PSA: Darn Yamaha and their Dynamic Range Setting (1 Viewer)

[Wayne Ernst]

I'm not sure with which line Yamaha introduced the "Dynamic Range" setting on their receivers, but I read about it a few weeks back on another forum. Being quite busy recently, I checked my settings last evening and realized they were all clobbered.

On my Yammy HTR-5760, the Dynamic Range option is present for both speakers and headphones. There are three options for both headphones and speakers. The options are:

- Min
- Std
- Max

One would be led to believe that the "Max" setting would would compress the sound the most. However, "Max" should be used to preserve the greatest amount of dynamic range.

When I went in to check my settings, the speakers were set to "Min" and the headphones were set to "Std." I don't care too much about the headphone setting at this point, but kicked myself when I realized where the setting was for the speakers. This setting only applies when using DTS or Dolby Digital formats. I thought my last few movies were kind of "weak" which the "min" setting was causing - the bloody anemic sounds for the movies. :frowning:

Needless to say, I was responsible for getting the setting to the "Min" position. However, I'm not sure what the default setting was when I purchased the receiver. I could have been "Std" for all I know - or remember.

Anyway, for those of you with newer Yamaha receivers, you might want to review your Dynamic Range settings - if they are set to anything other than "Max" - you might be taking away too much affect from your DD and DTS experiences.

As soon as I set my setting back to "Max", everything came back to normal and was an epiphany for this receiver.

 

[Scott*B]

Thanks for pointing this out. I had mine set to Min just like you. I can't imagine however watching the opening battle of Master&Commander with it set to Max. At the Min setting the surround activity blew me away. Truely one of the great reference scenes for surround sound.

 

[Charles_Y]

I had a Yamaha RX-V995 which has gone on the blink recently and I have upgraded to the RX-V1400. Very nice!

I believe it is mentioned in both manuals that for "Dynamic Range" (when decoding DD or DTS only) to set "max" if you wish to have the full range or uncompressed sound most people look for.

Also, you may wish to check your "Speaker Size" settings. They might be set to "small" when they might best be set to "large" depending on driver size, etc. This can have an impact on bass response and overall performance as well.

 

[WendyS]

I guess I don't know enough about the technical end of this stuff, but to me, MAX should mean maximum dynamic range, therefore more between the least and the most when compared to STD or MIN.
Too simply?

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Wayne, I know that you once had a Sony DA4ES as I presently do. I am thinking about selling my 4ES and pick up a Yammie HTR-5790. Since I am using outboard amplification, I would only gain DPL2x, and the YPAO feature. What worries me though about upgrading is the loss of the "Sony Digital Cinema" modes which give my movie watching experience an added kick. Is there anything comparable to this mode on the Yamaha? Is there anything about 4ES that you miss?

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Kevin,

The good thing about the DSPs with the new Yamaha receivers is that you have a good assortment of adjustments that you can make to the DSP via the on-screen menu. The ability to apply these adjustments to the DSPs pretty much blows away the capability of any other sub-$700 receiver on the market. Sure, I thought Yamaha advertising 40 different DSPs was kind of overkill, until I realized how you can customize each one of them so they sound right to you.

I never really applied any of the DSPs when I had the Sony. Basically, just kept to DPL II, the 5-channel stereo and let the DD and DTS do the work without any additional processing. What I do miss most about the Sony 4ES is that it was a nicely-made receiver. Sure, the Yamaha is built OK and will last, but for the money, that Sony was real solid.

 

[VicQ]

Wayne,

I've owned four Yamaha receivers, so I should know when I tell you that the units ship with the MAX setting on.

-Vic

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Vic,

That's what I wanted to hear. Thanks. I guess for anyone else who's gone through a setup with these receivers, it still doesn't hurt to check the settings to make sure the beast is performing to its full potential.

 

[Daman]

i too have 2 yamaha recievers and both came with 'MAX' as the default setting.