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The "Official" Pioneer Elite SC-55/SC-57 Owners Thread - Page 124

post #3691 of 3857
1/7/13 at 6:45am
If all your speakers are the same, find a good EQ curve and program those parameters into each speaker. Takes a couple minutes but really it's no big deal. If your speakers are different sizes you might want to use REW as well to profile each pair and come up with an EQ curve that looks good. Once the speakers are EQd in this manner, I used a sound meter to level-match to within 1/2db and a tape measure to set speaker distances.

OK I admit it, I always do it this way regardless of the brand of the receiver. I'm totally pleased with the results - there's nothing the receiver could do with auto MCACC that would be more accurate than a proper manual calibration.

Do not sweat the SQ of the receiver, it's as good as any high-end unit out there with plenty of power and extra low THD.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Izzy256 View Post

I did run mcacc and have tried it off. Is their a EQ setting that you can apply to all the speakers at one time. The equalizer settings that the system comes up with seem really strange to me there are sporadic all over the map.
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post #3692 of 3857
1/7/13 at 11:29pm
Big thanks to purdyd.

I now have a working ethernet -> serial proxy using a raspberrypi, usb-serial converter and using a modified version of code based on that found at http://mythtvblog.blogspot.com.au/2009/05/controlling-sharp-aquos-tv-via-serial.html

The code still needs quite a bit of tweeking as it will crash if the volume is adjusted too fast and iControlAV2 works. Yet iControlAV2012 fails to finish the handshakes, though as I've managed to get this to fire up when taking to my faker script so it should be easily fixed.
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post #3693 of 3857
1/8/13 at 6:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Izzy256 View Post

I did run mcacc and have tried it off. Is their a EQ setting that you can apply to all the speakers at one time. The equalizer settings that the system comes up with seem really strange to me there are sporadic all over the map.

You should look at your reverb graph and you might try changing your delay time

http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/download.jsp?dir=/files/brochures/04_MCACC&filename=04_MCACC_EN.pdf&method=attachment

You can also tweak the mcacc settings by hand

If you use the android or iOS icontrol av2 app you can easily equalize everything at once

You should also double check the speaker distances as cackulated by mcacc
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post #3694 of 3857
1/8/13 at 2:50pm
Is there a way to change the volume default as inputs are changed? I see it can be done when powering on but couldn't find anything on input changing. I thought my old Denon has this capability. Sometimes when I go from cable to HMG, the volume difference is huge.
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post #3695 of 3857
1/8/13 at 3:33pm
not that I know of. volume setting applies to all inputs.
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post #3696 of 3857
1/8/13 at 7:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mxcrash View Post

Big thanks to purdyd.
I now have a working ethernet -> serial proxy using a raspberrypi, usb-serial converter and using a modified version of code based on that found at http://mythtvblog.blogspot.com.au/2009/05/controlling-sharp-aquos-tv-via-serial.html
The code still needs quite a bit of tweeking as it will crash if the volume is adjusted too fast and iControlAV2 works. Yet iControlAV2012 fails to finish the handshakes, though as I've managed to get this to fire up when taking to my faker script so it should be easily fixed.

Nice!
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post #3697 of 3857
1/8/13 at 9:15pm
Just got a SC-55 open box floor model no remote. Less than six bills at Best Buy. Been going through this thread and wondering with the BT adapter can you stream the output from your android tablet ICS to the SC-55. Say your listening to a internet radio stream will it play on the SC-55. I am far from a tech guy . Bye the way replaced my Vsx 1018 with this and never told the wife and she commented on how good the sound is.
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post #3698 of 3857
1/9/13 at 11:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by franklyfred View Post

Just got a SC-55 open box floor model no remote. Less than six bills at Best Buy. Been going through this thread and wondering with the BT adapter can you stream the output from your android tablet ICS to the SC-55. Say your listening to a internet radio stream will it play on the SC-55. I am far from a tech guy . Bye the way replaced my Vsx 1018 with this and never told the wife and she commented on how good the sound is.

not an android expert but my guess is that you don't need the blue tooth adapter, if you connect the SC-55 to your network and find the right app

i can say from an iOS device, you can do exactly what you are asking about, through the ethernet network
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post #3699 of 3857
1/9/13 at 11:46am
The Android app also works with the SC-55, via the network.
Quote:
Originally Posted by purdyd View Post

not an android expert but my guess is that you don't need the blue tooth adapter, if you connect the SC-55 to your network and find the right app
i can say from an iOS device, you can do exactly what you are asking about, through the ethernet network
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post #3700 of 3857
1/9/13 at 11:01pm
Thanks . Have the SC-55 hardwired to the network. So if I find a app any thoughts on that? What I want to do is say listening to shoutcast on the tablet and want to hear the stream through the SC-55. What input would it be on ? Have a Iphone and got the airplay going can you somehow airplay the shoutcast app out? Not really up on this stuff but if I have no need for an adapter. Thats great
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post #3701 of 3857
1/10/13 at 12:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by imagic View Post

If all your speakers are the same, find a good EQ curve and program those parameters into each speaker. Takes a couple minutes but really it's no big deal. If your speakers are different sizes you might want to use REW as well to profile each pair and come up with an EQ curve that looks good. Once the speakers are EQd in this manner, I used a sound meter to level-match to within 1/2db and a tape measure to set speaker distances.

OK I admit it, I always do it this way regardless of the brand of the receiver. I'm totally pleased with the results - there's nothing the receiver could do with auto MCACC that would be more accurate than a proper manual calibration.

Do not sweat the SQ of the receiver, it's as good as any high-end unit out there with plenty of power and extra low THD.

In a multichannel system the EQ of all the speakers can be different even if all the speakers are the same. The interaction of the speaker and room location is what MCACC is adjusting. Also, some distances are not precise due to MCACC measuring sound wave travel to the mic. Distances should be fine measured by MCACC for speaker setup.Doing all the manual measuring of distances and the use of a spl is more a matter of individual preferenace and old habits.
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post #3702 of 3857
1/10/13 at 5:46am
If that was 100% true then auto-setup programs like MCACC and Audyssey wouldn't require tweaking after they run their routines. Manual programming of MCACC can yield superior results. If MCACC works for you, by all means use it. An alternative is to use the standard 'auto' mode to find speaker distances and levels, but to program the EQ manually - probably the best case for combining automation and 'personal taste'. I find it is more likely to make an error taking measurements than a human being.
Quote:
Originally Posted by derrickdj1 View Post

In a multichannel system the EQ of all the speakers can be different even if all the speakers are the same. The interaction of the speaker and room location is what MCACC is adjusting. Also, some distances are not precise due to MCACC measuring sound wave travel to the mic. Distances should be fine measured by MCACC for speaker setup.Doing all the manual measuring of distances and the use of a spl is more a matter of individual preferenace and old habits.

Edited by imagic - 1/10/13 at 7:10am
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post #3703 of 3857
1/10/13 at 6:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by franklyfred View Post

Thanks . Have the SC-55 hardwired to the network. So if I find a app any thoughts on that? What I want to do is say listening to shoutcast on the tablet and want to hear the stream through the SC-55. What input would it be on ? Have a Iphone and got the airplay going can you somehow airplay the shoutcast app out? Not really up on this stuff but if I have no need for an adapter. Thats great

What you are looking for is a rectangle with a little triangle at the bottom, for example open the music player and you should see it, you click on it and select the sc55, if network standby is on, it will turn on the receiver and start playing, you can adjust volume just like on you iOS device

Or use the icontrolav2 app

Many apps have this little icon in them for selecting airplay devices, those that don't, you should be able to reroute you sound

Sorry I don't have an iPhone but on the ipad you can easily do it with a double tap on the home key and swipe over to the left

[IMG]

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post #3704 of 3857
1/10/13 at 1:21pm
Hello everybody, I am thinking of picking up a SC-55 on clearance. I currently have a VSX-92TXH that I'm pretty happy with, but there are some firmware issues that bother me with it. That being said are their any known issues I should look for with the SC-55? I did a couple of searches on the forum here but 124 pages is a lot to go through. Any help would be appreciated.
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post #3705 of 3857
1/10/13 at 3:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by six172 View Post

Hello everybody, I am thinking of picking up a SC-55 on clearance. I currently have a VSX-92TXH that I'm pretty happy with, but there are some firmware issues that bother me with it. That being said are their any known issues I should look for with the SC-55? I did a couple of searches on the forum here but 124 pages is a lot to go through. Any help would be appreciated.
The only thing you need to look out for is the receiver outputs going completely dead. No audio or video. Easy fix is to unplug all HDMI inputs and outputs, power down the receiver then power back up.

I've only had this happen once to me so it's not common. It does confuse people however because they think their receiver is completely dead.
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post #3706 of 3857
1/10/13 at 10:48pm
Hi guys. I'm looking at picking up an SC-55 in the next day or two, so long as it will fit my needs. I'm coming from a H/K AVR 354 that lived a pretty short life, less than 4 years, dying just a month after my parents AVR 254, both purchased at the same time.

I had a few questions that I was hoping some could chime in on before I go digging through a large owners manual.

Can the inputs be renamed? This is something I was quite keen on with the Harmon Kardon. IE, HDMI 1 was renamed to HTPC, HDMI2 > FIOS, HDMI3 > Playstation3, etc.

Second, I assume the scaler will take composite / component inputs and output them via HDMI, allowing a single cable to the monitor?

For Zone2, is it capable of using a HDMI input (IE, PS3) if it is already using another digital input for the main outputs? My Harmon could only send analog sources to Zone2 and that created an issue for how I originally wanted to set it up when I first bought it.

How well does the direct iPod connection work? I loved that the H/K came with a nice dock to set your iPod/iPhone in, but it was so dog slow at attempting to find music that I just gave up and never used it, instead just pulled up the HTPC and streamed via that.

Thanks for the input!
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post #3707 of 3857
1/11/13 at 12:27am
Thanks PurdyD . Found the apps that airplay works great with. Guess what I was looking for something along the lines when I had a bluetooth deck in the car. Then the phone would pair up and stream whatever the phone was playing. Very simple and easy. Will the pioneer BT adapter do that? Like to not spend the bucks if that function will not work. Again Thanks for the answers
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post #3708 of 3857
1/11/13 at 7:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordAthens View Post

Can the inputs be renamed? This is something I was quite keen on with the Harmon Kardon. IE, HDMI 1 was renamed to HTPC, HDMI2 > FIOS, HDMI3 > Playstation3, etc.
Yes. You get the renamed version in large type on the display and you get the original input name in a very small font on the display, so you know which jacks you used to get there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordAthens View Post

Second, I assume the scaler will take composite / component inputs and output them via HDMI, allowing a single cable to the monitor?
Yes, although when I needed to watch some old VHS tape, I plugged it directly into the TV, which also upscales, rather than the receiver. Still got full audio because the audio went to the receiver via the ARC. And by the way, if you use ARC, the TV analog audio input can't be used, so you lose one input. HDMI in goes only to HDMI Out. Component and Composite in goes to HDMI out, Component out and Composite out. There's a little chart on page 22 of the Operating Instructions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordAthens View Post

For Zone2, is it capable of using a HDMI input (IE, PS3) if it is already using another digital input for the main outputs? My Harmon could only send analog sources to Zone2 and that created an issue for how I originally wanted to set it up when I first bought it.
See the manual or maybe someone else will answer. I don't personally use the Zones. I know there are some limitations, some of which have been resolved in the new models where you actually can send HDMI to another zone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordAthens View Post

How well does the direct iPod connection work? I loved that the H/K came with a nice dock to set your iPod/iPhone in, but it was so dog slow at attempting to find music that I just gave up and never used it, instead just pulled up the HTPC and streamed via that.
It comes with a cable (with the old dock connector, not the new Lightning connector), not a dock, but it works fine. But more importantly, you can use Airplay wirelessly either from the iPod or from your Mac, if you have one. But IIRC, this all only works for audio, I don't believe you can easily send video from the iPod or iPhone through the system.
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post #3709 of 3857
1/11/13 at 7:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordAthens View Post

Hi guys. I'm looking at picking up an SC-55 in the next day or two, so long as it will fit my needs. I'm coming from a H/K AVR 354 that lived a pretty short life, less than 4 years, dying just a month after my parents AVR 254, both purchased at the same time.

I had a few questions that I was hoping some could chime in on before I go digging through a large owners manual.

Can the inputs be renamed? This is something I was quite keen on with the Harmon Kardon. IE, HDMI 1 was renamed to HTPC, HDMI2 > FIOS, HDMI3 > Playstation3, etc.

Second, I assume the scaler will take composite / component inputs and output them via HDMI, allowing a single cable to the monitor?

For Zone2, is it capable of using a HDMI input (IE, PS3) if it is already using another digital input for the main outputs? My Harmon could only send analog sources to Zone2 and that created an issue for how I originally wanted to set it up when I first bought it.

How well does the direct iPod connection work? I loved that the H/K came with a nice dock to set your iPod/iPhone in, but it was so dog slow at attempting to find music that I just gave up and never used it, instead just pulled up the HTPC and streamed via that.

Thanks for the input!

Zone 2 can NOT use an external digital input

I wouldn't mess with the iPod direct input, rather use airplay and wifi
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post #3710 of 3857
1/11/13 at 7:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by franklyfred View Post

Thanks PurdyD . Found the apps that airplay works great with. Guess what I was looking for something along the lines when I had a bluetooth deck in the car. Then the phone would pair up and stream whatever the phone was playing. Very simple and easy. Will the pioneer BT adapter do that? Like to not spend the bucks if that function will not work. Again Thanks for the answers

If you have airplay working why would you wan t blue tooth? I say save the money
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post #3711 of 3857
1/12/13 at 4:27pm
Unfortunately one of my very best friends passed away a few days ago. It was a long process, and during it he purchased an SC-55 that I don't think he ever got configured correctly. He just couldn't think straight for the last couple of years. Anyway, an odd thing just recently started happening and I'm trying to solve this for his wife. Apparently while watching movies from the Dish receiver, either live or from the DVR, the SC-55 will spontaneously shut down. This doesn't happen while watching other live broadcasts, and it doesn't happen while watching BluRay movies. I've been told there's no apparent connection to particularly loud or quiet passages.

Of course I'm getting this info second hand. So I can't confirm total accuracy of this info. At first I suspected the protection circuit was responding to some bad speaker wiring, but that would not be exclusive to the DVR. And I've been told the SC-55 will start up immediately from the remote once this happens, which would suggest it's not a thermal issue.

I'm wondering if this is a known issue or if it possibly sounds familiar.

Thanks,
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post #3712 of 3857
1/13/13 at 5:25am
Hello Izzy:
I had the same issue when I first hooked up my SC-57. I was using an old Nakamichi reciever That has a powerful high curent amplifier, and when I tried my 57 it sounded a bit thin. There are a zillion sound adjustments that the 55/57 have and unfortuneately, to sqeeze the best sound out of it you must invest the time and effort. Once you do, this machine can sound very detailed, has a large sound stage, and is capable of strong spl levels. For basic cd listening, I have all sound enhancements and tone controls off and am using the 2 channell analogue connections from my well regarded Cambridge audio cd player. For some of my older rock and heavy metal cd's, I use the Auto Sound Retriever set to "on" (in the audio menu "S.RTRV") and that fills in the bass and drums quite nicely. For movie watching, again I have mostly all of the sound enhancements turned off and just run basic speaker setup (by ear) and run on THX cinema in 5.1 with HDMI. Hope this helps.
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post #3713 of 3857
1/13/13 at 6:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Terrya View Post

Unfortunately one of my very best friends passed away a few days ago. It was a long process, and during it he purchased an SC-55 that I don't think he ever got configured correctly. He just couldn't think straight for the last couple of years. Anyway, an odd thing just recently started happening and I'm trying to solve this for his wife. Apparently while watching movies from the Dish receiver, either live or from the DVR, the SC-55 will spontaneously shut down. This doesn't happen while watching other live broadcasts, and it doesn't happen while watching BluRay movies. I've been told there's no apparent connection to particularly loud or quiet passages.

Of course I'm getting this info second hand. So I can't confirm total accuracy of this info. At first I suspected the protection circuit was responding to some bad speaker wiring, but that would not be exclusive to the DVR. And I've been told the SC-55 will start up immediately from the remote once this happens, which would suggest it's not a thermal issue.

I'm wondering if this is a known issue or if it possibly sounds familiar.

Thanks,

I don't recall such a problem in this thread.....

Perhaps it is doing an auto shutdown?

If it doesn't have an input signal for a certain period of time it will turn off to save power

You can disable this function

See page 81 of the manual
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post #3714 of 3857
1/13/13 at 8:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by purdyd View Post

I don't recall such a problem in this thread.....

Perhaps it is doing an auto shutdown?

If it doesn't have an input signal for a certain period of time it will turn off to save power

You can disable this function

See page 81 of the manual

Thanks. I'd wondered if it had an auto shutdown feature, which is why I asked them about whether this happened during quiet passages, and whether it happened during regular broadcasts, but I'll check to see if it's disabled or not, and disable it if it isn't to see if this solves the problem.
Edited by Terrya - 1/13/13 at 10:09am
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post #3715 of 3857
1/13/13 at 11:22am
Quick note if anyone is looking for a like new SC-57, please see the link in my signature or PM me....

Thanks
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post #3716 of 3857
1/13/13 at 2:17pm
Still working on my late friend's system here for his wife, and I had no luck with the search feature on this one. He has a big stack of vinyl that his wife hopes to keep listening to for the time being. He's been using a Music Hall MMF Phono Pack for several years. I might pull it from the system just to simplify for her, depending upon how good the phono preamp is in the SC-55. So I'm wondering how the experience has been using the phono input for those who have done this. Typically, were this my system I'd just audition it myself, and that may still happen, but it's a bit tricky considering the situation, so I thought I'd look for opinions here.

Thanks.
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post #3717 of 3857
1/13/13 at 7:03pm
No autocalibration system can setup a system to everyone's tast, therefor, MCACC allows tweaking or fine tuning.. As far as spaker distance, the sub may be off due to MCACC adjusting the phase of the sub with the speakers. To many people get caught up with the distance measurement that were used in the past before these progams and their advancements in autocalibration were made. One would need more than an spl meter to accomplish what MCACC can do.
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post #3718 of 3857
1/16/13 at 7:02am
Hi
I got an used SC-57 today
My JVC is in for repairs, so I'm using an old 720p projector for now
I can't get a picture from the projector through the SC-57
But I get a picture through my Onkyo 818
The BD player sends 720p to the projector
Any thoughts would be appreciated
Jakob
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post #3719 of 3857
1/16/13 at 8:32am
Hi All -

Has anyone else lost the stand-by light from the power button on their SC-57? Recently, when I power off the AVR there is no red light on the power button. However, the AVR seems to be working fine otherwise.

I had a quick look through the troubleshooting section of the manual, but couldn't see anything concerning the stand-by light. I can't recall exactly when or under what circumstances my AVR went from displaying the stand-by light to not displaying it.

Any information or suggestions would be appreciated, thanks.

- JD
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post #3720 of 3857
1/16/13 at 9:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jd_alpha View Post

Hi All -

Has anyone else lost the stand-by light from the power button on their SC-57? Recently, when I power off the AVR there is no red light on the power button. However, the AVR seems to be working fine otherwise.

I had a quick look through the troubleshooting section of the manual, but couldn't see anything concerning the stand-by light. I can't recall exactly when or under what circumstances my AVR went from displaying the stand-by light to not displaying it.

Any information or suggestions would be appreciated, thanks.

- JD

The same thing happened to my SC-55 at least a month or two ago. I thought it had been there before and then the red light stopped showing up, even though it the receiver still responds to the remote.
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AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › Receivers, Amps, and Processors › The "Official" Pioneer Elite SC-55/SC-57 Owners Thread