AAC audio "multi in" with Denon receiver

[user84 46]

I've tried both the Amazon app, and the Android app on the fire stick, and no matter what I do, all of the content I play shows "multi in" for audio. I don't see any Dolby digital or surround on my Denon receiver screen.

EAC3 shows DD Sur on the receiver. 

I just want the best quality option going to my speakers. How do I make sure I have that set up in Emby properly, and should I be seeing DD for AAC audio?

[Luke 42077]

Hi, what is the format of what you are playing?

[user84 46]

4 minutes ago, Luke said:

Hi, what is the format of what you are playing?

I have primarily MKV files. The ones in question are AAC 5.1. x265. Does that help?

Edited November 29, 2025 by user84

[Luke 42077]

OK. I think that's just how your receiver is displaying for AAC. 

[user84 46]

18 minutes ago, Luke said:

OK. I think that's just how your receiver is displaying for AAC. 

I've done a bit more research and it seems that my AAC is being decoded by the fire stick to PCM, and that's what the Denon receiver shows. Just making sure I'm getting the highest quality. Thanks for the quick reply!

[yocker 1247]

Don't know if this will help but you can switch between the sound modes on the Denon with the green button on the remote.
Should be able to switch away from multi channel to other formats.

[user84 46]

1 hour ago, yocker said:

Don't know if this will help but you can switch between the sound modes on the Denon with the green button on the remote.
Should be able to switch away from multi channel to other formats.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'm actually looking to get direct/pure sound, which I'm getting when I see "multi ch". I just didn't know that until now. I'm new to Denon

[yocker 1247]

3 hours ago, user84 said:

Thanks for the suggestion! I'm actually looking to get direct/pure sound, which I'm getting when I see "multi ch". I just didn't know that until now. I'm new to Denon

If you have calibrated your Denon (with the microphone and everything) i suggest not using pure mode as that disables the calibration and any room calculations done by audacity.
And keep dynamic eq on as that fixes something called "Fletcher-Munson curves", turning on that makes sure that the bass always follows the Db of the speakers according to the human hearing.

Todays amplifiers are a mine field. 

Avforums and Avsforum have dedicated threads to Denon if you want more information or help from people knowledgeable about them.

[NakedPirate 15]

Multi in = PCM.
PCM is much better than DolbyDigital/AC3.

And you are right, non bitstreamable formats like AAC won't be sent over HDMI, so it's the best way if the source transcodes it into multichannel-PCM.
The worst solution would be the behavior of most TV's to transcode a compressed AAC into compressed Dolby Digital or Stereo-PCM.
So the firestick takes exactly the ideal course of action, if sending 5.1 PCM.

[yocker 1247]

16 hours ago, NakedPirate said:

Multi in = PCM.
PCM is much better than DolbyDigital/AC3.

And you are right, non bitstreamable formats like AAC won't be sent over HDMI, so it's the best way if the source transcodes it into multichannel-PCM.
The worst solution would be the behavior of most TV's to transcode a compressed AAC into compressed Dolby Digital or Stereo-PCM.
So the firestick takes exactly the ideal course of action, if sending 5.1 PCM.

Unless you are talking about the Firestick specifically which maybe doesn't support passthrough for it, then AAC can be sent over HDMI.
Most, if not all, modern denon receivers should support AAC.

[NakedPirate 15]

6 hours ago, yocker said:

Unless you are talking about the Firestick specifically which maybe doesn't support passthrough for it, then AAC can be sent over HDMI.
Most, if not all, modern denon receivers should support AAC.

 

That's hypothetical. But yes.
All AVRs after about 2010, the late Denon 19xx series and the 2000/3000/4000 AVC and AVR series can natively decode AAC without any problem.

But since AAC is not part of the bitstreamable codec list over HDMI and not standardized, it is not implemented. But it works with PCs or Raspberries.
All other mainstream devices won't bitstream AAC and fall back to PCM (or worse), as far as I know.

I asked Grok, so maybe there are more devices than I thought:



Can anyone confirm some devices?

That's the negative list:



That's what AI says, but I'm not entirely sure, so without liability! 

Edited December 1, 2025 by NakedPirate
I am Batman!

[yocker 1247]

2 hours ago, NakedPirate said:

 

That's hypothetical. But yes.
All AVRs after about 2010, the late Denon 19xx series and the 2000/3000/4000 AVC and AVR series can natively decode AAC without any problem.

But since AAC is not part of the bitstreamable codec list over HDMI and not standardized, it is not implemented. But it works with PCs or Raspberries.
All other mainstream devices won't bitstream AAC and fall back to PCM (or worse), as far as I know.

I asked Grok, so maybe there are more devices than I thought:



Can anyone confirm some devices?

That's the negative list:



That's what AI says, but I'm not entirely sure, so without liability! 

You are right, most devices can not do it and decodes the signal before sending it on.  
I just know it's possible.