Pioneer VSX-822 review

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telemike

Audioholic Intern
Just got the 822 hooked up last night. Using 4 Bergtek HDMI cables to connect sources and TV. Setup was pretty easy. MCACC works and does improve sound although there is no adjustment after other than bass/treble controls.

Front speakers are vintage Hafler 300 towers and rears are JBL HLS410. No center or sub. Return to Forever bluray with dts hd sound was very naturalwithout the hyped up subwoofer boom from my old yamaha setup. Cheap subs just don't sound natural to me. I won't get room rattling explosions but that's ok. The Haflers go down to about 70hz strong, then fade out at 35hz testing with signal generator test.

Internet radio works nice as does dlna media serving from my nas.

The one thing I do not like is that I can't set a surround mode for each input. So, if Dolby Digital or dts is present those are auto selected, that is ok. Stereo soundtracks for all inputs have to be stereo or decoded as pro logic or dts neo6. I have to turn pro logic on for stereo encoded movie files.

More to come...



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T

telemike

Audioholic Intern
Listening to flac files off my nas. Sounds pretty good although not as nice as my vintage h/k amps in the mancave stereo. Dts neo6 music seems to sound best. The mcacc eq really makes it better initially, have to do more pure direct listening. Sound retriever adds some pop to the music and doesnt seem obtrusive or fatiging to listen too on some jazz music. I need to try my h/k pm655 downstairs for comparison.

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T

telemike

Audioholic Intern
have noticed a vast improvement in sound presentation over my older Yamaha HTR6030. Watching Dancing with the Stars last night, I noticed a much better phantom center image, the vocals of the hosts was much clearer and less hollow sounding. The MCACC must have done a lot better job with speaker levels and distances than my manual setup with the Yamaha. The MCACC EQ was also good even though I wish I knew what it adjusted.

I really like having all my HDMI sources run thru the AVR since I don't have to switch inputs on the TV anymore. The HDMI pass-thru is nice for watching Cable TV without having to turn the AVR on too.
 
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