Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Denon 3806 setup

I'm a little confused of which surround mode I should use to watch DVD with Denon 3806. I currently use the Standard (Auto) mode, which would automatically detect the audio in the DVD and play it as either DTS or Dolby Surround. Somehow it sounded less loud and a little muffled compared to the 7channel mode (I have 6.1 system btw). The rear surround speaker is still producing sound with the Dolby Surround mode and personally I think the subtle sound effect (steps, wind noises, etc) from the surround speakers sounds better than if I use the 7channel mode. The 7 channel mode is a lot louder but it seems that it kinda masked the subtle sound effect from the surround speakers.

I remember that the Denon 3806 sounded much better during my audition. I audition an Axiom owner who happen to own the Denon 3806 as well (he also has the M60s, VP150, and QS8 setup as well). Somehow, his system is a lot louder than mine yet the subtle sound effect still sound amazing.

So, I guess my question is am I using the wrong surround mode for DVD movie? Is there something that I need to change in Denon setup? Btw, I have calibrated all the speakers to 85db with AVIA.

Edwin, it isn't clear what "7 channel mode" you used. This usually means "7 channel stereo" which just duplicates the left front in the left surrounds and likewise for the right. It's mainly intended for two channel materials at parties, etc. to sort of get the same sound all over the room, but isn't really good for 5.1 movies.

The best mode in general is to apply DPLIIx Music(not Cinema)added to Dolby Digital. Although the full advantage of DPLIIx in creating stereo back surrounds can't be had with just one back speaker, DPLIIx will extract a mono back surround signal from the sides and direct it to the single back speaker.

Yes, I was referring to "7channel stereo". You're right, that mode isn't great for movie.
So why is DLPIIx music, not cinema, better for 5.1 movie?

you don't want to use 7 channel stereo, unless your listening to music and want it to be coming out of all speakers.

You want to use either DD or DTS and make sure you have your back speakers turned on. I assume you already have your speaker setup showing 2 rear speakers, otherwise, you would not get anything in 7-channel stereo mode. What I do on my 2805 Denon is push the "Surround Back" button in the lower right hand corner of the remote. This will cycle through the different options available (matrix, non matrix, etc...) For movies in DD, the display on the receiver will show "Dolby Digital + PLIIx".

I'm not sure what surround mode I'm using currently. I hit the STD button on the remote and it shows Dolby Digital on the AVR when I'm playing 5.1 movies. It shows DTS though when I play DTS movie. I will check the surround parameter setup later today and change it to DD PLIIx if it's not in that mode.
I'm still learning the AVR and it's remote. Gosh, Denon's manual is really bad. I've heard about it before, but I thought "how bad could it be?" I guess I know now it's pretty bad

Oh, btw...what option is recommended for the surround back? Matrix? Non matrix? I only have 1 rear surround speaker.

If you figure it out let me know, I've had mine for over a year and still learning.

It seems that I can only choose Matrix, Non Matrix, or PLIIx Music for my surround back. I thought there should be the option for PLIIx Cinema as well? How come I don't see it. Weird. Could it be because I only have 1 surround back speaker? Am I missing something here? Also I don't get the onscreen menu for the surround parameter setup as the manual suggested. I had to access the setup via the AVR small display.

So anyway, I tested DD +PLIIx M (instead of C for cinema) on Star Wars Phantom Menace which is a 5.1 DD ES. It sounded better than before I turned on the PLIIx.

As for my original question, I now remember that I was using a DTS DVD (Saving Private Ryan) when I was auditioning for Axiom speakers. No wonder I thought the audition sounded so much better than what I'm hearing now from 5.1 movie.

Yeah Edwin, the Denon manual makes a valiant effort to conceal the fact, but read the notes carefully(if you can't find it I'll point it out)and you'll see that when there's only one back surround speaker the DPLIIx Cinema can't be applied, since the effect needs two. As was said, use the DPLIIx Music, which also does a good job extracting the rear surround information from the sides and sending it to to the back where it belongs, although of course the one speaker can't give the stereo back surround.

I have to admit, the 3806 is the first piece of audio equipment that may have a chance of stumping me. We have it running fine, but every so often we will press an oddly named button (not the auto room eq) and suddenly the sound quality will improve dramatically.

I still have a very high opinion of the receiver, but the manual is the worst I have seen in literally decades. It's like the writers were forced to document everything but were determined to prevent readers from actually understanding anything.

Maybe I'm just in a whiny mood tonight, but the manual even seems to be printed on flimsy, low quality paper

I don't understand how a company like Denon must be aware of the numbers of people that complain about their manuals, but do nothing after years and years.

Smarten up, Denon! Your receivers are respected. If you put that last bit of effort into good manuals, people would recommend your products even more! Hell, most of the stuff they come up with for one manual can be pasted to others. They don't have to reinvent the wheel each time...just do it right once and modify it for each model as needed.

And I'm not a Denon-basher...I have a 3805.

Yes John, but just imagine the audio nirvana that awaits if one day you happen to hit the right combination of buttons!

It's kinda like going into a Chinese restaurant that has handwritten signs (only in Chinese) up on the walls announcing specials that aren't on the menu. All you can read is the price.

I think I'm pretty content with the setup that I've done to my AVR. As John has said earlier in the thread, maybe I would accidently hit some random button later and the sound would improve hundreds fold.

As for Denon's manual, they probably paid some high school kids to write it. It would improve the manual even if they have only added list of words/phrases and the pages where they're on at the end of the manual. Often times, I'm looking for something ie. Dialog Normalization, User Memory, etc. and had to flip all the pages carefully just to find them. If I could have just refer to the back pages and see which pages I can find them on, that would help a lot !