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Can't get JVC RX-888v surround sound to work. Only front speakers functioning.

post #1 of 10
3/11/10 at 9:24am
Thread Starter 
I purchased this receiver from craiglist for 40 bucks. Seems like a mistake now. The guy didn't know anything about it.

I took it home and wired it all up to test it out.

No matter what I did all that would come on was the front 2 speakers.

Whenever I switched it to dolby/dts surround ALL the speakers would turn off.
When I cranked it to max volume you could faintly hear music from ALL speakers. So the receiver was putting out something to each speaker. Something just isn't right.

I do NOT have the remote for this. I hope there isn't something on the remote that I need to make this function.

It says in the manual there is a display telling you which speakers are hooked up, but I've never seen anything lit up on the display.
It also says you have to configure each speaker. Which I did but maybe I did it wrong? Would the speakers really not work unless I set them up first?

ANY advice is welcome. this is a nice receiver and I want to get my moneys worth out of it.

If I can't fix it it will just go up on ebay sold as parts... even though it works.
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post #2 of 10
3/13/10 at 10:18am
Thread Starter 
I really need some help with this... anyone? anything?
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post #3 of 10
3/13/10 at 12:14pm
What sources do you have connected to it (DVD player, cable box, blu-ray?) and how do you have them connected?  (HDMI?  Coax digital?  Optical digital)

Need make and model on all connected components. 

Regards,

Joe
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post #4 of 10
3/16/10 at 10:46am
Thread Starter 
JVC RX-888v and nothing is hooked up except some speakers and a cd player through coax digital.
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post #5 of 10
3/16/10 at 6:42pm
If all you have connected to it is a CD player, then you aren't listening to anything that has a digital multichannel soundtrack.  CDs are digital, but they're still stereo.  Dolby Digital is only for DVD and Blu-Ray soundtracks or special multichannel Super Audio CD (SACD) or CD-DA (CD digital audio) discs, all of which require special players.  Except for a few audio demo discs, DTS is only used for movie soundtracks, so you aren't going to hear that out of a CD.  

Most surround receivers do have a setting like "5-channel stereo" that will send the sound to all connected speakers, but you won't get this by selecting Dolby Digital.  

Regards,

Joe
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post #6 of 10
3/21/10 at 12:44pm
Thread Starter 
I have owned 3 or 4 surround sound systems in the past, and with every single one if I hook up say an ipod through an aux. or cd. input, I am able to get 5.1 surround sound out of it. Not just stereo. All speakers functioning.

Why can't this one do the same? Any sort of input to the receiver should be able to be played with all 5 speakers while getting the surround sound effect and different parts of the song from different speakers.
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post #7 of 10
3/21/10 at 2:28pm

Quote:
 
...if I hook up say an ipod through an aux. or cd. input, I am able to get 5.1 surround sound out of it. Not just stereo. All speakers functioning.

An ipod connected through the aux or other analog CD input is not trying to connect on a digital input, and therefore the processing options are going to be different.  Have you tried connecting using the red/white analog stereo connectors just to see if you get a different result?

"All speakers functioning" does NOT equal "5.1 surround sound", which has a specific meaning that applies only to multichannel digital sound.  Yes, some receivers do have various digital signal processing modes that will produce "5 channel stereo" or other pseudo-surround approximations that use all the speakers, but they are not any of the flavors of 5.1 flavors or Dolby Digital or DTS. 

Again, regardless of what processing the receiver might be able to do, you are feeding it a stereo signal.  (That's why the lights for the different speakers aren't showing up on the display - they only light if the receiver sees a discrete digital signal for each speaker, by my reading of your manual.)  By default your system assigns the coax digital input to direct broadcast satellite, so I assume that's the input you have selected (unless you've reassigned it.)  Is the "Linear PCM" light lighting up on the receiver?  It should be.  BTW, you still haven't answered my question about the make and model number of the CD player.  Without that I can't say if there are settings on the source side of the equation that could be causing a problem. 

I see the receiver can handle two different sets of front speakers and switch between them.  Are you sure your front speakers and rear speakers are all on the same circuit?  (The terminals should be labeled "A" and "B".  If the fronts ended up terminated on the "B" posts and everything else is on "A", that would be your problem right there.)  

Have you tried just pressing the "surround" button and using the "theater" or "digital theater" modes?  You can't use any of the Dolby Digital or DTS modes because you aren't feeding the receiver a DD or DTS signal.  

Let me know if any of this helps.  And please post the make/model of that CD player.

Joe



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post #8 of 10
3/23/10 at 9:51am
Thread Starter 
Ok so:

I have 3 surround sounds currently.
Philips MX 3950D
Kenwood VR-615
and the JVC RX-888x I've been talking about.

I have NEVER used anything other than the red/white analog stereo jacks for any of my receivers.
The philips is hooked up to my tv and has amazing surround sound when watching a movie.
The kenwood vr-615 is in my basement hooked up to my dj cd players and mixer via red and white stereo analog. The kenwood has a cinema eq that plays everything in dts and dolby digital im assuming.
Both these surround sound system are able to play everything is brilliant 5.1 surround sound with just using the cd player/aux red and white analog stereo imputs.

How are these two surround sounds able to play such amazing 5.1 surround sound while this new jvc which is better and newer is not even capable... I'm pretty pissed about that. I need it for a amp in my basement for when I have partys and the only thing it can do is play from 2 speakers.

I am able to hook up an ipod with a connector that splits to a red/white analog. Using these for either of my older receivers provides 5.1 surround sound that sounds incredible.

The CD player I was referring to was my 2 Stanton cd turntables for djing sent through a mixer. Only has red/white analog outputs.

To be honest I have know Idea what the digital wires your speaking of even look like.

How are my other OLDER receivers good enough to do this and my new one cant?

My kenwood vr-615 is the best one I have. Provides amazing sound with 600 watts, 100 watts for a subwoofer, which I have 2 10 inch pheonix gold octane-r subwoofers wired and hooked up to it. Sounds fantastic.
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post #9 of 10
3/23/10 at 11:40am


Quote:
Originally Posted by burtonsyncro View Post

I have NEVER used anything other than the red/white analog stereo jacks for any of my receivers.

 

Then you haven't been hearing any true digital 5.1 audio.  All you're hearing is a simulated surround sound - most likely Dolby ProLogic or ProLogic II.  The effectiveness of such a simulated surround is all in how your receiver is set up.

As Joe indicated in his previous post, first, make sure that your red/white cables are connected to an input that is not subject to restrictions on the type of audio processing that can be performed on it.  Perhaps best to try connecting the audio cables to an input that has a video input associated with it as well (even though you won't use it) because surround sound modes like ProLogic are most commonly associated with television/movies, not music listening - so it's possible that an input such as "CD" won't allow any surround processing to be performed.

Finally, be sure to read the manual carefully to understand what the various listening modes and processing options actually do.  Many of the "listening modes" simply add echo and reverb that muddies the sound and adds little if anything to them.  Other "surround modes" take a stereo signal and split it up differently - often with predetermined audio level adjustments that emphasize some speakers over others.  If your model allows these levels to be adjusted, it will be indicated in the manual.
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post #10 of 10
3/23/10 at 1:36pm

Quote:
"I have NEVER used anything other than the red/white analog stereo jacks for any of my receivers."
 
"JVC RX-888v and nothing is hooked up except some speakers and a cd player through coax digital."
 

OK, one of these statements can be true, but not both.
 

Quote:
To be honest I have know Idea what the digital wires your speaking of even look like. 

Then why did you say the CD player was connected via digital coax? 

Look, I troubleshoot stuff for a living.  But I depend on people accurately describing their problems, understanding the terminology they're using, answering my questions and paying attention to my advice.  You seem to prefer complaining about your gear and not bothering to listen to my attempts to educate you about the difference between digital and analog.  Thus we get stuff like this:
 

Quote:
I am able to hook up an ipod with a connector that splits to a red/white analog. Using these for either of my older receivers provides 5.1 surround sound that sounds incredible. 

The short answer to this is "No, you DON'T."  You do not now and never have had 5.1 surround sound. Period.  End-of-story.  As long as you are connecting a two-channel analog source to your receivers you can't have 5.1 surround because discrete multichannel sound is only available in the digital realm.  What you are getting - as I said several posts ago and Jason has now reiterated - is simulated surround sound.  Your JVC might actually be capable of producing true Dolby Digital 5.1 if you ever feed it a 5.1 source.  It might also be able to do pseudo-surround based on a two-channel source, if you dig around in the manaul and stop trying to use the digital modes (DD and DTS) which are not an option with your current connections.  (See if your CD player has a digital output.  It will look like a standard RCA jack and will probably be orange in color.  Try running an 75 ohm video cable - the kind that are often bundled as the yellow wire in a video/stereo cable package for VCRs - from it to the coax digital input on the JVC.  Since you still haven't told me the make and model of the player(s) I can't really give you any other hints on that score.)

Regards,

Joe
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