The "Official" Pioneer VSX-1019AH Owner's Thread - Page 141

Thanks, bmurray

As stated, I had found the answer to outputting as PCM, and was more interested in "modes".

So it sounds like it's an either or then with the surround mode then, correct?
i.e. if I choose auto surround, and then choose one of the advanced modes, that essentially trumps the auto surround and it will use some simulated surround?



Quote:
Originally Posted by paui4m
Hello, all

I've found pieces of this question answered throughout the forum, but ran out of time searching so thought I would pose the question in the hopes of a more speedy answer.

I have a PS3 (fatty one) connected via HDMI to my 919. I have set the audio output in the PS3 to Linear PCM as from everything that I have read this is the optimal setting. I believe this just passes the audio directly through and allows the receiver to do the decoding, correct?

My question is what mode should I put my receiver in? Should I just choose Auto Surround? I will just see PCM on the 919 display, correct?

Or should I use one of the advanced surround modes? I guess I am not sure if the auto surround settings are IN ADDITION to the advanced surround or INSTEAD of auto surround??

I've been messing with the surround modes for days for the various inputs and the manual hasn't been a lot of help.

Thanks a ton for any input.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bmurray716
Hmmmmmmmmm. Why don't I believe that you used the search.

Anyway, took me a few seconds to find the relevant posts but according to other ps3 owners (of which I am not), your only option is linear PCM out of PS3 fatty to avr. In this case the ps3 is doing the decoding and you will only see the pcm light come on on the avr. Still getting the digital decoding, just being done by the ps3. auto surround would be my first choice followed by direct, as most don't bother with the fake surround sound modes (i.e., advanced). However, it is really up to you as to what sounds good. Enjoy your avr

Installed the v1.056 firmware last night. Everything went smoothly and now my receiver is happy again. And it also co-operates with my iPod Touch 2G (running on iOS 4) just fine.

Thanks Hkan!

Not only is it the optimal setting, its my understanding its your only option with that version of the ps3.


No, see my earlier post.

As to whether the adv surround adds something to the std surround mode or is a seperate mode altogether is something I don't know. My guess is its either/or. However, let your ears be the judge. The effect of some surround modes only work with a particular input signal and speaker setup (see pg 53-54 of the user manual).

I also finally took the plunge this past weekend and installed v1.056 (from Hkan, thanks!) also. All is working well (seems to be an improvement, especially power on from remote). Didn't resolve the problems I'm having with Netflix streaming audio drops I'm getting with my BD390 blue ray dvd player (HDMI attached to 1019), but I don't think that has anything to do (?) with the 1019 screwing up.

Hey I decided to go with the Pio =). I was kind of leaning towards the Pio due to the praise. But the price also helped the choice. I was able to get the Pio for $350 CAD vs the Denon 591 for $545 CAD after taxes. $170 cheaper I don't think I can go wrong.

Hi, i was hoping someone could help me with this really annoying fault.

The unit is currently at the licensed service place so i cant really do anything with it right now. But here is my problem anyway.

I had a 919ah/k with HTPC/Xbox/PS3 plugged into a 50" samsung and everything worked fine. I just recently upgraded to a 60" LG pk550 and now anything above 50hz signal on the tv is not being displayed correctly and there is no options, nothing i can change to make this work. If i plug the same devices into the tv directly, then it works fine so the reciever must be doing something im guessing to the vertical and horizontal frequencies that the tv does not like. I thought it just passed it straight through but yeah......

Anyway the guys trying to diagnose the issue have no firmware updates and no information about a similar problem from pioneer and they are having trouble reproducing the problem because like i said, it worked on the old tv.

Anyway i just wondering if anyone has had, seen, or heard of this problem before, last thing i can do is hopefully get the repair guys around to my house just to see it for them self on my tv then maybe they can get pioneer to replace the unit with an updated model.

Anyway, any help would be much appreciated thanks.

Enjoy your new toy and feel free to stop back in if you have any questions or just want to share your experience.

Every time I run Auto MCACC, my Surround Sound speaker’s volumes gets set way higher than they should be. They overtake my two front speakers. The left speakers actually get louder than the right speaker.

The Center speaker’s volume is good, but the two front speakers are too low in the mix.

I know I can adjust this manually, but is there a work around to let the system calibrate it correctly?

Has anyone encountered this problem before and if so, how did you correct it?

kpf,

Have you checked out the mcacc thread? If not, that would be my suggestion as there is a lot of very useful information on how best to run the program. Here is the link:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1112470

By the way, from my limited knowledge of mcacc, and witout knowing your setup, I would suggest following the instructions in the user manual to the tee. For one, make sure your microphone is placed in the listening position as best you can. I did this by taping it to a yardstick and putting the yardstick between the cushions on the main sofa so that the microphone was right at ear level. If you do that and run mcacc, and still get same issue, you could either balance the speakers using your ears, and then rerunning mcacc but keeping the speaker settings. Also, you could use a spl meter which are relatively inexpensive, and can be found at your local radioshack for ~$20 if you really want to be precise. However, you'll get pretty close using your ears But again, checkout the mcacc thread and post back there and you will get all kinds of help.

You can see some MCACC hints in the corresponding thread. Basically, the microphone must point up, should be at ear level, should not see obstacles to the speakers (tables, chair, etc.), should not be too close to the backrest of the couch/chair (may work better if you put it higher).
Note that if you listen to 2 channel sources with the standard surround options (Dolby PLII, Neo, etc.), each of them has a different balance between the fronts and the surrounds.
At one point I had concluded the same thing as you based on the EXT.STEREO advanced surround mode. My expectation was for all speakers to get equal amount of power. It turned out that the EFFECT setting in the audio parameters affects that mode and the equal amount of power corresponds to 50. I had it to a setting that boosted the surround speakers.

Hey,

Recent owner and I've ran into a few issues. First I'll say I enjoy the clarity of the 1019, something I feel that Denon receiver didn't have. However when I use pure direct mode for stereo music, I feel the fronts sound very far back and flat, when I use the MCACC settings in Direct mode, it sound more upfront and spatious but muddy, the EQ for it has kind of U shape so it must be the mids being too recessed, I guess some tweaking will be needed. I do like the way it sounded in pure direct mode when watching a dvd. I'm not really fan of EQs and what not.

However there is one HUGE problem. My pio makes a VERY annoying buzz/hum. The noise is not coming from the speakers, but the unit itself. I think it's something to do with the fan has the noise gets louder as the unit gets hotter/on longer. The noise kicks in after about 15-20 mins of medium power, and after 40 mins it is annoying loud. I called Pioneer and they said to unplug my cable set top box. However the noise is still there.

Any comments on what it can be and possible fixes?

i6h6,

As you probably already know, the pure direct setting applies no digital processing of the signal. Compared to other settings this can sound flat. If direct sounds muddy, you may have some work to do with tweaking the sound field. Lots of things you can try but first you need to provide more information on your system and how its connected. I assume you ran the mcacc but one thing you may want to look into is the dedicated mcacc thread. Right at the very beginning it gives a great how to as far as properly setting up the program. I strongly suggest you take the time to go through that process and I think you will be surprised with how much better you can get your system to sound. Also, if you don't like the eq, you can always just have the speaker settings on, but turn off the eq.

As far as the humming sound, I would suggest having a local Pio repair shop take a look and see if the fan needs replaced. If the unit is less than a year old it will be covered under warrenty. This is not something I would recommend you trying to fix yourself. Also, you should ensure adiquate ventilation to your unit. Is it located in a cabinet. Mine is, and although I didn't have the same issue as you with a buzz, I checked the temperature inside the cabinet and was suprised to see +95-100 F. I cut severl holes in the back of the cabinet and now its in the +80s. Some have even installed fans on their cabinets which is a great way to get forced ventillation. But the fan buzzing is not good and that should be checked out. You don't want that fan to quit working. Good luck and post back if you have any more questions or just want to share your experiences.

^

Thanks for the input! I just read a bit of the MCACC thread and it seems to be a much more accurate approach than just running it once on full auto. I think I'll have to do some tinkering here and there.

But first I'll get that buzzing checked out, it's still under warranty so it shouldn't be an issue.

I'll update on any progress. Thanks =).

Thank you

Do the settings (speaker level and distance, EQ) made from MCACC still apply under Pure Direct?

Well, the manual indicates that there is not digital processing, so I think that means no to the EQ (as I assume no to x-curve), but I would imagine the speaker settings (size, number of speakers, distance, channel level, crossover frequency) are all preserved. Manual not entirely clear.

Yeah that's why I was asking, the manual doesn't go into any sort of detail.

Hi,

Just purchased the 1019AK, ran the Full Auto MACC, sounds good...but the level of volume is really low. Normal TV broadcast, I have the unit at like -20 to 24 and last night watching Gladiator BD, it was -17. Seems really low.

I'm not sure if I have something on that is not outputting properly audio levels?

I have Pio 50 Elite Kuo, only 5 speakers total, four bookshelf (2 Frnt, 2 Sback - small), and one JBL Center speaker. No sub. Set at 8 ohms. PS3 HDMi to the Receiver and HDMI Recv to Plasma. TV broadcast optical out to the receiver from Ant. OTA HD. Only 5.1 setting.

Just seems the receiver is output very low volume levels. I would of imagine normal would be like in 30-40 and really cranked be in the 20's.

Love to crank it, all my neighbors are old and deaf & have the snowbird life. Sweet.

Any help would be great. I read the first 20-30 pages here...I understand that the PS3 is only outputting PCM, so I won't see the DTS-HD or DD HD but I thought I would see DTS 5.1? But I'm mistakenly wrong.

Am I doing something wrong?

would you contact me about the firmware update

barrymend@earthlink.net

whats the sensitivity of your speakers? What did mcacc set size of your speaker. If you don't have a sub, make sure they are set to large. However, if they can't reproduce low's well, then that is going to have a negative impact on your sound. Especially if you turn up loud. Your volume is going to depend greatly on the source. Your OTA HD channels may also differ between SD and HD channels and what they are braodcasting in terms of sound (some HD channels only broadcast in stereo). I personnally listen to HDCable anywhere from 4X to 2X. 1X would be quite loud.

By the way, if your ps3 is output pcm, then your not goign to see any of the decoding lights indicated on the avr (except pcm) as the ps3 is doing the decoding. Your avr will not ever know what the original source was in, but this will not affect the sound output by avr. Just won't see the pretty lights .

Make sure that your using one of the surround modes (ie., Auto Surr, ALC, etc.) when you see the lights on the avr indicate more than just fl and fr (i.e., fl, c, fr, sl, sr, etc.). If your on stereo when there are multiple channels being received, your only going to get sound from your fl and fr. By the way, your tv is only going to output stereo so using an optical is a bit of overkill.

I got Polk rm85s and the suggested crossover for them is about 120. With the 1019 I only have an option of 100 then 150. Can I change this somehow and also am I able to change the crossover for the surrounds separately? If I cannot should I stick with 100 as the crossover as 150 seems real high.
After making the crossover adjustments should I rerun mcacc?

The Front speakers are 8 ohm- 100 watts and the rear are 16 ohms - 50 Watts. The Center is 8 ohms.

MCACC - set at small.

Sub - not detected. OFF

Not true. HDTV broadcast sometimes are in Dolby Digital. Prime time 8-11pm - it is displayed on the receiver. Not all the time, it is in Stereo. So, Optical is correct. My old tuner Yamaha 616, did detect DD broadcast too.

So far, I've been using "Auto Surround" or "ALC"...maybe "Direct Surround" too. Set to DSP - Action or Drama.

Thanks for the info, bmurray.

THat's something I never knew or understood. When the ps3 is set to pcm I won't get all the benefits of my 919? So the ps3 should be set to bitstream (direct)?
And what is bitstream (mixed) ?
Thanks to anybody who can explain this.

Unfortunately you are stuck with the crossover options that are available on the avr. Since you are playing with the crossover I assume your running a sub. Please indicate the make/model. You cannot change the crossover for the surrounds seperately. The surrounds don't see much anyway, as they just handle the surround effects. The crossover has more to do with the fronts and center (and sub). The crossover setting depends on your sub so post back what you have and I'm sure we can recommend a good setting for you. The RM85 system is rated for 95Hz on the lower end but at 130Hz on the lower -3db limit on the fronts. My recommendation is to set these to small, and set crossover for 150. Don't worry so much about it being too high as the crossover is not a brick wall and the fronts will still get some of the lower frequencies below 150. If you don't like the way it sounds you can always switch it to 100. You will want to rerun mcacc after changing the crossover. See the dedicated mcacc thread as to the suggested work flow for running mcacc.

OK, missed in your op that you didn't have a sub. Therefore you should set your front speakers to large then rerun mcacc, but keep the speaker settings.

As far as the optical from the ant. ota tuner, I thought that your were pulling your audio from your tv to your avr, as it wasn't very clear. I see that's not the case.

You could try pure direct as this removes all digital audio processing and see if that helps. You didn't indicate your make/model of your front/rear speakers or the model of the center but this can also have a big impact on the volume. If they are low sensitivity then the amp has to work a lot harder to achieve the same listening volume (read: have to turn it up louder).

Not a problem. As I don't own a ps3, I can only speak to the multiple posts on this thread of folks who have commented on setting up theirs. It is my understanding that the older (fat) ps3 is only able to output pcm. You will still get all the benefits as the ps3 will do the decoding of the original source. It's just that when the signal is received by the avr, since the signal has already been decoded, the avr will indicate the incomming signal as pcm, and output the processed signal. The newer ps3 has the ability to output either pcm, in which case again it is doing the decoding, or bitstream, in which case the signal is untouched (unprocessed) and the avr will do the processing. In the latter, the avr will indicate the type of the original signal as being, well, whatever it was (i.e,, TruHD, DTS-HD, etc.). You, as the listner, will hear the same thing in either case.

Okay...sounds good.

No, I was pulling audio from my OTA from my TV out to the Avr.

The two front speakers are Pioneer bookshelf speakers (model #HTP202-F) and my Center is JBL Studio Series (no model #) and the real are Pioneer rear speakers (HTP102/202-CR). I'm planning to get a sub, but I'm just looking for a good price/reviews.

Thanks for all your help.

My TV/cable is connected to my receiver the way it is diagramed on page 23 of the owners manual. It is connect with both a hdmi cable and digital coaxial cable. Every time I turn on my TV/cable and receiver the receiver switches from hdmi 1 to TV/Sat. Is there any way to make it automatically go or stay on hmdi 1?

Hi mort0084, most likely the issue is with your Tv HDMI-CEC setting. Go into Tv menu and set HDMI-CEC setting to "OFF". (HDMI-CEC names: Samsung is AnyNet+, Panasonic is Viera Link, Pioneer is Kuro Link, LG is SimpLink, Sony is Bravia Sync, Sharp is Aquos Link, etc...)

I tried getting DTS-MA 7.1 the other night by watching Hellboy II and I couldn't seem to get the audio tracks set up right on my receiver. Is there a reason it wouldn't display DTS-MA or Dolby TrueHD for movie soundtracks that have these formats? I am using a Panasonic BD60 blu-ray player and 50" Panasonic Plasma television (TC-P50S2). The receiver will only display "DTS" when I push "Auto Surround." I can push "Standard Surround" and cycle through DTS+DolbyIIx:Movie or Music as welll as DTS+Neo: 6 Cinema but it won't display TrueHD or DTS-MA and it won't show the 7.1 speakers, it just shows 5.1.