Owners of select 2020 Denon and Marantz 8K home theater receivers will be happy to learn there’s finally a fix for the 4K@120Hz and 8K@60Hz pass-thru bug, which we noted in our Denon AVR-X3700H A/V Receiver review. The problem mainly affected gamers using Microsoft’s Xbox Series X consoles, connected through the AVR. The solution is a free HDMI adapter that corrects for problem in the data stream. Customers can get the adapter free of charge while still under the warranty period, which should allow plenty of time for every customer to get one. Denon’s warranty is 2 years. Marantz offers 3 years.
The Issue
Some new 8K source devices that support 4K/120Hz and 8K video resolution output did not work fully with Denon and Marantz 8K AVRs prior to the development of the SPK618 solution. When users attempted to output 4K/120 or 8K via these specific 8K sources, the 4K/120 or 8K video could not be passed through the AVR. This issue occurred even with the AVR’s menu/GUI option “8K Enhanced” enabled.
To mitigate the issue at first discovery, Denon and Marantz recommended users connect the gaming console directly to the display, and then send audio back to the AVR using ARC or eARC. Another workaround involved outputting the 8K source at 4K/60 resolution. At that video resolution, the AVR could pass the image with no issue.
The SPK618 Adapter
The SPK618 adapter takes an HDMI input signal from the gaming source and delivers the corrected HDMI data to the AVR, thus remedying the error and allowing a 4K/120Hz or 8K signal to pass. The SPK618 adapter will be available for the customers who own an affected AVR and are observing the aforementioned pass-through issue. Current Denon & Marantz AVR users will be asked to update their firmware to ensure the adapter compatibility if they do not have their products set to Auto Update.
Availability
The adapter will ship starting from the middle of May 2021 in North America.
Affected Models
| Denon AVR-A110 | Marantz AV7706 |
| Denon AVR-X6700H | Marantz SR8015 |
| Denon AVR-X4700H | Marantz SR7015 |
| Denon AVR-X3700H | Marantz SR6015 |
| Denon AVR-X2700H | Marantz SR5015 |
| Denon AVR-S960H | Marantz NR1711 |
How to Obtain the Adapter in North America
Customers who have an affected receiver will not need to ship anything or retrofit their products at home. The low-profile adapter will be provided to customers with the listed AVR models at no cost during the warranty period. Those interested in receiving SPK618 will need to:
- Step 1: Go to www.denon.com/hdmiadapter for Denon.
- Or go to www.marantz.com/hdmiadapter for Marantz.
- Step 2: Fill out the form with the required information.
- Once received, users will need to update their AVR’s firmware to complete the process.
