Optical Audio Question for new Pioneer Receiver!

[jaceswild]

Hey Guys new to the forum but heard that this is an excellent resource for semi-noobs and advanced users alike. I have done some research/searched the forums and for the life of me can't figure these questions so hopefully someone can shed some light. I recently replaced my LG HTIB (LG963PA)receiver/dvd player with a proper receiver (Pioneer 5.1 Channel HDMI Receiver (VSX-819H-K) because I was lacking inputs.


Any thoughts on this receiver? Positives/negatives? Looks like a great entry level one that I will suit my needs. I am keeping my LG speakers from my HTIB because they are pretty good and want to save up for some others but they will work for now. I got it home last night and got alll my inputs set up and working but have a couple questions if anyone can lend a hand. Here are my only remaining concerns.



1) After getting the MCACC pioneer auto tune setup I ran it and I keep getting an error message on the front speakers and then it stops and asks me to retry. It plays the sound through it but does not configure it. I tried to be as quiet as possible but still no luck. Any ideas?



2) My XBOX 360 has no hdmi port so I ran a component cable to my tv which works fine (decided not to run component to the receiver because the 3 inputs are taken up already by other devices.) But for audio I tried to run an optical cable from the 360 to the aux in optical port of my receiver. When I switch my receiver to aux it does not play any sound. The only way I can get sound going is connecting the composite cables to the receiver aux. Any thing I am doing wrong here, I would definitely like 5.1 optical audio sound if possible through my xbox 360.



3) My subwoofer (passive) that came with LG HTIB only has one hole for black speaker wire and one hole for red speaker wire. I connected this fine to my HTIB as it had the same input. However my new receiver does not support this input as it only has a subwoofer preout? Is there a workaround or splitter or something I can use to get my sub working with this receiver?



Thanks again for everyones helps, definitely made this process less frustrating. After I figure these 3 things out I will be sittin pretty!



Cheers,

 

[Brian_the_King]

Congrats on your purchase!

2) My XBOX 360...

You might have to mess around in the Xbox system settings and tell it to use the optical out.. that's what I would look into first.


As for the subwoofer.. this sounds bad, but you may want to consider purchasing a powered module with RCA inputs.

Not only will this [if you spend you money right] lend an improvement to the low end in your set up, but you will also be able to put the crossover system in your receiver to much better use.



edit: I just reread your op, if your current subwoofer has no inputs other than a single positive and single negative terminal, you do need to purchase a new subwoofer. I suppose it is possible to connect the subwoofer to one of the "B" sets of speaker terminals on your receiver, but this is pretty far from ideal.

 

[Nomo]

1) Chances are the MCACC is giving a false out of phase warning, a common problem with many auto set-up programs.
if you are sure the polarity of the speakers are correct, disable the wiring check and rerun the MCACC

2) As stated above; you may need to tell the XBox to output analog, or go into the receiver's set-up menu and reassign the input.

3) Sorry, get a new Sub.

 

[just-some-guy]

find an older receiver and use that to power the sub.

 

[mtrycrafts]

... but heard that this is an excellent resource for semi-noobs and advanced users alike.
...Cheers,

Welcome

Just curious where you heard?

 

[santeini]

1. First of all i doubt that your current speakers {LG HTIB} are at all suitable for for this purpose.Most HTIB only work within their system.
Probably that is why you are getting the error message on the Pioneer.Please be careful because this kind of hook up can damage both the HTIB speakers and your Pioneer.
2. As for the xbox, you must set the optical out by going in to menu{xbox}
3. You will need a power amp between the pre sub out of the Pioneer and the sub woofer for it to work.But i don't recommend this, because you might blow the sub.

 

[DJ in TX]

.....I recently replaced my LG HTIB (LG963PA)receiver/dvd player with a proper receiver (Pioneer 5.1 Channel HDMI Receiver (VSX-819H-K).....

Welcome fellow noob, I'm sure you will get some great advice here. I have found very helpful guidance here recently. I am planning to pick up this same Pioneer receiver in the next week or so. Once you have spent some time with the unit, would love to hear your impressions.

Thanks~

 

[jaceswild]

Hey everyonewow some timely and insightful replies much appreciated, some other similar forums were not near as much of a help as the audioholics!

Some thoughts on your responses.

1) So I'm assuming the MCACC is having issues becausing I'm using LG HTIB speakers. As per another posters response I have looked in the power output and bought this receiver so these would work properly and not cause harm to either the receiver or speakers. Hopefully they will work as a temporary solution. I guess I will disable the wiring check and see what happens.

2) As for the sub, obviously this inadequate for my receiver and will just wait until I can purchase a new one. One poster who said I could use it in my "speakers b" setup provided an interesting alternative until I can get a proper one. My receiver can play a + b so is this a viable option for now?

3) For the life of me I can't find a setting in my xbox dashboard to change it to optical audio. There is an audio setting but it only lets you choose between digital 5.1 (what i chose) and digital 5.1 w/ wma (tried this as well). To provide a bit more detail I plugged my optical cable from my 360 into both the optical in (aux) and also tried the optical in (cdr/tape) then switched the input to these on my receiver when I was ready to test it. Still no luck. Do i need to have my composite cables plugged in as well to get the optical working? I think not but just checking. Also i was thinking on my receiver I may have change the signal when switched to that input? like from analog to digital or whatever. Any thoughts on that?

5) I heard a few people mention this site from a forum I used in canada. It's a forum for a major electroncs retailer which is fairly useful!

6)DJ in Tex I love the receiver so far, sound output is great for an entry level. The xbox optical audio issue is a little annoying and an extra hdmi port would have been nice for future proofing but it suits my needs. Also the audio volume level does differ while watching certain satellite tv channels which can be annoying. I hear the denon has a auto-leveling technology built into their receivers for what its worth. Aside from that the remote is great (although it won't program my samsung blu ray player into it even though it has the codes for samsung dvd players in the manual. heard someone else had the same issue as well. but it did program my lg tv properly). Some minor annoyances but I'm sure half of these there are solutions to so I'm not overly worried. All in all a great purchase. I got it for $285 cdn/$275 usd (our dollars catchin up!) so I feel good about the price point for such a quality receiver. Also the dials on the receiver are very well built and have the feel of quality

Thanks again for everyones input and hopefully I can iron out some of these lingering issues. I'm learning a great deal due to you guys and really appreciate it.

Cheers,

 

[Nomo]

I considered the speakers B option. My problem with it is, and maybe I'm making too much of an assumption here, the LG sub connection most likely has a filter or cross over to keep the higher frequencies out of the sub.
I'm not sure what the result of feeding it a full bandwith signal, as opposed to a LFE or .1 signal, would result in.