Anyone use a Hughes E86 with Rotel 1055/1066 (1 Viewer)

If you use the Hughes E86 HD DirecTV receiver with a Rotel RSX-1055 or 1066, do you hear a 'pop' when you switch between an HD and non-HD channel?

My 1055 is being replaced for this problem, and I have seen others with this problem.

Thanks!

Are you using only a digital audio connection between the E-86 and your Rotel?

In the AV setup menu for the E-86 do you have Dolby Digital "ON" or "OFF"?

Does this pop occur on all HD channels or only on local OTA stations?

I have a Toshiba DST-3000 (same box as the Hughes) and a Pioneer VSX-45TX connected via optical digital cable. I also have the left and right analog audio cables connected directly to the tv so I don't have to use the receiver to get sound when just watching the news. Video goes straight to the set.

With Dolby Digital "ON" in the AV setup on the STB, I get very loud and garbled sound from the receiver when tuned to 2 of my 5 local digital tv stations, all other local and the 4 channels on the satellite are ok.

If I turn OFF DD in the box's AV setup menu, the sound on these 2 channels is a bit loud but not distorted, same when using analog connection direct to the set.

I can only conclude that those 2 local stations are broadcasting a non-standard digital audio signal that my receiver can't handle properly. Both stations share the same ownership and have the same chief broadcast engineer who so far has no clue as to what's causing the problem.

So if your problem is occuring only on some but not all HD channels, the fault may not be with your Rotel. Could be that your Rotel is popping because it's "shifting gears" to accomodate a non-standard digital audio signal from the broadcaster.

If it doesn't pop when the audio format from dvds changes this would tend to re-inforce the theory that the fault may be with the broadcast station.

Alternatively the Hughes box may be the source of the problem.

I am using only the digital connection, as I always use my receiver for sound.

I purchased a toslink->coax converter and tried it with the E86 and I had the same issue, so the type of digital input dosen't matter.

I am pretty sure I have Dolby Digital set to 'on' in the E86 menus, but I will check tonight.

The sound on all of my HD and non-HD channels is perfect with the digital connection. The 'pop' occurs when switching between Dolby digital and non-DD sound (say an HDNET program to CNN). It happens with OTA or DirecTV stations.

The 1055 goes into 'mute' for 1/2 second when switching between sound formats. It seems that it isn't muting fast enough. I have read that the DD spec states that if a signal isn't synced, the unit should mute (don't quote me on that - I read it in a post that was unconfirmed).

Others have stated that they have the same issue with the E86 w/Rotel gear. My DVD player (coax), CD player (toslink), and DirecTiVo (toslink) are all fine. There is a slight delay with my DVD player, but nothing too bad (1-2 seconds).
This leads me to believe it is just an issue with the E86's digital output. But, if I can find users with the E86 and Rotel 1055/1066 without this problem (please post..) then I need to try new 1055s until I get a 'good' one.

My 'old' Denon 3802 had no problems with the E86, so I expect the same from my 1055.
But - my first 3802 popped also. The 2nd one I got was fine (odd that the first one I buy from either brand has the same issue). It makes me think it might be my setup, but I unplugged everything except the bare minimum and the issue is still present. Plus other users report the same issue.

Tonight I am returning the toslink->coax converter and pickup up a toslink amplifier. I once read about HTPC users with pops and an amplifier fixed the issue for some of them.

And if you are wondering why I don't give up - this is an incredible sounding piece for the money. 2 channel (which is what I am most concerned about) is excellent, and it's HT processing is also great.

I'm running the E86 via toslink cable into my yammy,and hear no popping sound at all.All my sound is processed through my yammy.
good luck and hope you solve the problem.

I am pretty sure the problem lies in the Rotel. I have the E86 and when I was using a Pioneer Elite 35TX (both as a pre/pro and a receiver), I never had the popping sound.

I just recently upgraded to a Rotel 1055 as a pre/pro and now I get the famous pop. This is my second 1055 (exchanged my first one because it came in without the video bandwidth upgrade) and both units have popped.

It is annoying, but I think I will just live with it.

Neal

Thanks for the reply. My Denon 3802 didn't pop with the E86 either.
I have a call into Rotel tech support, as does my dealer. They say they are trying to determine what the issue is. They have a suggestion for me to try after work. I don't see it fixing anything, but I'll try.

Their suggestion is to set all of the speaker values to -5 in the setup, then turn up the volume 5 more than what I used to do. The claim is that the processor might be 'overdriven' by to much signal. To me setting the levels to -5 is just the volume on each speaker, not to the processor. But, I'm not a Rotel engineer so I'll give it a try tonight.

While watching a recorded show on my DirecTiVo last night, I heard a very faint pop a few times. I rewound the video and the pop would always occur, so it must be a 'flaw' in the digital stream. This is worse than the pop between channels because it happens every 5 minutes. It is very quiet, but still annoying.

I really love this unit for 2 channel - it sounds wonderful. DD and DTS also sound great. I hope this issue can be resolved. Otherwise I guess I'm looking at the new NAD line??..

I can actually attest to what Andrew is saying. I actually had a rep from Rotel's tech support come to my home to help me with some issues with my 1066. Something he stated is they might chage the option so 0 is actually Rotel's -5 starting point.

JP

BTW, my unit pops when switching stations with DirecTV using an optical connection from my Sat receiver. I have to put it in Analog mode so I don't get annoyed, or any audio dropouts. Rather bothersome isue.

Yes, I do have it set up at -5. And the pop is still there. I even get a pop from my sub when switching sources or decoding formats. That is real annoying. The sound quality is great, but it is rather disheartening that this great piece of expensive equipment is having these issues. I do hope Rotel can get to the bottom of the situation, and the system being a software based unit, we may see an upgrade to fix the phenomenon. I am interested to see what happens when they release the 1098. Only time will tell!

JP

I gave the -5 setting a brief (15 or so channel changes) try and it seems to work for my 1055. Interesting workaround. Guess I will have to leave it there and see how it works over an extended period.

Neal

Neal - glad to hear that! I hope when I get home and try I'm not disappointed.

Setting the levels to -5 did nothing for me. The pops are as loud as before.

Hmm, well I guess that is no good. Hopefully Rotel will have a solution to this problem at some point.

Rotel is replacing the unit. Hopefully this one will be better. Since there seems to be quite a few with this issue my hopes aren't too high.

I listened to a DVD-A disc last night. I can't believe how much better it sound than on my Denon 3802. The 3802 makes a 'bad' preamp if you are into music. My $100 used Rotel 970 2 channel preamp was much, much better than the preamp of the 3802 in 'direct' mode.

Tonight will be my first DVD at near-reference levels (wife won't be home). I will actually have it backed off a bit until I know that my DVD player won't make the popping noise. I don't want to hurt my speakers.

I was using the E86 with Rotel 1066 and never noticed a popping sound. Sold the E86 to a friend and it pops with his B&K 307.