Help setting up wireless headphones on a Denon AVR-X3000 (1 Viewer)

[Rod Martin]

I'm having some problems setting up a pair of Sennheiser RS120 headphones on my Denon. The headphones are for when there are multiple things going on in the room and someone wants to watch TV.

Ideally, I was thinking I could connect the headphones to the Zone 2 RCA outs on the back, but when I try this, all I get is static from the headphones. If I switch to the front headphone jack, the headphones sound fine.

The X3000 manual doesn't go into a lot of detail about how to setup/use Zone 2, so I am hoping I just don't have things configured correctly. Otherwise, we'd have to connect/disconnect the headphones every time they are used, rather than just keeping it connected and turning on the headphones when needed.

Can anyone help me with this?

Thanks!

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

No problem, you will need to connect the Zone 2 outputs to a headphone amplifier.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Rod Martin]

So, I'm needing an amplifier between the X3000 and the headphone base?

 

[schan1269]

What sources are you sending Zone 2? And what are the connections?

 

[schan1269]

Possible issues...The AVR can't, on its own, take DD/DTS 5.1 to 2.0 PCM. So, when Zone 2 is used...source will have to be PCM.It also sounds like HDMI input sound can only exit Zone 2 powered (not preout) when HDMI Zone 2 is in use.Of course...this comes from generic Denon support. But falls in line with Yamaha and Onkyo.And Wayne, these are RF headphones.

 

[Rod Martin]

Sources will usually be my DirecTV box or my Mac Mini running Plex. Connection is RCA L and R outputs. Everything coming into the X3000 is via HDMI.

So is my only option to run the Sennheisers from the headphone jack?

 

[schan1269]

Sources will usually be my DirecTV box or my Mac Mini running Plex. Connection is RCA L and R outputs. Everything coming into the X3000 is via HDMI.So is my only option to run the Sennheisers from the headphone jack?

No. You can connect the DirecTV via red/white. Then select analog source(will take care of PCM at the same time).Do the same with the computer.The other option is run a coax/toslink from each thing...but that way you have to change the sources to PCM when you use the headphones.Onkyo and Yamaha both require digital 2nd zone to already be 2.0 pcm. BD players can automatically dumb the source down. STB can't, unless you use the analog.Basically, the DAC is either set up to process DD/DTS(Including lossless counterparts) or pcm.2nd(3rd/4th) is always an afterthought. The DAC can't be ready to provide DD/DTS and PCM at the same time. Ergo, the source has to be PCM...to remove DD/DTS.

 

[schan1269]

A way to check out what I mean. Play a CD in your BD player over HDMI. It sucks.But, if you change the player to PCM 2.0 and play the CD, it sucks less(basically no matter what you do over HDMI, the AVR is always ready for "every sound format". So track breaks make the AVR reset...every song)However, if you play the cd over coax/toslink(and RCA) you can force 2.0...and the AVR no longer freaks out every track break.This "track gap" is why Spotify, MOG and others now offer "gapless playback". It is to make up for the increasing numbers of Roku/NeoTV/AppleTV that only offer HDMI...yet have music services.

 

[Rod Martin]

If I connect the DirecTV and mac mini via L and R RCA plugs, won't I lose 5.1 sound when not using the headphones?

 

[schan1269]

If I connect the DirecTV and mac mini via L and R RCA plugs, won't I lose 5.1 sound when not using the headphones?

No.