The "Official" Pioneer VSX-1020-K Owner's Thread - Page 145

Yeah, I couldn't find a way to get them more than 40% inserted. Perhaps with some jimmying around it would've stayed in securely, but I'm pretty happy right now not using them at all.

I am the owner of the VSX-1020K. I like it. However, I thought I might post an observation that may be of value to some listeners out there. A cursory search did not reaveal any similar anecdotes, so I am posting here. YMMV, of course.

So...I have a pretty decent set of speakers. They are not all that new but the original MSRP of the front three alone was about $3,000-ish, combined. A tad less for the rears and sides and heights. I have 9 loudspeakers in all (plus the $800 Velodyne sub) and everything is timbre-matched. The frequency response of the speakers is stellar and so is the sensitivity. The fronts have all built in subs, even. (It should do movie soundtracks without breaking a sweat. Likewise, my room is acoustically pretty darned good for home theater also.

Thing is, I have had a hard time hearing center channel dialog sometimes in a movie. It baffled me. No, it downright annoyed me. And this happened not with all encoding types, either. Dolby Digital (any 5.1 variant) is perfectly fine. Same for plain-vanilla DTS; it's great. But--the new lossless formats really sucked in this regard. Dialog was routinely subsumed by the other parts of the soundtrack. It drove me crazy. I tried everything! Including:

• Calibrating ad infinitum with MCACC (auto and manual tweaks);
• Switching on night mode;
• Trying "dialog lift" or whatever that was called with Dolby PLIIz;
• Increasing center channel gain to seemingly absurd levels;
• Using compression/limiting (DRC, etc.) in all parts of the signal chain that I could think of;
• Upgrading my center speaker to attempt to match the mains even more closely;
• Repositioning my center to all sorts of height locations.

Nothing worked much. Then! I inadvertently switched the system from "Auto" surround, which I had always been using to "ALC." It sounded different. So I tried "Pure" and then "Pure Direct." Wow! Immediate difference.

So, for me, in my situation, either "Direct" or, more often, "Pure Direct" is the way to go for DTS-HD and (especially) Dolby TruHD. Absolutely and without doubt. For you? Maybe! If you having problems like me (and it seems a lot of people do) try it!

I am pretty sure that 'pure direct' bypasses all the MCACC calibration eq settings and just plays the audio straight through... so in your case it would seem MCACC was dumbing down the center channel too much and bypassing was made it better. I like that setting when I am listening to CD audio, seems like the most accurate representation of the music I can get. I am have a set of BIC-DV64s and a PSW505 sub... for this little amp it's got a big sound with this setup.

From much earlier in this thread, something I've used in the past:

"Dialog enhancement is described on p. 68 of the user manual, 4th setting down from the top of the page."

ahh... yes - nice call on that one. I forgot about dialog enhancement. well played.

Would any one know how to access the "Video Parameter" features/options? Reciever+ Video Parameter buttons only let me access resolutions, the vertical arrows do nothing. Pioneer support said the Video Parameter features are only accessable in 480i resolution. 480i does not even show up on available resolutions. I'm using 3 imput sources via HDMI 1, 2, 3, concisting of a PS3, Roku2 XS and DirecTV Hr22 DVR. The PS3 image is very dark, while my DVR and Roku seem ok.
I am using a Samsung UN55EH6000 Led I just received last week.I will try my luck at calibrating it when I receive the Disney WOW disk tomorrow.

Most video parameters are only available for analog inputs. There are few things to tweak on the receiver's side for HDMI inputs. Most of the calibration stuff will be done on the display.

I fixed the "AMP OVERHEAT" error!!!

I've had the "AMP OVERHEAT" problem for years, starting about a year after I got my 1020. I found lots of things that seemed to help temporarily: plug it into a different wall socket, keep turning it on until it stayed on, but the problem would always recur eventually.

The root of the problem: the temperature sensor ("posistor" as it's called in the service manual) went bad and presented a lower resistance, making the receiver think the amp heatsink was overheating. Luckily the posistor is easy to test and replace!
Repair Instructions! (Click to show)

Wow, thanks for the info.

May all your 1020's live past the warranty

good job!

I ended up replacing my 1020 with the Pioneer SC-1522 that I got from Costco for a steal: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1464476/pioneer-sc-1522k-for-599-99-at-costco. (Note to self: save more money for your retirement; stop reading the "found deals" threads!) As you may know this is a digital amp and is a rebadged Elite SC-65.

The VSX-1020-K served me well over the years. It was a fine AVR. But I am not looking back because, good God, is this new amp a thing of beauty. Night and day improvement in sound fidelity. If you are on the fence, jump at this one.

Does higher-end Pio AVRs has superior MCACC or other room correction features that are absent from the 1020 (e.g. more EQ bands, or parametric EQ, or EQ of the sub output)? I'm all for superior amps but if I upgrade, I think I'll switch to an Audyssey-equipped AVR simply because of this.

Not much. The MCACC is a little different. But not strikingly so. For example, I wish that I could set the subwoofer crossover frequencies of each pair of speakers independently, instead of a global 80Hz or whatever. My fronts and center have built in sub and I think I could make use of this.

Anyway, to answer your question more specifically, the MCACC did a few extra things in Auto mode. Pro EQ, I think was one of them. It sure took a lot longer. But, IMHO, the main reason to upgrade would not be the calibrator; it is the sound quality. My new SC-1522 smokes the 1020. No question.

Thanks for the details... Not dissing your new acquisition -- it looks like a fantastic deal for sure -- but Audyssey does per-channel crossovers, including the LFE channel.

And, once Audyssey is finished, you're unable to edit the results. MCACC, OTOH, is user-adjustable, which I consider a tremendous advantage.

Each has its advantages and disadvantages, as many threads around here attest (and much flaming, unfortunately).

You are right that Audyssey looks like it's WYGIWYG (what you get is what you get). Although to be fair I think that the crossover frequencies can be changed. But, I never saw Pioneer's one-crossover-fits-all approach to be much of a problem in my case, as with expensive subwoofers, I want all the LFE and all frequencies under 100 Hz handled by those instead of the other speakers anyway.

Yes, it does. I wish that MCACC had this (and some other things...). My fronts can do down to 20-something Hz pretty well. No matter. All seems well. I have decided to use the 1020 in the front TV room. It is cool AVR. Not quite ready to ditch it yet. Take care.

I'm having a problem I am hoping someone can help me out with. The right front speaker channel doesn't always work. Most of the time, when powering from standby, the right channel is silent.
The only way I can get it to send a signal is to go into manual speaker settings, speaker levels and take the right channel to +4.0dB. Once it comes on, I can lower it to a balanced setting and it stays on until I power it off.
No matter the input, it does this.
I have reset the receiver and it still does this.

It is out of warranty so no hope there...

Any suggestions on what I can do to permanently solve this problem? Thanks in advance!!

What a weird problem. If you set the receiver for a bi-amp configuration and then connect your speakers to the surround back terminals, does that make any difference?

I would check the wire, first. It may be shorting out at either end or may have gotten crimped somewhere in the middle.

Next diagnostic step would be to switch left and right outputs. If the problem doesn't move, it's the speaker. If it does, it's the AVR (or wire).

Good luck.

Also find this quite weird. Your description sounds like a sub with auto-on where the level has to be high enough to switch the amp on. Your speakers aren't powered are they?

That being said, LBNL's recommendations above are spot on. First determine if the AVR or the speaker has the problem.

Thank you so much for this information!
I was going to bring it in to a service center to see how much the repair would cost.
I came across your detailed info and sure enough mine tested around 282 ohms.
Following your advice, I carefully managed to remove it.
I already dread putting it back in!
That is if I manage to get one.
I live in Canada and the Pioneer site you provided only deals with Continental US.
Perhaps my Authorized Pioneer repair center here will have this part.
Wish me luck!

You can get it here...

http://parts.pioneerelectronics.com/part.asp?productNum=F320121021240-IL

They do NOT ship out of the US.

if you can't find one, sent it to me, i'll ship it to you

This is from the Canadian Pioneer site:

Thanks for all of your help, I managed to order the part.
Waiting for it to arrive and then the fun part, putting it back in!

Yesterday, I got the dreaded "blue indicator" on the front of my unit after it suddenly powered off by itself. No weird sound was heard from the receiver when this happened. Manual says its a power supply issue and to take it to an authorized repair center, which I have none near me. I'm wondering what I can do myself to try and troubleshoot and fix this issue. Also, if its really a hardware issue, is it worth trying to fix myself, or should I just invest in a new unit? Thanks in advance for any suggestions you all provide.

Sorry to hear about these issues everyone is having - I would hope to get many more years from mine

It depends on what you use the receiver for. If you use it mostly for internet music, pandora or playing your own collection, I would get something new, otherwise it's a fine receiver.

I relegated it to my bedroom because it would not power a tv and projector via a switch box like my Yamaha did and improved internet functions in the x73 line of Yamaha receivers.