Information about old Amp. (Pioneer VSX-403)

[grilw]

Hi Guys

I am trying to hook up a new audio speaker system (5 speaker + sub woofer) that I bought from Radio Shack recently , to my old pioneer VSX-403 receiver, which theoratically should support 5.1 surround sound.

I think I did everything correctly , but the problem is that I cannot activate all the speakers at the same time when I am playing an audio CD for example.

Here is what my rear panel looks like . Maybe this receiver really does not support 5.1 surround sound , that's why i am here :)

http://www.futureway.com/~grilw/Rear panel.jpg
http://www.futureway.com/~grilw/rear panel 1.jpg

If any of you guys can suggest the right way to hook up the speakers + subwoofer to the receiver , that would be greatly appeciated .

Thanks

By the way , are there any high-traffic forums that deal with things like this specifically that I can try posting on ?

[stevethewheel]

Hi. First off you should be using a known 5.1 source (like a DVD) to test your system.

Using a regular CD might only get you the front 2 speakers and the subwoofer. You might be able to change it using the front panel selectors/knobs/switches and finding some setting that simulates surround sound from a stereo source.

It would be easier to tell you how to hook up the speakers if you "closed" the speaker wire clips when taking pictures because the clips are in the way of the writing.

I am just guessing, but from what I can see you should be hooking the front R&L speakers to the "A" row of the lower set of speaker wire clips. The "B" row is really for stereo systems using 4 speakers but not trying to get surround sound, just the same sound, or if you have a set of speakers in another room and want to be able to turn them off/on.

The rear speakers and probably the subwoofer hook to the top set of speaker wire clips.

What I see that is a bit concerning is the "CENTER AMP PRE-OUT" just to the right of the speaker hookups. This hints that your amp is not really 5.1 capable....instead it does 4.1 by itself, and allows you to use ANOTHER amp to drive the front centre speaker.....if you want it.

Where else to get info? I'd google the name lots of different ways eg VSX-403, VSX403, SX403 etc. Maybe you will come across a manual. Try the Pioneer site under "discontinued" or a similar heading.

If all that fails you could try www.audioasylum.com. Most people there focus on the higher end stuff that you can't find at BestBuy, but you might get lucky on this.

[spider]

For sure this amp only supports dolby surround Prologic. You would see either a digital coaxial in or optical in if it supported DD 5.1 or DTS. The other option was analog in for six channels.(seperate decoder)

[rabbit]

It IS only Prologic. I have the same receiver. It's from 1994/95. It was a bit over $300 at the time :). I think it was the bottom of the Pioneer AV Receivers.

PS. Have you tried clicking on one of the Surround buttons on the front, like Simulated Surround or Studio? Will that get the back speakers to work when playing CDs? I've only ever had two speakers hooked up to this thing.

[googoo]

YEP< an old pro-logic unit. The unit does have an amplified centre channel beside the rear speaker terminals. The centre pre-out was pretty common back then, my old SOny had 2 amplified outputs for the centre + a preout.

The subwoofer could be interesting, is it amplified?

Brent

[blainehamilton]

Check out a few pawn shops. You should be able to pick up a basic dd/dts amp for under $100 if you look carefully. Just make sure you test ALL outputs, a lot of people dump amps with one blown channel...