Auto Setup

Anyone run into issues with the Auto Setup not working? When I first received my 976 it worked fine. I had a bit of an issue with the amp I had. Pulled it out of storage only to find a channel was dead and when the auto setup hit that channel it would fail and say the speaker head to be connected. I just removed a few channels and it ran fine.

Tonight I hooked up a new Model 5000 amp to replace the old 5 channel and tried setup again. It’s failing on the first speaker (left front) but I clearly hear the test tones. If I do a manual test tone generation it cycles through all the channels without issue. I’m wondering if perhaps the microphone is the issue.

Check to see if you hooked the left channel pre-out to the left speaker. When I first ran my auto set up, I found the RCA pre-outs were oriented different than the 975 I had previously. I mistakenly connected the Left out to the left back surround channel. (same for right) I heard the testtone coming from the left back channel and got the "fail" message. I reconnected the pre-outs properly and completed the auto set up.

Auto setup didnt fail for me in the same way you experienced, but it did grossly miscalculate speaker distances. My front 3 speakers are 12 feet away but auto setup said 32 feet ! My surrounds are 6 ft for the side walls and 7 ft to the rears. It reported both those in the 30ft range also. Ran it twice with similar results. Never did figure that out, so i setup manually.

I'll validate this weekend that all of the channels are correct when I get the new 2200s in and can hook up all 7 channels. I'm fairly certain however when I ran the tones manually that the correct speakers were putting out the test tones.

I did notice that when it did work I had really crazy distance readings for some speakers. I'll have the right setup to run REW in a week or two as well so that should help on the setup and tuning front.

Well, autosetup is still not working. New amps, new cables, new speakers for surround and back with everything double and triple checked. Multiple runs with REW have all of the channels hooked up properly and working right but autosetup still will not work. I ended up measuring by hand and setting levels using REW with a UMIC-1 which is likely more accurate anyway.

Make sure the microphone insert is clean and fully inserted. It does sound like the mike is not picking up the speaker and since there are several mikes in play here it could be the female portion on the 976 that is the culprit. Try plugging the mike into a smart phone and record your voice to see if it works.

Checkout the updated FAQ for the 976. There's a warning about plugging/unplugging the mic while the 976 is powered on.

Thanks Helson. I had not seen that in the FAQ and never would have thought that in 2018 plugging in a mike needed to be done with it all powered off. Wow. I'll have to test the mike with an iPad or computer and see if it records normally now. If not then I likely damaged it early on by plugging/un-plugging with the unit powered on.

Hardly your fault if you did harm anything. Setup procedure following the OSD is to plug in the mike at the appropriate time. If that harms something, it’s outlaws problem.

Yeah. I'm in the habit of always having the power off whenever I connect/disconnect anything.

Outlaw had better change the manual because currently it wants the OSD to prompt you when to insert the microphone. This is something that no other piece of gear I have had ever warned about and no one will look at the FAQ section to figure it out before causing damage. Outlaw Ben?

The 976 is a fine sounding surround processor. I have compared it to
Krell Showcase, Citation 7 and 5
surround processors. Add modern-day switching and excellent build quality what you receive is a very competent surround processor for people who do not want to get into Dolby Atmos.
I also compared the Oppo's 7.1 and dedicated 2 channel outputs against the dacs in the 976.I was using the Oppo 205 HDMI audio output. If you like to change HDMI cables to compare differences the 976 will not disappoint. I used WireWorld Silver Starlight 7 HDMI. Wow what a difference it made. I can honestly tell you that if you are considering purchasing
the Oppo 205 for the analog outputs I would hold off. After going back and forth many times I will say there are differences that the Oppo 205 offers but I can't say that it is significantly better for the amount of money. Finally when you run the stereo surround on the 976 I think the 976 moves up another class. The focus on the Sound Stage and and sense of depth really is good.
Hopefully Outlaw can make some small revisions to correct the Auto calibration and noise-related issue.
I agree this type of problem should not be in a 2018 product.

Not sure what you meant by "running the stereo surround"?? Is that "all channel stereo"? If so, I agree. It does sound great!

I've only ran the auto setup once, but, I didn't notice any noise-related issues?

Yes that is correct. All Channel Stereo

What are the noise-related issues?

The 976 sample I received had unusual behavior. When you auto calibrate you expect pink noise to be outputted for each channel in the auto caibration mode. (left,center,right etc.) What my unit did was as each channel was being processed there was additional noise coming from the front right channel as well. This occurred in each channel being calibrated. It almost sounded like leakage. After I calibrated the first time the unit would not acknowledge any of my speakers being connected. I did multiple Factory resets but this did not correct the problem. I contacted customer service and receive the FAQ:
Section 1A States some noise when running test tone is normal. To avoid the possibility of damaging the microphone make sure the unit is off when plugging or unplugging the microphone. I did not know this. Is it possible that because I did not turn the unit off first prior to installing the microphone that this created the noise I was hearing during auto calibration? I do not know. Since I kept getting a error message concerning speakers not being connected I returned the unit.
I feel strongly that Outlaw will be able to make revisions to safeguard the processor during auto calibration in the future.
I was very disappointed that I had to return the unit. The 976 meets my needs for high quality 2-channel audio as well as surround sound along with the 4K video switching that I need.

Maybe your unit was really defective and could be exchanged? This doesn't look as a common issue?

I believe they will send you another 976. While I've never own an AVR or prepro that came w/setup software. But...

Back in 2015, my house, (unknown to me at the time) had faulty* wiring*. It* wasted the PS on my first 975 - Outlaw sent me another unit.

SteveB believes Outlaw beefed the 976 PS because I screwed up 3 975 PSs.