The "Official" Pioneer Elite SC-55/SC-57 Owners Thread - Page 34

No. The Sat/TV input uses the Audio Return Channel of the HDMI Output jack. In fact, if you use the ARC, you can't plug anything into the analog audio Sat/TV inputs at all. (IMO, you should be able to use the input control - the one that switches between the analog and various digital inputs - so you could use both the ARC and the analog in. I spoke to Pioneer about this but they claim that it's not possible and it can't be fixed via a software upgrade.)



I don't know why, but there is one big advantage to it: if the receiver is pulled away, that plug will pop cleanly out of the jack without damaging the receiver, although there are non-screw F plugs that will work on a threaded jack as well. I've had to swing my unit around to adjust the input wiring and that FM antenna cable pops right out. I probably would have had a disaster if it was the screw-type connector with a screw-type plug.



That surprised me also, but what I did the first night I installed it, since I didn't have any singles around, was to saw my paired banana jacks in half. Then I ordered new single ones from Monoprice. Works fine.

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Most people feel this receiver sounds great. And it does sound pretty good for movies. But for music listening, in both analog and digital, I don't happen to think it sounds all that great. I don't feel like it has very much definition and it doesn't sound crisp to me. I think my (very) old analog system which was an Apt-Holman preamp, Crown D-75 power amp and Sony STJ-75 tuner actually sounded better and that obviously had no room EQ system. I have to admit to being a bit disappointed. Everyone told me that the Pioneer would blow my old system away. And since I live in a city apartment, I don't have the room to keep both systems up.

I have a sc-25, do the new units have any sub eq In The mcacc?also anyone have issues with it dropping dolby when watching tv?

I'm considering upgrading to the 55 from a 94. My front speakers are biamped using a Yamaha m 1. When I upgrade I want to still biamp. Would you recommend instead of the Yamaha a pioneer elite m90 or emotiva upa 5? My speakers are klipsch epic cf 3's and I plan on having a 9.2 system. Thanks!

no sub eq.


i suggest you not bother bi-amping... i would also suggest that even a bargain basement avr will EASILY drive your speakers to ear bleeding levels, and that any additional amplification is merely jewelry...

I've notice an improvement with biamping currently , just trying to get an opinion on whether I should upgrade my Yamaha amp to a pioneer or emo when I go from the 94 to 55.

^^^

even if you choose to ignore the first part of my post, the second part answers your question...


but i doubt that will change your beliefs, either....

My second biggest disappointment is home media gallery (hmg)

As far as I can tell it is 720x480 4:3 and there is no way to display a 1920x1080 jpeg directly onto a 1080p display

The dlna client in hmg is very primitive searching for music is time consuming and visually it is very spartan

The pause function doesn't work when streaming from a dlna server

Now I can understand pioneer's decision to have limited graphics in the receiver since there is icontrolav2

But that app does nothing to improve on the limitations of hmg and in fact is worse since it does not display as much information on songs as even the very primitive hmg onscreen display

Which leads to disappointment 3, icontrolav doesn't do everything that the remote does

And I would say the only way to find this out is to buy these things and use them as the documentation is almost completely lacking

Wow, that looks far more useful and less gimmicky than the iPhone version.

are you saying that because of his speakers...or
generally speaking?

Warren

Just for zone control it is worth using icontrolav2

The graphics are good but they didn't use all that room effectively, in particular for hmg

Viewing calibration data is really cool feature but you can't actually run mcacc from the iPad

First, congratulations to all of the forum and excuse me for the english.
I began to read this threadd because i was interested in buying a new receiver to replace my very old Pioneer. I have just been ordering the SC-57 but i still have not received it (live in Brazil ... rs).
I want to make biamping in the frontal speakers of two systems, that will receive the same source. 5.1 system A and a couple of stereo B. By which i could understand of the manual, i can use any of amplifiers available to make the biamping.
For example: with the front speakers A connected in Front, would use Front Height for biamping and in set B connected in Front Wide, would use Surround Back. Am I correct?
My doubt, is how the receiver will know who is the set A and set B, if i put the B in Front Height? Is this possible?
Please to meet you.

Since I'm the poster I'm curious too.

I am new to this forum so if not posted to the correct location, please point me in the right direction.

I would like to use my Denon AVR 5600 as an external amplifier to drive some outdoor speakers I have.

I have already connected seven speakers to my SC-57 in my main listening area plus a pair of speakers in zone 2 (dining room) and zone 3 (kitchen). I know there are several pre-out jacks but they seem designed to provide addtional power to existing speaker selections.

Is there a way to add my Denon to this system so I can drive 2 or more sets of additional speakers while using the Pioneer as the source for whatever input I choose?
Thanks for any help you can provide

Yea, ME TOO!

Yes, but buying a $500 iPad increases the cost of the receiver by a third. I don't want to have to spend that kind of money just for a better remote. While i appreciate that it's supported, Pioneer still needs to improve its own physical remote and the overall UI of the receiver. Besides, if you carry the iPad with you and you have a family, then you have the "remote" if they're home and want to watch/listen (or vice-versa).

In fact, I think the screen on the Pioneer itself should be a small bitmapped display (perhaps iPhone sized). I bet it would add only around $100 to the cost of the receiver. Maybe it even pops out to become the remote. That would provide a better UI and it would be upgradable.

You can use the VCR out jacks to drive the Denon. But (AFAIK) it would be the same signal you're listening to on the main system. You couldn't, for example, be watching a movie in the house and listening to a CD via the Pioneer for the outdoor speakers. But if that's what you want to do, just hookup a CD player to the Denon and keep the systems separate. Frankly, I've never understood this great desire to use Zones if you have to add another amplifier anyway.

You can use an iPod or iPhone too or any number of android solutions, in my house there are two iPods,an iPhone, and iPad, if You weren't going to take advantage of AirPlay you should have got yourself one of the smoking deals on the sc37s

And as far as 'taking the remote with you" that it why there is the cheap current remote

You want pioneer to develop a remote that is just like an iPod only cheaper? It ain't going to happen

Just look at the cost of the wifi adaptor

You can buy an rf remote for your receiver, it is last years sc37 remote, of course it will set you back $300 and it doesn't have a screen

The sc57 cheaper this yea than the sc37 and I am guessing that remote is a big reason

So if you were willing too pay $100 more just for a screen, that would have been hard to see anyway, go fork over $200 for an iPod and you can stream music all day long over AirPlay

Chris...I concur. I've tried bi-amping with two sets of different speakers, with two different AVRs/amps. No improvement. Matter of fact, less wiring is always better than more.

It appears you can not biamp front and speaker b

Check the diagrams in the us manual and see if one of them matches what you need

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/St...ions060711.pdf

That is because your cables weren't resolving enough. You need something like Audioquest WEL signature cables at 11k for a 3ft run! The issue arises where now your cables are TOO resolving for the speakers holding the biamping back so you then have to upgrade your speakers to something like a Wilson Audio AX at a bare minimum, but then the electronics... OH WHAT A VICIOUS CIRCLE!

Hello, I need some help. I want either the 55 or 57. I have a 5.1 system and will not be upgrading any time soon. What are the differences between the two. What is the ten speaker config. The rest is pretty self explanatory. Are the amps the same? Thanks Pat

Most of those questions are answered multiple times in this thread already - there is a lot of great info here and you would do yourself well to read through it.

As far as the 10-speaker layout, here is what the AVR supports:

(1) front center
(2) front wide
(2) front height
(2) front mains
(2) surround
(2) rear surround
(2) LFE (subwoofer)

So there is a total of 11.2 (-2.0) you can select from, since this AVR is limited to 9.2 channel processing.

Check out pp 13-15 and 17-21 of the manual* for info on speaker configurations.

* downloadable here: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/St...ions060711.pdf - both the SC-55 and SC-57 are covered in the same user manual.

Amps are rated the same power, but the 55 is THX select certified, and the 57 THX ultra certified. Don't really know why since they both are rated at 140 watts.

The only other differences I know of are in the fine adjustments for exact speaker settinges, which down to .5" is close enough for me. The auto room correction is supposed to be slightly better on the 57 also. It wasn't worth another $400 to me so I went with the SC-55 and I love it.

Filmixer went through both recievers at the start of this tread, go there!

Over the weekend, I replaced my SC-37 with the SC-57. All I can say is "Wow", big difference.

Bill

Hello, Thank you all , I did read but I guess I'm a newbie I did not really understand so thanks again!!

I knew it was something I was overlooking.



PS....need an opinion here. I've decided to sell my slightly (and I do mean slightly) used SC27. Suggestions on if AVS or eBay is better?

^^^

selling it to fund those cables?

ime, i've had good luck selling quite a few things here... might get a few less dollars for it, but that's likely made up by not having to pay fleabay fees...

Chris...kind of leaning towards selling it here. At least it would have a dedicated audience vs the "will it fit in my trunk to power my '82 Honda's speakers?" group that could turn up on "fleabay".

I've only sold one thing here. Turned out well. Probably give it another shot.

The SC27 is an excellent AVR (as are all the SCs). My Denon 4311 fits perfectly for what I'm using it for (especially Audyssey XT32 and dual sub integration).

Now, I have to take pics and put it "for sale".

^^^

might as well... you don't HAVE to sell it (shame on you for not adding on to the land of misfit a/v equipment btw ), so if it sits for a few weeks, it's no biggie...

yup, it is a great avr... you should have no problems selling it for a decent price...

i see you are liking life on the dark side...