BlueMonk Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Ok, I admit up front that these may be stupid questions but I am really stumped. My only background in audio is reading this forum for the last few months after I rediscoved Klipsch speakers. I hooked up my new Denon 3803 a week ago and have the following two concerns: 1. Zone 2 -- My old Yamaha had a 'B' speaker option. It would power the B speakers independently or with the main A speakers. I used this option to power my outdoor speakers. Any way to get Zone 2 to control these speakers the same way without hooking up another amp? I do not need to have multiple inputs, just want to play the same thing in both areas. 2. Volume -- I haven't really been able to stretch the new receivers legs yet with any real loud volume. (That will change tonight with the wife gone.) But I find it weird that the lowest volume setting is about -65 yet I cannot hear anything at all until I get the volume down to under -40. With my 'efficent' RF-7's that seems odd to me. Just want to make sure I am not losing any power somehow. Final note for anyone going through the motions of a receiver purchase. I looked at most of the receivers discussed on this forum for a couple months. After multiple listenings, I came to the opinion that the HK and Denon sounded superior to anything else in my price range(that I could fine at stores). But I honestly couldn't tell any difference between the two in store environments. So I went with the Denon because of the PureDirect and the Video conversions. I have been very pleased with my choice. The remote is amazing and the receiver sounds great. Thanks for any help on my questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bchild311 Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Monk, I noticed the same thing with my 3802 and my brothers 3803 when we first got our amps going. You need to make sure you have gone into the separate channel settings and adjusted each of the channels own DB setting. Since you have the 3803, just push the 'enter' button and it should bring up the FL speaker setting by default, make sure it's up around +8db or more(mine are cranked all the way up to +12). Then go through the rest of the channel db settings and make sure they're up. That should fix your problem. Your speakers should really crank at about -30db on your amp volume. To make your smile get real big, find your favorite cd/dvd and go ahead and ease your amp up to -15db or so. That 3803 is a great amp. Enjoy ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diggs Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 ---------------- On 7/11/2003 8:02:50 AM BlueMonk wrote: Ok, I admit up front that these may be stupid questions but I am really stumped. My only background in audio is reading this forum for the last few months after I rediscoved Klipsch speakers. I hooked up my new Denon 3803 a week ago and have the following two concerns: 1. Zone 2 -- My old Yamaha had a 'B' speaker option. It would power the B speakers independently or with the main A speakers. I used this option to power my outdoor speakers. Any way to get Zone 2 to control these speakers the same way without hooking up another amp? I do not need to have multiple inputs, just want to play the same thing in both areas. 2. Volume -- I haven't really been able to stretch the new receivers legs yet with any real loud volume. (That will change tonight with the wife gone.) But I find it weird that the lowest volume setting is about -65 yet I cannot hear anything at all until I get the volume down to under -40. With my 'efficent' RF-7's that seems odd to me. Just want to make sure I am not losing any power somehow. Final note for anyone going through the motions of a receiver purchase. I looked at most of the receivers discussed on this forum for a couple months. After multiple listenings, I came to the opinion that the HK and Denon sounded superior to anything else in my price range(that I could fine at stores). But I honestly couldn't tell any difference between the two in store environments. So I went with the Denon because of the PureDirect and the Video conversions. I have been very pleased with my choice. The remote is amazing and the receiver sounds great. Thanks for any help on my questions. ---------------- As far as playing the same music over A and B speakers, I believe all you would have to do is hook them up and push the speaker select button on the front (that's where mine is located) until both A and B are lit up. On mine however, I can't independently set the gain on them, so if the A speakers are set at +12 dB, so are the B. Not good if you have different brands of speakers that have different sensitivities. Not sure about the 3803. All Denon's, as far as I know, don't put out substantial volume until -40 or greater. Mine is the exact same way. When I had my Denon playing CD's and the KG-4's hooked up to it, a good, loud volume would be approximately -20, with the speakers set at 0dB. I have never gone over -10. Glad to hear you are enjoying your Denon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krusty46 Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Just to reaffirm what others have said; on my 3802, I usually watch TV at -30 and movies anywhere between -24 to -17. I usually consider anything over -40 to be like muting the receiver. You can hear sound, but not loud enough to distrupt a telephone conversation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bchild311 Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 We're all going deaf ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMonk Posted July 11, 2003 Author Share Posted July 11, 2003 Thanks to all. I feel better about the volume. I was afraid I had a wimpy 3803. Still haven't solved the Zone 2 problem. The receiver seems to want my outside speakers to be 'B' surround speakers. Of course, I did not activate a second set of surrounds when I did the receiver setup. The manual is not much help since the author seems to delight in spreading info about a topic throughout the pages instead of one section. But tonight I won't let that bug me. The Denon gets to really crank up the Sevens and the Heinekens will be icy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierceb Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Gee, I thought I was going deaf, but reading this, my hearing must be alright. I have the same setup as you, except with a 3802. I find that -40 is too loud when having a conversation in the room. I usually have it around -50. All my speakers are set at zero too. And don't get me wrong I like it loud. The old 3802 sees 0db on the volume dial just about every time the wife and baby leaves. Nice setup. Hope you enjoy it. -PB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted July 14, 2003 Share Posted July 14, 2003 Page 27 in manual"setting zone 2 control"assign power amp to zone 2.NOTE only components hooked up with analog cables(even if you also hook up digital cable)will play in zone 2.In other words I hook up digital and analog connections from my dvd,cd players.Carefully read the manual to make max use of this great avr,it may take a while but will be worth it.As with most hi-tech it can be a little confusing at first but will soon be gravy.Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMonk Posted July 15, 2003 Author Share Posted July 15, 2003 Ok, I guess I better own up to it. I figured this out on Sunday. The problem with Zone 2 was due to my stupidity. I must have checked the connections and setup ten times. But what I overlooked was that there was a separate volume setting for Zone 2. I actually stumbled upon it by accident and realized that it was set to -60....which you can't hear as per my other question. So I fixed the 'problem' by turning up the volume! Sorry for the puzzle, my old 'Best Buy' Yamaha did not have separate volumes for A and B. Very nice feature though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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