Sony STR-DH790 sound modes

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I recently upgraded my AV receiver to a Sony STR-DH790 to use with my Tannoy TFX 5.1 speakers and BK Gemini II subwoofer. When using previous Pioneer AV receiver, I left it on auto surround but can't find an equivalent setting for my new Sony AV receiver. Can anyone advise which are the best sound modes for watching movies in 5.1 surround sound, gaming with surround sound, watching regular TV with stereo sound, and listening to records on a turntable?

So far I've been switching it to "neural x" in movie mode and switching it to music mode with enhanced audio when listening to records. The music mode is apparently designed to improve the sound of compressed MP3s but the regular stereo mode doesn't incorporate the subwoofer.

On another topic, I have also replaced my TV with an LG CX 55 to use with my PS5. Since I am using the PS5 to watch movies and play games on the same HDMI input, is there a way to make it automatically switch to movie and gaming picture mode settings? If not, is there a general setting that's ideal for movies and gaming?
 
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AFD should cover you for most things.

As you've worked out, Stereo mode runs just the front pair. That's okay for someone with standmount of floor standing speakers, but not much use for a typical sub/sat system. However, you haven't got a typical sub/sat system. You have a BK sub, and the Gemini II has a very clever trick up its sleeve, and right now is exactly the right time for its party piece. I'm talking about the dual crossovers.

In a nutshell, you can have your front stereo speakers pair up with the sub and act like they're full size. This is done by using the Neutrik speaker cable. It connects in parallel with the front speaker wires. The manual gives details of the hook-up method. You might be worried about making a parallel connection and how that might affect the impedance. The simple answer is it won't. The sub has a very high impedance on the speaker terminal connection. This means it's virtually invisible to the amp as a load.

The next part is to change the amp settings for the front speakers from small to large. After that, it's time to blend the sub with the fronts using the High Level crossover controls. These are completely independent of the Low Level crossover controls that you're currently using.

Blending the sub with the front speakers is going to take some trial and error on your part. There's no automatic way to do this. The manual gives details of the procedure. Over the course of a few days you'll get your ear in and tuned to what's happening between the fronts and the sub. Expect to make some tweaks.

Setting the Low Level input is (or should be) just as you have done so far. The sub's crossover should be set to the maximum frequency (120Hz) and the volume level somewhere around the mid point. You can let the receiver do it's auto setup thing. If you find that the amp is setting the sub dB level really low or really high then if you wish you can adjust the sub's gain control and re-run the setup wizard.

At this point you'll have two connections from the receiver to the sub. As far as the receiver is concerned it is running with a full-sized set of speakers at the front. You can still set the amp to treat those speakers as small, with a crossover of say 80Hz, so that in anything other than 2ch Stereo mode some of the front channel bass goes to the sub along with the LFE track. Now though, when you play in 2ch Stereo mode, when the Low Level output from the amp mutes, and when full range audio goes to just the front L&R speaker channels when you're listening to your turntable or any other pure stereo source, you'll have what sounds like floorstanders at the front rather than two small satellites. It's the best of both worlds.

Coming back to the Sony's sound modes, the details of what each does are given in a table in the manual. In the version of the manual I have just checked, these details are on page 40. Multi Ch Stereo gives you sound from all the connected speakers unless the source is in DD/DTS or HD audio in either 2.0 or 2.1 format. Direct plays the sound in its original format. For example, if it's in DTS-MA 5.1 then the only speakers playing are the ones in a 5.1 configuration regardless of whether there are rear speakers or height speakers wired up.

I would only use DSUR and NEURAL-X with height speakers wired up, but if you like the sound then go ahead. Audio Enhancer is one I'd definitely skip unless you listen to a lot of highly-compressed MP3s.
 
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If you bought your sub from BK new or refurbished then it will have come with one as part of the accessories package. (Have you checked in the box. Did you throw it away out of stupidity because you didn't understand what it was for?)

Where you bought used then it's anyone's guess whether the previous owner included it in the sale.


Even if the original cable has been misplaced or thrown out, you can still buy replacements direct from BK at very reasonable prices. Leads (bkelec.com)
 
lucid said:
You have a BK sub, and the Gemini II has a very clever trick up its sleeve, and right now is exactly the right time for its party piece. I'm talking about the dual crossovers.

In a nutshell, you can have your front stereo speakers pair up with the sub and act like they're full size. This is done by using the Neutrik speaker cable. It connects in parallel with the front speaker wires. The manual gives details of the hook-up method. You might be worried about making a parallel connection and how that might affect the impedance. The simple answer is it won't. The sub has a very high impedance on the speaker terminal connection. This means it's virtually invisible to the amp as a load.

The next part is to change the amp settings for the front speakers from small to large. After that, it's time to blend the sub with the fronts using the High Level crossover controls. These are completely independent of the Low Level crossover controls that you're currently using.

Blending the sub with the front speakers is going to take some trial and error on your part. There's no automatic way to do this. The manual gives details of the procedure. Over the course of a few days you'll get your ear in and tuned to what's happening between the fronts and the sub. Expect to make some tweaks.

Setting the Low Level input is (or should be) just as you have done so far. The sub's crossover should be set to the maximum frequency (120Hz) and the volume level somewhere around the mid point. You can let the receiver do it's auto setup thing. If you find that the amp is setting the sub dB level really low or really high then if you wish you can adjust the sub's gain control and re-run the setup wizard.

At this point you'll have two connections from the receiver to the sub. As far as the receiver is concerned it is running with a full-sized set of speakers at the front. You can still set the amp to treat those speakers as small, with a crossover of say 80Hz, so that in anything other than 2ch Stereo mode some of the front channel bass goes to the sub along with the LFE track. Now though, when you play in 2ch Stereo mode, when the Low Level output from the amp mutes, and when full range audio goes to just the front L&R speaker channels when you're listening to your turntable or any other pure stereo source, you'll have what sounds like floorstanders at the front rather than two small satellites. It's the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...

I wish BK implemented the dual crossovers on all their range. I’ll admit I didn’t take into account sub crossover for high level when I purchased my BK P12-300 and my usage is 50:50 Music Movies/TV.
 
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I've now got an LG CX set up and have enabled eARC but I am only getting stereo output with my AV receiver yet it worked on my old TV when the PS5 was connected to the AV receiver. I am also getting no sound from the subwoofer. Are there any other settings I need to enable? Everything is set to AFD and the PS5 is set to 5.1. The PS5 does, however, still play surround sound when it's hooked up to the AV receiver like before and not the TV.
 
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Have you checked all the relevant audio menus in the TV? The CX has per-input audio settings and a separate menu for audio out processing.
 
Digital sound out was set to PCM - should it be set to auto or pass through? DTV audio setting is set to auto. The PS5 is set to PCM, which has always worked.
 
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Hello, sorry for chiming in out of the blue, but I recently purchased this unit and I'm a bit lost.
The system works fine when BT is connected and playing from Spotify, all speakers work and the sound is amazing.

Now, when I'm watching a moving or playing something from my TV (Optical cable in), it doesn't matter whether I change the audio setting of netflix, the movie or whatever to Stereo in the different AV modes.
I can't manage to get all speakers working at the same time, front speakers work, rear speakers only the left one works, the right one goes mute.

Is there a reason for this? I have tried calibrating different modes with the microphone but same outcome.

Any advise for this lost soul? Thanks
 
ruboncio said:
Hello, sorry for chiming in out of the blue, but I recently purchased this unit and I'm a bit lost.
The system works fine when BT is connected and playing from Spotify, all speakers work and the sound is amazing.

Now, when I'm watching a moving or playing something from my TV (Optical cable in), it doesn't matter whether I change the audio setting of netflix, the movie or whatever to Stereo in the different AV modes.
I can't manage to get all speakers working at the same time, front speakers work, rear speakers only the left one works, the right one goes mute.

Is there a reason for this? I have tried calibrating different modes with the microphone but same outcome.

Any advise for this lost soul? Thanks
Click to expand...

The first thing which comes to mind is that the surround speakers aren't quite connected correctly. Do you have the right surround speaker connected to Surround Back rather than the 5.1 out for surround? Check your wiring.

The surrounds should be connected to the left and right 5.1 outputs, and not to the sockets under the 7.1 / 5.1.2 label.

Do this first, then come back and report progress.
 
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