Official Pioneer VSX-1015TX Thread - Page 66

The 1016 is the 1015's replacement. The 1015 is out of production, although a few may still be around for sale.

As 73ChargerFan said, there are trade offs. You can make the comparisons in detail at the Pioneer site.

To summarize, the 1016 has added a number of convenience features, the most significant of which is HDMI switching. In addition, it has a "Sound Retriever" circuit for better sound from iPod or other highly compressed sources, 7.1 direct input (vs 5.1), and is XM ready, if any of those things are important to you. (None are to me.)

It also has a "Basic Phase Control" circuit designed to improve the integration between subwoofer and main speakers. (This would seem to be a step forward.)

On the downside (although Pioneer's engineers may not agree), it has lower power rating (110 wpc vs 120 wpc), no longer uses an MOSFET amp design, and now uses a Freescale vs the highly regarded Motorola DSP engine. (Whether any of these differences can actually be heard is debatable.)

Moreover, in addition to less pleasing cosmetics, the specs indicate it no longer has a learning remote or aluminum front. (I can't verify the last two.)

For my tastes, the 1015 is better, but everyone has their own priorities.

Thanks MacFan - that's exactly what I was trying to find out.

Does anyone have any thoughts regarding purchasing a factory refurbished 1015? They can be had for $300, and I have been unable to find any new 1015s. I think it's either this or a new Elite 80.

A lot of people are skeptical, but I've had great luck with factory refurbished products over the years. If you buy from a reliable source, they often come with the same warranty as a factory new one, which makes the risk about the same. I've no experience with Pioneer refurbs, though.

Thanks again for the info. Well, I just settled my dilemma by picking up a new Elite 80 off eBay. I figured getting a new item, the 2 yr warranty and 12v trigger was worth just over $100 extra.

And yes I know you need to buy from an authorized dealer for the warranty, so I questioned the seller and got the following info from him:

So I think I'm good to go warranty-wise, and this looks to be very nice receiver for the price from the research I've done. Thanks again for helping with my inqueries.

Wow the 1016 is ugly. Its lost is Elite shell for a cluttered face full of buttons you'll only use once. I like the added bonuses, but it looks like they improved some areas while making other aspects weak.

That was my final impression as well, and that's what made me decide on the Elite 80.

I just got a VSK-816, and so far a like it. One thing I can't seem to find that I thought it had was the ability to rename the inputs to something other than the generic names. Can someone tell me if the VSX line can do this? Thanks.

Have had this almost a year now. Unbelievable for the price. Set-up w/ (4) Speaker-Craft MT-Two-6s (front & surround), (1) Speaker-Craft Aim8-Two (center) & Sony SA-WM500 12 (sub). Was coming close to budget during sub selection so $$ was an issue. Turns out the Sony sub works great w/my set-up. After diving in to set up a second zone in the garage (2) Sony SS-MB350H 120w. 3-way bookshelves w/ Niles VCS100 volume control. I'm a little bummed at the lack of control and seeming low power fed to these channels. Anyway, any input on a good 2ch amp for less than $200? Am currently looking at the AudioSource AMP ONE/A. Whadda ya think?

Hi All,

I've hooked up a Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player to my VSX-1015 amp using the 5.1 analog inputs. I want to calibrate the sound using an SPL meter but my concern is this:

I have used the MCACC to calibrate the amp on the digital inputs, but if I start changing the speaker levels to suit the analog inputs, will it then put my digital sound levels out of whack, or do they operate independently of each other?

Thanks.

Hi just wondering regarding volume. I run the music through thre fronts and the sub on -5 and after 30 mins the reciever states overheat then turns off. ON -10 its fine however the volumes goes to +12.

My question is does this receiver run only to -10 for long periods?

Some possibilities (could be more than one of these):
1. speaker impedance is too low for the receiver to handle
2. may not be allowing adequate space for ventillation.
3. could have a stray wire crossing the positive and negative terminals on the speaker connections (either at receiver or speaker)
4. bad unit

Most likely it is 1 and/or 2 especiallly considering you can run for awhile at higher volume before the shutdown occurs.




I have the 1015 and I have never had a problem running at louder volumes for extended periods.

MCACC settings affect ALL inputs the same way--except that MULTI-CHAN IN (Discrete Analog 5.1 for HD-DVD, SACD & DVD-Audio), is never affected by MCACC.

If you want to equalize the room response for Discrete Analog inputs, then I would recommend inserting a One-Third Octave Equalizer between the Pioneer Sub-Woofer output and your Sub-Woofer Amplifier. You would only need a Mono capability if using one Sub-Woofer, but might want to consider a Stereo Equalizer if feeding Dual Sub-Woofers.... This will take care of the biggest room response problems....

You would need a total of three Stereo Equalizers if you want to equalize the room response for all 5.1 channels.....such as may be needed to control a peaky tweeter.....but this would certainly be an obsessive ubber-geek overkill endeavor....

Some examples of One-Third Octave (e.g. 30 or 31-Band) Equalizers:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_e/...0&Go.y=0&Go=Go
http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage....7&WebPage_ID=3
http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?q=...er&form=search

To calibrate the overall frequency response, you'll need a CD with One-Third Octave test tracks:
http://www.interstudio.co.uk/sndchk.htm
http://secure.keyfax.com/Merchant2/m...=Miscellaneous
and either the extra cost (cheapie) Audio Sound Pressure Level Meter available in one of the above products, or a proper calibrated Meter, such as from Radio Shack:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search

To avoid making a bunch of individual measurements, I use a Real Time Spectrum Analyzer, such as the inexpensive TrueRTA for a PC/Laptop:
http://www.trueaudio.com/
It comes in Octave (Free), One-Third ($40), One-Sixth ($70) and One-24th ($100) Octave versions....the latter can also be used as a general purpose Spectrum Analyzer to measure distortion output levels, etc.

The above Test CD only outputs L/R test signals, so you'll have to move them around to the the other 5.1 inputs on the Pioneer....
There are some Full Band White Noise test tracks on some SACD's that you can use--however the Telarc and DMP SACD's that I've seen use the LFE channel to carry "height" information, so be careful--these also require the use of a One-Third Octave (or better) Spectrum Analyzer (such as True RTA). Ditto for using White Noise generated internally by the HD-DVD Player.

I can endorse the very inexpensive ART 31 if you go the 1/3 octave EQ route. SVS used to sell them. Mine works like a charm.

Flattening your room's bass response will improve your automated settings, as the MCACC reads peaks and tends to lower the overall bass level to compensate. This can result in somewhat weak sounding bass when listening to real program material, as opposed to test tones.

I searched the thread but couldn't find a good answer. On page 15 of the manual it mentions setting the Video Processor mode to OFF. Where can I do this? I couldn't find any other reference to the "Video Processor" in the manual. Is this talking about if you are using an external video processor?

Is anyone using their 1015 with an external DAC? I have a Squeezebox 2 that apparently has a great DAC and is better than a lot of DAC's out there. I have always used the digital connection to the 1015 so I'm using the Pioneers DAC. I tried using an analog connection to the Pioneer to try out the Squeezebox's DAC but I didn't like it as much.

So either I'm just used to the Dolby Pro Logic II on my Pioneer or maybe I didn't do something right when I went analog. The Pioneers DAC could just be really good too. Anyone else have a Squeezebox 2/3 or using an external DAC?

I would think by letting your squeezebox do the DAC conversion and then outputting it to the Pioneer you are introducing extra noise that does not have to be there - the same principal applies to HDTV's - you can output component or DVI/HDMI - the DVI/HDMI should be better because the digital signal is making it to the tv.

Thanks for the reply. I had read that there wouldn't be any additional noise added if there was an Analog Bypass Mode on the receiver. I see that I can switch to 'analog' on the receiver but not sure if that is the same as the Analog Bypass Mode that I have heard about. And maybe by using the analog connection I'm limiting myself to 2-channel mode.

Has anyone experienced their 1015 turning itself on by itself? I have a relative with this receiver and they have recently had the unit start turning itself on by itself, often in the middle of the night, which of course is quite frustrating for them.

They have the unit plugged into a power center and do not have it setup for any remote on signal connections.

If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate the help.

TIY for any help.

Never had that happen before. Could be a faulty component in the pushbutton on the front of the receiver.

I'm curious, when the unit turns on, does anything else happen such as the volume changing or other functions switching? If they are, then it is possible that somehow a neighbor has a line of sight to the receiver through a window. Or, is the system set up with a wireless remote? Someone else could have the same remote nearby.

Sounds strange, I would bet that there is some electrical interference somewhere causing it to turn on such as a powersurge from a refrigerator turning on in the middle of the night or something else in the home. I used to have that problem, except it would turn off one of my units, not turn it on. Who knows. Try plugging the receiver into a different outlet in the home and see if it happens anymore.

Good luck, you got yourself a pretty unique problem. Better put on your Sherlock Holmes hat.

-Derek

It is fortunately not my unit, however the only thing they are reporting is it just coming on by itself at odd times.

Where they have the unit I do not believe there is any IR signal bouncing from a neighbor. They have it running through a power conditioner unit and don't report that for any of their other components plugged into the same power center.

Its odd...not sure what to tell them other than they may need to get it looked at.

I have a samsung Hd tuner (SIRTS360) the remote stoped working so i can't use the learning fuction. Where can I get the code of the samsung so i can enter it in manually. please respond as soon as posible. thanx

I found a way to control remotely 5.1 Multi Channel IN.

Since Pioneer did not provide a button on the remote for 5.1 Multi Channel In, the only way to listen to DVD-Audio is by pressing the button on the front panel. You need to do the same when turning it off. Frustrating.

I got Harmony 550 universal remote and on their database for Pioneer VSX-1015 AV receiver there is an InputMulti function which worked like a charm. I simply used learning feature on 1015 remote and learned this function from Harmony remote.

Now I can press a button on my 1015 remote to turn On/Off 5.1 Multi Channel input.

i've been wondering if i made the right choice.... but how does the Pioneer VSX-1015TX's DAC and AMP fair compared to stand alone products?

i'm driving a pair of Energy RC-10 bookshelves and a BIC H100 sub for a 2.1 setup... RC-10s are bi-amped using rear-surrounds

i have trouble ABXing mp3 files (could be my ears though, and that i don't know what to listen for...)

I just got one today and it bugs me that I can't rename the inputs!

Sorry if this has been covered but with 2 different DVD players and on video 2 and component (component 2) my VSX1015 has a wavy, shakey picture. Even DVD player menu the same. Has anyone experienced this? My unit is 15 mths old, running video thru reciever, no problem with TV/Sat picture (component 1).

Wow - this is the most talk about the VSX-'10' Series that I have ever seen on any online forum! I have the 1014 and love it!

To answer a few bits and bytes above: mine has never gone on or off on it's own. See if your friends have anything plugged into the 'switched' plugs at the back of the receiver. If so, try running them into another outlet instead. If that is not the issue, try running the unit off a power bar all on it's own, into it's own wall plug - just as a tester for a few days in order to trouble-shoot the issue.

Another fellow asked about the receiver powering down from overload. My 1014 pushes current into a full 7.2 (two subs) setup - all of them low-efficiency - and I have never had it cop out on me.

What are you running for wire (18 gauge or lighter over long runs for example?) What are you running for speakers? Is it possible that so much as a single rogue strand at any of the connection points is grounding / shorting out - check all of your connection points.

Finally: I agree with the general consensus here: the 1014 and 1015 are gorgeous - the 1016 sports a face-plate that only a twisted, evil mother could love...!

Andrew D.
cdnav.com

Just in case anyone has this question, what I was looking for is the Direct mode. This "bypasses the receivers surround settings so the audio remains as close to the source audio as possible".

The sound from the Squeezebox's DAC through the Pioneer sounds awesome. It was great via the Pioneer's DAC too though.

Guys,
Is there anyway to connect an mp3 player(IPOD) to my 1015 for playback thru the system.

Thanks,
bluesguy

I don't think you can control the songs and stuff, but you can hook up a stereo to RCA cable from the headphone of the ipod to the input on the front. But I don't think there is a dock cable that can connect to the receiver.

There are two choices to connect your IPOD to the sound system, either using a 3.5mm headphone jack to RCA cable connection or using some kind of apple av kit that might also provide a remote control for the system.

I use a headphone to rca cable and have no problems with it.