Frustration with SurroundBar and DPR-2005

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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,561
    edited March 2006
    I really can't "ground" the receiver to the electrical outlet without physically attaching a wire to it - the power cord, for some reason, is only two conductor (there is NO ground pin on the receiver so I assume it DOESN'T require any external grounding).

    Just for sh*ts and giggles try running a ground wire from a solid ground on your receiver chassis (there's usually a ground screw provided) to the screw that holds the outlet cover in place.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited March 2006
    get a friend to bring over some other brand of receiver other than HK and hook up the SurroundBar again.. and see what happens.. it's so much easier to isolate problems that way.
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited March 2006
    Hello TOS,
    We're working to understand this problem and try and figure out a solution. We've not heard of anything similar to this issue, but we'll work with you to get things right. We're working to find this model receiver and duplicate the setup here.
    Regards, Ken
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  • tiredofspam
    tiredofspam Posts: 23
    edited March 2006
    First off, a BIG tip of the hat to Polk (Ken, Al, and even Matt Polk himself) for jumping on this immediately (had an email from Al, a VM from, and conversation with Ken by 9:00 this morning and a reply from Matt by early this afternoon).

    They REALLY want to help me make this work. Regardless of the outcome of this situation, Polk's customer service is beyond excellent!

    Now...here's the latest (and I'll relay this back to Polk CS tomorrow morning):

    Disconnected EVERYTHING from the HK, unplugged EVERYTHING within 20 feet of the thing. Hooked the front channels back up to the L&R surround speakers - still have hiss. The receiver and speakers are completely isolated from everything. I even disconnected the s-video to the plasma (for the HK's OSD) and unplugged the plasma. No good....

    Ran a separate ground wire from the receiver to the wall outlet...didn't help.

    Disconnected the HK and hooked up the SurroundBar to the Onkyo in the same manner...absolute silence...no hiss.

    And remember, the HK works fine when hooked up to discrete surround speakers.

    So...it appears that I have two working devices (the HK receiver and the SurroundBar) that don't like each other.

    It also means that I've got to get HK deeply involved in this dilemma as I am currently out of pocket a not insignificant amount of money for two pieces of very high quality technology that don't want to play together.

    Matt emailed some thoughts as to why this may be happening (Dennis is sort of on the right track) and some possible things that we might be able to try but if he's correct (and I'd certainly trust his opinion on this), it might be that this particular breed of digital receiver and the SurroundBar may not be compatible.

    Since the DPR-2005 is firmware upgradeable via an RS232 port, I'm going to try HK to see if they've got an upgrade or, at the very least, if they've ever seen this problem before. Maybe I can get Ken and someone from HK on the phone at the same time...
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited March 2006
    but it still doesn't explain where this hiss is coming from? and why it's only showing up in the surround channel(s). Was your HK a refurb? Maybe something is wrong with the decoder chip or something. the DTS one.
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • Dennis Gardner
    Dennis Gardner Posts: 4,861
    edited March 2006
    Glad Polk CS has come through again for someone! On the HK, I would look into the possibility of getting one of their conventional receivers AVR630/635/640.

    Good luck,

    DG
    HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable

    2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable
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  • tiredofspam
    tiredofspam Posts: 23
    edited March 2006
    Quick update...

    Nothing new to report (from my end, anyway). Polk CS has been in contact numerous times...HK is looking at it from their end.

    Still no resolution but both sides are trying!

    I'll post the final results when it gets resolved.

    Thanks for all of the comments and suggestions.

    Dave
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  • tiredofspam
    tiredofspam Posts: 23
    edited April 2006
    ....sort of...

    I know that you've all been wondering what happened (like you don't have anything better to think about!).

    Polk customer service (thanks Ken!) has been absolutely wonderful. I've NEVER seen a company do as much for a customer (especially a first-time customer) - I can't say enough about them.

    They are still working on it and I really hope that they can figure out why hooking the SurroundBar to an HK digital path receiver causes hiss in the surround channels.

    However, since I have been without my home theater system for the past month or so (specifically, since it hasn't been working properly for this time), I decided to take the advice of an earlier poster (thanks Dennis) and abandon the digital path line. I found a willing and happy buyer for my DPR 2005 and used the proceeds to partially fund the purchase of a (refurb) HK AVR-7300 receiver.

    The new receiver arrived today (can't really tell it from brand new) - I immediately hooked it up and put it through the same tests.

    No more hiss...

    I found out just what the SurroundBar is capable of and I am beyond happy!

    There will be a few days of tweaking - besides weighing a ton, the beast has a LOT of things that need to be..."adjusted".

    When all was said and done, the 7300 wasn't a lot more than the DPR-2005. (HK sells the refurbs on their website for just under a grand but they also sell them on eBay where they've been in the $825-$880 range for the past couple of weeks.)

    The pain was worth it...I now have a system that is far superior to the original. Thanks for all of your support and suggestions.

    (I think I'm going to put a pair of Polk rears on the wall to get the full 7.1...need something small and unobtrusive since the couch is right up against the wall...probably need to be mounted near the ceiling...any suggestions?)

    Dave
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited April 2006
    Dave,

    Glad you finally can enjoy your SurroundBar the way you're suppose to.. without hiss.

    Do you have a subwoofer hooked up to your system? It really needs a subwoofer.
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,561
    edited April 2006
    Another reason not to buy a digital AVR/amp.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • tiredofspam
    tiredofspam Posts: 23
    edited April 2006
    Came with the SurroundBar (Frys was running a promotion) - perfect for the room.

    The whole thing kicks ****.

    Dave

    (The DPR-2005 is a nice unit but there's no comparison with the 7300.)
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited April 2006
    F1nut wrote:
    Another reason not to buy a digital AVR/amp.

    This is an isolated problem with a reburbished product, not an epidemic.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited April 2006
    Glad things worked out. Your experience with Polk's CS is standard, best CS I've ever seen from a large corporation. Don't be a stranger, post, interact, have fun.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • Eric W
    Eric W Posts: 556
    edited April 2006
    tiredofspam wrote:
    (I think I'm going to put a pair of Polk rears on the wall to get the full 7.1...need something small and unobtrusive since the couch is right up against the wall...probably need to be mounted near the ceiling...any suggestions?)

    Dave

    Hi, we are still working on that digital noise problem, but glad to hear you were able to come up with a solution. Anyway, the RM6801's (or RM101's) would function great as surround back speakers, cosmetically and sonically with the SurroundBar.
    -Eric
    -Polk Audio
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,561
    edited April 2006
    dorokusai wrote:
    This is an isolated problem with a reburbished product, not an epidemic.

    The digital AVR was brand new (to the best of my knowledge), the replacement they sent was refurbished, both didn't work with the SurroundBar. He then purchased a refurbished analog AVR, which works fine and apparently sounds better, "(The DPR-2005 is a nice unit but there's no comparison with the 7300.)" I stand by my comment.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited April 2006
    It's an isolated incident either way. Do you have some data on Sony ES digital AVR failures? Please expound or continue to generalize....
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,561
    edited April 2006
    Who's generalizing? I'm not a fan of digital amps and this was another example of why. Pretty clear to me.

    BTW, nice edit.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited April 2006
    That's true, it's just an opinion. I don't care for them either, but it's far from that only reason this is happening here or it would be EVERY digital amplifier made and used with the SB.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • tiredofspam
    tiredofspam Posts: 23
    edited April 2006
    Took your advice and picked up a couple of RM6801's - haven't hooked them up yet but they are the perfect match (at least aesthetically) to the SurroundBar. Hope to hook them up sometime this week.

    Also, picked up two pair of Atrium45's for my yard. Was really impressed with the sound, especially since they are indoor/outdoor speakers.

    Guess I'm on my way to becoming a Polk-aholic!

    Dave
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited April 2006
    tiredofspam wrote:
    Took your advice and picked up a couple of RM6801's - haven't hooked them up yet but they are the perfect match (at least aesthetically) to the SurroundBar. Hope to hook them up sometime this week.

    Also, picked up two pair of Atrium45's for my yard. Was really impressed with the sound, especially since they are indoor/outdoor speakers.

    Guess I'm on my way to becoming a Polk-aholic!

    Dave

    Good for you, glad to see the little hiccup with the Surround Bar didn't affect your faith in Polk Audio.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • tiredofspam
    tiredofspam Posts: 23
    edited April 2006
    Nah...the hiccup was a pain but worth it in the long run. I really like the SurroundBar, especially for the limited home theater space.

    The RM6801's are an excellent complement.

    And, based on my experience with Customer Service, I'll never buy another speaker brand.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,561
    edited April 2006
    Another happy ending.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • tiredofspam
    tiredofspam Posts: 23
    edited April 2006
    RE: Your post from a week or two ago...

    You are/were correct: The DPR-1005 was new, the 2005 was a refurb. Both exhibited the same (hiss) problem. My "new" (refurb) AVR-7300 is silent.

    (What's the "F1" refer to? Canon F1? Just curious...)
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  • SCompRacer
    SCompRacer Posts: 8,499
    edited April 2006
    tiredofspam wrote:

    (What's the "F1" refer to? Canon F1? Just curious...)

    Formula 1, he's a chemist. Some say anarchist.:D

    OK, how 'bout Formula 1 racing.

    Canon F1 brings back some memories. I had the old and new model F1. I sold the New Model F1 on Ebay a few years ago and went auto focus. http://home.comcast.net/~scompracer/Ebay/f1.jpg
    Salk SoundScape 8's * Audio Research Reference 3 * Bottlehead Eros Phono * Park's Audio Budgie SUT * Krell KSA-250 * Harmonic Technology Pro 9+ * Signature Series Sonore Music Server w/Deux PS * Roon * Gustard R26 DAC / Singxer SU-6 DDC * Heavy Plinth Lenco L75 Idler Drive * AA MG-1 Linear Air Bearing Arm * AT33PTG/II & Denon 103R * Richard Gray 600S * NHT B-12d subs * GIK Acoustic Treatments * Sennheiser HD650 *
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,561
    edited April 2006
    0-100/100-0 in under 6.5 seconds and a redline of 19-20,000 rpm, ain't nothin' like it.:D
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited April 2006
    i love that... 0-100 mph and back to zero... TWICE... in less time than it takes most cars to go 0-60... 5 g's under braking... mmm...

    indianapolis, july 2, w00t!
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,337
    edited April 2006
    F1nut wrote:
    0-100/100-0 in under 6.5 seconds /QUOTE]

    I'd lose my lunch and probably mess my pants:(
    Carl

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  • bert26
    bert26 Posts: 320
    edited May 2006
    Hi TOS,

    I have a DPR 1005 and I too get the hiss with SDA's. My unit is not a refurb either. I have owned it for about 15 months, and when I first encountered the issue with my 1B's, I called HK. The tech put me on hold and when he came back he told me the DPR's will not work with SDA's because of the way they are wired. I took that to mean that DPR's are not common ground. I am now using the pre-outs into an Adcom GFA-555 without issue. I am still using the DPR for the center (CSi5), surrounds (Monitor 30's) and sub (PSW12). Not ideal, but it certainly makes me smile from time to time. :p

    Not sure if this means anything to the Polk mavins (Ken et al), but I would be willing to trade my HK for something they have at Polk HQ!

    Chris
    HT Rig
    Polk SDA SRS 2.3tl - Anthem 2 SE
    Polk CSi5 - Adcom 555
    Polk Monitor 30 - HK DPR1005
    SVS PB12 ISD/2
    Denon DCD-1500II
    Sony SXRD 60"
    ShengYa CS-10

    Basement Rig
    Polk SDA SRS2
    Carver 1.5t
    Carver C2
    Technics SLD202
    Some Other Sony DVD/CDP
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