About to build new system

[drewface]

i have a different receiver than you, but many of the same symptoms. the smell thing i'm not entirely sure about, but if it is a very strong smell and continues to exist, i'd give panasonic a call and ask about it.

the connection problems probably have to do with how the different inputs are configured. on my yamaha you can change what input goes to what source if the default configuration doesn't work for you. look through your manual and see if there is anything you can do to customize the input ports. the inputs on the back should be labeled with what source they default to, so make sure you're inputting to the dvd optical input.

dvds play at lower volumes for me, as well. i've played dvds through my receiver from a number of dvd players as well as a ps2. with the ps2, dvds are softer than games, so i assume that it is just how dvd audio is recorded. i wouldn't worry about it much.

if your receiver says it is in 2 channel mix, then it should only be outputting in 2 channels. my receiver also has the pictures of the different speakers lit up even when they're not all being used (i know this from when i only had the front 3 speakers, as well as i still don't have a subwoofer). i think this just indicates what channels are being received from the input, so a digital signal in DD or DTS or whatever you're using will send signals for all channels, which your receiver then downmixes into stereo. if you really feel like you're missing some audio in your setup, ask panasonic about it when you call them about the smell...

overall, your symptoms sound common and you have nothing to worry about, it's just some quirks in how receivers portray what they are doing.

[Classpro]

I don't get any smell with my SA-XR 55s. At least none that I notice, and I'm very sensitive to smell. I would check with Panasonic if it continues - I don't think you should get any smell when operating the receiver.

With respect to the other questions, I think Drewface is right. Since I have a Pany, I'll respond to each question:

1. why is it that i cant just select dvd on the reciever to hear my sound from dvds.

You can tell it which logical inputs (DVD, CD, etc) are assigned to each of the physical digital inputs. In essence, you have to tell it "DVD = Digital input #1" or whatever, so it knows when you select DVD whether to take the analog signal from the physical analog jacks or a digital signal from a digital jack, and from which of the digital jacks. Let me know if you can't find in the manual how to do this, and I'll look it up and post instructions.

2. Why are my dvds playing at such a low volume.

Maybe it's your analog soundcard that is playing at such a loud volume? The analog output may be amplified somewhat resulting in a higher level than the digital input. I would suspect the digital input is fine. You might try turning the volume on your soundcard down on your computer so that the level is matched with the digital input. Then turn up the volume to the appropriate level. Using digital from your computer is another option that would give you much better sound quality (generally), especially with the Panasonic. You can buy a USB sound card with digital output.


3.When i have my optical cable connected to either port under digital input on my reciever it always shows 6 orange squares(of course being speakers) and it sais [says] 2ch mix. and under sound mode it sais [says] digital. Ive tried every different setting i could think off to try to change it so it only plays in stereo, im guessing thats how i would make it so my volume is higher because it would know to output all the power to only 2 speakers. In setup1 and setup2 i have it set to only 2 speakers as well.

Be sure that you tell it that you do not have the other speakers hooked up. Should be set to "NONE" for everything other than the front speakers.

If you are playing a 5-7 channel dolby digital source (like some movies), the receiver has to convert those 5-7 channels of sound to your two channels of speakers. Otherwise, some of the sounds (center channel dialog, surround channels) would be lost. The 2ch mix shows that the 5-7 channels are being mixed down by the receiver. That's what it's supposed to do with a multi-channel input. If you play a two channel CD, it should not say "2ch mix."

Hope that helps.

[drewface]

Maybe it's your analog soundcard that is playing at such a loud volume? The analog output may be amplified somewhat resulting in a higher level than the digital input. I would suspect the digital input is fine. You might try turning the volume on your soundcard down on your computer so that the level is matched with the digital input. Then turn up the volume to the appropriate level. Using digital from your computer is another option that would give you much better sound quality (generally), especially with the Panasonic. You can buy a USB sound card with digital output.

not sure if this will help with whatever you were suggesting, but i have both my cd changer and ps2 (which i use for dvds) hooked up through digital optical cables. cds and ps2 games play at "loud" levels while DVDs through the same connections play "soft". pretty sure it's a result of how the audio tracks on DVDs are encoded or something, and not the hardware.

[tripp1n]

thanks for excellent replies as usual.
Ive been really busy with work but managed to mess around with it a little more, and the sound this combo produces is great and very loud.
I now have my tv/pc/dvd player connected to my reciever.
I managed to set it so i can hear audio when its set on dvd while i play a dvd.
Sound being lower on dvds makes sense, so its not a bother then.
It should be processing the audio correctly to my speakers as it shows stereo on everything except my dvd which shows 2chmix.
So just a couple more questions
what is the difference between selecting digital and analog in the xr's options.
Im using optical cable for dvd player, simple red/white connectors for tv, and simple black jack with red/black connectors for pc. What can i do(purchase) to optimize each devices audio quality, and which digital pc sound card would you guys recommend as well as anything else i might be missing.

[Classpro]

"what is the difference between selecting digital and analog in the xr's options? Im using optical cable for dvd player, simple red/white connectors for tv, and simple black jack with red/black connectors for pc. What can i do(purchase) to optimize each devices audio quality, and which digital pc sound card would you guys recommend as well as anything else i might be missing."

First, let's be clear about what we're talking about. An analog signal is a very low level sound wave that is amplified (made louder) by an amplifier. Most amplifiers are analog amplifiers that make analog sounds louder so that you can hear them through your speakers. If you had an efficient enough speaker, you could hear the low level analog signal coming out of your computer sound card (you could hook up headphones to it, for example). It is a soundwave that, by vibrating a speaker cone, is audible.

A digital signal is data, not sound. You need to convert the digital signal into analog sound that can be heard. This is usually done with a DAC (a digital to analog converter) that takes the data and converts it to sound. There is likely a really cheap low end DAC in your computer's soundcard, along with some cheap low quality analog circuitry.

The Panasonic receiver is a true digital amplifier. I don't understand enough about the technical aspects to explain how it works, but it does not have a traditional DAC in it, and it only converts from digital data to analog sound at the end of the chain before outputting to your speakers, maintaining a very pure signal through its circuitry. If you plug an analog signal into the pany receiver, it converts the signal to digital - I believe with a ADC (analog to digital converter) - and then at the end of the chain converts it back to analog for output to your speakers. So analog signals are going through two separate conversion steps in the panasonic receiver, both of which lose quality. That is why a digital signal into the panasonic is so much better than an analog signal. When you add in the generally poor quality of DACS and output stages in most computer sound cards, you can get a huge improvement by getting a digital signal out of your computer and into the panasonic.

There are some inexpensive USB sound cards that will output a digital signal, but unfortunately many have internal upsampling from 44.1K to 48K that, if not done well, can impair the sound. So most people want bit perfect output from their soundcard. Also, windows can impair the sound through it's computer mixer (called kmixer). If you can avoid upsampling and mixing, your signal will remain pure.

I get great digital output using an MAudio Transit to give me a bit perfect digital signal. I also use the ASIO drivers that come with it to prevent Windows from missing with the sound files. It works great with a program like Foobar to manage your mp3 files. Then, of course, it is necessary to rip your CDs to MP3 (or something else like FLAC) properly to obtain the best possible quailty. I am very happy ripping with EAC and using LAME APS for encoding to mp3. APS is a good balance between top sound quality and reasonably small file size. I can hear deterioration with anything else. I don't hear deterioration with APS. APS files are generally less than 1/4th the size of the original wav file.

EAC/Lame Setup is a bit tricky, and it is time consuming to rip, but quality is first rate. All of the software is available free on the internet, and instructions for download and setup are here:

http://www.chrismyden.com/bestmp3guide.php

The cost of an Maudio transit usb sound card is about $80. There are other options: the E-Mu 0404 for example, but it's about $200 (supposed to have far superior analog output, a good headphone output, and some fancy features for recording). Even cheaper options with digital out should improve the sound considerably over most junky sound cards.

So, while I don't know what kind of sound card you have, unless it is a VERY good one you will get MUCH better sound from your computer with a USB sound card that outputs a bit-perfect digital signal into the Panasonic, especially if you rip with the tools that I have suggested. I have ripped all of my CDs, and I never listen to the original CDs anymore. It's much more convenient than finding and flipping disks. The only downside is that most streaming media players do not play gapless, so you get a break between tracks that can be annoying for tracks that are supposed to be connected. If you use foobar on a computer, however, there will be no gaps - foobar plays lame mp3s completely gapless.

I hope that helps.