Denon AVR-X1600H - bluetooth headphone volume (1 Viewer)

[Gorlash]

We just purchased this receiver, and mostly are quite happy with it... but there is one very disappointing aspect to this; although it is extremely easy to get bluetooth headphones to pair with the receiver, there seems to be a maximum volume with bluetooth, which is frankly quite inadequate!! In all cases here, we are using the headphones' volume control to set volume.

We initially tried to use her existing bluetooth headphones, including Anker Soundcore Life Q20+, but were simply not satisfied at all.
So after researching online, we got a set of Marshall Major IV headphones, which were recommended on a couple of sites as having super high volume, but frankly, they sound *exactly* the same at max settings as the other headphones do....

*however* ... if she plugs in the Marshall headphones as wired headphones, the volume is superb!!
So what options do we have here, other than abandoning bluetooth entirely?? I've read several online discussions about this issue with bluetooth and Denon receivers, but would like to get some inputs from folks here??

And on a related topic, if we switch to wifi headphones, will we still have the same issue??

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

With wireless (digitally transmitted signal) headphones, the issue is most likely w/ the headphones themselves because the DAC and (very limited, battery-powered) amp are built into the headphones.

Not too likely the fault of the source/AVR unless it's somehow strangely capping the digital signal below whatever standard used -- seriously doubt that w/ reputable AVRs like Denon's.

In the case of wired headphones, the DAC and (analog) amp is in the source/AVR, which could more easily provide more power (or you could add more w/ a dedicated headphone amp, if needed).

_Man_

 

[Gorlash]

Well, it's odd though, that all three headphones, including one which is specifically marketed as having high volume, all perform at identical max volume with this receiver...

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Do those headphones actually play louder (wirelessly) from other BT devices streaming the same music (from same source) as via the AVR?

_Man_

 

[Gorlash]

huh... good question... we don't actually listen to anything else via bluetooth!! I'll try to get milady to look into this...

 

[Gorlash]

Wow!! She paired the Marshall headphones with her Galaxy Tab A, and they have a *TON* of volume!!!!!!! You could *easily* blow out your hearing with them!!! Also, headphone volume can be adjusted with either the headphone volume control or the tablet volume control... we set the tablet volume really low, and could still use the headphone volume control to blow it up to ear-destroying volume...

So clearly the capabilities of the headphones themselves are more than adequate... and clearly, it is possible to adjust the volume from the source side, as well as the headphone side...

So what do we have to do, to get this capability on the AV receiver?? If the Denon just cannot do this, is there some other brand that is more capable? We are still within the free-return period for this receiver.

 

[Gorlash]

I also just paired the Marshall headphones up with bluetooth on my desktop computer!! First time I've done that, because usually I use 5.1 headphones on my desktop. However, these headphones sound *fantastic* with audio on this machine!!

I have *full* range of volume-setting capability with these headphones and my desktop...
What is interesting, though, is when I adjust volume on the headphones, it actually changes the computer's volume setting!! Clearly, the headphones are communicating the volume setting back to the bluetooth transmitter - a capability which the Denon receiver completely lacks...

 

[Gorlash]

So, answer me this... are there other brands of AV receivers which have more mature bluetooth capability incorporated in them?? The Galaxy Tab A tablet that milady is using for audio testing, is a *years*-old device, so this is not a recent secret...

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

That seems very strange.

Have you doublechecked that you don't have a volume limit set on the AVR? Try turning off the limiter if it's set.

I wouldn't have thought that applies to bluetooth, but maybe it does (at least on Denon AVRs).

_Man_

 

[Gorlash]

That seems very strange.

Have you doublechecked that you don't have a volume limit set on the AVR? Try turning off the limiter if it's set.

I wouldn't have thought that applies to bluetooth, but maybe it does (at least on Denon AVRs).

_Man_

Okay, went and checked these just now... the entire Audio menu is disabled when bluetooth headphones are connected, so we disconnected and checked, and both limits and Dynamic EQ are disabled...

 

[Clinton McClure]

From reading your user manual, it seems Denon has managed to hobble the ability to listen using bluetooth headphones. I have a Denon S750H which is also supposed to be capable of using bluetooth headphones, however, I don't own any besides a pair of Apple AirPods and they don't have their own volume control so I can't test for limited volume.

 

[Gorlash]

Does anyone hear know anything about bluetooth repeaters?? That should be a fairly trivial item to develop; repeaters in RF have existed for almost 100 years, and I know wifi has them... I just need something that will pair with the AVR as a receiver, then pair with headphones as a transmitter, and just amplify the signal... the ability to interactively recognize the volume changes (as both the Galaxy Tab A, and my desktop computer, can do) would be an added plus, but not necessary.

I'm doing some looking around, and see some possibilities, but it's hard to review my requirement on Amazon ads, since their terminology is not entirely consistent.

 

[kalm_traveler]

Does anyone hear know anything about bluetooth repeaters?? That should be a fairly trivial item to develop; repeaters in RF have existed for almost 100 years, and I know wifi has them... I just need something that will pair with the AVR as a receiver, then pair with headphones as a transmitter, and just amplify the signal... the ability to interactively recognize the volume changes (as both the Galaxy Tab A, and my desktop computer, can do) would be an added plus, but not necessary.

I'm doing some looking around, and see some possibilities, but it's hard to review my requirement on Amazon ads, since their terminology is not entirely consistent.

When you say you want to amplify the bluetooth signal - are you literally meaning that the signal strength is too low and causing disconnects? Or are you instead referring to the digital volume?

Remember, bluetooth is all digital - increasing signal strength won't affect the volume at all - either the signal is reaching its destination smoothly and sound works, or the signal is not reaching its destination smoothly and you'll get sound cutting out or disconnect entirely.

Looking at your previous posts it would appear that the Denon receiver's output volume configuration for bluetooth is simply lower than other host devices output volume (your tablet and PC for example). With bluetooth, the volume you end up getting from your headphones is ultimately limited by the bluetooth configuration of the host device and your headphones. Making the digital signal stronger has zero impact on max potential volume.

 

[Gorlash]

When you say you want to amplify the bluetooth signal - are you literally meaning that the signal strength is too low and causing disconnects? Or are you instead referring to the digital volume?

Remember, bluetooth is all digital - increasing signal strength won't affect the volume at all - either the signal is reaching its destination smoothly and sound works, or the signal is not reaching its destination smoothly and you'll get sound cutting out or disconnect entirely.

Looking at your previous posts it would appear that the Denon receiver's output volume configuration for bluetooth is simply lower than other host devices output volume (your tablet and PC for example). With bluetooth, the volume you end up getting from your headphones is ultimately limited by the bluetooth configuration of the host device and your headphones. Making the digital signal stronger has zero impact on max potential volume.

well... you are correct, I was not aware of these details... so no, a repeater won't solve the problem that we actually have...

What it comes down to, apparently, is that the bluetooth-headphone support on the Denon receiver is utterly useless, given that the range of volumes that the headphones can control, are completely unusable, even with a set of bluetooth headphones (the Marshall set) which are specifically designed to provide very high volume.

Thank you for this explanation, though... I had no idea why I couldn't make this useable; now I understand...

ITM, she is satisfied with the wifi headphones that she got, and has decided that she can live with manually plugging/unplugging the headphones to select between speakers and headphones.