First Post - Pioneer VSX-1017

Jonathan_G

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Morning All,

I have just installed my new Pioneer VSX-1017 AV Amp and have a couple of questions - probably stupid questions but please bear with me.

I have a fairly good HIFI which includes an AudioLab Amp and PreAmp which is bi-wired to a pair of Mission M35i - plenty for our small lounge.

The Surround speakers are currently some old Pioneer's which are due an upgrade however I cannot do this until funds permit.

My first question is: Can I use the Mission M35i as the HIFI speakers and the fronts for the AV Amp? I would clearly not try to run both the AV Amp and HIFI at the same time, however it would mean that both the HIFI Amp & PreAmp would be technically joined to the AV Amp.

My thinking behind this is that surely the Missions would act as better fronts than the current Pioneer's and also better than a pair of VM1 which I am looking to upgrade to. Also if I can use the Mission's it would free up cash for a better Centre, Rear's and Sub + space is at a premium.

The DVD player I currently have is fairly old and will be upgraded when funds permit however currently I just want to get it working as best it can. It will only output Video by SCART or SVideo. My plan is to buy a SCART to Component cable to run the DVD into the AV Amp and then Component to the TV. The audio will go via an optic cable - is this the best way of doing it?

I am new to this whole AV thing and my above questions are probably stupid however I could not find the answers by searching or in the manual.

Many Thanks

Jonathan
 
I have just installed my new Pioneer VSX-1017 AV Amp and have a couple of questions - probably stupid questions but please bear with me.

No such thing as a stupid question, only stupid answers! ;)

My first question is: Can I use the Mission M35i as the HIFI speakers and the fronts for the AV Amp? I would clearly not try to run both the AV Amp and HIFI at the same time, however it would mean that both the HIFI Amp & PreAmp would be technically joined to the AV Amp.

My thinking behind this is that surely the Missions would act as better fronts than the current Pioneer's and also better than a pair of VM1 which I am looking to upgrade to. Also if I can use the Mission's it would free up cash for a better Centre, Rear's and Sub + space is at a premium.

Yes you can do this, connect from the front preouts on the Pioneer to the hifi, set the hifi volume at 12 o'clock (ideally 0db) and then calibrate the Pioneer around that. I hope your surround speakers are compatible with the Pioneer i.e. impedence rating (ohms) though. Regardless, don't drive the system too hard as you could potentially damage the Pioneer and the speakers. Obviously with this setup, when watching movies, both AV and hifi amps would have to be on. No big deal. I would change that centre asap though to a decent one, preferably mission to match the fronts as the centre speaker is probably the most important speaker in a 5.1 system (IMHO) as it carries a lot of dialogue and so on.

The DVD player I currently have is fairly old and will be upgraded when funds permit however currently I just want to get it working as best it can. It will only output Video by SCART or SVideo. My plan is to buy a SCART to Component cable to run the DVD into the AV Amp and then Component to the TV. The audio will go via an optic cable - is this the best way of doing it?

In order to connect the DVD player to the receiver you would need to convert the RGB signal from the SCART output to component using a converter such as the QED RGB SCART to Component converter but as this is £60 plus additional cables and your DVD player is old, I wouldn't spend any money on old technology. I would simply buy a new DVD player with HDMI either second hand (Sony, Oppo, Pioneer etc.) or check out the cheap Philips models in Argos. Although DVD will be here for a while, I wouldn't spend a lot of money on it. Relegate the old player to another room or give it away to a relative, sell it or bung it on freecycle would be my advice. Sorry! ;)
 
Davepuma

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I understand wher you are going with

"Yes you can do this, connect from the front preouts on the Pioneer to the hifi, set the hifi volume at 12 o'clock (ideally 0db) and then calibrate the Pioneer around that"

however the Pioneer will output for both the left & Right channels seperately. On my AudioLab 8000S i could either run in on the Video inputs or Power Amp In however surely this would be only for either Left channel or Right channel therfore the surround effects would be lost.

Sorry i am really new to all this - as if you cant tell!

I think you are right the DVD needs changing ASAP however i do have a PS3 so perhaps i could use that as a DVD as it does have HDMI which i have already input to the 1017 - just need another optical interconnect to get the sound working...

I have so many interconnects (phono & SCART) that i spent loads on - non of these seem ot be of use anymore with the Optical and HDMI advances!!

I would be grateful if you could expand on what needs plugging where from the 1017 into the AudioLab 8000S.

Thanks Again.

Jonathan
 
You connect the front left/right pre-outs (bypassing the AV receivers amplification stage) to the Video In left/right input on the 8000S. The power amp remains connected to the front speakers and the AV receiver is connected to the centre, rears and sub.

When you listen to music, you continue to use your pre/power amp and CD player as normal with just the hifi system on.

When you watch a movie, the AV receiver and hifi system must be on as the hifi is driving the fronts, with the AV receiver taking care of the rest.

Obviously when you listen to music on the hifi system, remember to turn it down as the volume will be quite high as the output from the pre-out is low.

I think you are right the DVD needs changing ASAP however i do have a PS3 so perhaps i could use that as a DVD as it does have HDMI which i have already input to the 1017 - just need another optical interconnect to get the sound working...

Yup, ditch the DVD unless you use it for multiregion playback, after several updates the PS3 is a more than capable DVD player.

I have so many interconnects (phono & SCART) that i spent loads on - non of these seem ot be of use anymore with the Optical and HDMI advances!!

Sell them on flebay to fund any new cables and future kit :)
 
davepuma

All sorted - thanks so much for your help. Now all i have to sort out is the lipsync on Sky. I have already found some topics on this interesting issue....

Thanks again

Jonathan,
 

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