Am I loosing my Audio Senses?

[Death Adder]

Sorry Guys,
I had to edit my 1st post, as after severe day & night calibration & head banging, I found a solution to my problems...

So if you want to read, go ahead, but I am the 1st to admit that I was wrong, and there is no shame in it...

I appologize to Yamaha or any one offended in any way by my post + I also wanted to correct any miss-information that might lead to problems to any one who read it...

For a detailed explanation to how I fixed my problems, read the last post...that I will post tomorrow...as I got to go to sleep now...my boss is gonna kill me...it is the 4th day in a row to get to work at 10:00AM

=========== Read on if you want ===========


Hi Guys,
I don't know but I feeling lost in here.....

I had a Sony STR-DE597 A/V Receiver for quite some time and I was happy with it's audio quality, but one day I decided to upgrade (I don't know why I did ) to a Yamaha RX-V550....

Damn! It looked excellent, the connections & features (on paper) are far better than my entry-level Sony, but....

Once I hooked it, here we go:

1. The front panel display illumination is very low + most of the Text & Icons are very small, most of the time I got to get up to see what I am doing.

2. My Sub is gone; My Sony Used to make Lord of the Rings shake the room (with sound wave you can feel, not hear), I spent the whole week-end trying to adjust it, but it never got to the level of the Sony

3. Pro Logic & Pro Logic II, sounds like crap, why? see this:
- Using the Sony, I used to feel the PLII, even in Comedy Series like "Seinfeld", the audience laughter & clapping used to come from ONLY the rear speakers, other Sci-Fi like "Battle Star Galactica" (Note, my Satellite reception is in Stereo Only), I always felt the rockets whiz-by & Ships flying sounds distinctively going from front to back or vice versa.

- Now with the Yamaha RX-V550, I feel all the sounds are coming from the front (esp. the Center), there is only a low echo or humming from the rear, no actual sound movements.

I spent days & nights trying to adjust the levels, distances, etc. trying every Sound Mode they have, none made the PLII sounds like a real PLII (there is no actual sound processing)

Then again, the Remote is bulky and awkward, it is not simple to use....


Ok, saying all that.....
CAN ANY ONE TELL ME IF I AM RIGHT OR WRONG?
Any one tried the Yamaha RX-V550, can any one confirm that?

The subwoofer, Remote & the dim Panel, I can live with it, but the Pro Logic II problem is impossible....

If any one has anything to say please do......

Thanx


WOW, after looking at it, sounds like a very pissed-off guy

 

[zumbo]

What are you using as an audio input on the receiver from the tv?

 

[zumbo]

I have found that PLII does not work well with a digital input. I think it needs to be analog (R/L RCA's)

 

[Death Adder]

Well,
I am using the L/R RCA Audio out from the Satallite Receiver to the A/V Receiver L/R RCA Audio In.

I am also connecting the system to a dedicated Home Theater PC, with SPDIF & Optical-Out.

 

[Die Hard Yammy]

PLII sounds so much better as ANALOG!

I'm really suprised to hear of your dissapointment with the YAMMY, although that is an entry level RXV. Have you considered going with the 750 or even the 1500. They've both got many more features, power and connectivity. I don't know what your budget is though so that may restrict you there.

What kind of speakers are you running.

 

[Death Adder]

Forget the budget, I am willing to pay for good sound....it is the avilabilty....right here where I live, the 550 is the best I could find (I saw the 740, but it is a "40")

But even if I get the 750 or the 9999950, if it still uses the same ProLogic Decoding chip, then it won't matter



I followed all the guides I can find to calibrate/adjust the system, Still, the funny thing, I just changed the Receiver (the rest of the system is the same), and yet the sound is lower than my expectations.

 

[Death Adder]

You know, I will be glad if some one proves me wrong...
I want to get it to work, I don't think that such an obvious thing would not be noticed by so many consumers....

If just that PLII chip would work as it should be......

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Funny you mentioned the Sony. My old Sony had very good surround sound with my 2 channel cable feed. The bass output was very good with my old sub. Those cheap Sony's really weren't as bad as everyone claims they are. The computer chip in my 1993 STRDE925 seems more advanced than my Denon. It also seemed to have more flexibility in the sound, although the sound is better in my Denon.

 

[trevorgray]

Not sure if this is an option with your model, but do you have your rear speakers plugged in to the Rear Presence as opposed to Surround Back?

As for the sub, are you running a single LFE cable to your powered sub or to your subwoofer amp? If so, maybe you have it plugged into the wrong channel (if you have a two channel input). The other obvious question, is it a powered sub?

I know on the 2500 I can adjust the brightness of the front panel. You might want to look into that.

 

[Death Adder]

trevorgray,
My sub is the Yamaha YST-SW320, a powered sub (http://www.yamaha.co.jp/english/product/av/products/ht/sw320.html)

And I did it according to the Manual (option 1), I had 2 options:

1) Reciver LFE Out -> Sub Left/Mono (Manual)
OR
2) Reciver LFE Out -> Split into 2 RCA -> Sub Left & Right (Not in Manual)

I am using Option 1...then again, things were good with the Sony (using option 1), I thought it would be better with the Yamaha

 

[BobbyT]

Try option 2, couldn't hurt. It may fix your bass problem.

 

[Death Adder]

I've been doing further testing & calibrations to get that PLII working...well...

Adjusting the Settings of the actual distances of speakers & room size, etc. I ended up with bad results...
I had to increase all the rear speakers by 3-5 degrees + decreasing the front center by 4-5 degrees.

I finally got some sound from the rear, but still not good...

I started switching & combining between Digital Modes DD, DTS, Neo6, PL, PLII, ES/EX & the Yamaha (audio-rooms-simulations) Modes, DPS, Cinema Effects, etc. and I ended up with this:

- Almost all the Yamaha-Made-Modes sounds bad, they make the sound generalized, not localized, I find my-self saying, "did that sound came from the FR or the SR? " So they had to be disabled or minimized as much as possible.

- DD & DTS (ES/EX) Sources (like DVDs) works great, but still that Generalized feeling.

- PL actually was better than PLII & PLIIx, but not all the time; I had some ads recorder and played them on repeat, some of them worked great and the sound is very well directed to each speaker, but it didn't even happen in some ads (and the ad got multiple audio/music components that can be directed to separate speakers, strange?).

- True (as Zumbo & Die Hard Yammy said), PL sounds bad with digital; I tried to play some 2 ch. Trailers from my HTPC (Home Theater PC) using Optical Out and I felt the PL not working at all.

- My wife, and she usually do not notice these things , also confirmed what I am saying.


I am still to adjust the Subwoofer, it now sounds like an ordinary-booming-banging subwoofer.....the feeling of Thunder & your body shaking is gone

Still.....if some one can prove me wrong, I'll be more than happy......the SOB contains so many nice features.....damn!!!

 

[Death Adder]

Try option 2, couldn't hurt. It may fix your bass problem

I will definitely try that, I just wanted to see how far will it go with the normal settings.....

Thanx BobbyT


Any more idea guys? come on, ppl with Yamaha, any comments?
I will really hate to return it (actually I won't be able to return it, I will have to take something else....shop policy )