Sony Amp STR DN 1050 audio problem

[poddysparkles]

Dear Community, Thalamus and any other Gurus,

This is my first "post,"a desparate one at that, but I think I should at least greet you all with a BIG Hello. I have been the proud owner of my Sony Amp STR DN 1050 since last October 2014, purchased from Richer Sounds in Chester, after reading a great review in Home Cinema Choice. Despite numerous attempts by three"professional installers", not to mention a great deal of time and money spent by yours truly,my AV system is still not up and running - hence my plea to the community for some valued professional advice!

I raised my issues with Sony Technical Support via email and phone September 2nd 2015 Case ID 13140305 but after speaking with Salem, Hazem and Mohammed in Egypt they admitted my query was so technically challenging it would have to be passed up the chain of command with a promise I should hear a result by Monday 21st......I'm still waiting and exasperated! Considering I raised my issue 2nd September I remain unimpressed!

Essentially, I purchased a brand new high quality home November 2013 boasting many 'Eco Features' including Cat 5e cabling for a comprehensive AV system throughout the home. In order to embrace thIs system I purchased an Antiference TruColour 4X4 Matrix with HDBaseT Outputs to distribute Digital TV, 4K,Freesat and DVD signals from three devices to three Panasonic TVs and a Samsung 4K TV in four separate rooms. All the cabling in the entire home is sourced from 'network" wall plates in every room to a Comms cabinet in my ground floor study. My three devices in the cabinet, Humax Freesat, Panasonic DVD Recorder and Panasonic Blu Ray player all feed HDMI's into the Matrix Inputs with corresponding Patch cable Outputs from the Matrix to a 48 Port Patch Panel in my Comms Cabinet. Consequently, I cannot use the 6 HDMI inputs on the STR DN1050 and have no sound coming through my Monitor ceiling speakers! 

My good friend has an identical Antiference Matrix and I noted only yesterday his installer has employed great ingenuity in "converting a patch plug' at one end to a triple Audio Component Plug to his Pioneer Amp Sc 2023, linking Sub woofer 1-blue component jack; assignable CD In - white component jack and red component jack. The other end of this cable is a patch ethernet cable plugged into his patch switch feeding his lounge TV I think. He also has two optical cables in his Amp, one of which we know is directly linked all the way to his TV (big job) - we're not sure if the other optical cable is also lin ked to his TV or his PS Games TV? All very complicated - but if my installers have been baffled perhaps i shouldn't be so hard on myself!

Anyway, the matrix works perfectly at distributing signals from all three devices to all four TVs. I just need some sound advice, if you pardon the pun, as to how to distribute sound from my Crystal skull crusher to my Monitor Ceiling speakers. I welcome any constructive suggestions asap. Many thanks in anticipation. For the record I can stream music via the Amp using bluetooth but sound only comes through two front ceiling speakers, not five for some reason - any comments?

Enthusiastically Yours

Poddy Sparkles 

[poddysparkles]

A very Good Afternoon Peter, (my Dear Guru,)

Thank you for the concise explanation re Active and Passive Sub Woofers! I've followed your link and ordered the AV Transmitter today, I'll keep you posted!

In the meantime, two Factory Resets did not have the desired effect and the Humax Freesat continues to be problemmatic, booting on and off randomly every minute so it's disconnected for the moment while I consider my options  

•  wait a few days to see if Freesat get their act together and resolve the issue affecting Humax devices or
• return the Freesat to John Lewis and exchange for another manufacturer before 28 Day Return period expires.    

Not surprisingly, the Factory Reset DID wipe the Hard Drive clean despite their Customer Services assuring me it wouldn't, Ha Ha methinks I could write a book on the problems I have encountered with this AV system.....but with your valued advice and encouraging support...I'm nearly there....and much wiser for it in the process albeit a lengthy one!!!

I'll keep you posted and so will keep this thread open until it's final conclusion, if you don't mind. In the meantime, have a great weekend. 

Cheers for now

Poddy Sparkles 

[poddysparkles]

Well a very Happy New Year Peter old buddy 

Poddy Sparkles here, full of remorse for not maintaining our 'thread' and getting back to you in October - I owe you heaps of 'Kudos' Peter for all your helpful advice proffered last year. ( Incidentally, what is the Community's protocol re awarding Kudos - is it distributed by users at the end of a 'thread' when the solution is 'finalised'? I ask this only because my 'thread' is not yet finalised as I write but with your help will be shortly and I owe you tons of Kudos).

The reason for my exceptional delay in responding to you Peter was simply down to AV Fatigue!!! You may recall you helped me get my system up and running and immediately,the day after, amazingly, my Humax Foxsat Box went on the blink. I purchased a new Humax Freesat Freetime Box which couldn't sync with the Freetime Sat Signal and I followed your advice and returned it to the retailer. Humax then sent me a reconditioned Foxsat box, as a gesture of goodwill, which frustratingly also did not receive a Freesat Signal!!! Fortunately, Humax replaced this device with yet another Foxsat box and Eureka, I've got a signal and the Sony STR works perfectly with my ceiling speakers in the lounge!! Bravo!!!  Unfortunately, it took me all of six weeks to test old device,purchase new,return new,receive goodwill box,return goodwill box,receive and test fourth Humax device. I'm sure you will understand my abject frustration and why my enthusiasm to finish the job was severely curtailed!

In reviewing the long trail of problems and solutions proffered to me by so called "AV Experts" and particularly "AV Installers" over more than a year now Peter I would warn our Community and Manufacturers alike - Have you Ever used an Expert only to Find out you have been USED by one? There simply aren't enough qualified installers with the relevant training for 'high end' installations - I've used no less than THREE separate firms and all of them were confounded with my HDBT TruColour 4 x 4 Video Matrix. In fact I think I will post a new thread to highlight this problem to the wider Community Peter!! What do you think?

Anyway, the Managing Director of Pulse-Eight Ltd, Martin Ellis,who designed this Matrix has been exceptionally helpful in assisting me, well "beyond the line of duty" and he, Martin Jackson, Technical Sales Manager, Antiference Ltd, the Distributor, AND YOU, are the only three individuals who have demonstrated to me an exceptionally high degree of competence and underdstanding re assimilating the complexities pertaining to my installation. That's warm praise from me but sadly a sad indictment of the competence of the AV Installation fraternity.

Only now do I fully understand the Matrix I purchased, the only model available at the time of purchase October 2014, was designed, as your own understanding intimated early on in our thread, to distribute signals via 4 HDMI's with the Sony AMP connected directly to the TV via HDMI. The fact it couldn't be, as it was situated in my Comms Cabinet in my study, confounded eveyone other than the Matrix designer and yourself! You will recall I purchased an additional transmitter and receiver with IR's from Pulse_Eight Ltd and bound the IR's together with insulation tape to provide an 'unorthodox but effective' solution! None of my installers recognised the problem or proffered a solution!!!!:smileyshocked:

That's enough of me, Peter, banging on about the inadequacies of the AV Installer industry - note I did not use the word 'profession'! I'm now turning my attention to putting the outstanding issues to bed namely;

Getting the Sub Woofer to work......I followed your last advice and purchased your recommeded additional Transmitter and Receiver but when switched on I could not detect any sound other than a very loud hum. I gave up instantly at the time but am happy to face the challenge once again with your valued help...I welcome your comments.

SongPal App..... I've just downloaded the App to my iPhone 6 and was trying to pair it to my STR DN1050. My iPhone does not detect the STR when I go into my Phone Bluetooth settings even though the LCD display on my STR shows Bluetooth. Any helpful suggestions Peter?

I repeast my apologies for not keeping in touch earlier Peter due simply to my angst and fatigue over an AV system that should have been giving me 'hours of pleasure' but has been doing the very opposite for more than a year now!

Enthusiastically yours....after a welcome 'break' 

Poddy Sparkles

[Peter_S.]

Hi Poddy,

Happy New Year! Hope you had a nice break!

Glad to see you haven't give up

Let's see if I can help on the remaining issues.

Subwoofer: Question here is if the transmitter and receiver is working correctly. Guess the transmitter has been connected to the subwoofer out of the STR. Does the hum noise persist if you disconnect the transmitter from the output of the STR or does it remain. If it remains I would say that there's an issue with the receiver or the cabling from the receiver to the subwoofer. If it stops then there should be a cable issue between STR and transmitter. Usually the ground connection of the cable is missing or the cable isn't well shielded.

SongPal App: What would you like to do with the SongPal App - usually it only makes sense to use this app when using several wireless speakers in various rooms. If you just want to transmit your audio from your iPhone to the STR I would recommend to pair the phone simply via Bluetooth with the receiver.

Anyway, if you want to use SongPal the connection will be enabled via Wi-Fi - so your iPhone and your STR should be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

Hope this is somehow helpful

Have a great weekend

Cheers

Peter

[poddysparkles]

Hi Peter,

Great to hear we are still in touch and I'm grateful for your reply! I've been away from home a few days so this is simply a courtesy acknowledgment - and I'll be back to you shortly when I've tested the sub woofer!

Enthusoiastically yours

Poddy Sparkles