As I will be setting the 990 up this weekend I would appreciate opinions regarding input assignment. I will have 3 inputs from the Denon DVD 3910 – Coaxial 1, 2 channel analog and 5.1 channel analog. Would this be a correct config and assumptions? There will be no video inputs to the 990.

1. DVD Input, device name 3910, audio = Coaxial 1 (for watching movies or playing CD’s via digital using 990 DAC’s)
2. CD Input, device name 3910, audio = analog (for CD using the 3910 DAC’s I assume? Or may depend on whether Direct is chosen or not?)
3. 7.1 Input, device name 3910, audio = 5.1 analog out from 3910 (for DVD-A and SACD)

Or is there a better way to config this?

TIA

That is similar to the way I have my Yamaha DVD-S1500 set up - optical1 to the DVD input, analog to the CD input (although in my case I've developed a preference for using the 990's DAC's for CD's, so I have optical1 assigned to CD), and 5.1 from the S1500 to the 7.1 input. Be aware, however, that only the video inputs (DVD and VIdeo1 through Video5) can be renamed - CD will stay CD and 7.1 Direct will stay 7.1 Direct. It would probably get pretty confusing to have three inputs with the same name, anyway - it would be impossible to glance at the front panel and know which of the 3910's outputs you were using.

Thanks Gonk. I will play around with the CD inputs as you did and see which sounds best. I don't know for sure if can do this, but it would be nice to connect the Toslink output from the 3910 to Video 1 and rename it to say "CD Digital", then just switch back and forth doing comparisons between analog CD analog and digital, but I guess I can already do that by changing to the DVD input, which will already be digital.

Hope that made sense!

You can easily do that, barnabas - all of the digital inputs are addressable, and you can assign the same digital input to multiple inputs.

I will give it a try. Just getting anxious to get this up and running!

Hmmm...4 inputs for one DVR. My family is going to go crazy figuring this out! Time for a Harmony

Wow - I'm in need of an education! This is my first foray into multi-channel, though I've been 2 channel geek for 30 years. I just assumed that I would use the same output from my DVD player (Pioneer Elite DV-37) to the 990 to play both DVDs (audio portion) & CDs. I have coax for this connection. Separating CDs from DVDs sounds interesting, I may have to get an optical cable to test this out. Like Barnabas, this is the weekend to set stuff up, though it won't be until Sunday.

I hope to get up to speed quickly, would you guys have any specific suggestions of where to get a good overview of multi-channel issues/lingo?

Looks like back to school time.....

Bob

Bob, I am an old 2 channel guy too, until about 5 years ago.

Your player has 2 analog outs as well as the digitals. Hook 2 analog RCA cables to CD input and connect digital with your digital coax, then see what sound you like best on CD's.

Optical will likely sound the same as coaxial. When you use analog L & R, you can hear the DAC's in your DVD player vs. using the Outlaw processing. Then you can see which you like best. gonk did this and prefers the 990's processing as he stated earlier in this post.

You should consider a good universal player and see what 5.1 multi channel hi res SACD and DVD-A will do for you!

Thanks barabas! I'll give it a try. I'm thinking of sticking w/ my current player until the Blu-Ray/DVD-HD stuff gets sorted out, but we'll see.

Should be a fun weekend,

Bob

A lot of people are doing just that; waiting for the HD-DVD/Blue Ray thing to get sorted out. That is one of the main reasons I didn't get the Denon 5910 at this point. There is a lot to be decided and ironed out right now.

Barnabas:
You wrote:

You should consider a good universal player and see what 5.1 multi channel hi res SACD and DVD-A will do for you!

What do you use, and how do you like it.
Any recommendations for best pricing?