The "Official" Pioneer VSX-1019AH Owner's Thread - Page 104

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Well, that would be something worth waiting for, if it's true. Pioneer have not announced any new models this year so far. But, seeing that they came out with these models some time in April, they may be getting a new line-up of receivers ready for 2010. I doubt they would change much in the current line-up.

That said... Good things come to those who wait for them. (I'm waiting too.)

OK, did you check out the surround options on pages 53 and 54 of your manual? I think that's what you're looking for. There are numerous options available to provide "surround" sound from a two-channel source.

This is from page 54 of the manual:

With two channel sources, you can select from:
2 Pro Logic IIx MOVIE - Up to 7.1 channel
sound, especially suited to movie sources
2 Pro Logic IIx MUSIC - Up to 7.1 channel
sound, especially suited to music sources1
2 Pro Logic IIx GAME - Up to 7.1 channel
sound, especially suited to video games
2 PRO LOGIC - 4.1 channel surround
sound (sound from the surround speakers
is mono)
Neo:6 CINEMA - 7.1 channel sound,
especially suited to movie sources
Neo:6 MUSIC - 7.1 channel sound,
especially suited to music sources2
Neural THX - Up to 7.1 channel sound,
especially suited to music sources3

Hope that helps.

Rich

Is there any way to automatically set the default volume on my Pioneer 1019 receiver when I switch inputs to my XBOX? My other input is DirecTV Satelite.

Thx in advance.

For anyone who may be interested, the Pioneer 1019 and 919 are back in stock at authorized Pioneer online resellers. Don't know for how long they'll be in stock.

Pioneer 1019 "In Stock" at Electronic Warehouse (Authorized Online Pioneer Reseller)

Pioneer 919 "In Stock" at Electronic Express (Authorized Online Pioneer Reseller)

Sorry but no... however you can set a default volume for when the unit turns on. Page 100 in the manual tells you how.

Here's my equipment:

Pioneer 5080 (720P) , Pace PVR, PS3.
Recently purchased Pioneer 919.
HDMI connections

I've encountered the following problems:

1) Picture quality seems to be less sharp now that the PVR is directly connected to the receiver (HDMI 1). ( Is there a way that I can switch off the video upscaling on my receiver so that
my Plasma handles this function on its own ?. Pioneer 5080 appears to do a better job directly with a Native signal.

2) PS3 also connected to the receiver. (HDMI 2) No video or audio. Any suggestion on what may be wrong here ?

Thanks

Hi chroma601. I have a question about this unit as I have just bought it and am still playing with it. And you look like you may know somw of the answers that we all have about it. My question: I have been looking at the new blu-ray player from OPPO, BDP 80, which they say does not do upconversions of reg dvd's as well as their 83 unit. Does this A/V unit have the ability to upconvert reg DVD's instead of usinga blu-ray player? Hope that I have explained the question well. thanks for your help.

How can i reduce the BASS on the Pioneer VSX-1019 ? It is so loud !!!

The Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K does have video-upscaling. The lower 919 does NOT. The 1019 has the ABT1015 video processing chip from Anchor Bay to carry out this job. However, many people find that the upscaling done by the scalers in LCDs/Plasmas is better than the upscaling done by a $500 AV Receiver. You can try turning the upscaling on or off and see which option you like better.

You are the FIRST person who has asked for BASS to be reduced. Many people ask for the opposite.

Alright, go to MCACC Data Check and see what you Sub and speaker settings are. If you have a Sub, the Sub setting should be set to YES and all the other speakers should be set to SMALL. If this is not the case, rerun Auto MCACC and make those changes after the calibration.

If you don't have a Sub, set at least your fronts to LARGE and the surrounds to SMALL.

If you feel you are having excessive bass, check if your Sub has been set to PLUS along with the fronts to LARGE. If this is the case, change all the speakers to SMALL and the Sub to YES instead of PLUS.

After you do all this, if you find the bass to still be excessive, then while watching stereo sources, there is an option to decrease bass. You need to go into the AUDIO PARAMETER menu to do this. Check page 64 and 65 of your manual for this. You need to set the Tone setting to ON, and then adjust the bass. You have a range of -6 to +6 (dB) to play around with.

If all the above do not work, then you would have to go into Manual MCACC and lower the levels of the low frequencies for each speaker separately.

Hope this post helps. I answered so enthusiastically since this was the first time anyone has asked for decreasing bass.

EDIT: If you have a Sub, it must be having a Volume Control. You could try decreasing that too.

1) I think you're mistaken, the Pioneer VSX-919AH-K does NOT have video-upscaling. It is just a video upconverter (meaning it converts a component video signal into an HDMI video signal)

2) Press the HDMI button on your remote till you can see HDMI 2 on the receiver front panel. If this still does not work, try turning off Kuro Link if it has been kept on.

I was wondering about those as well. The manual really doesn't explain what the difference is between those modes are.

1. What does the receiver do differently between movie/cinema, game, and music?

2. What's the difference between PLII, Neural THX, and Neo:6 ?


It's ridiculous how many different audio settings this receiver has. There are not one, but four separate buttons dedicated to choosing what type of sound setting/encoding through which you want to hear your sound.

The auto/ALC button, the stereo button, the standard button, and the advanced surround button each cycle through their own full list of audio encodings and it confuses the heck out of me. How do I know what to select?

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Try each one, and select which one sounds best to you. That's the fun in having an AV Receiver. There are so many settings and features that you can explore, that it takes days and months for the AV Receiver to fully reveal all its secrets.

Happy hunting!

Thanks much for the info. Will have to try thru the tv and Pioneer. Thanks again. looks like i could concider the OPPO 80 blu-ray then.

Yes i do have a sub i have the full 5.1.. and YES i set to big speakers.... so i will switch that. Thx for the tips

If you don't like to experiment and just want to listen with the least fuss, try Pioneer's Auto Surround feature. That's what it's for. It selects the appropriate playback mode for you based on the incoming signal. (RECEIVER > AUTO/ALC/DIRECT > AUTO SURROUND.)

Egg-zackley!

I found this AVR quite daunting when I first began setting it up (consider that my first stereo had an 8-track player!)

Assuming you have a 5.1 (or more) set up, you could ignore all the settings I listed in my previous post.

Just use Auto-surround, ALC, Direct or Pure direct...whichever sounds best to your ears.

Hope that helps.

Rich

The standard surround settings (DPLII, Neo, etc.) produce multichannel output from two-channel sources. If the source has more channels, the AVR honors that and ignores the DPLII, Neo, etc. selection.
The difference I see between these modes with 2-channel sources is in the volume of the center, sub, and surround speakers. For example, the music modes make the surround speakers sound louder than the movie modes. I'm sure they can claim that some are different or better than others, but to me these are artifacts from the time when most sources were 2-channel and the multichannel equipment was just emerging. Now the multichannel content seems dominant for people with cable/sat boxes, HD TV OTA, and DVD players and I expect these modes to be pushed in the corner in the next few years.
Here are the modes I use:
- TV - Dolby PLII in case I watch 2-channel stations. If the signal is 5.1 the AVR switches to DD as I mentioned.
- Blu-ray - Auto surround - that makes it switch to stereo when I play CDs
- Tuner - Stereo
- XBOX 360 - Auto surround
- Wii - some Game mode from the standard surround modes

I switch to ALC when I use the system at night. There is music that sounds goon in EXT.STEREO of the advanced modes, but in general I do not use it, because it disables the PQLS and the tone control, i.e. it's not meant for high quality stereo. In that mode you can play with the EFFECT parameter,which allows you to tune the level of the surround speakers - 50 is equal to the fronts. I'd suggest that instead of PLII Music or other music modes behind the standard surround button. I find all the other advanced surround modes useless.
I'm guessing playing a stereo signal in Autosurround is not stereo in its purest form, because if you then switch to Stereo, you will hear a relay clicking, i.e. there maybe some degradation in Auto surround mode for CD sources.

Is anyone using this AVR with an HTPC connected via HDMI and having no problems switching between HDMI sources?

If so... what motherboard are you using on your HTPC?

I've yet to have any issues switching inputs

I stepped up from a 15 year old Sony Receiver yesterday. Have everything hooked up but still have lots to figure out and get working. At least all my components are working with it and I was able to set my Harmony Advance One up to control.

There are 104 pages of this thread and I will read each and every one of them to try and solve any issues, but it doesn't hurt to ask in the event someone wants me to save some time.

I didn't go with a 7.1 speaker system. I have everything set up with new Energy Micro speakers 5.1. I tried to do the auto calibration and of course it had issues not seeing the surround speakers. Did it complete the set up although it didn't like that? The reason I ask, I have nothing out of my back speakers.

If there are other things I need to do to set up this receiver while I am reading, please feel free to tell me.

Like I said, I am sure that the answer is somewhere in this thread, but thought I would ask in case someone wanted to help me out while I read.

Thanks in advance!

Michael in Texas

Sounds like you might have your surrounds hooked up to the wrong set of surround speaker outputs. There are two sets of surround outputs to support the 7.1 format.

When you use 5.1, you need to have your surrounds connected to the "Surround Left/Right" and NOT the "Surround Back Left/Right". If you have the speakers connected to the wrong terminals you won't get any sound from them.

Hi u0dcameron,

Are you using an HTPC and switching between it and other sources without problems?

If so, what motherboard are you using?

Hi all,

I have the 919. I am unsure on how to set the crossover. My speakers 2 of them the crossover is at 80hz, and the other 2 at 100hz.

Should I set it at 80 or 100? Thanks.

Set it at 100Hz. All the frequencies below 100Hz will then be directed to the Sub.

You were absolutely correct. I changed it and everything works like a champ. The sound is incredible. I couldn't be happier! Thank you for your input!

Michael

Glad to help out, and welcome to the forum...

I was wondering if someone could recommend what my set up should be with the following setup. Specifically what should I set the crossover to be in Manual SP Setup. Right now I have the speakers set to small with the x.over set to 50Hz based on what I read in the forums but just wanted to confirm.

AVR - 1019AH-K
L/R - JBL L880 (6" 4-way Dual Floorstanding)
Center - JBL LC2 (6" 4-way Dual)
Sub - JBL JBL L8400P (12-Inch Powered Subwoofer)

Also - has anyone used the Speakercraft TIME speakers. I was looking to get them as my rear speakers. I have decent sized living room with my TV, Stereo and a pool table. The rotating function of the speakers would work great to get sound to both parts of the room when needed or just focus on one area when watching television. I just haven't seen much in the way of how the speakers sound - just how "cool" they are.

Thanks

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Try setting the crossover to 80Hz and let the Sub handle frequencies lower than 80Hz. See if that improves the sound. The lower frequencies are best handled by the Sub.

If you want inaccurate extra bass, you could try setting the front speakers to LARGE and the Sub to PLUS. This will direct the low frequencies to both the Sub as well as the front towers.

I am running 2 front speakers rated at 8 ohms, center channel and surrounds are rated at 6 ohms. If I set the receiver to output at 6 ohms is it safe to use this type of speaker mixing?