I've got my Denon set up in 5.1 but have been listening to my music in stereo thus far. I've got my (2)QS8's set up under "Surround speakers" versus "Surround BACK speakers". According to the Denon Manual, to listen to cd's in 5.1 I would have to switch the QS8's from the surround connect to the surround BACK connect then change the amp assign to 7.1 in the options set-up menue. Is that correct? and will it affect anything else assigning the amp to 7.1 even though I'm in 5.1 (ie running Audyssey again)?

Thanks, Adrian

I don't have a Denon, but that does not make sense to me. I think with Denon receivers you can optionally have two sets of side surround speakers (not counting the rear ones), but that should not be on by default. I'm sure a Denon owner will come in shortly to clarify.

It looks like the default setting on the "surround BACK" connect is for zone 2, so in order to change/add this to implement 7.1, one must change the "Amp Assign" to 7.1 in the options from what I'm reading in the D-Manual (It doesn't appear that the "surround only" setting allows music in 5.1). I gather that means you need to run the speakers from the surround BACK connects as if you were setup in 7.1, even though you may only be in 5.1. I may/may not have answered my own question but would like to confirm it with any of you Denon owners who are enjoying surround sound from your cd's.

Hello Adrian. I have on older Denon 2807 and you should not have to do all that. I have my rear speakers set to "surround speakers" and I can listen to Cd's in stereo or 5.1 if I wish. Have you seen this: http://batpigworld.com/
It is Batpig's Denon to English Dictionary and it may help you with your setup. Give it a look and see if it helps.

Thanks jollo, that's helpfull and they did mention the amp assign option to 7.1/zone 2 on setup so I may have to try that tomorrow. Denon owners manual....::sigh::

Adrian as jollo says you don’t need to change anything to play 5.1 music either SACD/DVD-A 5.1 or DPLll. The surround speakers are for 5.1 both movies and music while the surround back speakers are for 6.1 or 7.1 depending on how you set them up.

The Denon’s amp assign usually lets you use the extra 2 channels for 6.1/7.1, zone 2 or to bi-amp the front L/R channels. If you have a DLPll capable 7.1 receiver they can also be used for the front height channels.

I don't own any SACD's so I guess that explains alot.

Yeah, Adrian; maybe the Denon manual was a bit confusing on the point(surprise), but when there are only two surround speakers in a 5.1 setup, they have to be used as side surrounds rather than back surrounds. Then, to listen to 2-channel material in more realistic surround sound(which I always do), you apply ambience extraction such as DPLII or Neo:6.

You should still be able to get 5.1 audio by using DPLll. On your Denon it will show 2.0 input with 5.1 output on the LEDs.

But for sure you’re right that you won’t get discrete 5.1 audio w/o a 5.1 source. Some movie DVDs have music videos/songs as part of the bonus/extras section. You might want to check to see if you have some.

Thks guys, I'll check that out tomorrow. Everytime I try to make a change on the Denon, I usually end up changing something else unintentionally, then resort back to the Owners Manual from Hell only to start frothing at the mouth and babbling incoherently.

BTW, DPL11 is for 5.1 and DPL11x is for 7.1 correct?

Yes, DPLII extracts the surround ambience from the front channels and sends it to the side surrounds in a 5.1 speaker setup.

DPLIIx can be applied if the speaker setup is 7.1. 2-channel material has the ambience sent to the side surrounds plus ambience which is about equal in level on both sides is sent to the back surrounds for imaging there. 5.1 material where there's discrete side surround content in the 4th and 5th channels is processed by DPLIIx so that content about equal in the side surround channels is extracted and sent to the back surrounds. The front channels in the 5.1 material aren't processed at all, because there's already surround material in the discrete side channels.

Tks, John.

Ok, we're good, tks again guys. After much scratching of the cranium and overheating of remaining gray matter, I was able to combine your recommendations with the Denon Hyrogliphic Manual and am now listening to John Mellencamp in surround. The worst part was figuring out the left< and right> vs "enter" on the setups, by nature I keep using "enter" when I change a parameters, the arrows to me are confusing esp when looking for certain functions.

Agreed with the arrow thing. Denon makes a fantastic product but sometimes I think they make it extra hard to use because that subliminally appeals to the geek in us.

Arrows are for Cupid people...

My 4802 has 'A' & 'B' for surrounds...for 5.1, just used 'A' and those are the side QS8s..

playing 'Zakir Hussain - Making Music'..I love my axioms..need to add that Sub sooon.

-Avi