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The "Official" Pioneer VSX-1020-K Owner's Thread - Page 143

post #4261 of 4367
1/29/13 at 5:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Effulgence View Post

No matter what output I select on my laptop, the resolution always gets picked up by the receiver as 1856x1069, 60hz and nothing besides the 'Pure' setting in the upscaler will display an image, though the audio will continue to go through. I've tried every output setting available from my PC as well as a 'custom' one with 1080p specs and while some get the size of the picture more correct than others, the picture always comes in off-center.

I am running into the same issue. I have a new HP 8570p laptop with the integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 running Windows 7. The laptop has a DisplayPort connection so I use an adapter to convert to HDMI which then connects to an HDMI port on the receiver which then connects to a Vizio TV. When connected this way, the second display shows up in Control Panel > Display > Screen Resolution as VSX-1020. The resolution displays as 1920x1080 on that screen on my laptop. However, when it shows up on the screen, the picture is slighted shifted left and the resolution in the top right corner of the screen shows as 1856x1069 @ 60hz. I did confirm that the receiver's Video Parameters > Resolution setting was on "Pure". I tried the other settings but none of them helped. I also confirmed that I could connect directly to the TV via HDMI and it displayed 1920x1080 @ 60hz without a problem but bypasses the sound system obviously.

Losing that extra bit of real estate is annoying so I did a little more digging. The best I could come up with was the following:
  • Go to Control Panel > Display > Screen Resolution
  • Click the Advanced Settings link to the right side of the screen across from the Multiple Displays field. This should open the Properties window
  • Click on the Monitor tab.
  • In the Monitor Settings section, change the 'Screen refresh rate' field to 30 Hertz, Interlaced.
  • Click Apply/OK to save the changes.
  • The screen should now display correctly and not be shifted over. It shows in the upper right corner as 1080i HD. The only drawback is that you are now displaying in interlaced mode.

While less than ideal, I only plan to use my laptop to display content when I can't get it through any of my other devices which are all connected via HDMI (AT&T U-verse, Sony BDP, Apple TV). I expect that it is a quirk in the 1020 that is probably solved in the 1022 and upgradeable firmware (speculating though).

Hope this helps someone else!

Matt
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #4262 of 4367
1/30/13 at 9:52am
Did you try the front port? Sometimes they are more understanding of pcs.
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post #4263 of 4367
1/30/13 at 4:32pm
thanks I just ordered an ethernet splitter. I think that may solve the problem.
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post #4264 of 4367
1/30/13 at 5:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregoryperkins View Post

Did you try the front port? Sometimes they are more understanding of pcs.

I just tried the front port and got the same results: 1920x1080 @ 60hz on the laptop comes across as 1856x1069 and off-center. I have to use 1920x1080 @ 30hz for it to properly fill the screen. Thanks for the suggestion though. I had not tried it.
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post #4265 of 4367
2/13/13 at 9:44pm
I have LC-70LE847U (70" sharp TV), BD-AMS20U (sony bluray) and DIRECTV H25 HD Receiver connected to my pioneer vsx 1020. ALL are connected via HDMI only! TV is connected via 12 ft high speed HDMI cable.

I am using all 24 AWG high speed HDMI cables from monoprice.

I don't get any sound or audio when everything is connected.

If I disconnect the HDMI out to the TV, I get sound from either the bluray player or directv hd receiver depending on the source selected.

I cannot set any video parameters...sometimes I can set video conversion to ON and then I am permitted to set PURE, 480p or etc., but no matter what resolution setting - no video....

Only a few times have I even been successful in getting sound with the TV connected via HDMI out. If I disconnect HDMI out, restart receiver, I get sound....then plug in TV via HDMI out...no sound!

Anyone have any ideas???? A friend of mine has recommended a HDMI amplifier.
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post #4266 of 4367
2/14/13 at 12:32am
I finally set up surround sound in my house, but my cat cut the MCACC microphone cord. I tried patching it back together, but continue to get microphone errors. Does anyone know of a cheap replacement I can use? Would using a different mic screw my calibration? Anyone have such a mic that I can borrow over mail? I'd pay shipping both ways.
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post #4267 of 4367
2/14/13 at 6:12am
I hope this is the correct way to post. I have a vsx1122k, and have seen alot of threads that say an external amp cannot be added for the speakers. Has anyone tried using a line converter to go from the receiver to an external amp, reason i'm asking, I owned mine for about a week before overheating it and blowing the main board and display board. I was curious if connecting the two (or) three rear speakers in this manner would effectively take the load off the receiver or would it even work for that matter. I am trying to run 6 klipsch kb15 bookshelf and 2 klipsch sw350 powered subs.
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post #4268 of 4367
2/14/13 at 8:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by djdego02 View Post

I have LC-70LE847U (70" sharp TV), BD-AMS20U (sony bluray) and DIRECTV H25 HD Receiver connected to my pioneer vsx 1020. ALL are connected via HDMI only! TV is connected via 12 ft high speed HDMI cable.

I am using all 24 AWG high speed HDMI cables from monoprice.

I don't get any sound or audio when everything is connected.

If I disconnect the HDMI out to the TV, I get sound from either the bluray player or directv hd receiver depending on the source selected.

I cannot set any video parameters...sometimes I can set video conversion to ON and then I am permitted to set PURE, 480p or etc., but no matter what resolution setting - no video....

Only a few times have I even been successful in getting sound with the TV connected via HDMI out. If I disconnect HDMI out, restart receiver, I get sound....then plug in TV via HDMI out...no sound!

Anyone have any ideas???? A friend of mine has recommended a HDMI amplifier.

In order to better understand your setup, a few questions first. I guess the 1020 is powering the speakers (i.e. you're not using the TV speakers right?). Also, are the sources (bluray, directv receiver) connected using HDMI only?

One hypothesis would be that the setup for the inputs is wrong (i.e. it uses audio from absent digital inputs for example). See p.40 of the manual for more details about input setup. Another one would be a weird case of HDMI control (you can try turning that off in the receiver, see p.62 of the manual).

As for not being able to set video parameters, this is totally normal as most settings can only apply to analog inputs.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kentyman View Post

I finally set up surround sound in my house, but my cat cut the MCACC microphone cord. I tried patching it back together, but continue to get microphone errors. Does anyone know of a cheap replacement I can use? Would using a different mic screw my calibration? Anyone have such a mic that I can borrow over mail? I'd pay shipping both ways.

You can only use the provided microphone with MCACC. The reason for this is that for taking measurements, the mic itself must be calibrated, and 1) the calibration for the Pioneer mic is unknown and 2) MCACC uses internal calibration data to correct for the mic. Thus if you use another mic, the results will likely be off. Your best course of action is to procure a replacement mic, either from Panasonic or another source. Alternatively, you can use software like the free Room EQ Wizard, with the appropriate setup (laptop, sound card, mic) and try to EQ by hand, but this would be a very tedious task for 5 channels or more.

Quote:
Originally Posted by avrnoobie View Post

I hope this is the correct way to post. I have a vsx1122k, and have seen alot of threads that say an external amp cannot be added for the speakers. Has anyone tried using a line converter to go from the receiver to an external amp, reason i'm asking, I owned mine for about a week before overheating it and blowing the main board and display board. I was curious if connecting the two (or) three rear speakers in this manner would effectively take the load off the receiver or would it even work for that matter. I am trying to run 6 klipsch kb15 bookshelf and 2 klipsch sw350 powered subs.

It's true: the 1122 doesn't have pre outs. (Pre outs are available on Pio AVRs starting with the 13xx models).

If your 1122 is damaged, surely it's still under warranty?

I don't understand what you're proposing to do as the receiver has no line level output for multichannel audio. You want to convert from speaker-level to line level? That could work. But what can you do with the AVR if its main board is blown? Anyway, the load to surrounds would be minimal in most circumstances I guess and wouldn't solve your problem.
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post #4269 of 4367
2/14/13 at 9:09am
Hi!
PLEASE HELP, I have a 1020K for 3Mobths, everything was ok, but now, I can only get sound from STREAM DIRECT, in tuner mode, every other sounstage, like DPL or ACTION or soeven Direct, there is no sound, anyone had this problem before??
things I tested

REPLACED the Digital MAIN BOARD, with no luck
Check every connections
disconnect everything, and no luck
I can not get the mcacc demo or auto setup to work either

only thing working so far is tuner in PURE DIRECT MODE

Can you direct me to some solution
Thanks! ans sorry my English, is not my 1st language smile.gif

Max.-
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post #4270 of 4367
2/14/13 at 9:29am
I have no idea how I could help. This sounds like the audio processor is out of order. Anything going through it (all digital audio, and all analog audio with effects, EQ included) seems affected. You only get audio with analog audio that is prevented from going through the audio processor. If you replaced the main board already, I'm not sure what more you could do.
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post #4271 of 4367
2/14/13 at 11:47am
Bad luck ... I have tested with HDMI and the PCM Lights just keep blinking and it can not connect with the pc, im so let down by this, I ordered an Audio RCA board, do you think that maybe it has to do with all the signal passing through this board.?
if I DONT have two main boards with exact the same problem, that could be a possibility.. am I right?
waiting for comments smile.gif
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post #4272 of 4367
2/14/13 at 12:18pm
I don't feel I'm qualified to comment on actually repairing a malfunctioning unit. I don't even know if the audio processor is in fact on the main board (I'm assuming you refer to the "main assembly") or not (e.g. maybe it's located on the "audio assembly" -- but that seems to be mainly the analog audio inputs). So either the audio processor is somehow not working or the connection between two boards was not established properly.
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post #4273 of 4367
2/14/13 at 4:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kentyman View Post

I finally set up surround sound in my house, but my cat cut the MCACC microphone cord. I tried patching it back together, but continue to get microphone errors. Does anyone know of a cheap replacement I can use? Would using a different mic screw my calibration? Anyone have such a mic that I can borrow over mail? I'd pay shipping both ways.

Any calibration mic might work. I grabbed a sony by accident to calibrate my Yamaha and it gave bogus results. See if a friend has one and give it a shot.
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post #4274 of 4367
2/15/13 at 11:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post

You can only use the provided microphone with MCACC. The reason for this is that for taking measurements, the mic itself must be calibrated, and 1) the calibration for the Pioneer mic is unknown and 2) MCACC uses internal calibration data to correct for the mic. Thus if you use another mic, the results will likely be off. Your best course of action is to procure a replacement mic, either from Panasonic or another source. Alternatively, you can use software like the free Room EQ Wizard, with the appropriate setup (laptop, sound card, mic) and try to EQ by hand, but this would be a very tedious task for 5 channels or more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregoryperkins View Post

Any calibration mic might work. I grabbed a sony by accident to calibrate my Yamaha and it gave bogus results. See if a friend has one and give it a shot.
Thanks for the advice, guys. I'm going to try to borrow a friend's and see how it sounds. Honestly, other than being too loud or too quiet, I have a hard time understanding how the mic "calibration" could be off. gregoryperkins, what were your bogus results like?
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post #4275 of 4367
2/15/13 at 11:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kentyman View Post


Thanks for the advice, guys. I'm going to try to borrow a friend's and see how it sounds. Honestly, other than being too loud or too quiet, I have a hard time understanding how the mic "calibration" could be off. gregoryperkins, what were your bogus results like?

MCACC doesn't adjust only level. It also adjust individual EQ of all channels. Every mic has its own frequency response, which must be calibrated out in order to find the system's response. With another mic, you could mess up the EQing of all channels.

Looks like Pioneer is selling their mic for $33 each, which is of course expensive but the perfect solution.
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post #4276 of 4367
2/16/13 at 10:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post

MCACC doesn't adjust only level. It also adjust individual EQ of all channels. Every mic has its own frequency response, which must be calibrated out in order to find the system's response. With another mic, you could mess up the EQing of all channels.

Looks like Pioneer is selling their mic for $33 each, which is of course expensive but the perfect solution.

Thanks for your responses. I just got really lucky! My friend gave me his old VSX-818V-K mic, which just so happens to be the exact same APM7008 mic used by my VSX-1020-K that you linked above. Otherwise, I agree that I should've bought the exact replacement. Thanks again.
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post #4277 of 4367
2/17/13 at 12:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post


Sorry, I'm no expert in speakers so I'm not even sure 85dB sensitivity is a particularly low value. Sensitivity is just the a measure of the output of a speaker given a standard input. So is the difference you're hearing just the difference in sensitivity, I don't know. Lower sensitivity does not mean the speaker is cheap; it just means that the same signal will give a lower volume. Also if your kitchen is large and/or ceiling is high, maybe the lower sensitivity combines with room volume and distance to give an impression of much lower volume. If you can easily check your speaker connections, do that, but I really don't know the cause of your problem.


That being said, I was suggesting Zone 2 simply because the volume can be adjusted independantly. Since you can't output say, music from an AppleTV, this is somewhat limited in its usefulness though.

Yeah often times the most useful info are found in the footnotes
Just a quick guide:


- AUTO SURROUND mode will chose DolbyDigital, DTS or DolbySurround automatically if the source use those formats, and it will switch to Pioneer's Neural Surround mode for FM radio. It will also switch the Sound Retriever feature on for iPod input. If you get stereo input, the receiver will then just play in stereo, unless it finds matrixed content in the stereo stream (i.e. Dolby ProLogic-encoded stream). So AUTO SURROUND is nice but will play your stereo sources in stereo, which you may find lacking.


- ALC tries to provide constant volume even through channel changes, input changes or commercials. Its success is subjective I guess.


- DIRECT and DIRECT PURE are as described in my last reply.


- with STANDARD, Dolby Digital, Dolby Surround and DTS are automatically detected, but you can cycle through more surround modes. Those simulate up to 7.1 channels from stereo or 5.1 sources in different manners; just select the one that you like the most. If you have front wides or front heights, this is where you select WIDE SURROUND or ProLogic IIz to use them.


- with ADVANCED SURROUND, you get "special effects" added to the mix, such as the CLASSICAL mode which ads reverb. To be honest I don't know who uses those. The only interesting ADVANCED SURROUND modes, IMHO, are:



- MONO FILM, which sends mono signals to all speakers for old movies or shows with a mono soundtrack

- EXT.STEREO, which splits stereo signals over all speakers; great for ambient music

- PHONES SURR, which mixes down multi-channel audio to stereo for your headphones instead of just sending the stereo soundtrack. Does the job of the $100 surround processor units for headphones

Hope this clears things up a bit.

I finally setup my 7.1 speakers, and I'm trying to decide on the right listening mode to use. According to page 56 of the manual, there are a few different options, but I'm having trouble understanding the differences. I want my surround backs to play even with 5.1 content, so I think I want one of the following:
  • ProLogic IIx Movie/Music/Game (Game is stereo only?)
  • Neo:6 Cinema/Music (stereo only)
  • Neural Surr (stereo only)
  • Dolby Digital EX (multichannel only)
  • DTS-ES (multichannel only)
  • DTS Neo:6 (multichannel only)

Since some TV content is stereo and some is multichannel, I guess ProLogic IIx Movie is the only thing that makes sense, right? I basically always want all 7.1 speakers to be used (assuming the stream doesn't encode stereo as multichannel by having silent channels). Dolby Digital EX sounds good because it creates up to 7.1 if it needs to, but it sounds to me like ProLogic IIx Movie does the same. Also, if I pick Dolby Digital EX, what happens when the stream changes to stereo?
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post #4278 of 4367
2/17/13 at 11:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by djdego02 View Post

I have LC-70LE847U (70" sharp TV), BD-AMS20U (sony bluray) and DIRECTV H25 HD Receiver connected to my pioneer vsx 1020. ALL are connected via HDMI only! TV is connected via 12 ft high speed HDMI cable.

I am using all 24 AWG high speed HDMI cables from monoprice.

I don't get any sound or audio when everything is connected.

If I disconnect the HDMI out to the TV, I get sound from either the bluray player or directv hd receiver depending on the source selected.

I cannot set any video parameters...sometimes I can set video conversion to ON and then I am permitted to set PURE, 480p or etc., but no matter what resolution setting - no video....

Only a few times have I even been successful in getting sound with the TV connected via HDMI out. If I disconnect HDMI out, restart receiver, I get sound....then plug in TV via HDMI out...no sound!

Anyone have any ideas???? A friend of mine has recommended a HDMI amplifier.

Everything is connected via HDMI only, HDMI control is off, and inputs are correct. It is just really strange that I can get audio from the HDMI inputs but as soon as I connect the TV to the HDMI out...sound shuts off...

I called Pioneer tech support who thinks the HDMI out port isn't working....but still not convinced.

I have reset the receiver multiple times without success.
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post #4279 of 4367
2/21/13 at 12:21pm
I was wondering if someone could help explain the power output of this receiver, and how to use it to speakers that fit well.

The specification page says the following:
  • Power Output Per Channel (20Hz-20kHz,.08%THD@8ohm): 80
  • Power Output Per Channel (1kHz@8ohm): 110
  • Power Output Per Channel (1kHz@6ohm): 125

The owner's manual says the following:
Quote:
Continuous average power output of 80 watts per channel, min., at 8 ohms, from 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz with no more than 0.08 % total harmonic distortion.
Front (stereo) ... 80 W + 80 W
Power output (1 kHz, 8 ohm, 0.05 %, 1 ch driven) ... 110 W per channel
Guaranteed speaker imedance ... 6 ohm to 16 ohm

I am using a Definitive Technology ProCinema 800 5.1 system, plus two extra ProMonitor 800s to make 7.1, and they sound very nice. The monitors are 8 ohm and have a recommended amplification of 10-150 watts. This all sounds like the specs match up fine.

However, I am looking for 2 outdoor speakers to use as my B speakers, and having trouble deciding on a good match. For one, most of what I found is 6 ohm, and I'm unsure how that effects things. Also, most are 40-50 watts. What range should I be looking for? Anything up to 110 watts if 8 ohm and 125 if 6 ohm? Or should I not exceed 80 watts if 8 ohm and something else if 6 ohm? As an example, I've been looking at these Yamaha speakers which are all 6 ohm but range from "120 watts maximum power capacity, 35 watts nominal" to "Maximum Input Power: 180W, Nominal Input Power: 60W".
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post #4280 of 4367
2/21/13 at 1:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kentyman View Post

I was wondering if someone could help explain the power output of this receiver, and how to use it to speakers that fit well.

(...)

I am using a Definitive Technology ProCinema 800 5.1 system, plus two extra ProMonitor 800s to make 7.1, and they sound very nice. The monitors are 8 ohm and have a recommended amplification of 10-150 watts. This all sounds like the specs match up fine.

Indeed.
Quote:
However, I am looking for 2 outdoor speakers to use as my B speakers, and having trouble deciding on a good match. For one, most of what I found is 6 ohm, and I'm unsure how that effects things.

Well the lower impedance means those speakers are more demanding to the amp since the amp will have to provide a higher current for the same power at the same voltage. But don't worry: the 1020 is able to drive speakers rated at 6 ohms, albeit maybe not as loud as 8-ohm speakers. 4-ohm speakers are not recommended though.
Quote:
Also, most are 40-50 watts. What range should I be looking for? Anything up to 110 watts if 8 ohm and 125 if 6 ohm? Or should I not exceed 80 watts if 8 ohm and something else if 6 ohm?

The wattage rating on speakers is simply (typically) a max RMS wattage to prevent damage. What it means is that with the 1020 you could exceed this wattage and damage the speaker rated for 50 W max. If your speaker is rated for a higher power than the 1020's max output (as are your DefTechs), then the 1020 will distort and run out of steam before the speakers will. However, exceeding max speaker power is not something you have to specifically fear about in general for many reasons:
  • You typically won't use 50 W in your outdoor speakers unless you want very loud music, in which case you'd be better with another type of setup than Zone 2.
  • Your speakers will actually distort way before reaching their limit. If it sounds good, typically everything is fine.
  • You can also damage your speakers in the reverse scenario (i.e. maxing out the amp on speakers that can take higher power) because amp distortion including clipping can cause large transients in speakers. The above advice still apply in that case.
  • The receiver will only output its max rating per channel in very specific scenarios -- typically only when driving a pair of speakers in the L/R position. It is incapable of driving 7 channels at 100 W each. From memory I think the 1020's power supply is something like 270 W to begin with, not 700W+ that would be required for driving all 7 channels at 100W+ each.
  • Impedance rating is a rough measure only. Impedance in fact varies with frequency and most 8-ohm speakers have dips in impedance at some frequencies even lower than 6 ohms, often down to 4 ohms.

Quote:
As an example, I've been looking at these Yamaha speakers which are all 6 ohm but range from "120 watts maximum power capacity, 35 watts nominal" to "Maximum Input Power: 180W, Nominal Input Power: 60W".

They will all play great with the 1020 smile.gif In short, unless you want to listen loud with those exterior speakers, you're good to go with any of them. If you were amp-limited, they wouldn't play as loud as your DefTechs since they have a lower sensitivity and present a large strain on the amp, but at lower power ratings, they will simply distort before the amp.

As a rule of thumb, your 1020 will really play well with most speakers out there, from small sats (except those that are meant to be specifically connected to a home-theater-in-a-box receiver -- those are often 10-ohm speakers) to large towers to exterior speakers. Notable exception are some vintage or high-end gear with 4-ohm loads, and also passive subwoofers (which also typically have 4-ohm loads).
Edited by neutro - 2/21/13 at 1:31pm
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post #4281 of 4367
2/22/13 at 11:09am
This was extremely helpful. Thank you.
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post #4282 of 4367
2/28/13 at 9:50am
So I'm having trouble getting adequate bass response out off a pair of Def Tech Pro monitor 800s I have set up in a separate room for background music. I don't expect anytyhing overpowering given their size, however I suspect the AVR is not outputting low end frequency to either speaker B or zone 2 via speaker terminal outputs.

I've called Pioneer support and the lady insisted full frequncy range is sent out in both setups. I'm thinking in the Speaker B setting, the fact that my main 5.1 system has satellites set to small limits low frequencies sent over to the B speakers. Not sure what to make of the zone 2 setting. I wouldn't have thought that to be an issue. This might not be an issue using the line out terminals to a 2nd receiver.

Any thoughts? Is pioneer support wrong?
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post #4283 of 4367
2/28/13 at 11:54am
There should be something like 'pure direct' on the remote and that bypasses the setup. That's what it is called on my Yamaha, but I can't remember what it is on the Pioneer remote.
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post #4284 of 4367
2/28/13 at 5:53pm
I don't speak with authority here but I would be surprised if it was even possible to set 2nd zone speakers to something other than full range. There's nowhere in the setup menu to set them as small or large, unless I'm mistaken.

The Def Tech Monitor 800's are nice and they are spec'ed to 57 Hz but this is likely very optimist. Def Tech recommend a 100 Hz crossover with those, to give you an idea. So maybe the lack of bass could be mitigated by larger speakers or adding a powered sub that has speaker-level intputs and outputs.
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post #4285 of 4367
3/1/13 at 7:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by simontonmc View Post

So I'm having trouble getting adequate bass response out off a pair of Def Tech Pro monitor 800s I have set up in a separate room for background music. I don't expect anytyhing overpowering given their size, however I suspect the AVR is not outputting low end frequency to either speaker B or zone 2 via speaker terminal outputs.

I've called Pioneer support and the lady insisted full frequncy range is sent out in both setups. I'm thinking in the Speaker B setting, the fact that my main 5.1 system has satellites set to small limits low frequencies sent over to the B speakers. Not sure what to make of the zone 2 setting. I wouldn't have thought that to be an issue. This might not be an issue using the line out terminals to a 2nd receiver.

Any thoughts? Is pioneer support wrong?

I have the exact same set up and have never noticed any issues with the B set - although the two rooms are really close to each other -
If I run B only I think I lose my subwoofer but the still are nice little speakers on their own.
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post #4286 of 4367
3/1/13 at 2:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post

I don't speak with authority here but I would be surprised if it was even possible to set 2nd zone speakers to something other than full range. There's nowhere in the setup menu to set them as small or large, unless I'm mistaken..

This was my assumption as well. I guess it could be tested by setting everything to Large, and then just listening to Speaker B. If they sound better, perhaps the Small/Large settings on A are affecting B.
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post

The Def Tech Monitor 800's are nice and they are spec'ed to 57 Hz but this is likely very optimist. Def Tech recommend a 100 Hz crossover with those, to give you an idea. So maybe the lack of bass could be mitigated by larger speakers or adding a powered sub that has speaker-level intputs and outputs.

I actually have the ProCinema 800 system with two extra ProMonitor 800s as well. The Def Tech docs said to turn my crossover has high as possible, so I think I set it to 200 Hz on the receiver. Did I do this wrong? Maybe I'm getting confused between the setting on the receiver and the setting on the back of the ProSub 800?
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post #4287 of 4367
3/1/13 at 6:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kentyman View Post

This was my assumption as well. I guess it could be tested by setting everything to Large, and then just listening to Speaker B. If they sound better, perhaps the Small/Large settings on A are affecting B.

Good point. Changing all other speakers to large or small should not affect Zone 2 speakers or B speakers if we're right. I finaly managed to take a look at the manual, and I found this bit on page 72:
Quote:
SP>AB - Sound is output from A-speaker terminal (up to 5 channels, depending on the source), the two speakers in B-speaker terminal, and the subwoofer. The sound from B-speaker terminal will be the same as the sound from A-speaker terminal (multichannel sources will be downmixed to 2 channels)

Thus in theory, it works like headphones: any 5.1 content should be downmixed to full-range stereo in speaker-AB. Note that the manual says that multichannel sources will simply not be heard when selecting SP>B.
Quote:
I actually have the ProCinema 800 system with two extra ProMonitor 800s as well. The Def Tech docs said to turn my crossover has high as possible, so I think I set it to 200 Hz on the receiver. Did I do this wrong? Maybe I'm getting confused between the setting on the receiver and the setting on the back of the ProSub 800?

I think you're right -- I mean about being confused biggrin.gif The goal is to let the receiver do the bass management. In order for your sub to not interfere with the process, the low-pass filter (LPF) on the sub should be set as high as possible, or you should disable it altogether if it's possible. Then the sub's LPF won't cumulate with the receiver's, which applies its own filtering to select which content to send from the subs.

200 Hz is definitely a bit high for the ProMonitors. Assuming the ProCinema 800 system uses ProMonitor 800s (not sure but seems logical) then 100 Hz is DefTech's recommended setting, which is in line with what is to be expected from small bookshelves / big satellite speakers.
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post #4288 of 4367
3/2/13 at 1:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post

Thus in theory, it works like headphones: any 5.1 content should be downmixed to full-range stereo in speaker-AB. Note that the manual says that multichannel sources will simply not be heard when selecting SP>B.

So I have 7.1 inside and 2.0 outside in a Speaker B configuration. When I go to AB mode, inside should change to 5.1 (but still Small speakers with sub), and outside should mix any surround content to stereo and treat the outside speakers like Large speakers, right?

And you're saying that if I change from AB to B so that it's just playing outside, rather than continuing to downmix surround to stereo, it would just stop playing outside? If so, it means I couldn't listen to surround music outside-only (if, say, I owned any DVD-Audio discs). I would think it would continue to downmix to stereo, or at the very least only play the front left and right channels.
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post

200 Hz is definitely a bit high for the ProMonitors. Assuming the ProCinema 800 system uses ProMonitor 800s (not sure but seems logical) then 100 Hz is DefTech's recommended setting, which is in line with what is to be expected from small bookshelves / big satellite speakers.

ProCinema 800 comes with ProMonitor 800s, ProSub 800, and ProCenter 1000 (there is no 800). I looked at the manuals. The ProSub manual says "If you have a choice of crossover frequency, choose the highest one available". However, the ProMonitor manual says "choose the highest possible up to 120 Hz". The 1020 supports settings of 100 Hz and 150 Hz, and it looks like MCACC picked 150 Hz for me. Should I pick 100 Hz instead since I'm in between.
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post #4289 of 4367
3/2/13 at 5:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kentyman View Post

So I have 7.1 inside and 2.0 outside in a Speaker B configuration. When I go to AB mode, inside should change to 5.1 (but still Small speakers with sub), and outside should mix any surround content to stereo and treat the outside speakers like Large speakers, right?

And you're saying that if I change from AB to B so that it's just playing outside, rather than continuing to downmix surround to stereo, it would just stop playing outside? If so, it means I couldn't listen to surround music outside-only (if, say, I owned any DVD-Audio discs).

This is exactly my understanding of the wording of the manual, I've never tried it myself though. I speculate however that if you have multichannel content and select stereo mode, then it could be played on the Speaker B terminal.
Quote:
ProCinema 800 comes with ProMonitor 800s, ProSub 800, and ProCenter 1000 (there is no 800). I looked at the manuals. The ProSub manual says "If you have a choice of crossover frequency, choose the highest one available". However, the ProMonitor manual says "choose the highest possible up to 120 Hz". The 1020 supports settings of 100 Hz and 150 Hz, and it looks like MCACC picked 150 Hz for me. Should I pick 100 Hz instead since I'm in between.

It's true that Pioneer's MCACC is not very flexible in terms of crossover. First, the crossover is the same for all channels; I can only assume that the LFE (.1) channel is entirely sent to the sub. In other systems, such as Audyssey-equipped AVRs, the crossover is per-channel, so you can set a different crossover for the center for example. Furthermore, MCACC only have a few predefined crossover frequencies available.

That being said, it's easy enough to change the crossover and test if you prefer 100 or 150 Hz. I don't know much about the ProSub 800, but is should be able to play well up to 150 Hz anyway. The ProMonitor 800s specs suggest a 100 Hz crossover; the disadvantage of using a 150 Hz one would mainly be that above 80 Hz, bass becomes more easy to localize. So if you have your sub in a corner and are jarred about thumps coming from the corner with a high crossover, you can try reducing it.
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post #4290 of 4367
3/3/13 at 8:55am
Anyone know what ARC is??
I am trying to get audio from my TV back to the receiver so I can hear the TV apps without running an optical back to the Pio
I am told that it is possible if I use a receiver that has ARC ???

Here is what is decribed

1. On the Vizio TV, activate "HDMI CEC" under the audio settings.
2. Make sure your HDMI cable is "HDMI version 1.4-compliant".
3. Attach one end of the HDMI cable to the "HDMI 1" port on the Vizio E601i-A3 TV (that is the one that supports ARC).
4. Attach the other end of the HDMI cable to the port on your receiver that supports ARC, and make sure your receiver is set to that output.
5. Make any other necessary settings on your receiver to activate ARC--check your manual (e.g., on some Onkyo receivers, set "HDMI Ctrl [RIHD]" to "On".)
6. Turn off both the TV and the receiver, then turn them both back on.

Thanks
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