New Reciever

[69 camaro SS]

Well, after bugging all you guys for a couple of months. I finally bought a pioneer VSX - 815 I got it off ebay refurbished 180.00 dollars couldnt pass it up. Also just picked up an onkyo 6 disc dvd player at cc. I still have one problem, The reciever dosent come with the michrophone to set it up. I have heard some of you fine people talk about setting up your system & speakers manually . What am I looking for to do this? Thanks to all you guys for every thread response on all my dumb questions. Steve

[thekid]

Congratulations on your new addition!!

You will need an SPL meter, which I am sure others here can recommend a specific model, but the most popular one I have seen referenced on this site is available at Radio Shack.

Hopefully your unit came with an owners manual, if not you can order one from the Pioneer website.
The manual has a section for making manual adjustments rather than the microphone, between that and the SPL instructions you should be able to learn what you will need to do to set up your system.

Another possible option is to surf some of the audio parts stores on-line and see if you can purchase the microphone separately. I don't know if these things are specific to the units/manufacturer or you can use any microphone that performs the comparable function.

[L.J.]

Your gonna need an SPL meter to properly calibrate your levels, and your gonna have to measure the distance from each speaker to your listening position. You would normally set your Xover at 80 and all your speakers to small, assuming you have a sub.


Here's (http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/setup/loudspeakers/loudspeakerplacement01.php) an article to get you started. You can find an analog SPL meter at radioshack for under 40 bucks.

[kexodusc]

You probably don't need to rush out and get an SPL meter. That receiver has the MCACC setup feature...those are generally as reliable or more than your basic Radio Shack/ Extech SPL meters...They're not the most accurate anyway. The trick is to make sure your microphone is perfectly in the sweet spot though...
SPL meters aren't a bad thing to have though...

[L.J.]

You probably don't need to rush out and get an SPL meter. That receiver has the MCACC setup feature...those are generally as reliable or more than your basic Radio Shack/ Extech SPL meters...They're not the most accurate anyway. The trick is to make sure your microphone is perfectly in the sweet spot though...
SPL meters aren't a bad thing to have though...

Hey Kex, he said his unit didn't come with a mic. :)

[GMichael]

Hey Kex, he said his unit didn't come with a mic. :)

I'm unclear on whether "doesn't come with" means it never had one or the guy he bought it from lost it.

[kexodusc]

Didn't see that...shouldn't be hard to get one from Pioneer though...makes the receiver fully functional, I'm guessing it would be about the same price as an SPL meter anyway.

[GMichael]

Didn't see that...shouldn't be hard to get one from Pioneer though...makes the receiver fully functional, I'm guessing it would be about the same price as an SPL meter anyway.

So, this model does have the auto setup feature?

[L.J.]

Didn't see that...shouldn't be hard to get one from Pioneer though...makes the receiver fully functional, I'm guessing it would be about the same price as an SPL meter anyway.

That's a great point!

I'm curious about something. My 2805 allows the use of an SPL meter instead of the supplied mic for calibration. On my 2805, I would simply connect my SPL meter to the Left AUX input on my front panel and run the auto setup.

What do you think about this method Kex?

[Eric Z]

The Pioneer 815 has auto calibration, so I'm assuming you just didn't get the mic when you bought it off of Ebay- that's one thing about buying stuff used; sometimes you don't get anything. Therefore, you can go the route of buying an SPL meter and learn how to do that or buy a mic from Pioneer- their website reads they're currently out of stock:
http://parts.pioneerelectronics.com/part.asp?productNum=APM7006

Fyi, it lists for just under $34.