Denon & Marantz Introduce a FREE HDMI Adapter Kit To Solve 4K/120Hz & 8K Incompatibility Issue

Audioholics loves working with companies like Sound United who are proactive at taking reviewer and customer feedback to make their products even better. In October 2020, Audioholics reported the discovery of a chipset bug in the latest HDMI 2.1 chipsets sourced by Panasonic and used in the new Denon, Marantz, and Yamaha HDMI 2.1 AV Receivers. The bug can inhibit pass through of 4k/120Hz HDR and 8k/60 HDR for some devices like NVIDIA's newest graphics cards and the latest XBOX Series X gaming console. When engaging these resolutions with these source devices directly connected to an HDMI 2.1 capable receiver utilizing the Panasonic HDMI 2.1 chipset, the user can experience a blank screen.

In December of 2020 Sound United, parent company of both Denon and Marantz, reached out to Audioholics to let us know that they have been working diligently on the problem and released an official statement regarding the issue.

Sound United completed additional testing and is pleased to report that 4K/120Hz passthrough works without issue on Nvidia and PS5 devices. Outside of what was originally reported regarding Xbox at 4K/120Hz output setting, we have had no further HDMI 2.1 device interoperability issues reported as of this writing. 

In our article on the HDMI 2.1 Bug Fix we address what can be done to fix the issue and what still needs work.This was great news for consumers who purchased one of the Denon or Marantz HDMI 2.1 compatible receivers in 2020. Sound United continued working to nail down a long-term solution for Xbox users who are looking for a 4K/120hz pass-through solution on their 8K AV receiver.

Today, Sound United announced a fix for the remainder of the issues regarding the chipset problems. The SPK618 HDMI adapter is designed to remedy the compatibility issue between SPECIFIC Denon and Marantz A/V receivers that support 4K/120 and 8K/60Hz video resolutions (models listed below) and gaming consoles that support 4K/120Hz and 8K/60Hz video resolution output.

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. 

--Sound United

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 Denon and Marantz SPK618 HDMI Adapter: Installation and Use

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/60Hz 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. The adapter will ship starting from the middle of May 2021 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.

Note: We reiterate that this solution works only with the models listed below that are having problems working with Xbox gaming systems at 4k/120Hz and that consumers with other models should NOT order the SPK618. You will NOT need this device unless you are planning on running the latest XBox gaming system at 4k/120Hz through your AV receiver.

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

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 starting on May 15th, 2021.

Once received, users will need to update their AVR’s firmware to complete the process.