The "Official" Pioneer Elite SC-55/SC-57 Owners Thread - Page 82

Interestingly I had assumed the front page of this thread was wrong re the DACs being 32 bit in both the 55 and 57 since in the 35 and 37 the former used a 24 bit dac. Not only that but the difference was larger as the 37 used multiple 2 channel 32 bit dacs vs one 8 channel 24 bit one in the 35

Took a look at the amp tech file (promotional material) PDF online for the 55 and 57 today and it states they both use multiple 2 Channel 32 bit dacs (AKM)

It sort oc makes sense as both the 55 and 57 have changeable filters (sharp,slow etc) which I think are built into the dacs

Presumably this means the 55 is much nearer to the 57 sq wise than the 35 to 37 was ?

Also did the 35 have a cut down mcaac vs the 37 ?

Seems to be the same between 55 and 57 ?

I get the "out of Phase" issue too. I found that this happened after I went to 4 ohm speakers.

^ Has nothing to do with speaker impedance but everything to do with their in-room response. In any event, a non-issue, as MCACC will fix it.

The gap has been narrowing since the 25/27 (27 had SRC and a richer feature set). 35/37 were closer, and 55/57 appear to be even closer. Not sure what/why they would do that...

cheers - although they did start of this way - the SC05 and 07 were very similar apart from the SRC in the 07 ? then they progressively drifted apart -and now - like you said - they seem to be closer again ...

I'm not worried about differences 24 vs 32 bit DAC - but I do think having a whole set of 2 channel DACs is better than having a single 8 channel DAC - hence I was not too keen on going for a 35 instead of a 37, but now I'mquite happily considering a 55 - its quite a saving over the 57

I tried it again with the front amps on th SC 57 and it was still shwoing out of phase... so back to the ATI 1502 and i went through the test. All is good even though the mains refuse to say OK.
Now for my next question. What do I do with the extra front amps. I am running 7.2 and "B" for my patio speakers. So how can I use the extra front Pioneer amps? Bi-Amp the mains which are PSB Gold i's ?

Forget the phase; it does not matter!

I would also forget about the extra amps and use all the juice in the power supply on the amps you are using. Passive bi-amping using an AVR seems to me a waste of time... There are numerous threads on the subject you can read, however.

Not all the terminals on the back have to have wires dangling from them...

Once again, Thanks for the help and advice.. Looks like it will take a while before I get through all the features and functions... Life is good! Now I hope it last longer then the Onkyo which gave up the ghost shortly after the warranty ran out !!

...just curious, it shows out of phase even though you're sure the +'s & -'s(pluses & minuses) match from speaker to receiver?

On my lx85 (sc57) i recently noticed the sound retreiver option was off. When using it on compressed dolby digital, dts or just tv programs, the sound improves on the the spot. It gets more 'weight'. Be sure to try it. I always thought the sound retreiver option was just for musicstreaming enhancement.

I read somewhere a bit of moaning about the global X over. At first thought i to that this was an disadvantage against my Onkyo 906 receiver. I'm glad i didn't turn away from the Pio receiver as it sounds fantastic and better than the 906.
There is much more clarity from the centre channel and the dynamics are better. This is with a global X over of 80hz in mij setup.

I use Mordaunt-short Genie satellite speakers as surrounds which don't go below 95hz and it hasn't mattered one bit and the sound is seemingless. I know people talk about 'stressing' a speaker, but really, 95 hz can hardly be stress for any decent build speaker.

Someone mentioned now rave reviews? Its what hifi magazine's award winner, and several German magazines gaf it there top marks.

The power issue vs the sc37? If the sc37 where a 9 channel amp, it too would have a little less power per channel, as al 9 channel amps in this price cat. do. Its a 9 channel amp that kicks out a huge amount of power.

I find it a fault of Pioneer that you guys did not get the RF remote. In europe you get it with the lx85 but not the lx75 (sc55), which seperates the two units a bit better. It fantastic and i personaly do not like OSD on my screen when making adjustments. The remote makes a osd oldskool. Shame on Pioneer USA.

really? then how do tweeters ever blow?

hint: it's not the frequency that kills speakers*...

* assuming the user isn't doing something, ummm, not too smart...

So I just have my SC-55 hooked up and calibrated. I can say that my SC-25 just sounded flat better. more depth to the mid bass and separation to the highs. To be more specific the highs never sound as high as on the SC-25. Outside of the ability for 3D pass through and the ipad app I am pretty disappointed.

Let it break in?

As I posted a few weeks ago, you really have to play around with all of the settings to get these machines to sound their best. A lot of trial and error. And I agree with t-town, this thing needs a break in period, then it starts to open up.

I finally hooked up my Pioneer Sc 55 to a Panasonic 3D blu ray player and JVC X30 projector with HDMI. The receiver is not recognizing the HDMI signal from the blu ray. I need to turn the receiver off and on 1-2 times and then it does.

Im not familiar with the internet options with the receiver but I have the internet hooked up. Am I supposed to be able to access my iTunes? My iPhone also tells me it can not control the device (receiver) using the Pioneer control app.

Any ideas for either of these problems????

Yes, I checked the wiring on the ATI amp and then even disconnected the amp and ran it directly to the SC 57 with different wiring. The front channels both L & R always show out of phase. Very odd. No problem with Audessy on the Onkyo before the SC 57

Out of curiosity how do you have the mic positioned it will have an effect on it.

I was underwhelmed when I first got the sc-55 as well. I don't know if it was breakin or manual MCAA adjustments suggested here, but I am enjoying it now.

well, since modern electronics don't "break-in"*, it's not that...

"users", otoh, who have been proven to have horrible auditory memory, as well as being subject to bias, and so on.... well....

* they either "break" or "work"....

pardon my ignorance but i have often heard of breakin speaker cable in. If indeed that is a feasible theory, wouldnt it also apply to the electrical wiring in any component? just curious as my specialty is in oil and not electronics

^^^

nah, speaker cables don't "break in" either... that would all fall underneath the category of audiophool nonsense...

Got my order in for this. Hopefully I can break it in for awhile and get the settings just the way I want it. Once I get it hooked to my marantz mm9000 amp I'm sure it'll sound good and it'll be my first pioneer elite AVR. I just hope I have better success with it than my Onkyo that is being repaired.

Once I get things adjusted the way I like it I hope it'll be great. Now I just gotta find two speakers and two stands to make it a 7.1 setup.

I sometimes go back to my old wires to see if it makes any difference. It never does so I dont think there is any truth to 'breaking in wires'

What does make a difference is silver plated teflon (milspec wire). There is a defiantly an audible difference in silver vs copper. If you haven't already heard the two side by side I suggest you hear for yourself before just saying 'there's no difference'

^^^

please provide a link to even one properly controlled test that backs up that assertion... just one...

My ears are the link, go listen for yourself. Its not a slight difference, its a NOTICEABLE difference.

It doesnt cost that much to get 10 or so ft off ebay. Give it a try, you will be suprized.

I too was just like you because I heard so many people on the net say there is no difference but that changed once I actually tried it

I'm also talking about interconnects (just to clarify)

I see we use the same drivers (seas excel magnesium drivers)

Since you seem to be more DIY you have probably heard of Troles.

Here is what he says about it
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/cables.htm

I did and there wasn't

My dealer where I bought my Magnepans and Audio Research tube preamp lent me a set of $600 Kimber KCAG silver cables for interconnects. I listened intently doing a/b comparisons between them and my existing (but also way over-priced) Monster M950's. Same recording, same amp & preamp, same volume levels. Those speakers are very high resolving & detailed so minor colorations I would expect be clearly audible.

I heard absolutely NO difference between them, none whatsoever. This plus an earlier experience with exotica speaker cables have caused me to conclude it's audiofool myth. If you choose to believe it, that's your choice.

And I've read no compelling scientific evidence why silver is "better". None. In fact, the Kimber silvers have higher capacitance, considered "bad" for reproducing highs, than mere Blue Jeans cable, Belden wire-based standard interconnects. Prove it, you say?

here ya go -

Kimber KCAG pure silver cable (not silver coated copper) -
Cp parallel capacitance: 51.0 pF @ 20Khz / meter
Ls series inductance: 0.71 uH @ 20Khz / meter

Blue Jeans Cable LC1 cable -
capacitance: 12.2 pF / ft or 39.9 pF / meter

If you say that's not enough difference in capacitance to be audible, then you've defeated any objectivity you may have had & proved the point.

Cost difference -
Blue Jeans LC1 - 4 ft = $33.75
Kimber KCAG with WBT RCA connections: 1 meter = $1140!!!

That's a lot of music & movies I can buy for $1100.

I did buy Kimber Hero's with WBT's for that preamp but back then it cost me south of $200 (~150 or so) for a 2 meter pair from my dealer. That same pair now costs $310! Would I buy them today at that price? Hell no!

You are of course free to spend your own money anyway you want. But before you start posting abstractly in absolutes, it'd be nice if you could back it up with one shred of proof that silver has better sound characteristics...

Otherwise it's nothing but subjective opinion. I trusted my ears & returned the hyped silvers since they didn't "release hidden sonic capabilities of most systems. Expansive depth and resolution of the most minute details appear from an absolute silent background." (quoting Kimber's website)

sorry... as long as those ears are connected to a human, uncontrolled "comparisons" aren't worth anything....

actually, if you were "just like me", you'd insist on controlled testing before making/accepting a general statement like the one you made... extraordianry claims require extraordinary proof...

see steve's post...

The only thing silver wire will allow the use of a much smaller awg over copper.for the same job (length of run with no apparent loss).
Break-in is your ears getting use to the sound after the window of return expires.

^^
+1
break in = getting used to a new piece of gear, speakers or fill in the blank