Pioneer Elite VSX-32 / 33 Owners' Thread - Page 2

Yeah Ive been told that it prolly is a bad wire somewhere or a loose strand touchin like you said. Thats what first came to my mind when it started doin this. I have triple and quadruple checked all connections at the back of the reciever and at the terminals on the each speaker. Can't find any loose strands. My rear surround wire runs are pretty dam long though and if there were to be a weakest link it may be there. Should I just scrap my speaker cables and start fresh? Im still using the same cables that I used in my old 5.1 setup I first had 3 years ago and I have hooked and unhooked them tons of times. You guys got any suggestions on a good place to order speaker cables and banana connectors? Brand as well as guage of wire? Would this be the best failsafe way to connect my speakers to my 32? Thanks guys! I really would love to fix this problem as I love my 32. Its sound quality is superb and I really got it dialed in to my liking by spending two straight weekends tweaking settings and running reverb readings. Lossless audio is such a treat on this amp. I would be perfectly content if I could just turn it up to -18 or a bit higher and not be on edge as to when the amps protection is gonna trip.

I don't know much about why you're getting the issue. However, IF you are needing new wire make sure you run the proper gauge for the distance.

For speaker wire go ahead and use this as a starting point:
http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#wiretable

Apparently Monoprice is where it's at for banana plugs. I didn't want to wait for delivery from an online store so I went to Lowes Hardware and picked up the "Value Pack" 5 pair of plugs for $22. Not the best deal at all but I wanted to have them right then and there.

I may have an answer for your iPod question, because i'm having the same (i think) problem. When i play music through my iPhone 3GS connected to the cable the sound crackles at random points in the song with any song. tonight i tried my brother's iPod classic, and my friend's iPhone 4; theirs were fine, but mine still crackled. I even tried loading my song from my computer to their device to see if maybe it was a problem with data transfer from my computer, but it worked fine. Only thing i can think of is something to do with the dock connector on the iPhone/iPod. I've tried different cables as well. The weird thing is that it doesn't happen when i connect my phone in my car through the dock port. From what i can tell the receiver is fine, and my wiring is all spread out so electromagnetic interference is not a problem.

Good luck!

I find this disappointing. Am I overreacting? It seems like a useful feature to be able to upgrade the firmware without having to haul your unit into a service shop. Or perhaps firmware upgrades are unneeded and rare?

I wouldn't say you are overreacting. Firmware updates have now become a way of life. They used to be reserved for the geek-elite who actually knew what they were doing, but now phones, tvs, blu-rays, game systems, even other receivers have firmware updates: why not the pioneer VSX-32/33?

What i find disappointing is that many home theater items are limited to a wired connection unless you purchase an adapter. WiFi in this day and age is so easy to integrate it is child's play! Electromagnetic interference? Electrical engineers are paid to get rid of it. Wifi is something we should see standard by next year. I do see the value of hardwired connections of course but it's nice to have the option w/o being charged half an arm.

If we can send a man to the moon, then we can haz wifiz, firmwarez, and cheezeburgurz

rant /off

After waiting for a long time for my VSX-32 to be released (date was postponed a couple of times) I finally got it in late August. Havent' had the chance to play around with it, only to play blu-ray movies.
Anyway, just came across a great offer on what many will consider a considerable upgrade and so this one is up for sale.
Again, only had it for a little bit and purchased from an Pioneer authorized retailer.

thanks

When I got home I tried playing my iTunes library streaming through my ps3. It sounds awesome, no crackling whatsoever.. must be either the 3GS or the cord..

also...does opening the unit void the warranty? I just want to have a look around the insides :P

It is a bit disappointing, but I wouldn't get hung up about it. Yes, many products nowadays need firmware updates all the time, but that's mainly because companies push products out the door before they're really ready for prime time...and as a result, a lot of bugs and flaws get exposed. Onkyo has gotten a lot of flack in recent years for this for their receivers. However, my impression from reading other owner's posts about Pioneer is that they run a pretty tight ship when it comes to their receivers, and the need for any firmware updates is pretty rare.

That's not to say all of Pioneer is this way. My 51FD blu-ray player needed every firmware update it could get from Pioneer.

But, as has been said, it's already got the ethernet port...an auto firmware updating & installing process couldn't be that hard to write into the receiver's OS. (Though I do wish WiFi was implemented on the whole.) But nobody's perfect. I'd rather a unit be working out of the box and not need to have any updates, than have a buggy unit that require I update it constantly to make it work like it should have in the first place.

I just bought a VSX-32 a few days ago, and it works excellent!

The iPhone app is the icing on the cake.

I'm upgrading from a 5.1 system, and I'm using an existing Adcom 5 channel amplifier. I have floor standing B&W front speakers, and B&W rears and center. They sound amazing.

When I bought the receiver, I had planned on upgrading to 7.1. I experimented with a few different speaker configurations, and I am unhappy with them all. First, I tried the "Front height" configuration, with two extra speakers above the fronts. I ran the "MCACC" and found out that with the extra front heights, you need an extra set of rear speakers as well. There's no configuration for a 7.1 system with two rears and 4 fronts. I ran it anyways, with the extra pair of rear speakers missing. I found out the hard way that this isn't supported by standard 5.1 or 7.1 and you have to put the receiver into the special "PLXII Height" mode to get them to work. When I did that, it shut off the rear speakers!

Then, I relocated my extra front speakers and I tried the "standard" 7.1 configuration with an extra pair of rear speakers. I ran the MCACC in 7.1 configuration and all the speakers worked great. I rummaged through my Blu Ray collection for a title that had a 7.1 soundtrack, and luckily, I found Weeds. Even with a 7.1 title, I wasn't getting what I felt to be a proper 7.1 mix. The surrounds (the pair between the front and rear) were getting all the rear audio, and the rears were barely on at all.) Although, all 7 speaker icons were displayed on the receiver. I tried a 5.1 disc and it was the same.

So, has anyone hooked up a 7.1 system yet? Have you tried it in "front height" configuration, or any other configuration? Are you happy with it?

I'm thinking of selling those extra two speakers I bought and just running it in 5.1 instead. I'm thinking of bi-amping the front floor standing speakers using 4 channels from the Adcom amplifier, and then just running the rear speakers straight from the receiver.

What do you all think?

Homer

What version of iOS are you running on the ipod? If it's 4.1, then the audio problems are a known issue -- one that has affected car audio, from several manufacturers, as well. There is supposedly a fix being worked on for 4.2.

You're not alone.

Oh ok thanks!!! Then I won't send my iPhone in for service

This is actually my second pioneer reciever in a row. First I ordered an 1120 and it did the same thing. I returned it for a vsx-32 and it would go into protection at about the same volume level. The 32 would get much louder than the 1120 was before it would go into protection so i figured it was just the elite that was running my speakers better. So since they both did it it must be the wiring. Im gonna replace it all. I'll do the trick that you recommended to see if I have a bad speaker. It still can play at a pretty loud setting without shutting off. I can leave it on -20 with all my levels at around 0 without it shutting off. Friends that come over to watch a movie think im crazy for not thinking that its loud enough. But I guess I love it closer to reference levels. Thanks for your help man

Do the Pioneer receivers support ethernet over HDMI? I need to buy a new HDMI cable to run from my receiver (which I don't own yet) and my new Sony NX810 television. I'm not sure if I should get an HDMI cable with ethernet or not. Any advice on this would be terrific.

No they do not but get the hdmi with Ethernet since you'll be running it through the wall...it's a just-in-case idea

How are everyone's experience with the iPod/iPhone connector cable? What specific types of videos does it support and not support.

I have my iPhone loaded with a bunch of different video podcasts in various formats. But no TV episodes or movies that I have purchased. It says there are no videos on the phone. Does it not support the podcasts?

Also, I just read that the new Netflix app for the iPhone 4 will now support the video output. Is there any way to output video using the supplied iPhone connector cable through the receiver? Or do I have to buy a different iPhone component or composite connector cable that has the audio and video separately instead of the audio coming over USB?

What are everyone else's experiences using the iPhone connector cable? Good? Bad?

Homer

^^^ minus the crackling which is supposedly a problem with the iPhone 3GS OS I have no problem except there's no way to make the cable longer because extensions don't work

this really sucks...There is not one place in Maine, according to Pioneer, that sells the Pioneer Elite VSX-32. So I am relegated to sneaking a purchase off of the internet and hoping that nothing goes with it. I like to be faithful to Pioneer but damn are they making it hard!

Fellas,

I'm setting up and testing my VSX-33 and encountering some problems. I sure could use some help.

I have connected my Sony blu-ray player (BDP-S570) to the "BD" HDMI input on the back of the receiver. The disc plays back-- I have audio and video, but it doesn't seem to be playing back the proper audio format. Or at least it's not reporting it on the receiver's display.

The blu-ray player, under "Audio Settings" is set to "Audio (HDMI): Auto". (The only other option is PCM.)

Yet when I play "The Devil Wears Prada", the front of the receiver says "PCM". This blu-ray disc has a DTS HD Master Audio sound track on it, which I selected in the disc's on-screen menu. Why is the Pio saying "PCM"?

Next I connected my Oppo blu-ray player (PDB-83) as a test. On the Oppo's settings I've set "Audio Format Setup > HDMI Audio" to both "Auto" and "Bitstream". With either of these, the receiver says "DTS" but does not display the icon for "MASTER AUDIO". Why?

Last test-- I tried the "Fatal Attraction" blu-ray disc (still using the Oppo) which has a Dolby True HD soundtrack. The receiver reports "DTS".... Fatal Attraction doesn't even have a DTS soundtrack on it.

I am utterly confused.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you may be able to offer.

Hi benrub, is the Sony S570 "BD Audio" set to "Direct"?

There is no such option. Or, if there is, I can't find it.

In the menu for the Sony player, under "Setup > Audio Settings" there is an option called "Audio (HDMI)". The choices there are "Auto" or "PCM". There are no other options. I've got it set to "Auto".

BUT WAIT! As I'm typing this I seem to have solved it. The Sony has a rather odd setting- also under "Audio Settings"- called "BD Audio MIX Setting", the description of which is "Set whether to mix interactive audio and output". No idea what that means. It was ON, I changed it to OFF and voila! Seem to be fine now. I've attached photos.

Still not sure why the Oppo wasn't working, but I plan to use the Sony anyway.

Going to keep playing with this thing now. Thanks again.

Sony must change up alittle, yes set Mix to Off .

Pardon my ignorance, but how would you "swap" out the power cords? Don't the power cords come welded onto the device?

Secondly, how much difference could these Pangea cables make? I mean, are AVR mfrs. really using ****** power cables with their products?? And instead of purchasing a few of these Pangeas, doesn't it make more sense to purchase a quality power/line conditioner (e.g. Panamax) and connect all power cables into that? An active component (conditioner) seems potentially more useful than just different cables.

Anyone can answer this, not just the user I quoted.

No the power cord is not welded to the device. It's detachable.

This sounds highly scientific spelling and all


"noticeable in the bass" - so they're saying if I plug this miracle cable into my computer or TV or wherever else this cable fits that gadget will get better bass? SWEET!

Why isn't everyone doing this!

Has anyone tried the Logitech Harmony® 700 with the 32 yet? I know some has said about some logitechs you have to select the 33 for it to work. Main thing I'm looking for is to replace my Moxi DRV remote bc I can't hold down the volume button, I have to press it for ever .5 db. Which seems stupid but it gets really annoying sometimes.
Thanks
PS also please recommend any better remote that isn't a ton of money. Looking $100 or less(found the 700 on ebay for around that)