Audio dropouts with Outlaw 975

I am experiencing audio dropouts occasionally with my 975, at random times; a quick rewind of the material does not drop out the audio at a specific spot, it just seems to occur randomly. I have experienced this with 2 different BluRay players. Has anyone else had this problem?

JSS

Are they newer release titles? What type of players are you using? Which output format?

I had a similar problem with Monster's University playing on the PS3, something to do with the newer DTHD 7.1 format. I looked up the problem online and found that witching from bitstream to LPCM should fix it (and it did). The issue seems to plague a few Disney titles. I haven't really seen the problem anywhere else, though.

Found thread specifically about Disney's MU title that I mentioned in my previous post. One guy got a really thorough reply from Oppo about this issue:

"For many Disney CG animated films you will need to set the player to LPCM instead of Bit Stream. This will resolve your audio dropouts with these titles. We are working with Dolby to see if there is a way that we can make our firmware fix their mastering mistakes, but we do not know when this may occur.

The issue is either the player is outputting an incorrect Bit Stream signal that the receiver partially rejects, or the receiver is misinterpreting the Bit Stream data which is resulting in the dropouts as it decodes it improperly.

This only occurs with Dolby Digital TrueHD soundtracks that use seamless branching. So far, these titles have been primarily CG Disney films.


Best Regards,

Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc."

It has occurred with Edge of Tomorrow, Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as an old DVD, and I had my BDP set to output LPCM. This happened with my old Denon 2809ci, and a firmware upgrade fixed the problem (on the Star Wars BDs).

The difference is that the audio dropouts on the Star Wars films were at specific points in the presentation,. and rewinding would get you the dropout in the same place. These dropouts are random, and rewinding doesn't repeat them.

I use a panny BDT460 that will output LPCM, and el cheapo Sony and Samsung players that output bitstream.

JSS

Oh my... Well, that's a different story. It happens that just last weekend we watched Edge of Tomorrow twice (once for us to enjoy and evaluate and the second time with our kids) and we've watched Guardians already, too. We didn't have any problems with them at all and we're using the 975. Might be time to give the Outlaws a ring.

Do you have the latest firmware on the 975? Outlaw pushed an update last year. They are on V5.3 now.

I've watched Guardians more than one and have not had a problem.

Checked, It is 5.3. I am going to make sure my MiniDSP nanoAVR (I use it for EQ and bass managment) is not causing the problem first, it is the only other thing in the signal chain. But it worked great with my Sherbourn pre-pro for a long time without dropouts...I'll report my findings.

JSS

As the HDMI spec has changed over the years there are glitches that may pop up with older equipment when trying to decipher media.

I'm having the exact same audio dropouts as you with my nanoAVR DL and model 975. I'm using an older Sony Blu-ray player (BDP-S185). I think it's the nanoAVR DL causing the dropouts. Please let me know if you find a fix!

If you are having any issues, please call us M-F 9:00am - 5:00pm EST at (866) OUTLAWS, so we may be of further assistance.

Disconnect the nanoAVR DL and see if the problem is resolved. It is strange that the only two issues I have seen with this both involve the same piece of gear in the audio stream.

This may be part of the issue. Contact Outlaw to verify this was tested for interaction.

Please note: the nanoAVR DL does not contain an embedded Dolby/DTS decoder
and therefore only accepts linear PCM (LPCM) audio streams. Please make sure
that your player/source can be set to provide multichannel audio as linear PCM.

Being new to this type of multi channel the terms still go over my head at times. I see the options of using the LPCM or Bitstream. What is the difference and should one be used over the other? Thanks

Your BDP has to be set to output LPCM if the nanoAVR is in stream. LPCM is essentially a raw format output from the BDP that your nanoAVR adjusts to give you control of the output to the 975. What comes out of the NanoAVR is the adjusted LPCM signal and the 975 may not be happy with it or maybe the NanoAVR is having issues(doubtful since two systems are having the same issue). A bitstream signal is something that has already been encoded with the DTS or Dolby codecs and does not need to be tweaked by the 975. Since you are using the NanoAVR the 975 has to take that input and interpret it as dolby or DTS to make the output.

Your BDP has to be set to output LPCM if the nanoAVR is in stream. LPCM is essentially a raw format output from the BDP that your nanoAVR adjusts to give you control of the output to the 975. What comes out of the NanoAVR is the adjusted LPCM signal and the 975 may not be happy with it or maybe the NanoAVR is having issues(doubtful since two systems are having the same issue). A bitstream signal is something that has already been encoded with the DTS or Dolby codecs and does not need to be tweaked by the 975. Since you are using the NanoAVR the 975 has to take that input and interpret it as dolby or DTS to make the output.

Upgraded firmware on the nanoAVR to the new BM version and all is well. It was an issue between the nano and the Outlaw.

JSS

I have had random dropouts as well. This has happened on all of my sources, from directv, xbox one and ps4. I have tried the hot swap as well as other cables. After talking with outlaw, i was to send the 975 back to be looked at. I didn't want to do this as it sounds amazing and don't want to be without it. This was several months ago and now it is getting annoying. Might have to rethink about tolerating it.

I really suggest that you send it back and let us take a look at the problem. Please call Ben and let him take care of this.

Peter

Different issue, but thought I'd post here rather than starting a new thread.

Hooked up a Squeezebox optical to the 975 just to try it out (I normally have the Squeezebox connected to a separate DAC which feeds a separate preamp with HT bypass). Between tracks, the 975 unlocks and cuts-off the very beginning of the next track when tracks advance automatically. When I manually forward to the next track, it stays locked and works fine. I’ve never had this issue with any of the other 5 DACs I’ve used with the Squeezebox. This issue would make the 975 and Squeezebox combo unusable for me, although I don’t have plans to use the combo anyway.

Anyone else experience this?

Could Outlaw create a firmware fix to keep the digital inputs locked-on?

I’m running firmware 5.3, by the way.

Have you checked with Logitech to see if anyone else reports this issue with any other processor?

Have you tried the coaxial path?

Have not checked on the Logitech forum - just discovered this today. Also have not tried coax - it's a hassle to make connections to the 975 where it's located in the rack.

I can say that I didn't have this issue when I had the Squeezebox connected via optical to a Pioneer Elite AVR a few years ago.

In addition to Squeezebox, anyone running a Sonos Connect digital out to a 975? If so, any issues with that?