Help/Opinions on setup issue with Denon AVR-988 (1 Viewer)

[SteakTheCow]

Hello all! I'm new to the forums, and I'm looking for some assistance with an setup issue with a new-to-me receiver.

The offending receiver in questions is a Denon AVR-988. Obviously this is an older model, but it was nice enough for it's time and it *should* be functional. My problem is this: the only audio that is outputting from the unit are the FR and FL channels when playing out an analog source set to stereo/direct. There is no audio from the subwoofer (despite it being set to on for 2ch/stereo), and when I switch to any available surround mode I lose the FR and FL audio for 2ch sources. I get no audio whatsoever for native multi-channel audio supplied by HDMI sources when directly connected or passed through my switch box. The system also fails to provide test tones or any audio when trying to auto-configure the speakers using the supplied microphone. It does, however, have no problem supplying video through HDMI to the monitor when on HDMI or analog sources.

other information: I have a brand new 5.1 speaker setup. new speaker wire, new banana plugs on the cables, and everything is wired into the appropriate jacks on the receiver (including the sub which is for sure plugged into the pre-out sub line). so, it's all new except for the receiver. Each speaker has been tested using the somewhat working 2ch direct output, and they are all functional, and the sub was tested working using separate source than the receiver.

so, a little additional backstory, I work tech support in a school, and when we finished a round of classroom hardware upgrades where this unit was decommissioned in known working order. Since it was in good shape and pulled from a lightly used classroom it seemed to be a shame if this unit were to find itself in the great recycle bin in the sky. So I took it home. The receiver then sat on a shelf in my storage unit for about a year while I moved, twice, and found a reasonable set of speakers to use with it. When it was previously configured at the school it was primarily controlled via a Creston automation panel in the classroom that was connected to a control deck that I believe spoke to the receiver via the RS232 port. Unfortunately I can't give you any more information than this about the setup, but a part of me wonders if this might be related to my issue.

I suspect my problem is a configuration issue, but I don't really know at this point. I've scoured the menus on the receiver hoping to find a universal reset switch to set everything back to defaults, but if one exists I haven't found it and there doesn't appear to be one in the manual either. I've also pushed every button on the receiver at least a dozen times, and I've tried to scrub and manually adjust every possible menu item. Unfortunately it still seems that I'm coming up doughnuts when I go to find answers.

I am willing to accept that the unit might be broken, but I'd like to know before I decide to actually SPEND some money on a new receiver. Thanks a lot in advance for your help and advice.

 

[schan1269]

Direct mode bypasses internal bass management. Does so on every AVR.

Bass management is how 2.1 is created from 2.0

And. Sounds like you've done zero setup.

Did you go into setup and tell the AVR there is a center, surrounds and sub?

If you "don't know that answer".

No, you didn't do any setup.

 

[SteakTheCow]

I'm sorry, but I find your response to be tremendously unhelpful and condescending. I would appreciate it if you didn't assume I'd done no work or have no idea what I'm doing after thoroughly digging into an 80 page manual, searching forums, and spending a half dozen hours at minimum trying to configure the receiver.

If you need some credentials before you offer anything besides dismissive snobbery I'll let you know a little more about myself. I have, at this point, over a decade's worth of experience as a consumer of multi-channel audio equipment, and I have also spent almost as long supporting, maintaining, and setting up similar equipment for both the school where I currently work, the AV equipment seller and rental outfit I worked with before this, and the small repertory cinema that I help to operate and maintain.

I came to this forum, because after many hours or working on a problem I was getting frustrated, and I was looking for a little perspective from some like-minded, helpful individuals who might be a little more familiar with Denon equipment than I am. This seemed like the best chance to someone had run into a similar situation, or might know some deeper places to look for problems. Now, if you can't add anything to this conversation I would appreciate it if you stayed out of it.

I am not a moron, and if you don't treat me like one I won't return the, "favor."

Now, I thought I'd been thorough enough and explained that I had gone through the setup (including mentioning specifically that the subwoofer is set to "on" in the setup). But to answer in plain text as to avoid any further confusion on the issue, yes, I have gone through the setup, and I have specifically configured the receiver, to the best of my knowledge, to understand that I have a center, left, right, surround left, surround right, subwoofer and no rear left or rear right speakers. Despite this fact, there is only one mode, 2ch/stereo with and without subwoofer enabled (and by proxy, direct analog), that produces any audio. This includes but is not limited to the setup menu itself, ie. the unit doesn't produce any test tones and the auto setup doesn't produce sounds or detect that speakers are present. If you have any other questions about what I have or have not attempted I'd be more than happy to let you know more specifics.

I apologize if I gave you the impression I had not done the above setup, or that I'm completely unfamiliar with this kind of equipment. Rest assured, though, that I have at the very least accomplished the basics of attempting to configure my equipment. I really don't like coming off so defensive, but that reply has left a really bad taste in my mouth. I'm just looking for a little help without getting talked down to. If anyone has anything real to offer I'd appreciate it. If not, I'll go somewhere else. Thanks for you time.