Elliott Willschick

Stereo and Bass managment in 3803

I don't like to listen to music with the sub on. I have a 3803 and I set the speakers to small and sub to yes. The sub is still on during pure direct stereo and I turned it off. Am I missing the bass that was coming through the sub? Does the setting have to be changed to large for the proper bass to come through in stereo with no sub?

Thanks

If this is your first night, you have to fight

Harry Lincoln

Pure Direct mode will ignore all bass management settings and send a full range signal to the front pair, and will also send the bass (below the selected crossover) to the sub. The sub is reinforcing the bass from the mains.

If you want to use bass management settings on 2 channel use the stereo mode.

Chuck Kent

Here's the scoop on Denon receiver 2 channel BM...

A couple of things to know about Denon receiver's that may help. Denon has made a 2 channel 100% analog pathway to the main channels a priority for several generations. When playing 2 ch analog signals, Denon receivers split the signal into 2 identical parts. One pathway always stays analog while the other can be digitized for the subwoofer portion of playback.

STEREO Mode:

Analog Signal Input - Stays 100% analog in the main channels. If the speakers are set as "Small" in the master setup, they stay "Small". If "Small", the highpass filter used on the mains is analog. The subwoofer is active active in Stereo mode (but can be turned off only in Stereo mode if the user chooses to do so.) The sub's signal in analog stereo has been digitized (via that 2nd pathway I mentioned above) and the lowpass filter used is a digital one. The "always analog" tone controls are also available in Stereo mode.

Digital Signal Input - Acts basically the same as the analog version but the signal is left fully digital until just before the analog tone/volume controls.

DIRECT Mode:

Analog Signal Input - Similar to Stereo with 2 key differences. Even if the mains are set to "Small" in the master setup, they are played back as "Large". (The master setting is not changes, just ignored.) No highpass filtering is applied. The mains remain 100% analog. The sub is still active and it's signal is still digitized and ran thru the digital lowpass filter. The sub can also be turned off individually in Direct if desired. The analog tone controls are bypassed.

Digital Signal Input - Similar to analog Direct but the signal remains digital until the analog volume control. Again, no tone controls and the mains are always "Large".

PURE DIRECT Mode:

Analog Signal Input - Similar to the Direct mode except that except that the front panel lighting is turned off, the video section is turned off and the entire DAC section is also turned off. The sub is still available but the sub crossover is also now analog. The sub can still be individually turned off. Still no tone controls.

Digital Signal Input - Similar to the analog mode except that the DAC section still works. Everything else remains off.

All this stuff has been verified by Denon in various sources. Hope it helps...

MichaelDDD

Chuck,
Great explanation. Very detailed. I was curious about this as well. My 3803 arrives in two weeks.

Yeah, I base all my HT purchases on the WAF, too. Wallet Acceptance Factor.

Elliott Willschick

Thanks for the fantastic explanations. I wasn't expecting to find out exactly how it works but I appreciate the response.

If this is your first night, you have to fight