Troubles hooking up new Pioneer receiver

[Peggy]

Sorry, I don't know terminology.

Hope this explains my troubles well enough. I did do a search.

I replaced my RCA RT2250 with a new Pioneer-VSX-D514, keeping the five RCA speakers to use on the Pioneer.

Troubles:

These seem to work through the speakers: My VCR, tape cassette and CD.

If I turn on my digital cable service, I get no sound through my speakers (I can get sound through the television).

Also, the front left, right and center, and back left and right speakers plugged in fine with their wires.
But the subwoofer (which just has the same wires to plug in) has a different "plugger-inner" on the Pioneer receiver. Its "plugger-inner" l(colored black) looks like those that are color coded red, white or black (maybe called audio/video cords).

Finally, the Pioneer book recommends using speakers of 8 (?) (I don't know this symbol can't even show you) with this system, but it is possible to switch the impedance setting if you plan to use speakers with a 6 (?) impedance rating.
On the back of my speaker it is 3 ohms impedence.

I live 85 miles from the city I bought this system from. But I can take it back within 30 days. I told them what I had and this is what they recommended (Best Buy). Should I try to fix these problems or just return the receiver and start over.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Peg

 

[MDS]

If I turn on my digital cable service, I get no sound through my speakers (I can get sound through the television).

How is the cable box hooked up to the receiver, if at all? When you say you get sound thru the tv, do you mean using the tv speakers? If so, it sounds to me like you have the cable box hooked directly to the tv. You can do it that way if you then run audio cables (the red/white analog cables) from the tv's audio out to an input on the receiver, say Video1.

Because you have digital cable, I would not recommend doing it that way. You won't be able to get Dolby Digital that way. You want to connect the cable box directly to the receiver using either the coax digital cable (looks the same as the red/white cables but only has 1 rca connector and is usually color-coded orange) or an optical digital cable (the Toslink connector looks like a small square). Then run a video cable (yellow=composite or s-video, whichever one your tv has an input for) from the receiver's 'Monitor Out' to an input on the tv marked 'Video In'.

You just select the input on your receiver to watch cable; ie if you connect the cable box to Video 1 on the receiver, select Video1 to view the cable.

Also, the front left, right and center, and back left and right speakers plugged in fine with their wires. But the subwoofer (which just has the same wires to plug in) has a different "plugger-inner" on the Pioneer receiver. Its "plugger-inner" l(colored black) looks like those that are color coded red, white or black (maybe called audio/video cords).

That 'plugger-inner' should be marked 'Subwoofer pre-out' or 'LFE out' on the receiver. That is the preferred way to connect a subwoofer, but you can also hookup the sub using speaker wires, which any of us can explain if you want. But, your speakers are a real problem so I won't go into sub hookup with speaker wire yet.

Finally, the Pioneer book recommends using speakers of 8 (?) (I don't know this symbol can't even show you) with this system, but it is possible to switch the impedance setting if you plan to use speakers with a 6 (?) impedance rating.
On the back of my speaker it is 3 ohms impedence.

Just FYI, that symbol is the greek letter 'Omega' and it stands for impedance (Ohms) - a measure of how much resistance the speakers put up to the receiver. 3 Ohm speakers are nearly impossible to drive with a receiver.

Pioneer receiver's are very well regarded and I would recommend you keep it if you can - but you will have to get new speakers, preferably 8Ohm speakers, but 6Ohm should be ok. You can get budget 5.1 speaker systems for a few hundred bucks to get started. These speaker systems will have a subwoofer that has the correct low-level input to connect directly to the receiver's sub pre-out described above.

If you get the proper speakers and connect the cable box to the receiver correctly, you can get DD from the digital cable channels and that will be a major step up from what you currently have.

 

[Peggy]

Hello,

Thanks for your reply. This really helped.

Your Quote:
"If you get the proper speakers and connect the cable box to the receiver correctly, you can get DD from the digital cable channels and that will be a major step up from what you currently have."

Regarding obtaining Dolby Digital, I don't have any of those cables you recommend. Would they come with a new set of speakers?

One problem: It sounds like new speakers might be more than I can afford.
I have seen a Sony package that would include a receiver, DVD and 5 speakers for around $350.

Would this be another mistake (as in I last bought the RCA package that way, and it never really worked), or would this be a better and less expensive way to go.

Thank you again.

Peg

 

[MDS]

You would have to buy the cables needed for a digital connection separately. They are available everywhere - Radio Shack, Best Buy, Circuit City, even Target and WalMart. You don't need expensive cables.

If you buy a Home Theater In a Box like the Sony you mentioned it will likely come with everything you need, including cables. I would need to know the model number so I could look it up in order to tell you if you could hook the cable box to it and get Dolby Digital or DTS.

The HTIB might be the way to go if funds are limited, but if you ever choose to upgrade the receiver again, you may have the same problem with the speakers. In that price range, the speakers are more akin to small computer speakers and have very low impedance. I'm sure they are designed to work with the receiver that comes with them, but not likely with a better receiver if they are very low impedance like the ones from your RCA setup.

 

[Peggy]

Hello,
I found a Pioneer package at Walmart (see below):
I'm thinking I'll get it. What would be the downside?
Also, you talked about extra cords:

You would have to buy the cables needed for a digital connection separately. They are available everywhere - Radio Shack, Best Buy, Circuit City, even Target and WalMart. You don't need expensive cables.

If you buy a Home Theater In a Box like the Sony you mentioned it will likely come with everything you need, including cables. I would need to know the model number so I could look it up in order to tell you if you could hook the cable box to it and get Dolby Digital or DTS.

My Motorola cable box does not seem to have one of those S-Video connections. It does have the two black and red plug in connections

My TV (a Phillips/Magnavox) does have an S-Video plug-in connection.
Would this take care of the problem (or would I even need it):

Philips PXT Performance 6' S-Video Cable $11.96
Want one simple step to dramatically improve image quality while watching your movies? Get this S-Video cable to connect your DVD player to your TV or AV receiver. You'll notice less blur, and enjoy richer, brighter colors. S-video provides a significantly clearer picture than what's delivered with standard composite video.

S-Video cable provides a significantly clearer picture than you get with standard composite video interconnects
Constructed to preserve signal strength, giving you improved video quality
Nitrogen-injected dielectric (insulation) ensures low capacitance and transmits high-fidelity signals
Super-pliable jacket with environment-friendly PVC materials
24K gold plated connector for lower contact resistance
Heavy duty brass shell, color-coded and chrome-plated with easy-grip texture
Foil shield protects against interference
Stranded conductor of high purity 99.997% oxygen-free copper (OFC)
Internal spring strain relief protects against damage to conductors
6-foot length
--------
Pioneer 750-Watt Home Theater With DVD & Wireless Rear Speakers

750 watts of total system power for a great home theater experience. Unique digital wireless rear speaker gives you an easy and flexible installation option. Progressive scan output provides optimal DVD picture quality when coupled with a digital TV.

Receiver remote, DVD player remote, batteries, AM/FM antenna wire, digital cable, owners manual, operating instructions, power cables, composite audio cable, composite video cable, wireless speaker transmitter, RCA stereo card, warranty card

Description

750 watt home theater system
2.4 gHz digital wireless surround sound speaker module; easy installation anywhere with no wires to run
Progressive scan for an optimum picture
Dolby Digital, DTS, Pro Logic IIX surround sound
192kHz/24 bit DAC
5.1 multi-channel input
5 channel stereo
100 watt powered subwoofer
Quick set-up operation
Connect to the television of your choice
Remote control

I could not find an impedence number anywhere, but I guess it doesn't matter if it is a package.

Thanks for your help.

Peg

 

[MDS]

That Pioneer looks like it would be ok and the limited description says it includes a 'digital cable'. No mention of which kind - optical or coaxial.

In order to get DD or DTS from the cable system, the box will have to have a digital out. It will either say 'optical out' or 's/pdif out'. I know alot of those early Motorola cable boxes don't have the digital out enabled - my sister's didn't.

You can still get surround sound without it, though not quite the same. The box will decode the digital signal and send the receiver a 2 channel signal which it can then turn in to 5.1 using ProLogic IIx (which it says it has).

For the video, just use the composite (yellow) cable. All Tvs have composite video connections. It's slightly inferior to s-video, but you have to use what you have connections for.

That Pioneer is $448. In that price range I would seriously consider the Onkyo HTS-770: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Onkyo-Home-Theater-System-HTS-770-/sem/rpsm/oid/90794/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

You would have to add your own DVD player, but any inexpensive dvd player will do.

 

[Eridian]

I replaced my RCA RT2250 with a new Pioneer-VSX-D514, keeping the five RCA speakers to use on the Pioneer.

...

Finally, the Pioneer book recommends using speakers of 8 (?) (I don't know this symbol can't even show you) with this system, but it is possible to switch the impedance setting if you plan to use speakers with a 6 (?) impedance rating.
On the back of my speaker it is 3 ohms impedence.

Peg

Hi Peggy,
I own the same system (RT2250) and I would encourage you to double check your speaker impedance. The Subwoofer is a 3 ohm, but the 5 other speakers are all 6 ohm speakers. Therefore, you can use these speakers on receivers which support 6 ohm speakers. WARNING: be sure to follow the setup instructions for any new receiver to ensure that you switch to the 6ohm setting as they tend to be 8ohms by default.

Out of curiosity, why are you replacing the RT2250? Is it hissing and popping while it "warms up"... eventually spitting out parts of words and eventually working mostly ok if left on long enough? I am having this problem and a quick search has shown me that it is a common problem with this model. I have read reports of technicians fixing the problem and I intend to try the suggested repair myself shortly.

By copy to the Gurus here, what can Peggy do about her 3 ohm (unpowered) sub? Would the pioneer model that she purchased drive the sub ok? Her new Pioneer receiver doesn't seem to specify an output power for the sub or speaker impedance from what I was able to google. Is this because it is for a powered sub? (BTW, the sub that came with the RT2250 home theatre package can handle up to 100W of power.)

Cheers,
Eridian

P.S. I realize that this thread is old, but hopefully this response is of use to you or someone else.