The Pioneer Elite 01/03/05/07/09 Receiver Settings Thread

[Fors*]

Well, with so many Elite owners out there raving about how much they love em’, a thread discussing settings and tweaks just seemed logical. I'll leave it up to the mod's as to whether they want to make this an "Official" thread or not. I have found my SC-05 to be a great investment, especially since I like to constantly play with it. It seems to have an endless number of things to try out and use. However, I know there are others out there who are more knowledgeable about AVR’s, and particularly the Elite’s. So I thought if we posted our settings we could share our thoughts and provide possible suggestions to further improve upon the performance of our receivers. I may have missed some of the settings below, so please inform me if I have. So, here are the settings for my SC-05:

My MCACC is saved for watching a blu to Memory 1.

Time Position is set to 30-50ms (I would like to know a bit more about this setting)

EQ Type is Symmetry

Standing Wave Multi-Point – No

Reverb Measure - Off

Surround Back System is set to “Normal”, as I’m no longer bi-amping my fronts.

THX Audio Setting:

Loudness Plus – On
SB SP Position – 1-4 Feet (My surround backs are less than 2 feet apart)
THX Ultra2 SW – No
BGC - Off

Speaker Settings:

Front – Small
Center – Small
Sur – Small
SB – SmallX2
SW – Yes

** Channel Level Settings have been calibrated with my SPL Meter**

Channel Level and Speaker Distance: (I sit closer to the right of my surrounds than the left)

Channel Level
L........-1.0
C..........0.0
R.........-1.5
SR.......-9.5
SBR......-8.0
SBL......-1.5
SL........-6.5
SW......+0.5

Speaker Distance
L..........12.00"
C..........13.07"
R..........13.07"
SR..........2.00"
SBR........1.00"
SBL........2.09"
SL..........4.05"
SW.......10.04"

Sports Viewing:

TV Viewing – DD + PLIIX-Movie (I like to matrix the sound into all 7 channels)
SB – ON (Again I like to use all 7 channels)
Auto/Direct - Auto Surround (Allows use of all 7 channels)

Movie Viewing:

TV Viewing – DD or PLIIX-Movie (this is my default for cable channels and other movies and shows)
SB – Off
Auto/Direct – Direct (Playback is the original 5.1 source as it was intended)
Phase Control – On
Flicker Reduction – 4 (I believe this is the default setting, but I’m not sure what settings may be best)

The following I do not use at the present time:

SW Input Gain – 0.0db (I might use this for 2.1 listening with music to get the +10db boost)
Zone 2 and Zone 3 – Off
PDP Volume Control
Monitor Out
HDMI Control
Virtual Surround (Not used due to having 7 channels)
Advanced Surround
THX
MPX
Stereo/ALL
Standard

HDMI Out – Unavailable (Having multiple HDMI Outs is not available with the SC-05)

I like the “Status” button because it will rotate and flash a lot of the above settings to verify

I know if you use the Audio Parameter button on the remote, you will get a lot of other settings, but I had to draw the line somewhere. So for my purposes, I excluded those settings.

OK, now I thought it would be really cool to post pics of the calibration graphs done by MCACC. I can’t really grasp what I am looking at, and would like anyone’s additional input on these. I am hoping with these graphs, you can get a really good idea of what kind of obstacles are incorporated with my room’s boundaries and to offer possible tweaks/suggestions for my SC-05, so I may further improve its performance. For the Acoustic Calibration, I only posted my front soundstage, the C/L/R. Any and all constructive advice is welcomed.

For what it is worth, on the following 3 charts, Red = Fronts, Orange = Center, Green = Surrounds and Blue = Surround Backs

[4x12]

Thats awesome !

Thanks a lot for taking the time and getting this starting Forsb!! Like I mentioned in the other thread, doing this at the adadepot forum helped a lot of new (and old) members get a better understanding of the gear we used, and know how to better tweak it. It also gave us a small insight on how other users gear sounded.

I actually didnt want to bring it up in case some of you might think the idea didnt make sense or was useless.

Thanks again dude

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by 4x12

Thats awesome !

Thanks a lot for taking the time and getting this starting Forsb!! Like I mentioned in the other thread, doing this at the adadepot forum helped a lot of new (and old) members get a better understanding of the gear we used, and know how to better tweak it. It also gave us a small insight on how other users gear sounded.

I actually didnt want to bring it up in case some of you might think the idea didnt make sense or was useless.

Thanks again dude

No problem, but I was a little concerned about the size of my post. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, but as I got into it, the Elite's have sooo many settings and options to choose from, I just decided to try and keep it down as much as I could. Hopefully we can discuss the graphs provided, as I want to know more about how to read them and to see where MCACC applied itself to correct any problems within my room.

[Rob J in WNY]

Excellent post, Forsberg21!

I have all the same screenshots, but I haven't posted them to my gallery. As anyone can see, there is a LOT a person can tweak on a Pioneer Elite receiver.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by Rob J in WNY

Excellent post, Forsberg21!

I have all the same screenshots, but I haven't posted them to my gallery. As anyone can see, there is a LOT a person can tweak on a Pioneer Elite receiver.

Thanks Rob....I can't stress how much I hope we can discuss the charts to explain them in further detail and to correct any possible settings that may have my SC-05 underperforming.

[GeologyNut]

Forsberg21, thanks for the great thread, I am in the same shoes as you. I really want to know how I can best use my sc-05. I look forward to seeing what others say about their settings!

Originally Posted by forsberg21

Hopefully we can discuss the graphs provided, as I want to know more about how to read them and to see where MCACC applied itself to correct any problems within my room.

I totally agree here, I have no clue at what I am looking at in my settings. I need to learn how to use the SPL meter and calibrate my system. I've read a few of the posts by BigDaddy (I believe it is by him) but still did not know what exactly I had to do. At what volume (dB) to calibrate your system to, etc.

[Rob J in WNY]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

Thanks Rob....I can't stress how much I hope we can discuss the charts to explain them in further detail and to correct any possible settings that may have my SC-05 underperforming.

I know what you mean.

MCACC certainly does a lot for setting a system up, but I found that it did slightly incorrectly set some of the distances from my speakers. I changed them manually.

MCACC also sets a nice, "flat" frequency response with the multi-channel 9-band equalizers. Tonal preference can then be adjusted with the SC-05's manual bass and treble control. I, however, prefer the more refined tonal adjustment of equalization, so all my tonal adjustments are done through the EQ, which is not a big deal for me - I love tweaking. I have them set exactly where I want them. Using my front main speakers as a guide, I just went "by ear" to get the center and surround speakers as close as I could - it could still use some tweaking, but it's really quite well timbre-matched at this point.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by Rob J in WNY

I know what you mean.

MCACC certainly does a lot for setting a system up, but I found that it did slightly incorrectly set some of the distances from my speakers. I changed them manually.

MCACC also sets a nice, "flat" frequency response with the multi-channel 9-band equalizers. Tonal preference can then be adjusted with the SC-05's manual bass and treble control. I, however, prefer the more refined tonal adjustment of equalization, so all my tonal adjustments are done through the EQ, which is not a big deal for me - I love tweaking. I have them set exactly where I want them. Using my front main speakers as a guide, I just went "by ear" to get the center and surround speakers as close as I could - it could still use some tweaking, but it's really quite well timbre-matched at this point.

Rob, so are you saying that your current settings are all saved my the manual method? Is there anything you thought MCACC did well enough so as to not have to adjust anything. So far, I have to say I have relied on what MCACC has done for me, except for the use of my SPL meter. I thought my distances were good, but I was not expecting a miracle with the channel levels, thus this is why I used my SPL meter.

Would you suggest for me to tweak a lot of my settings by ear at this time or to rely on MCACC for its flat response and only change a few settings? And if so, what settings would you not change that were set by MCACC?

[Fors*]

You know its funny, I started this thread last night, and yet I am still the only one who offered their settings. But I know why , there is sooo much you need to write down and explain, that it takes a while to post your own settings. I think this is a credit to the Elite's many, many tweaks that can be done....I anxiously await your settings!

[got rice]

Wow.. Fors thanks for taking the time out to start this thread. From the looks of your settings, mine are a little different. So I will post some pics of the graphical analysis tommorow. Hopefully some of the others will post some ideas or questions so that we all can get some useful info one way or another.

Home Media Gallery? anyone use this feature? I have a few basic questions on the setup and connections. What is the best way to connect the ethernet cable if the broadband is in another room? is there a wireless bridge or is it better to run a long cable directly?

FLAC vs WMAL which is prefered? From what I've read both are lossless, but i'm don;t now how to rip these files. Any suggestions would be great. Thank you.

[Fors*]

Here's a question...I was watching Watchmen, and I have it on Direct, SB Off, and I have DTS-HD on my SC-05's display (all should be good to go), and somehow I am getting all 7 channels producing sound with a 5.1 trac from the blu? I had to do Auto Surround to keep it at 5 channels like it should be. Why would it produce sound from all 7 channels if I have it on Direct with the SB-Off, 5 channels displayed on the SC-05's display, along with DTS-HD being displayed, from a 5.1 trac on the blu? This confused the hec out of me?

[StimpsonJCat]

Originally Posted by got rice

FLAC vs WMAL which is prefered? From what I've read both are lossless, but i'm don;t now how to rip these files. Any suggestions would be great. Thank you.

I like FLAC. You can rip w/ FLAC using the free version of Media Monkey (great program).

[got rice]

Originally Posted by StimpsonJCat

I like FLAC. You can rip w/ FLAC using the free version of Media Monkey (great program).

Stimpson, can you tell me if you have any opinions on this product vs a wireless network adaptder. I'm wanting to use my PC as the media library instead of the Home Media Gallery included with the AVR to stream music and videos, and connect my BDP for BD live.
Or can you suggest another product with a higher quality rating?
Thanks in advanced.

[Rob J in WNY]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

Rob, so are you saying that your current settings are all saved my the manual method? Is there anything you thought MCACC did well enough so as to not have to adjust anything. So far, I have to say I have relied on what MCACC has done for me, except for the use of my SPL meter. I thought my distances were good, but I was not expecting a miracle with the channel levels, thus this is why I used my SPL meter.

Would you suggest for me to tweak a lot of my settings by ear at this time or to rely on MCACC for its flat response and only change a few settings? And if so, what settings would you not change that were set by MCACC?

Fors,

I would say that MCACC does the right thing 99% of the time. For most everyone, it's a just a matter to "set it and forget it."

I wouldn't change the standing wave correction. if anything. It would be futile at best to try to figure out which specific frequencies are acoustically problematic by simply listening to pink or white noise with your ears (although I wouldn't doubt there are a few talented people with enough experience who could).

I prefer a slightly "brighter" treble-range sound, but only a few dB in that direction. I like the enhanced presence that sound shape brings, and I also like a little more overall presence on the surrounds. I have played with the surround levels the most, and I have recently settled on what I feel is the perfect balance for my tastes.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by Rob J in WNY

Fors,

I would say that MCACC does the right thing 99% of the time. For most everyone, it's a just a matter to "set it and forget it."

I wouldn't change the standing wave correction. if anything. It would be futile at best to try to figure out which specific frequencies are acoustically problematic by simply listening to pink or white noise with your ears (although I wouldn't doubt there are a few talented people with enough experience who could).

I prefer a slightly "brighter" treble-range sound, but only a few dB in that direction. I like the enhanced presence that sound shape brings, and I also like a little more overall presence on the surrounds. I have played with the surround levels the most, and I have recently settled on what I feel is the perfect balance for my tastes.

Thanks Rob. Did you use an SPL meter or go by your ears? I rely on my SPL meter to set the channel levels after I run MCACC each time, and I got a nice balance, but I save them within Symmetry 1 and not within any manual settings that I may have done. I think what I have right now sounds good to my ears, so I'll keep doing what I'm doing. But it is always good to get another's impressions, thanks!

[StimpsonJCat]

Originally Posted by got rice

Stimpson, can you tell me if you have any opinions on this product vs a wireless network adaptder. I'm wanting to use my PC as the media library instead of the Home Media Gallery included with the AVR to stream music and videos, and connect my BDP for BD live.
Or can you suggest another product with a higher quality rating?
Thanks in advanced.

I can't help you there. I have Verizon FIOS and the router they put in is awesome. I get a good wireless signal anywhere in the house. I use TVersity on my PC through wireless to my PS3 for all my media.

[Fors*]

Wake up everyone!!! Boy, the threads are sloooowww today....anyway, c'mon my fellow Elite brothers, where are your settings? We need to get the blood flowing in this thread.......

[4x12]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

Wake up everyone!!! Boy, the threads are sloooowww today....anyway, c'mon my fellow Elite brothers, where are your settings? We need to get the blood flowing in this thread.......

I still haven't fully set mine up... too much last minute crap going on!

BTW, is there any updates I need to get for the SC-07 ? Firmware or something???

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by 4x12

I still haven't fully set mine up... too much last minute crap going on!

BTW, is there any updates I need to get for the SC-07 ? Firmware or something???

I'm not sure, as when I look up the support link, they only have the owners manual and warranty to download, so perhaps there are no firmware updates available?

[CollinViegas]

I would love to post my settings but my CPU is nowhere near where the SC09 is setup and writting them all down is out of the question.

I will be surprised if this thread really takes off becuase like you said these units are very complex especially if setup in Advanced MCACC mode.