HELP! Denon and Oppo problem...stumped!

I have a Oppo BPD-83 SE playing through a Denon AVR-5308CI.
The Oppo audio is connected via the analog outs into the Denon to take advantage of the superior D/A converters in the Oppo.
It all sounds great...except for one thing. No Stereo or mono programming is passed along to the subwoofer. All my 5.1 stuff is fine, subwoofer good.
Popped in the White Album blu-ray, 5.1 all is well. Stereo mix, mono mix...nada subwoofer.
I'm stumped.

 

Stupid question, maybe...the Denon output is set for stereo or direct, not external outs, yes?

 

Those outputs seem to only excist in the digital realm. Using the analog outs from the Oppo and the analog ins with the Denon, don't allow me any of those various digital choices, including direct or stereo. So far even Denon hasn't offered a fix.

 

Is the crossover set on your main speakers? Have you checked if the front speakers are set to 'small' and not to 'large'?
If these aren't set correctly, the Denon won't send the low frequencies to the sub when in stereo. When using 5.1, it will only send the LFE channel to the sub.

 

No, everything is dialed in properly.
That's the frustrating thing, everything seems to be where it's supposed to be.
There seems to be some unknown something or other standing in the way.
I have a feeling it might have something to do with using the analog outs, rather than just doing HDMI. Although, wouldn't swear to it.
BUT, the analog outs is only way to take advantage of the audiophile aspect, which is what makes this BPD-83 the "Special Edition".

 

I believe you're onto something there. I have a similar Denon AVR in that line, and it functions best with HDMI as far as 'deciding' what signal(s) go where in a 5.1 set up. It's also possible that you won't get the full 5.1 sound from those high res Blu Ray discs (such as the new White Album mix) without using HDMI, due to copyright control.

 

The Denon needs to be told what to do with regard to the subwoofer when it receives a 2-channel signal. Have you adjusted these settings? (Or, did you say above that these settings are not available?)


(from p. 34 in the manual)

 

I hesitate to abandon the analog outs and revert back to HDMI, because the audiophile portion of the Oppo is only available via those analog outs.
And it seems the surround is stellar. Everything in 5.1 appears to be where it should be. The White Album blu ray was a disc I was using to try and figure this thing out, because 5.1, stereo and mono mixes are right there on the same disc. In 5.1, the sub is working great, stereo or mono mixes, absolutely nothing out of the Sub. Perplexing...I spoke with Denon yesterday and they didn't seem to have a solution. I think when the solution is reached, it's going to come from you guys! I appreciate the help!

 

I have bounced around the GUI so often over the last couple of days, that I'm beginning to feel like I'm on a road trip and my GPS has gone down and every fork in the road is looking both oddly familiar and completely foreign at the same time.
But, I will definitely go back to this page again. Thanks.
I'm wishing I could put a conference call together with Denon & Oppo and have them figure out why these two machines are not communicating.

 

Are you saying that this problem occurs with any disc media that has stereo or mono programs? or is it just with Blu-ray (for example)? I'm curious whether this is happening with a regular stereo CD, played via analog outs to the Denon, and the Denon doesn't send lower frequencies to the subwoofer.

If that is happening, wouldn't the same thing happen if you swap out the oppo with any other disc player? in other words, have you confirmed that the disc player is sending the lower frequencies (but the Denon is not using them)? or is there some setting in the oppo that is actually filtering out lower frequencies from stereo/mono programs so that they never get to the Denon?

 

Yes, any media that sends either a mono or stereo signal doesn't pass through to the sub.
It doesn't seem likely that I have to
choose between bass or the audiophile portion of the Oppo. It seems like I should be able to get both.
I think I'm probably a step or two away from the solution...I just can't find that lonely bit of instruction in either of the manuals. That's why I think someone's experience here is going to solve this.

 

I think the issue is that the bass management needs to be setup inside of the Oppo, not inside of the Denon. The Denon probably can only perform bass management on signals that it receives over HDMI.

 

I'm getting plenty of bass in all
5.1 programming, which is all analog.
The problem is getting Sub info in mono and stereo mixes.

 

Try in the settings menu the Main + LFE option....can't recall exactly where it is in the menu (it may be in the subwoofer option shown a few posts above) but I'm sure that might solve your problem.

 

I get it. But this is because the subwoofer output is a coming from a discrete subwoofer channels which is already contained inside of your 5.1 program material. So this means that the Oppo is not splitting-out the bass from you FL and FR speakers, it is merely passing the bass through from it origin on the subwoofer-channel on your 5.1 disks.

I'm not sure if the 83 is a new enough model to contain bass management features or not. But if it is, then you should be able to tweak some settings inside of its setup menus to have it re-direct the bass from stereo-only program material to its subwoofer output. It the 83 should lack bass management features however, then you might be out of luck here in regards to getting a subwoofer output from your desired configuration.

 

ALSO, Oppo is laying this this at the feet of Denon, who is sucking right now.
Spent almost an hour on hold, then dead. And then an immediate call back with a recording tell me that customer support and to try frequently asked questions on their website.

 

This is an excellent suggestion!

I'd bet the issue isn't with the Oppo as it's setup properly for 5.1. I don't believe there are settings in the 83's menu for the sub for both multichannel and stereo. It's one or the other if I recall. It has to be a setting issue with the Denon IMO.

 

This has been a pretty frustrating quest.
As I devour both owners manuals I run into phrases and instructions regarding "if you listen primarily to 2 channel audio" here's what you do.
As if, it's one or the other.
The Oppo has, as well as audiophile 5.1 analog outs, a pair of analog outs for 2 channel. But, it appears that if the 5.1 analog outs are connected they become the default and no signal is sent through the 2 channel jacks.
I have used the Oppo using nothing but HDMI before and all signals went where they should, mono, stereo, surround...everything happy. Sub thumping along.
BUT, I did spend a couple of hundred more for the Special Edition to take the audio portion above and beyond.
You'd think bass should be part of audiophile experience.

 

Yes. That was my first stop a couple of days ago. And that's exactly where everything was set. But, since I was there I set it again. No change.
I think I've done everything on every screen, numerous times. Set and reset crossovers. It's almost feeling like there is a hidden level somewhere, that I'm simply not privy too. Every time I put in a 5.1 disc, it sounds so good!
This whole adventure started a couple of days ago when I got my Hendrix Axis: Bold As Love SACD in the mail and rushed away to run errands, so I opened it up to listen in the car until I got home. The CD layer sounded great!
And I was really looking forward to cranking it up at home...and where's that big robust sound of the bass I was hearing in the car? Apparently trapped in the Denon...somewhere.
The answer is out there somewhere...thanks guys.

 

The answer lies in post #7 from @Apesbrain

You need to set your sub setting to LFE + Main as your Subwoofer Mode. This will allow sub output when you feed 2.0 L/R info from the OPPO, via the 7.1 ch inputs. There is no digitization taking place with this setting.

You don't need to change how you have things connected. Just change this one setting in the Denon, and you'll be hearing bass from you sub, when you listen to a CD for example.

 

Well that would seem to be the place that ought to do the trick.
That was one of the first things I did.
In fact, I went through just about every setting, did some reconfiguring and readjusting along the way. On the plus side everything sounds better than when I started. But, still no subwoofer for anything in mono or stereo.
It's a genuine puzzle. It should be simple.

 

OK, try this one more thing: use a L/R cable from the "dedicated" L/R outputs on the OPPO and connect that to an unused input on the Denon. Set the Denon the LFE+Main, play a CD on that "new" input.

 

And when you've tried that, have you noticed if the signal output indicator lights, 3 in this case come on???

 

I tried that yesterday, farther back in the thread I mentioned that the Oppo has analog outs for both 5.1 and 2 channel. So I hooked the stereo jacks to a CD input. Nothing, I'm surmising that by hooking up to the 5.1 analog jacks it negates the 2 channel outs. At least it appears to. Again, a puzzle.

 

If that's your hunch, have you disconnected the 5.1 jacks to see if the 2-channel outs will enable the subwoofer?