I need some help from the experts ;).

[GFOViedo]

So, I've been looking to replace my speakers, but now I've changed my mind. My wife like hearing to music.

I got lucky 2 months ago, and I bought a Squeezebox Radio with 2 yrs extended warranty for $44 dollars from Best Buy. It was an open box item, which worked flawlessly.

Approximately, 4 days ago I bought a Pioneer VSX-1022-K for $344.00 with 2 yrs extended warranty. I got it because the AVR can play Pandora without having the TV on. Furthermore, my WIFE loved it because she can control it with her phone.

However, the sound was horrible. The Pioneer 1022 would only play Pandora in stereo, which to some extend it is fine, but the sound was distorted. At time the tweeters sounded like there were going to explode with static. The 1022 was excellent at with HD sound from my movies. Needless to say, I ended up returning it.

I currently have my Squeezebox Radio hooked up to my Onkyo HT-R960 via the front right / left hook ups. The sound is night and day compared to the 1022, but my wife doesn't that she has to change the settings on the AVR manually. To be honest, I don't like that either.

I currently have a 7.1 set up, but I'm willing to change my set up to 5.1 in order to get a better AVR that has a nice UI, and can do Airplay without sound issues.

My budget is approximately $500....I might be able to go a little higher, but the wife can't find out



Note: I can get the Pioneer VSX-1122-K for $450 at Best Buy, but I am afraid, it will do the same as the 1022.

 

[GFOViedo]

Well, I've been comparing several AVRs. The Pioneer VSX-1122-K $450, Yamaha RX-V673BL $600, and Denon AVR-2113CI $650.

After looking at all the specs, the Pioneer stands out due to the sale price. I think I am going to give the 1122 a try, and hope that it works out. I just don't understand why the sound was so horrible with the 1022. I did notice that one of the HDMI's fitting was not tight. The HDMI was lose, and it didn't go all the way in, but I don't think that would be related to the sound. Who knows, may be I got a bad unit.

Anyone else?

 

[Adam]

Hi. How were you streaming Pandora to the 1022? Was it through an ethernet connection to the receiver?

I'm a fan of Pioneer receivers, but I like the other brands, too. Just make sure that whatever you get has all of the connections that you think you'll want. The newer receivers often skimp on analog connections (say, for a Wii).

I've seen posts recently that Best Buy is matching internet prices now. Newegg has put the 1122 on sale for $400 a number of times this year, with the most recent being a couple of weeks ago. If you aren't in a huge hurry, you might wait a week or two and see if they drop their price again.

 

[GFOViedo]

Hi. How were you streaming Pandora to the 1022? Was it through an ethernet connection to the receiver?

I'm a fan of Pioneer receivers, but I like the other brands, too. Just make sure that whatever you get has all of the connections that you think you'll want. The newer receivers often skimp on analog connections (say, for a Wii).

I've seen posts recently that Best Buy is matching internet prices now. Newegg has put the 1122 on sale for $400 a number of times this year, with the most recent being a couple of weeks ago. If you aren't in a huge hurry, you might wait a week or two and see if they drop their price again.

I was streaming Pandora via the receiver and my android phone free Pioneer app. I don't really care about analog connections since I'm probably going to trade in the Wii since my kids and wife do not use it anymore. It's been collecting dust in the garage for 2 years now.

Well, I could wait and see if the 1122 gets a bigger sale, but I'm buying this with my Best Buy credit card. So, if my local best buy run out of 1122 then I will be out of luck. They've already sold out of the 1022, which was on sale for $280.

 

[Adam]

How was the phone connected to the receiver? Bluetooth? I'm just wondering if the "static" had nothing to do with the receiver, but rather was due to either the source (your phone) or the connection. Did you ever connect the Squeezebox up to the Pioneer the same way that you have it connected to the Onkyo to compare the sound?

It certainly could have been the Pioneer. I'm just trying to help you troubleshoot it.

 

[GFOViedo]

How was the phone connected to the receiver? Bluetooth? I'm just wondering if the "static" had nothing to do with the receiver, but rather was due to either the source (your phone) or the connection. Did you ever connect the Squeezebox up to the Pioneer the same way that you have it connected to the Onkyo to compare the sound?

It certainly could have been the Pioneer. I'm just trying to help you troubleshoot it.

I suppose I should start from the beginning.

I set up the AVR, and ran the speaker set up thingie with withe microphone. Thereafter, I proceeded to connect the AVR to my network, which got its own IP address via DCHP.

Thereafter, I set up my Pandora account via the AVR's set up screen. I did this manually via the AVR. I used the AVR remote control to access Pandora and proceeded to play some music. The sound as this point was pretty bad just as I described before.

At this point, I was unable to use my Android smart phone since the app kept giving me errors, and it would not recognize the 1022 receiver. I gave up after 1 hour of trying to use the phone App.

Later I decided to open up the phone App, and by itself it recognized the 1022 receiver. I was able to access Pandora via the Pioneer phone App. I played some music, and the sound was the same as before...horrible.

I did not try to connect the Squeezebox to the 1022 like I did to my Onkyo.

 

[JerryLove]

Did you have sound problems with non-internet music?

Did you have sound problems playing CDs / DVDs/ the radio?

Let's isolate the issue to where it's happening.

 

[GFOViedo]

Did you have sound problems with non-internet music?

Did you have sound problems playing CDs / DVDs/ the radio?

Let's isolate the issue to where it's happening.

I do not use music cd's. I mainly use Pandora for music. I can't really isolate anything since I ended up returning the 1022.

I went to Best Buy with the intention of buying the 1122, but I ended up buying two iPads for my kids.

 

[JerryLove]

Ok. Well. When you again have an amp, if you are still having a problem, we can likely help you pin down the cause.

 

[GFOViedo]

Ok. Well. When you again have an amp, if you are still having a problem, we can likely help you pin down the cause.

Yeah, I still have my Onkyo HT-R960. I will be buying a new one for XMAS. I got the okay from the wife to spend $800.00.

 

[96cobra10101]

I do not use music cd's. I mainly use Pandora for music. I can't really isolate anything since I ended up returning the 1022.

I went to Best Buy with the intention of buying the 1122, but I ended up buying two iPads for my kids.

This made me laugh.

 

[GFOViedo]

Update: I went back to Best Buy to return the iPad 2's that I bought for my son and daughter bday, and I left with 3 iPads instead.