all standalone CDPs & CD transports (dedicated to CD playback) are 2.0 (i.e. 2 full range channels) so no bass management required, everything is in the analogue signal ready for amplification, as I understand it 
Harman Kardon AVR 247 Technical Questions / Advice
- Thread starter The Bright Side
- Start date
Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:
I have a hunch most PC Users who are running 7.1 soundcards are using Windows, so the card has its own drivers & interface, just like your X-Fi, with all the crossover & EQ controls etc.. that you can use on Windows, so they don't have the same problems you're encountering on Ubuntu.
just a hunch though, don't call me Quad-i-modo..! :ugham:
just a hunch though, don't call me Quad-i-modo..! :ugham:
Yeah I presume that's what's happening. :-/ Aw man.
So many hunches... I'm about to get hunch-drunk!
I did some more tinkering with my setup and the Yammy tonight.
Adam, you were right, I can do all my own bass management in Windows and I get some nicely balanced sound out of it. There is a checkbox in Creative's own software that says "Subwoofer Gain": when disabled, I have virtually no subwoofer, and when enabled, it's a-okay. Quite nice, actually. I could get used to it.
In Ubuntu, no such option exists, but I have found a sound management software that gives me independent volume sliders for each channel. It's a bit buggy, as in it keeps forgetting settings periodically and the sub ends up switching to standby. However, it does allow me to apply a 11 dB boost to the LFE channel.
Even with that, the sub doesn't sound anywhere near as good as when I play back in Windows or pop a SACD into the Oppo. I tried the same titles from my PC and then from the Oppo.
Here's what I'm wondering: could the RX-V661 have the LFE bug?!
If I understand correctly, my sound card passes the analog sound to the receiver as PCM. So if Linux's available software doesn't do the subwoofer gain, then the receiver gets an un-amplified signal and due to the LFE bug, the sub sounds weak. Could that be what's happening? Cos the Samsung clearly sounds way better, I tried again tonight.
I have set the Oppo to send the sound out as DSD, but when I set it to PCM, it sounds fine as well. That may be because the Oppo has its own bass management, no?
My Nvidia graphics card has its own Mini-HDMI out, which should be able to play back sound. Unfortunately, it doesn't. I tried both in Ubuntu and Windows, and it stays silent on both.
Riddles, wonders... :-/
Adam, you were right, I can do all my own bass management in Windows and I get some nicely balanced sound out of it. There is a checkbox in Creative's own software that says "Subwoofer Gain": when disabled, I have virtually no subwoofer, and when enabled, it's a-okay. Quite nice, actually. I could get used to it.
In Ubuntu, no such option exists, but I have found a sound management software that gives me independent volume sliders for each channel. It's a bit buggy, as in it keeps forgetting settings periodically and the sub ends up switching to standby. However, it does allow me to apply a 11 dB boost to the LFE channel.
Even with that, the sub doesn't sound anywhere near as good as when I play back in Windows or pop a SACD into the Oppo. I tried the same titles from my PC and then from the Oppo.
Here's what I'm wondering: could the RX-V661 have the LFE bug?!
If I understand correctly, my sound card passes the analog sound to the receiver as PCM. So if Linux's available software doesn't do the subwoofer gain, then the receiver gets an un-amplified signal and due to the LFE bug, the sub sounds weak. Could that be what's happening? Cos the Samsung clearly sounds way better, I tried again tonight.
I have set the Oppo to send the sound out as DSD, but when I set it to PCM, it sounds fine as well. That may be because the Oppo has its own bass management, no?
My Nvidia graphics card has its own Mini-HDMI out, which should be able to play back sound. Unfortunately, it doesn't. I tried both in Ubuntu and Windows, and it stays silent on both.
Riddles, wonders... :-/
I'll see if I can take one or two of the receivers we have at the office home for an evening to see how they perform. I think we have an Onkyo and another Yamaha. I'll also ask the guy who lives below me to lend me his receiver to tinker around with.
It's a real shame, but it very much looks like I am going to sell the Yamaha again. I have spent most of my free time in the past 4 days learning everything there is to learn about this receiver, Ubuntu's and Windows' sound management and options, about the sound hardware I have installed and everything in between. The latest is that my Nvidia graphics card actually has a Mini HDMI out (which I kinda knew, but never took seriously as a sound source until now cos I have the Sound Blaster). That HDMI out is capable of sending any kind of audio signal I want.
I hooked it up to the Samsung and lo and behold: sound comes clear as a bell right out of the box, I didn't even have to do any further configuring (or, perhaps I did but it was part of all the tweaking I had done in the days before I tried HDMI). Sweet! I was so happy. But then I connected to the Yamaha. Silence. It routes the picture through just fine, but sound? Nada. I am wondering if perhaps, it passes it through to my screen (which is a VGA screen with no audio capabilities). Even if that's what it's doing, it does not have an option to configure passthrough.
I spoke to some experts in specialized audio stores. What I'm told is that Denon has the best rep for both analogue and digital performance, so that's a brand I am looking into.
I hooked it up to the Samsung and lo and behold: sound comes clear as a bell right out of the box, I didn't even have to do any further configuring (or, perhaps I did but it was part of all the tweaking I had done in the days before I tried HDMI). Sweet! I was so happy. But then I connected to the Yamaha. Silence. It routes the picture through just fine, but sound? Nada. I am wondering if perhaps, it passes it through to my screen (which is a VGA screen with no audio capabilities). Even if that's what it's doing, it does not have an option to configure passthrough.
I spoke to some experts in specialized audio stores. What I'm told is that Denon has the best rep for both analogue and digital performance, so that's a brand I am looking into.
I posted this in the other thread re: HDMI handshaking issues too but here goes just in case it gets missed..
what's the max/native resolution of your TV/monitor?
does HDMI pass through work as it should?
(i.e. picture but no sound when you switch the AVR off?).
is the AVR outputting a video signal (say 1080p) that your monitor/TV isn't compatible with?
(e.g. monitor/TV tops out at 720p max resolution?).
i reckon your monitor/TV can't handle the A/V signal it's getting via HDMI and that's why you're getting problems.
switch your AVR video out Res to whatever the native resolution is of your monitor/TV and downres any Full HD (1080p) sources.. so everything in your A/V chain is set to 720p max (even if one or two components, like the PC go beyond that) try that and see if that solves it.
HDMI can be a real pain the ass.. it may be a one cable solution that does a lot of neat stuff (and is neater than a possible spaghetti junction of wires..) but its fiddly and finnickity a lot of the time too!
what's the max/native resolution of your TV/monitor?
does HDMI pass through work as it should?
(i.e. picture but no sound when you switch the AVR off?).
is the AVR outputting a video signal (say 1080p) that your monitor/TV isn't compatible with?
(e.g. monitor/TV tops out at 720p max resolution?).
i reckon your monitor/TV can't handle the A/V signal it's getting via HDMI and that's why you're getting problems.
switch your AVR video out Res to whatever the native resolution is of your monitor/TV and downres any Full HD (1080p) sources.. so everything in your A/V chain is set to 720p max (even if one or two components, like the PC go beyond that) try that and see if that solves it.
HDMI can be a real pain the ass.. it may be a one cable solution that does a lot of neat stuff (and is neater than a possible spaghetti junction of wires..) but its fiddly and finnickity a lot of the time too!
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