Help with Denon 2900 setup (1 Viewer)

[Alan Wise]

Because I was not born with much in the way of patience, and the fact that I find Denon's manuals lacking in the way of user friendlyness, I am requesting help in setting up my Denon 2900 player.
I have it connected to my new Denon AVR-3805 receiver as follows:

Red, Green, Blue component cables.
Toslink Digital Optical Audio.
6-Analog cables for DVD-A and SACD (set AVR input to "EXT-In" while playing these).

So far all seems good using the system defaults.
But, I'm certain that there are little tweaks to be done that can optimize my home theater experience.
I should note that this system is used primarily for movies.

All reccomendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Al. Wise

 

[John Garcia]

If this is the only component video device you have, there is no real reason to hook it to your receiver.

Calibrating your speakers with a sound pressure level meter would be your next step. Then video calibration with a setup disc such as Avia or Digital Video Essentials would be beneficial to your video side.

 

[Alan Wise]

John,
Thanks for the reply.
I also have my Comcast 6200/2005 HD-CATV box and a second DVD player connected through via component video cables.
I enjoy the ability to allow the receiver do the switching and leave my Sony HD-RPTV on one video setting (Besides being impatient, I'm lazy).
I set up my Denon AVR-3805 with the microphone that I purchased at the same time. Do you think I should check this calibration with an SPL meter? I don't own one but this would be a good excuse to buy it.

I have run my DVE disk and calibrated the video accordingly.

Thanks again, Al. Wise

 

[John Garcia]

Well, haven't heard if anyone compared the Denon's ability to calibrate with an SPL meter, so I can't say if it is good at doing this or not, but I'd wager it will do a decent job. Since you've already done the video calibration, you're already doing well in my book The next thing might be to look at what types of things to do to the room to improve the sound. Speacker placement, corner and/or wall treatments, etc...

Any excuse is a good excuse to pick up an SPL meter.

I haven't gotten around to picking up a component cable for my Comcast box that I got about a week ago.

 

[Bill Blank]

Go into you 2900's Setup Menu and tweak the SACD and DVD-A sections to your taste. Also, if using bass-management in your receiver, be sure to disable it in the 2900.

Bill

 

[JeremySt]

how should the dvd-2900's speaker settings and delays be configured when being used with a AVR3805? Does the speaker settings, crossovers, and EQ effect the EXT IN?

 

[Alan Wise]

I'm going to get into the set up menu this weekend and play around some. I will go to Radio Shack and buy an SPL meter, and do a comparison test versus the Denon auto system. Obviously I will publish the results on this forum.

Jeremy, you have the same questions that I do. Perhaps my experimenting this weekend will give us some answers.

Thanks guys!

Al. Wise

 

[ScottCHI]

if it's like my 3803, except for the ext. in levels, the receiver's settings are not applied to it's multichannel analog inputs.

use your 2900 to bass/time manage it's analog output.

 

[Alan Wise]

Thanks Scott!

Al. Wise

 

[JeremySt]

I know that. I was just wondering if the 3805 was different. And even if the speaker settings are not applied, is the AUTO EQ applied to the EXT IN?

 

[John Garcia]

For most receivers, no tone controls, speaker settings or bass management is applied to the multichannel inputs. On my receiver there is a separate area to calibrate the m/c input levels.

 

[Drew_W]

My Pioneer Elite 53TX came really close. We're talking +/- 1dB in terms of adjustments made when compared with SPL readings, and the distances were just as close. For the average user without an SPL meter, I was extremely impressed at what a great job it did.

I'd guess the Denon would be close as well. Please post here, I'd be interested to hear how well it does.