PIONEER VSX-03 Receiver Settings VS Yamaha 663

[ReggaetonSalsero]

Hey all. I just replaced my Yamaha rx-v663 Receiver with a Pioneer vsx-03thx receiver. I was ON POINT with the settings on the Yammie 663 it was so much easier to adjust & understand. Now with this pioneer elite 03 receiver it's VERY complicated to setup. I let it do the Mcacca auto calibration but it sounds worse then what the yammie sounded which i KNOW is not right. Any of u have an OPTIMAL Configuration/Setup for this elite receiver?

It's got the ps3, hdtv cable box, Sammie a650, polk 50's all around (2 fronts, 2 surrounds, 1 CS1 Center) & the eD a2-300 Subwoofer, all connected. How can i program the ed sub with the pioneer and what are the best settings for the receiver? I know it upconverts tv channels but i dont' want it to do that either cause the sammie does the tv upconversion so it's less work for the receiver not to do it. HELP N E 1? Thanks Oh it's all about blu rays and dvd movies for me as i don't listen to music too much.

[ReggaetonSalsero]

I'd like to know who has this receiver so i can ask a few questions like i notice every time the sound mode changes like watching tv for example, it will say mode -2 or +2 and i can't find anything on this in the manual.

[Slec]

Originally Posted by ReggaetonSalsero

I'd like to know who has this receiver so i can ask a few questions like i notice every time the sound mode changes like watching tv for example, it will say mode -2 or +2 and i can't find anything on this in the manual.

This is the Dialogue normalization kicking it. It tries to level out the sound when you change channels. too bad it can't do it for commercials which always seem to be 3x louder than normal programming.

[Slec]

Originally Posted by ReggaetonSalsero

Hey all. I just replaced my Yamaha rx-v663 Receiver with a Pioneer vsx-03thx receiver. I was ON POINT with the settings on the Yammie 663 it was so much easier to adjust & understand. Now with this pioneer elite 03 receiver it's VERY complicated to setup. I let it do the Mcacca auto calibration but it sounds worse then what the yammie sounded which i KNOW is not right. Any of u have an OPTIMAL Configuration/Setup for this elite receiver?

Unfortunately there isn't an 'optimal setting'. The MCACC uses the mic to take measurements of sound in your room and then adjust timing, delays, and cross over points based on this.

It's got the ps3, hdtv cable box, Sammie a650, polk 50's all around (2 fronts, 2 surrounds, 1 CS1 Center) & the eD a2-300 Subwoofer, all connected. How can i program the ed sub with the pioneer and what are the best settings for the receiver?

The MCACC will also set the level for your sub based on the system. I like my sub a bit louder so I bump it up a little bit

If you want to play with it manually, save the MCACC settings to a different memory channel. Also, go to page 40 of your manual. Read the last paragraph in the first column. it begins 'After a single calibration...'.

When I went through this, I ended up having 3 settings saved. The third one gave me unbelievable results.

Big daddy also has instructions on how to use an SPL meter if you want to do it yourself.

[ReggaetonSalsero]

Originally Posted by Slec

Unfortunately there isn't an 'optimal setting'. The MCACC uses the mic to take measurements of sound in your room and then adjust timing, delays, and cross over points based on this.


The MCACC will also set the level for your sub based on the system. I like my sub a bit louder so I bump it up a little bit

If you want to play with it manually, save the MCACC settings to a different memory channel. Also, go to page 40 of your manual. Read the last paragraph in the first column. it begins 'After a single calibration...'.

When I went through this, I ended up having 3 settings saved. The third one gave me unbelievable results.

Big daddy also has instructions on how to use an SPL meter if you want to do it yourself.

Hey thanks. Now the only trouble i'm really having is This pioneer does NOT let u alter the xover in the receiver itself for the subwoofer. I noticed that u can only change it for all of the actual SPEAKERS only from 80 to 100 to 150 to 200 and when u do any of those, as it doesn't have 120 as a choice, all of the speakers's crossovers change to that setting. It won't let u do it individually nor to the sub. I noticed u can change from small to large individually with the speakers only but for the sub it's either YES or NO as far as having one connected. That's it. Do u know about this or someone else who might have this receiver and knows about this? This receiver is already working my nerves. My old yammie let me change the xover of EACH speakers xover on it's own, not all in one shot only like this pioneer does. I can't believe it won't let me change the xover to 120 on the subwoofer.

Also, what is ur experience with the pioneer remote? I couldn't program ANYTHING on it. My old yammies remote was able to program everything. This really sucks. thanks

[Slec]

It's always easier with the unit you knew. That being said, they could certainly improve on it...

As for the cross-over point, if the point is set at 80, then the speakers get everything above 80 and the sub everything below. If you set it to 150, the sub gets everything below 150hz, the speakers everything above it. I wish the speakers had individual crossover settings, but at the end of the day it really isn't necessary.

[ReggaetonSalsero]

Originally Posted by Slec

It's always easier with the unit you knew. That being said, they could certainly improve on it...

As for the cross-over point, if the point is set at 80, then the speakers get everything above 80 and the sub everything below. If you set it to 150, the sub gets everything below 150hz, the speakers everything above it. I wish the speakers had individual crossover settings, but at the end of the day it really isn't necessary.

So what are ur settings? I put everything on PURE DIRECT so it doesn't use anything eq or digital processing or phase control. How is ur experience with the remote? I couldn't program anything on it.

[JJ]

The remote, I wouldn't know - I used a Harmony from Day 1 with it.

Slec explained the crossover, but yes, that is a catch with them, it only gives you a single crossover point for all your speakers. Go figure, I didn't like that either. But not a breaking point with it. Set it to 100 or 150, no big deal with the eD 300.

MCACC from my VSX-03 sounded leaps and bounds better than Audyssey from my old Marantz. But I've tweaked it myself as well, cuz I know sometimes it would give me these deranged subwoofer distances that made no sense. Do it yourself via SPL meter, if need be.

I use mine on Auto Surround - since I have an extra channel, it adds DD EX processing to PCM or TrueHD or DD signals - or DTS ES to HD-MA or regular DTS signals.

But then again, maybe because this stuff is now second nature to me, I found its setup to be a breeze!

I don't know about signal upconversion either, but since I don't watch TV on it or have a DVR connected to it...I wouldn't know about that.

[Slec]

Originally Posted by ReggaetonSalsero

So what are ur settings? I put everything on PURE DIRECT so it doesn't use anything eq or digital processing or phase control. How is ur experience with the remote? I couldn't program anything on it.

Ahhhhhh...there we are. Pure Direct bypasses the MCACC. You will only wanna use this when listening to music.

I didn't have any issues with the remote. What specifically are you having issues with? i only use my factory remote when playing with settings. for everything else I use my Harmony.

When watching tv I use Dolby PLII Movie (std surround setting). When watching blu's.. hmm let me pop one in.