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The "Official" Pioneer VSX-1020-K Owner's Thread

786K views 5K replies 872 participants last post by  gregoryperkins 
#1 ·
Just received my new Pioneer VSX-1020 receiver (pre-ordered direct from Pioneer)


Here are a few pics of the exterior:






After spending an hour or so with the unit, I've noticed the following:

Positives
  • Gorgeous GUI for main menu (After Denon AVR1909, this is appreciated!)
  • Very detailed auto-calibration using multiple patterns
  • Very granular adjustments (overall)

Negatives
  • Awful remote
  • Input switching takes longer than Denon it replaced
  • (So far) Don't see any way to control crossover for individual channels


Although it isn't fair to compare the sound of the Denon AVR-1909 and this unit yet as I spent a TON of time calibrating and adjusting the Denon and have only played with this unit an hour, I did notice a few things after the initial auto calibration:
  • MCACC has odd distances for my wall-mounted rear surrounds. They're about 2ft away, but MCACC sees as ~6ft
  • MCACC dials the sub level much lower than Denon's Audyssey
  • A filter of some sort is being applied to LFE channel as the Rythmik F12 sounds very different (lacking detail) than when I used the Denon. This is 110% a setting someplace I just haven't seen.


After going through the manual, I now see there's an Advanced MCACC (Manual) mode that has a TON of adjustments. More importantly, there seem to be some incredible tools at your disposal. I'll be playing with this soon and will post some images/results.
 
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#27 ·
Pardon me for posting in the wrong thread, but since I am getting a 1020 this might be the appropriate audience.

What speakers would you suggest if I just want a left & right and maybe a sub? 70% of the use will be for movies and the rest for music and TV. I am starting off and don't have any speakers currently.
 
#28 ·
^^^


yes. buy the sierra 1's i have for sale in the classifieds...



you need to post your question in the speaker forum. post your budget/room size/expectations and you'll get more suggestions than you can shake a stick at...
 
#29 ·
Minor update...


After you do the complete calibration, you do get a ton of data to see how things change. Here's an example using the center channel:


Before doing...



and after...



Unfortunately, there is only a single crossover afterall. If I had to point to a single thing being my main complain, that would be it. Minor in the grand scheme of things as the fronts and center should be find at either 80Hz or 100Hz. (Using 100Hz for now with PM 800 F/R and ProCenter 1000. Will drop to 80Hz once I update to PM 1000 F/R and ProCenter 2000.)
 
#31 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pelly_NV /forum/post/18551815


Haven't seen an option for this and doesn't have by default. I'll try poking around more today.

All I see is this in the manual:

Quote:
The operations below can also be used on

Pioneer Control with HDMI-compatible TVs.

When the receiver's volume is adjusted or

the sound is muted, the volume status is

displayed on the TV's screen.

When the OSD language is switched on

the TV, the receiver's language setting also

switches accordingly.

This is a key feature for me as well. Probably go Denon/Onkyo if it won't work.
 
#32 ·
Noticed yesterday that their site did not show coming soon and I had no updates in email or on their site so I called. They said that they had some in so I asked why I had not received any updates.he asked from my order number and said it's been shipped!!



It will be here Friday provided no floods or volcanos!
 
#33 ·
Since this unit only has a 240 watt power supply. Are any users out there driving a full 7.1 surround system with mid size speakers. Are you having any issues getting enough power?


I'm looking at running the receiver with a set of Ascend speakers and I'm wondering if I should go for the VSX-1020 just for the added power. (Room size is 14x25)
 
#34 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nitemage /forum/post/18557601


Since this unit only has a 240 watt power supply. Are any users out there driving a full 7.1 surround system with mid size speakers. Are you having any issues getting enough power?

Note the size of the speakers has nothing to do with how much power they need -- rather, you want to look at the ohms and the efficiency rating. But except for some special cases, maybe electrostatic speakers, for typical home speakers, rooms, and receivers, I just don't think you need to worry about power. To answer your question, I have two 7.1 systems with speakers of varying sizes and very moderate priced Pioneer receivers -- no power problems. The 1020 is rated at 80W/channel, rated fairly conservatively (but only 2 channels driven). That's not a lot; for the price, you can find higher rated AVRs. I'm sure it won't be a problem for me.
 
#35 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nitemage /forum/post/18557601


Since this unit only has a 240 watt power supply. Are any users out there driving a full 7.1 surround system with mid size speakers. Are you having any issues getting enough power?


I'm looking at running the receiver with a set of Ascend speakers and I'm wondering if I should go for the VSX-1020 just for the added power. (Room size is 14x25)

really curious about this too. the 2amp draw is a third of the similarly priced onkyo and a good 100 watts lower than last year's model that only measured 30 watts per channel with all channels driven. worry this might not have much power when pushed even moderately.
 
#36 ·
what i'm curious about is if most people realize how little power they actually use....
 
#37 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Goatse /forum/post/18555067


still doesn't EQ the subwoofer correct?

Sorry for the awful iPhone pic.


The AVR doesn't do any EQ adjustment for sub as far as I can see. However, it does seem to have an adjustment for standing waves. See here (the SW is selected here, can't tell in this terrible pic):

 
#39 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pelly_NV /forum/post/18559289


The 1020 is 110Wx7 right? http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-VSX-10.../dp/B0039XQQX0

Pioneer gives two ratings: 110W/channel, 1kHz, 8ohm, 0.05%thd, 1 ch driven, and one more conservative rating (which I was referring to): "Continuous average power output of 80 watts per hcannel, min., at 8 ohms, from 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz with no more than 0.08 % total harmonic distortion." (from p. 127 of the user manual).
 
#43 ·
^^^


ALL modern avr's produce a goodly amount of heat... there's lots of electronic doodads in there that are all converting electricity into it...



some may run a bit cooler than others, but none run "cool"....
 
#44 ·
Well, there's hot and then there's 'Onko 607' hot', which can cause damage. e.g. in the Onkyo 608 thread, people are happy it has a much more efficient PSU and runs a lot cooler. None of the equipment I have ever gets too hot to touch, IMO that's not a good sign.
 
#48 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pelly_NV /forum/post/18560958


I've watched Blu-rays, DirecTV, and plenty of music through this AVR already. Actually think the unit stays cooler than my old 1909. Chassis barely gets warm to the touch.

how about its power?


my only worry about this receiver (as I am sure you've read on the parallel 1120/1020 thread is that they cutt 100 watts from the draw from the 1019, which tested 34 watts with 5 channels driven.
 
#51 ·
Picked one up yesterday from Best Busy and canceled my Amazon order.


I hooked it up but was not able to get the zone 2 to work. I attached the zone 2 speakers to the surround backs and then configured my speakers for zone 2 but I'm unable to get any sound out of the zone 2 speakers. If I configure the speakers for a 7.1 setup I can get test tones out of the zone 2 speakers so I know they are attached correctly.


The receiver displays mutizone on the display and I can turn up/down the zone 2 volume but there's no sound.


The instructions in the book are far from perfect so perhaps I've done something wrong. Has anyone else had an issue?



Thanks,

Darrel
 
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