FWIW, I had to take the surrounds down -6db to get them to sound right in multi-channel mode. Now it sounds great!
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Denon AVR-X3700H AVR Review
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Alice of Old Vincennes
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And that is the problem with poor room correction. That is why I switched to Anthem.
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Because spending more $ is easier than turning channel levels down?
It doesn't seem like poor room correction in this case. Rather he uses a mode that is inappropriate for the desired result, so additional tweaking to reach the desired result were required. Most likely all upmixers will do at least some things in a bad way, so this kind of problem is probably difficult to avoid, at least not without tuning for the specific content (unless receiver already has some decent "soccer-oriented" upmixing mode).
One other question I have on the 3700h set up. I am running a 5.2 set up. Is it better to have the amp select on 9.1 or 7.1 + Zone 2? Or does it even matter?
Alice of Old Vincennes
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I only wish it was that simple. Center channel intelligibility is not cured by db push. Of course 3 way Infinity center doesn't hurt.
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I am unsure what your point is. We were talking about reducing surround levels when using All Channel Stereo.
Alice of Old Vincennes
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Just my general dissatisfaction with most room correction.
I just tried only running the front L and R from the Basx A500 and the rest of the 7.1.4 from the AVR, it actually sound better, like a more 'full' sound compared to running LCR and surround backs off the A-500. Surround effect was more immersive and there was more bass. AVR did run hotter though. I know at 2 channels, the A-500 is 110 Charlie watts per channel, and with 5channels its 80 charlie watts per channel, but I would have thought running 5 off the A-500 would be better since its relieving load on the AVR and leaving more chatlie watts available for each channel?
Did you do a controlled comparison test? That is, at least level matched, using exactly the same media content, everything else in the setup remained the same in both scenarios, and had someone did the switching for you and made sure you wouldn't which scenario it was in the listening tests. I know to do it that way is near impossible for most people but if you don't then when you thought it sound better one way or the other, it would be just what you thought at the time.
I would think so too, especially for two channel contents because the AVR amps measured so much better though in a controlled DBT my money would be on most people would find it hard to tell a difference. The A500 has much higher distortions but would likely be low enough to stay below the threshold of audibility for real world use. To me, I would stick with that strategy (edit: That is, let the AVR amp runs the front left and right channels, may be even the channel channel) as I trust more in specs and measurements (measured by ASR) than my ears because I know I am not immune to having my eyes and brains influencing my ears.
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Two things may impact the Denon 3700 sound with the A-500 amp.
1. There are large channel performance disparities with respect to distortion (SINAD) on the A-500. Channels 1, 2 and 4 were very close. Channels 3 and 5 lagged way behind.
2. The A-500 amp SINAD on the best performing channels run at 78dB Sinad versus 88dB for the Denon 3700 internal amps. Put simply, the A-500 is measurably inferior to the Denon 3700 amps and much worse with Channels 3 and 5.
If I was matching an amp with the Denon 3700 I would look to purchase something with higher SINAD performance rather than matching the receiver with a lower performing amp. See the chart below for details. The red line is the 3700. The second arrow down the chart is the A-500. You can see why this may not be an ideal match performance wise and why your ear may prefer the Denon internal amp sound.
Oh great, so the A-500 is basically redundant? Live and learn I suppose. Would there be any point trying the Dolby upward firing speakers with the A-500?
It looks like there is often a difference between what is technically better and what subjectively sounds better to a specific individual.
Not exactly redundant, as you said it would take some load off the AVR. If you use the AVR amps then you should put a couple of 80 mm or 120 mm usb fans on top or blow across top to help cooling.
You are absolutely right about subjectively "better" is not the same as technically better. For example, some amps with much higher distortions, such as 2%, and FR of -3 dB at 20 kHz may sound better to an individual than an amp with 0.005% THD and flat FR.
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I don't think temperatures are affected much at all on Denons when using the preouts because the amps consume lots of power even at idle.
Dynamic EQ is an option... it is loudness compensation and can be turned on/off and is separate from Audyssey room correction.
My LG oled 55 curved TV broke so I replaced it with a Panasonic 65hz1000z. The 4k video highlighted the shortcomings of my 2013 ca 751r v2 running 5.1. After much research rather than buying a replacement high end avr, I bought the x3700h as a preamp into the 7 channel 751r. The sound is amazing and I'm delighted I have been able to retain the 751r (highly recommended) while bypassing its deteriorating hdmi board. I'm running it 7.1 direct and ref volume -18db. Audyssey with multeq is a REVELATION and lifted the listening level (+6db). Typical volume on the 3700h is a comfortable 65. I was looking to add an internal temperature controlled 12v fan but it does not seem to get too warm (full preamp) and seems to be OK in an open back glass shelf with only 2cm clearance. When I opened the device I saw numerous 3 pin fan headers (one for each amp and one on the video board) but I suspect these would be used for troubleshooting. Principle source is a windows 10 pc with a gtx1650 running MPC-BE with Madvr and LAV codecs. Everything is controlled using a one touch logitech harmony one remote.
Next update is to add two dolby atmos front ceiling speakers to take advantage of the remaining two channels of the 751r.
Next update is to add two dolby atmos front ceiling speakers to take advantage of the remaining two channels of the 751r.
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Fans added to Denon AVRs should be placed on top and in pull configuration. That is because the units pull in fresh air from the sides.
I would like to connect the pre-amp outputs on my Denon X3700h receiver to an external amplifier.
My question is: How do I configure bi-amping?
If I select the "7.1 (Bi-Amp)" option under "Amp Assign" will the "Height 2" pre-outs carry the Front L/R signal (which would be the case if I were to use the Denon speaker connections)?
For reference I'll be connecting the Denon to an Integra dta-70.1 (which supports bi-amping provided the receiver does as well).
My question is: How do I configure bi-amping?
If I select the "7.1 (Bi-Amp)" option under "Amp Assign" will the "Height 2" pre-outs carry the Front L/R signal (which would be the case if I were to use the Denon speaker connections)?
For reference I'll be connecting the Denon to an Integra dta-70.1 (which supports bi-amping provided the receiver does as well).
