The "OFFICIAL" Pioneer Elite VSX-52 / 53 Owner's Thread - Page 34

If the TV has HDMI input that is the only connection you need from the AVR to the TV.
If you watch over the air broadcasts you will need an optical audio connection from the TV to the AVR.
That's it, no other connections should be required between the TV and AVR.

Turn off Kuro Link or HDMI control (whatever they are calling it now) so you can map the inputs the way you want them in the AVR.

Go to the manual setup screen, each speaker will allow you to select large or small. I suggest setting all speakers to small, sub woofer to yes, crossover 80Hz.
When you run the auto cal select "keep speaker settings".
If the sub woofer trim contol is more than +/-3 dB from zero adjust the volume control on the sub and run the cal again. Repeat until the auto cal sets the sub woofer channel trim to zero +/-3dB.
If bass is weak do not adjust the volume on the sub, adjust the subwoofer channel trim in the AVR.

Get your 5.1 channel setup working correctly before adding more speakers.

Study the manual there is a lot of info there and it has to be taken as a whole (there is a difference between reading the manual and studying it).

Thats some good info right there. All I have is an HDMI cable from AVR to TV
Sat box has HDMI to AVR
Blu-Ray has HDMI to AVR
I can stream movies via the Blu-Ray & get correct sound but not using the TV to stream via Viera. So- I do have an extra optical cable- how do I set that up so it's switches to the optical when streaming from the TV?

Yeah, my tv doesn't have HDMI, so I've got a component cable and a composite video running to the TV. Oh, and an S-Video but that's running straight from my laserdisc as Pioneer decided that type of connection doesn't belong on a receiver anymore!

I'll give a good look as to what the sub settings are right now. The recommendation in the manual for the Boston Micro series is to set the cross over at 120hz, but that's not an option with this receiver. When I run the MCACC, it sets it at 150hz and then I go into manual and change it to 100. So ignore what Boston says and set it to 80hz?

I did make one change to my speaker setup today. I had my fronts 19 feet apart from each other, which I thought would be fine...keeped 'em even with my surrounds. Problem was, my center channel always seemed so low in volume. Like I'd have the volume up to hear dialogue, and then an action sequence would start and the volume would just jump up cause the fronts kicked into high gear. So I moved 'em in 5 feet away from center each and ran MCACC again. Sounded a lot better, but still feel like the center channel is too low on volume, that dialogue just is too low and not punchy enough.

I read in a much earlier thread that video is not possible via AirPlay on the VSX-53, only audio?

1. Can this please be confirmed? (I experienced exactly this when trying, audio but no video)

2. What are the workarounds? Can I use a cable from the iPad to either the VSX or my TV to get video, and then I guess use AirPlay for audio?

3. Or maybe to even further simplify, if I want to watch movies from my iPad (can't wait to fire up The Wire on HBO Go) on my TV what is the suggested method of doing so?

1. Only audio no video with airplay on Pioneer AVRs.
2. You can buy the AppleTV for $100 and it will do it.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/hom...amily/apple_tv

wow that stinks. oh well, thanks for the info.

I'm confused. I just purchased this 52 and in the middle of setup. I thought this was a 7.1 receiver and when I got to the back of I noticed there were 2 sub jacks. Which one should I use and why 2 sub jacks if it is a 7.1 system.

Thanks

No HDMI = bummer (You can get a 60 or 65 in Mitsubshi DLP for under $700 these days... just sayin') I am sure you love all your old electronics (I know I did, I had some of it longer than either wife) but it might be time to think about going hi-def (again, just sayin' .... once the old stuff is gone you won't miss it much)

I did not realize the limitations of your speakers, leave the crossover at 150, in this case it is most likely the best option.
With those speakers front L/R spacing should be no more than 10 ft and 7 would probably be better.
How far away is the listening / viewing position ?
Since you said original spacing was 19 feet, I think you are asking a lot out of your speaker system.

To help dialogue increase the center channel speaker level in the AVR, try a 3 dB increase to start with.

For multi channel sources leave the AVR in AUTO SURROUND MODE.

So I just purchased the VSX 52 to go along with my Kuro and BPD 05. Now I am trying to work the system so that I do not have to always have my AVR on when I want to watch TV (FIOS) or play the XBOX. I believe this is where Kuro Link/ HDMI control comes into play.

Thanks for the help

Well, it pained me to do it, but I dumped my Elite 35TX receiver and Elite DV37 DVD player at an electronics recycling drive yesterday. I wasn't terribly upset about the receiver, as it couldn't even do true HD pass through with the component out (only 480P), not to mention the blown amp, blown right surround channel, and sudden loss of remote functions. Because of that I got the 52, so I'm all good.

The DVD player on the other hand. Call it sentimentality, but I really liked having it. When I bought it, there were next to no progressive scan players out and it was whisper quiet. A few years later when I got a PS2 slim, I had to laugh that the video quality was identical and for a fraction of the cost. Still, the 37 looked great in my rack and performed wonderfully. Sometime last year it started having major problems though. Some discs it wouldn't play at all, others it would go for 5-10 minutes and then just shut down. My PS3 took over as my player, but still I hung on to it just in case a solution ever popped up. I looked for one more intently this weekend, knowing if I didn't find one I'd drop it off for recycling. I found others had the same problem, no fix was ever offered. The straw the broke the camels back was I saw 2 for sale from different sellers on eBay, going for $35. That hurt! I paid damn near $600 11 years ago.

Oh well. Probably gonna feel that way when I finally replace the piece of furniture that is my Elite 510 HD RPTV with a new flat screen. I've been mentally getting myself ready for that though, letting it's flaws nag at me and scoffing at the advice of the people over in the "don't dump your CRT projection TV" thread.

Hurray I got it. I feel like such a donkey now.

First off to those who may be in my predicament, The Standby mode should perhaps be called something else. What was confusing for me was that when I thought Standby, I figured the receiver would be off or even semi off, but no the receiver is still on in all its glory. What you are simply doing is saying where the audio is coming from; is it coming from the TV speakers or the receivers speakers. So now I have the sound coming from the TV. I think this is the best I can do.

One of my concerns was how much power I was burning having the Receiver on, i was hoping that I could save power without having to turn the receiver on, but atlast it looks like my only option would be to use the Eco mode on the receiver. Also I have to believe since I am not powering my speakers, I am saving energy there too.

Now if I can only solve all this pixelating that has been occuring since I hooked this reciever.

^^^

"standby" is what you would consider "off" to be, so no, you haven't gotten it working "right" yet...

Bullocks. So any thoughts on what I am doing wrong?

^^^

sadly, no... hdmi control is flaky to begin with, and pio's implementation of it (which you are required to use) is even flakier than most...

i've seen very few examples of people getting hdmi passthrough to work with pio avrs, unfortunately...

If youre using 7.1 then use sub input 1. The other is for 3.2/5.2/7.2.

Hehe, you misunderstand. My tv is HD, it's just I was an early adopter and HDMI hadn't even been dreamed of yet! Believe me, although my set will do 1080i, it won't do 720p which screws me with the majority of video games. Every time I play a game that defaults down to 480, I fume. My problem is money and the fact my eyes are firmly locked on 70" sets and above. The models I'm looking at are north of $2500. God help me when I put eyes on one of those OLED sets coming out.

So I went and set the crossover to 80Hz, turned the sub way down, and ran the auto cal again. Sub is now at -1.0dB, where before it was at -12.0dB. I raised the center channel 1 decibal to make it a little more punchy, we'll see how it sounds tonight when I watch some stuff. I threw in the opening of Lord of the Rings which always proved problematic in the past, and it sounded good.

I sit 12' back from my TV. The fronts are now 15' from me, center obviously at 12'. Rears are 7' and 11' from my primary viewing seat on the couch. I've been really pleased with the sound and balance the receiver set up initially for those. I never was able to get it right with my prior receiver.

Again, I'll have to see how things sound tonight. If I wanna play around with the x-overs, do I need to run the cal everytime? Can I just manually set it on both the receiver and sub and quickly compare the difference in sound, or will that not be an accurate way to tell. For that matter, what exactly would I be listening for? Am I correct in thinking that the at 80Hz, I'm asking the speakers to produce more low end sound than if set to 150Hz, which would be asking my sub to do a lot more of the heavy lifting? Anybody have a recommendation for a particular scene in a particular movie I should be listening to to really hear the differences?

Oh, and I did hook up my PS3 with HDMI to the receiver just so I could get the HD audio from Blu-Ray.

I understood the TV situation, still think no HDMI = bummer.
Was not aware that the old displays were not 720p compatible though, again = bummer.

To the crossover questions.
There is no answer from Pioneer on this.
Several forum members took it upon themselves to test this (listening by ear on a different model AVR) and concluded that you can change it on the fly without recalibrating.
I personally have my doubts about changing it on the fly and for my own peace of mind I recalibrate if I change the crossover, it just doesn't take very long to calibrate and then I know the crossover is taken into account.

You are correct that the at 80Hz, I'm asking the speakers to produce more low end sound than if set to 150Hz
Since you said the recommended crossover for your speakers is 120 if you crossover lower than that no speaker will be producing sound between 120 and the crossover point.
The reason being the small speakers are not capable of producing the frequencies below 120 Hz and the AVR is directing those frequencies away from the subwoofer resulting in those frequencies being lost or at best being at a lower volume level.

Quite honestly you have a very large room for your speaker system to handle.
I do think it is important to try to achieve the best setup / sound that you can, but there is only so much that is possible with what you have.
You can achieve "good" sound, but you cannot achieve "theater" sound.
There is a thread on the forum where movies with good bass are detailed, most even have the exact time stamp included.
Some I recall are War of the Worlds (pod emergence scene) Kung Fu Panda (skidoosh scene) U571 (depth charge scene) and Flight of the Phoenix (from the point where they start having airplanr problems until they hit the ground) and Black Hawk Down (don't remember the scene).

Good luck and enjoy your new AVR.

Have you considered trying an HDfury to convert the HDMI output from your receiver to component ? You should be able to scale all video to 1080i on the Elite . I used the HDfury when I was still using my Toshiba TW40X81 CRT RPTV with my Oppo BD-83. I got the benefit of the Oppo's upconversion with DVD .

So as some of you know I've been working on setting up my new receiver Pio VSX52 this past weekend. And like most, I was having issues with HDMI Control/Pass through/Standby (I couldn't watch cable TV or XBOX without turning on the receiver). And like most I could not figure out the solution to the problem. But me thinks I got it out now.

The answer is pretty simple really. The issue was not with the receiver, the issue was with my FIOS Cable box and Xbox. The word issue might be harsh, but it turns out that both my Fios box and my XBOX (I haven't official confirmed the XBOX yet) do not have the HDMI Control function. I was however able to do so with my Blu Ray player. I turned on the HDMI Control on the Blu Ray and wala it worked. I watched a movie with out the AVR being on. Moreover, the small blue HDMI indicator on the receiver came on assuring me the receiver is on standby.

Now having said all this, I am going to turn the HDMI control off. While it is great it works for my BDP-05, let's face it I am not going to ever watch a Blu ray with the AVR off.

So my solution and to those in the same predicament would be before you hastily remove the HDMI connections from behind your TV to get the single connection with the AVR keep a few connected to the back of the TV. Right now I am going to go back and reconnect both my Xbox and Fios box back to the TV so I can view those devices without having to turn the AVR on. Moreover I will connect an optical cable from both devices directly into the AVR so in the event I do want have audio come from the AVR I can do so. (Not sure if the XBOX has an optical cable outlet though)

As for the HDMI control, perhaps some of the experts can discuss in more detail, but it is my understanding that this is something that and AVR or an AVR manufacturer can be programmed/built to fix. It is more so of how each individual component is built. Hopefully in the future more and more products will be built with this in mind.

Most OTA broadcasts, most cable TV channels, most games all have 5.1 channel sound.
I really cannot imagine going back to just using the TV speakers for anything as long as I have a 5.1 channel audio system available.
I know many people think being able to have pass through is important, but I just don't understand why you would want to it when you have a HT system available.

^^^

agreed...

but then again, my "tv" doesn't even have speakers...

I thought about it. I just don't feel like dumping any more money towards this TV. I know it's 'only' $250 or something like that, but since I'm looking at a new TV within a year or two, that's $250 pissed to the wind. Plus my wife doesn't know about that solution and I need all the ammo I can get to convince her to ditch the 510 in favor of something much larger!

Prior to hooking up my VSX52 to the 111fd, with the exception of when I played a blu ray the info on the top right of my screen always said 1080i ofcourse the blu ray would say 1080p.

Now with the vsx hooked up I see 1080p 36 bit when I am watching regular TV. I must say that although it says 1080p, it does not look as sharp as blu ray which tells me not all 1080p are the same.

So the vsx is upconverting my Kuro Pic, but what exactly is the 36 bit that shows on the screen and how does affect the overall picture. i can tell something is happening to the picture but I can not put my thumb on it.

Thanks

^^^

"36 bit" means it's using 36 bit color... since "tv" isn't 36 bit color, it's interpolating...

no, i would be shocked if a tv broadcast was as "good" as a blu-ray disc*... it's bitrate (not to mention multiple encoding passes) that makes the blu-ray "better"...

I agree with you 1000% but let's face it, this home theatre might be the closest I will get to owning a Corvette so for intents and purposes this is my girl; So hands off everybody.

1 Having said this right now my 5.1 is not complete I;m in a 3.1 set up for the next couple of weeks. So perhaps after I hear 5.1 in all its glory I will change my mind.

2. I have to share my Man cave with my two boys
So I have to make the availablity to the XBOX and Cable box as simply as possible.

3. Power Cosumption, I am not a tree hugger or anything like that, but It does seem senseless to me to pull extra power just to watch the news or aimlessly channel surf at 1200pm at night.

I am looking for configuration guidence for VSX-52. I was very excited to receive the unit. I have run the auto MCAA and lowered the crossover to 50. Speakers are 5 voice matched infinitys, 2 Primus P363, 2 primus p153 and a slightly older Pc250. Previous to the VSX I was driving the speakers with JVC RX-8020VBK 100 watts x 5 min. RMS, into 8 ohms. These speakers would pound out the bass. now it seems the bass is just not there with the VSX-52. It seems that there are so many settings I am lost. Also I seem to get static on the center channel when is THX cinema mode. Any guidance would be great. Thanks in advance

LOL my hands are in my pockets man, I ain't messing with your lady.
Ease of use was a requirement in my home too, a Harmony One remote control solved all the setup issues.

Since you do not have a sub just make sure you have not set your speakers to small because than it may not send the bass to your fronts and try to send to your sub which you do not have.

Just recently hooked up my vsx-53 after Pioneer finally gave me a replacement for my vsx-33 - the process took months but that's another story. Anyway, the picture is bad using HDMI. Faces look very red and the picture looks more like a DVD, very soft. Are there any settings I'm missing or should I just call Pioneer... again.

thanks