources as they are without any additional upmixing or DSP?

In relation to your TV source, I'd suggest you try using the DOLBY SURROUND upmixing option which can be found within the MOVIE modes. Press and hold down the green MOVIE modes button to access this. DOLBY SURROUND will upmix 2 channel sources to create pseudo surround, 5.1 to create pseudo back channels or it will upmix all non Atmos sources to create pseudo 5.1.2 depending upon the speaker layout you have. If the source includes Atmos metadata then the mode will be overriden and you'd get the native Atmos audio mix without any upmixing.

Dolby Surround Upmixer

When you invest in a Dolby Atmos home theater, you expect to get full use of all the components, even when the content you are playing is not mixed in Dolby Atmos. This includes taking advantage of overhead and Dolby Atmos enabled speakers to further enhance the playback experience.

Included in the Dolby Atmos technology bundle is a new advanced upmixer designed to be compatible with traditional channel-based as well as Dolby Atmos speaker systems. The Dolby surround upmixer expands the audio of channel-based content, including native stereo, 5.1, and 7.1 content, for playback through a Dolby Atmos system-regardless of speaker number or placement-while simultaneously honoring and maintaining the artist’s intent for the mix.

The Dolby surround upmixer analyzes and processes multiple perceptually spaced frequency bands, accurately steering each individually. The result is a surround playback experience characterized by precisely located audio elements and a more spacious ambience.

In a Dolby Atmos system, the channel-based mix is fully honored. Dolby Atmos enabled speakers and overhead speakers are employed to lend a sense of atmospherics or room effect to the listening experience. This new technology will process and upmix channel- based content to as many as 17 speaker locations at listener level and to 10 Dolby Atmos enabled or overhead speakers. Note: To maintain an accurate frontal audio image, the upmixer will not send upmixed audio to the left wide and right wide speakers or any speakers that are located between the left, center, and right speakers. Audio is not upmixed to the center surround speaker.

A center spread on/off control enables you to spread the center image across a wider front soundstage. This optional feature is ideally suited for playback of two-channel music content or playback of channel-based content in a home theater design that employs a wider screen configuration than typical installations.

Select the Dolby surround and center spread function from the user interface of the AVR or preprocessor, or from the system’s remote control.



Stranger Things includes a native/discrete DD+ 5.1 soundtrack so you may even want to listen to this without applying any additional DSP or upmixing, especially if you've only a 5.1 speaker layout? SElect the option that lists the incoming audio's format from within the MOVIE mode options if this is the case.

How are you accessing the audio from your TV and is your TV's digital audio output setting configured to bitstream audio or is it set to PCM. If set to PCM then the TV will only output 2 channel PCM irrespective of what the content is actually encoded with. Ensure that your TV's digital audio output setting is set to DOLBY DIGITAL or an AUTO mode depending upon the make and model of your TV.
 
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What speaker configuration do you have? Have you a 5.1, a 7.1 or a 5.1.2 speaker layout?

Are you wanting to create the effect of pseudo surround or Atmos when handling sources that may not actually be encoded as such or are you simply wanting to portray sources as they are without any additional upmixing or DSP?

In relation to your TV source, I'd suggest you try using the DOLBY SURROUND upmixing option which can be found within the MOVIE modes. Press and hold down the green MOVIE modes button to access this. DOLBY SURROUND will upmix 2 channel sources to create pseudo surround, 5.1 to create pseudo back channels or it will upmix all non Atmos sources to create pseudo 5.1.2 depending upon the speaker layout you have. If the source includes Atmos metadata then the mode will be overriden and you'd get the native Atmos audio mix without any upmixing.





Stranger Things includes a native/discrete DD+ 5.1 soundtrack so you may even want to listen to this without applying any additional DSP or upmixing, especially if you've only a 5.1 speaker layout? SElect the option that lists the incoming audio's format from within the MOVIE mode options if this is the case.

How are you accessing the audio from your TV and is your TV's digital audio output setting configured to bitstream audio or is it set to PCM. If set to PCM then the TV will only output 2 channel PCM irrespective of what the content is actually encoded with. Ensure that your TV's digital audio output setting is set to DOLBY DIGITAL or an AUTO mode depending upon the make and model of your TV.

Thank you for the detailed response, I will try and answer as best as I can with my limited knowledge.

1. I have a 5.1 system, with no ATMOS

2. I am trying to create pseudo surround, not the sources as they are, as this should sound better?

3. SElect the option that lists the incoming audio's format from within the MOVIE mode options if this is the case.- Is this a case of simply looking at the title on Netflix and using the green button to match it?

4. Stranger Things includes a native/discrete DD+ 5.1 soundtrack so you may even want to listen to this without applying any additional DSP or upmixing - So what setting would this be on the amp?

5. How are you accessing the audio from your TV and is your TV's digital audio output setting configured to bitstream audio or is it set to PCM. If set to PCM then the TV will only output 2 channel PCM irrespective of what the content is actually encoded with. Ensure that your TV's digital audio output setting is set to DOLBY DIGITAL or an AUTO mode depending upon the make and model of your TV

So I am not 100% sure on this one. I am using HDMI ARC to get the sound from the TV to AMP.

On the sound option menu (see attached picture) most of the options are greyed out apart from HDMI ARC.

Under the option of DTV Audio setting this is currently on 'Auto' there are options of MPEG, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital plus, HE-AAC and auto.
 

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If you've no Atmos speakers in your setup then I'd suggest you not employ any upmixing in association with Stranger Things. It already has a discrete 5.1 DD+ soundtrack and you do not need to use any upmixing in order to create pseudo surround. Pseudo upmixing will always be nothing more than an approximation of what you'd get in association with audio purposely mixed to exploit surround speakers. Upmixing is not superior to discrete surround.

Yes, just select the option that lists an audio format as opposed to an upmixing mode. Only the format actually detected as being present will appear in the options. With you current 5.1 layout then I'd only suggest you engage the upmixing modes such as Dolby Surround or Neural:X if dealing with 2 channel stereo content while using Netflix. There's no real benefit associated with using these modes in association with native 5.1 encoded sources if you've only a 5.1 speaker layout.

If using ARC then ensure the TV's digital audio output setting is not set to PCM. The PCM option will downmix all audio irrespective of its native format to just stereo 2 channel PCM. The AUTO option that you already have selected in the correct option to use. This should bitstream the audio to your receiver for the receiver to decode. It should however be noted that HDMI ARC cannot convey HD audio formats such as DTS-HD Master Audio or Dolby TrueHD, but these formats are not used in association with the streaming services such as Netflix or for TV broadcasts. You can convey 5.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus or DTS via ARC.
 
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If you've no Atmos speakers in your setup then I'd suggest you not employ any upmixing in association with Stranger Things. It already has a discrete 5.1 DD+ soundtrack and you do not need to use any upmixing in order to create pseudo surround. Pseudo upmixing will always be nothing more than an approximation of what you'd get in association with audio purposely mixed to exploit surround speakers. Upmixing is not superior to discrete surround.

Yes, just select the option that lists an audio format as opposed to an upmixing mode. Only the format actually detected as being present will appear in the options. With you current 5.1 layout then I'd only suggest you engage the upmixing modes such as Dolby Surround or Neural:X if dealing with 2 channel stereo content while using Netflix. There's no real benefit associated with using these modes in association with native 5.1 encoded sources if you've only a 5.1 speaker layout.

If using ARC then ensure the TV's digital audio output setting is not set to PCM. The PCM option will downmix all audio irrespective of its native format to just stereo 2 channel PCM. The AUTO option that you already have selected in the correct option to use. This should bitstream the audio to your receiver for the receiver to decode. It should however be noted that HDMI ARC cannot convey HD audio formats such as DTS-HD Master Audio or Dolby TrueHD, but these formats are not used in association with the streaming services such as Netflix or for TV broadcasts. You can convey 5.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus or DTS via ARC.

Ok, so if I am not using any of the up mixing settings which one would I use, as I can always toggle through all options on the amp regardless of what I am watching?

I have the PCM symbol displayed on my AMP, does this mean I need to change some settings? picture attached, you can just see it on the left hand side.

Thanks for the help so far.
 

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You need to set your TV to Dolby Digital, or bitstream which ever is on the audio settings.
 
PCM is an indication of the audio format the AV receiver is receiving from the source. If the source is your TV and if you are using ARC then this will be nothing more than just 2 channel PCM. PLay something via Netflix that you know is encoded with 5.1 audio in order to test with.
 
Also, when I watch Amazon, say Sneaky Pete and select auto, it automatically goes to Stereo.

I am starting to think it is all set up wrong.
 
PCM is an indication of the audio format the AV receiver is receiving from the source. If the source is your TV and if you are using ARC then this will be nothing more than just 2 channel PCM. PLay something via Netflix that you know is encoded with 5.1 audio in order to test with.

When I was watching stranger things, it was displaying the PCM symbol?
 
When I was watching stranger things, it was displaying the PCM symbol?

Then what you wjere getting was 2 channel PCM as opposed to the DD+ 5.1 audio which Stranger THings is encoded with.

Try setting the TV's digital output setting to Dolby Digital Plus.
 
Your PCM problem looks to be the source, your TV. Go to set up and audio and select Dolby Digital for SPDIF.
 
Then what you wjere getting was 2 channel PCM as opposed to the DD+ 5.1 audio which Stranger THings is encoded with.

Try setting the TV's digital output setting to Dolby Digital Plus.
Your PCM problem looks to be the source, your TV. Go to set up and audio and select Dolby Digital for SPDIF.

Thanks for replies both, I have set it to DD+ and I still get the PCM symbol?
 
The sound mode on the side bar states standard, with no option to change it until I go into the menu (LG B8) in the sound options, I have changed to DD+
 
Personally, I think stereo upmixed to surround is, after that initial 'this is interesting moment', just awful, chucks far too much sound into the rears and creates a permanent, unnatural, almost echoey (if that's a word?) experience. Bearing in mind most TV show surround tracks sound like they are just using the fronts for most of the time, you could say stereo would in theory be closer to a normal surround experience. Obviously, it also depends how good the stereo image your speakers creates is to start with.

Now, if you are playing a 5.1 soundtrack and have extra surround/Atmos speakers that's entirely different as those upmixed can be quite impressive.

Hopefully, when you get your source outputting correctly you'll get a better idea of what you prefer as that is the most important thing. For me, with just 5.1, Auto does the job perfectly across the board :)
 
OK, so I have now taken it off PCM and have it on auto.
So the amp says DD+ + Dsur TV

This is the best set up right?

What do you both think of using the mic to set it up, and how accurate it is?
 
OK, so I have now taken it off PCM and have it on auto.
So the amp says DD+ + Dsur TV

This is the best set up right?

What do you both think of using the mic to set it up, and how accurate it is?

You could dispense with the Dolby Surround upmixing and you'd still get the discrete 5.1 DD+ encoded audio via all your speakers. Try that decide for yourself which is the better option.
 
I’m using old Jamo A102 speakers with this amp, sounds great, what have people set their amp audio settings too? I’m new to the AV world and just looking for some help.
 
i always press the green button when the tv is on and its shows surround sound and i can ear it around the room, when i put a dts bluray movie on its always shows you a list of sounds when i press the green button such has dolby/dts-x,
 

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