Sony BDP S370 sound problem.....

[Pistol Pete1]

Just received this player today....fantastic bit of kit, and much better in terms of PQ and SQ than my older Sony S350........

But I have encountered a problem when decoding DTS HD Master.

I have two concerts that use this decoding, and as per normal I have set the decoding to be done in the receiver, which had no problems with the S350.

If I go to 'song selection' in the menu and pick a song out, the music comes out and sounds amazing........now if I fast forward or skip to next song, the volume reduces by about a 1/3!!!

This does not happen with DVD's nor, TrueHD decoding......

Now if I start the concert at the start, it comes out at the reduced volume, rather than the louder.......

I have updated the firmware to the newest version, hoping that would sort it but it hasn't. I have not tried a movie in DTS HD master yet, but will later this evening.....

What's going on here.....is the player faulty?

Anyone?

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Well the same happens with DTS HD master movies too.

The volume reduction happens after pressing the pause button too, so it quite annoying.......

The decoder being used is in the receiver and is ok with my Sony S350 player, so I assume the S370 is outputting via HDMI at two different levels, but only when DTS HD master is being used........very strange!!

 

[aliEnRIK]

Id guess theres a compatability problem between the 370 and your av amp

 

[Pistol Pete1]

aliEnRIK:Id guess theres a compatability problem between the 370 and your av amp

Hope that is not the case......the blu ray player is excellent except for this......and I don't want to go back to my Sony BDP S350!!

 

[Anonymous]

Pistol Pete1:

aliEnRIK:Id guess theres a compatability problem between the 370 and your av amp

Hope that is not the case......the blu ray player is excellent except for this......and I don't want to go back to my Sony BDP S350!!
my sony is going back tomorrow after hearing an anoying whirling noise from the player on non action films,i have heard about this but i didnt have any dropouts in sound.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Drop outs seem to occur when using a Sony TV....mine is a Panasonic.

But I have my Sony S370 connected to my Denon AVR2310, so it might be an issue with them, i guess.

Anyway, I have emails Sony UK and Audio T, where I got it from for help with this.....

Hopefully it's an easy fix or new machine next week.

Besides this problem, I have used it for BBC HD and other i player features, which are very impressive.

There is just a little motion issue on fast moving objects on BBC HD, but I imagine that's because I only get a 6 Meg internet connection....motion is fine on all other SD channels....

 

[Anonymous]

Pistol Pete1:

Drop outs seem to occur when using a Sony TV....mine is a Panasonic.

But I have my Sony S370 connected to my Denon AVR2310, so it might be an issue with them, i guess.

Anyway, I have emails Sony UK and Audio T, where I got it from for help with this.....

Hopefully it's an easy fix or new machine next week.

Besides this problem, I have used it for BBC HD and other i player features, which are very impressive.

There is just a little motion issue on fast moving objects on BBC HD, but I imagine that's because I only get a 6 Meg internet connection....motion is fine on all other SD channels....
i have a panasonic plasma and have no probs sound dropout wise,but i guess it depends on model or setup.mine is going back tomorrow.prepare yourself for loads of excuses.luckly i only have 5 min walk to shop.good luck anywayhope they sought it out for you quickly..

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Thanks....you too....

This is where shops make or break reputations!!!!!

 

[Pistol Pete1]

No reply from the online store at Audio T so far......

I am assuming they probably only work Mon-Fri though? Let's hope I get some joy on Monday.....

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Just tested the player directly to the tv, bypassing the Denon, and its works perfectly with DTS HD Master selected.....

Looking more and more like Sony and Denon don't like each other.......

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Any of the 'What Hifi?' staff/experts got any thoughts on this problem.......

Or have an opportunity to seek advise from a Denon or Sony rep about these sound problems, both giggsy and I are experiencing?

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Still no reply from Audio T.......

Will give them till tomorrow to acknowledge my email, and then get on the phone......

 

[Clare Newsome]

I'll flag this up and see what we can find out....

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Thanks Clare......

Any help would be most gratefully received.....

As it looks like a compatibility issue, and the Sony has the latest firmware, I have just visited Creative Audio, where I purchased the Denon from.

The firmware on the Denon is: Main 00.57, but I see there is a 00.69 available from April this year.

Might this be the problem solver? If so, Creative has kindly offered to update the firmware next week onwards, when their 'tech' man is back on holiday.....

 

[Clare Newsome]

It's something we'll check out when talking to Denon and Sony.

By the way, many Denon firmware upgrades are now available for download from the manufacturer's website

 

[Andrew Everard]

Sounds like it's worth doing the firmware update on the Denon to see whether that cures the problem - sounds to me like a handshaking problem between the two.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Clare Newsome:

It's something we'll check out when talking to Denon and Sony.

By the way, many Denon firmware upgrades are now available for download from the manufacturer's website

Yes, I found that out last night, but after reading the instructions on the site, and the fact that if something goes wrong (touch a button, PC screen saver goes on, power cut etc), you could end up with a dead machine!!!

Ouch!!!

Much prefer the shop to do it, then if something goes wrong, it's still under warranty......

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Andrew Everard:Sounds like it's worth doing the firmware update on the Denon to see whether that cures the problem - sounds to me like a handshaking problem between the two.

That's what Creative Audio said.......and I reckon that is what i will end up doing next week.

Interesting, a similiar problem to giggsy's sound issue was cured by another forum 'goer' (Not this forum, I'm afraid) by updating the firmware, so I assume these updates are pretty good.....

 

[Andrew Everard]

Response from Sony is that they've checked the problem with a number of receivers, both their own and others', although not the specific model in question, and not encountered the problem.

But based on a similar report made to their helpline back in April, the fact that turning off and on again resets the fault suggests that it is a handshaking problem, which may well be cured as a result of the receiver firmware upgrade.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Thanks Andrew......

I emailed Denon via their website yesterday, and this afternoon I received a reply, which I think is excellent customer service......(surprisingly...

)

They, too, have asked me to update the firmware on the Denon and let them know if the problem isn't fixed after that update....

Saying that, I have been doing some more testing tonight and found a way for this problem to stop. It has been reducing the volume by about a 1/3, as mentioned before, but actually it seems that the reduced volume is the correct one. So in affect, the problem is an increased volume when you start a DTS HD Master soundtrack, which then goes back to normal once you use the functions like pause, skip etc.

This is done with 'Pure Direct' on the receiver switched on, as I found it a clearer presentation having it on than off.

Saying that, if I switch 'Pure Direct' off, the problem completely disappears, and with some adjustments to the channel levels (mainly an increase in centre speaker and big reduction of sub) I can get to a sound I'm happy with.....

Saying all that, I will get the firmware updated next week in Creative Audio, as my solution is not a completely satisfactory one....

 

[Andrew Everard]

It does sound rather strange, and I'm not sure why Pure Direct operation should affect it. But the fact that it does strengthens my hunch that the problem is somewhere in the receiver software, rather than in the player.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

I guess we will find out if this resolves the problem next week, and I'll post the results on here for others that may have similar problems....

In the meantime, thanks alot for all your, and Clare's, help on this matter.....

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Well, Creative Audio have done the firmware update...took them about 2 hours to complete it, and about 1 hour for me to set up all the setting back to where they were......

And the result of the updated firmware...........

Still the problem occurs!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it!!!! Will email Denon, as requested, if the new firmware didn't resolve the problem.....

In the meantime, anyone else got any ideas?

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Just a thought.......

I have a spare optical lead hanging around....will connect it up and see if the sound problem continues...

I assume optical leads are as good as an HDMI for sound transfer?

 

[Clare Newsome]

You won't get HD audio over optical- only via HDMI....