Hardware Review Pioneer Andrew Jones 5.1 Speaker System Review (3 Viewers)

[schan1269]

Just for the sake of due diligence, Pioneer has an AVR that seems like it does everything I want, Amazon's got it at $350 - Pioneer VSX-1123. Any thoughts on that? Any advantage to having the same brand speakers and AVR, other than the labels matching (which matters not one bit to me)?

HDMI Zone 2(or zone 3 or 4 As Pioneer calls it) is not the same thing as a "2nd HDMI output".When that is in use, the AVR does not produce the audio. As it is NOT intended for this purpose. Onkyo and Denon allow (on the models that support it) the 2nd HDMI output to be either...2Nd or Zone 2.The 1523 is the Pioneer you need(or the Elite 75).

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Thanks for the heads up on the difference between HDMI Zone 2 and "2nd HDMI output" -- could've very easily been confused by that one!

I just took a look at the pics of the back panels of the Onkyo 560 and 626 that I had been looking at last night, and their HDMI outputs read "Out Main" for one and "Out Sub" for the other. What does that mean?

 

[schan1269]

Thanks for the heads up on the difference between HDMI Zone 2 and "2nd HDMI output" -- could've very easily been confused by that one!I just took a look at the pics of the back panels of the Onkyo 560 and 626 that I had been looking at last night, and their HDMI outputs read "Out Main" for one and "Out Sub" for the other. What does that mean?

That they aren't zone 2.It also means...the set up menu, is only on "main".

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Gotcha! Thanks again!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

So I ended up going for the Onkyo 560 to go with the speakers -- figure it was cheap enough that in a couple years, if I end up in a larger space where I need more volume than the thing can provide, I can upgrade then and not feel too bad about it.

I hate to admit it, but I've never set up anything more than a simple two speaker stereo setup (not counting those Bose systems with the mini-speakers and the bass units), so is there anything special I need to get or know in order to set this thing up? Do I need any special cables or connectors besides some old fashioned speaker wire?

 

[Doug Hess]

Hi, Josh. Congrats on your new receiver and system! I think you'll be impressed.

As for what you'll need to connect everything, well, that depends on what all you have in your system. Just connecting your Pioneer speaker system, though will require just some good speaker wire (paying attention to polarity, of course) and an RCA subwoofer cable for the sub. Obviously, knowing how far the sub will be from the receiver will help you figure out how long a cable you'll need.

If you need any help with connecting other components and avoiding common pitfalls*, just let us know!

-Doug

* Stuff like: You can't connect the TV to the receiver and get digital surround. Stuff like that.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Hi Doug - thanks for the tips.

As far as the individual components into the receiver, that's where I feel reasonably competent. Pretty much everything will go HDMI into the receiver, and then one of the receiver HDMI outputs will go to the television, and the other will go to the (future) projector. I'll have to give the instruction manual a good reason to figure out which buttons to hit to get passthrough of the HDMI signal to the TV when the receiver is off, but that doesn't seem like it'll be too much of a project.

For the sub, it just connects with an RCA cable from the receiver to the subwoofer? Does it need to be any special kind of RCA cable, or can I just use one of the zillion that I had lying around the house?

 

[Doug Hess]

Hi, Josh. I'd recommend going with something specific to subs, since they'll typically have better shielding and conductors. That said, you don't have to spend a fortune to get something good. For burgeoning audiophiles on a budget, I recommend monoprice.com.

-Doug

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Thanks Doug, those all seem reasonably priced (and I kinda like that the description at the top says "fancy connector").

This may be a stupid question, but I see that the receiver has a "Pre Out (Subwoofer)" jack with left and right RCA connections, and the sub has a "Line In" for a left and right RCA connection. That's the connection I should make? The sub also has something labeled "Hi Level In" that looks like it accepts regular speaker wire -- do those get connected to anything, or do I just ignore them?


(The boxes with the various speakers are starting to show up, and it's getting pretty exciting to see them all in the living room. I'm glad I ended up buying now before moving, shipping to a residential area with piecemeal drop off (regardless of whether or not I'm home to sign) is ending up much more convenient than if I had done it in the new place, where everything would need me to be home for a signature. I was a little surprised that they didn't all ship at once, but it should all be here before I move in at the end of the month, so no worries on that.)

 

[Wayne_j]

Your receiver is a 7.2 channel one so it has subwoofer outputs for 2 subs. You only have to connect one of them to your sub.

You don't have to use the high level inputs.

 

[schan1269]

Yellow composite video cable is the same thing as digital coax is the same thing as shielded subwoofer is the same thing as component(the 3 video cable...cable).

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Thanks for the tip, Wayne, much appreciated! And thanks for the cable clarification, Schan, that's what I figured... I think I have some decently high quality RCAs lying around the house (gold plated and cable thickness similar to the ones Doug recommended at Monoprice), so I think I may just try those first and see how it sounds, before buying something else.

 

[schan1269]

IF your RCA cable does not say RG59 or RG6....do not use it for the sub.

All of those listed above are RCA cables...but not all RCA cables fit the criteria of those 4 specific uses.

(which means...not all RCA cables are made from RG59 or RG6)

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Gotcha! Thanks for clarifying.

Just out of curiosity, if I used the wrong one (not an RG59 or RG6), would it just sound poor, or would it actually do damage to the system?

 

[schan1269]

You'd have a 60hz hum.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

For speaker wire… I've read that the general rule of thumb is 16 gauge is fine for under 50 foot lengths? Is that true? I don't think any speaker will be more than 15 feet away from the AVR.

Banana plugs… worth the trouble and extra expense, or no?

Also still a little confused on connecting the sub to the amp. The amp has two purple colored "pre-out (subwoofer)" connections that look to fit an RCA-type cable. The subwoofer itself has two RCA inputs, one is white, one red, and it says "Line In (left/right)". But I thought from reading above I only need one connection into the sub? So do I only use one wire into either the left or right and ignore the other, or run two?

 

[Doug Hess]

Hi, Josh. That's a reasonable rule that I've heard/read many times. For your system and your needs, I would say that a good-quality 16awg wire is just fine. I think you'd get little return on any additional investment.

Banana plugs--or any connectors--can be a tad contentious. It seems every time I say this oh-so-obvious and logical thing, someone wants to shout me down. Ready? The best connection you can get is bare wire. There is nothing you can connect to speaker wire that will improve the signal transfer. I don't care if it's made of gold, silver (which is a better conductor than gold, BTW), or unobtanium, Doesn't matter.

That said, there are practical reasons to use banana plugs. If you need to disconnect the speakers often, they make sense. Otherwise, I don't see much use for 'em.

-Doug

 

[Jason Charlton]

For the subwoofer connection - the .1 signal is mono anyway. All you need is a single connection. Pick one at each end and you'll be fine.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Thanks Doug and Jason, much appreciated!I wonder why they mark it as "left" and "right" if you only need one input?

 

[schan1269]

Thanks Doug and Jason, much appreciated!I wonder why they mark it as "left" and "right" if you only need one input?

For people to use it with a stereo receiver and external crossover(although, if the AJ sub has RCA output, you don't need the external crossover)Period, You are overthinking. You, because you have .1...connect one.If one day you buy a stereo integrated amp or pre-amp/amp...you'll run two, because those (most likely) won't have .1.