[pistolpetexxx]

Hey guys,

I have scoured the net and have yet to find an answer to this. I purchased this model from FS on boxing day and will be getting it any day now. I just wanted to know if anyone has one. It seems to be a FS "hybrid" model. I think they do this for price mathcing and all but I was wondering about it's feature set and your overall impressions. The pic on FS's website indicates it has a LAN port yet when you compare it to the American 920 model which I have been doing, the american one does not. Pioneers websites (horrible BTW) dont seem to have much info. I did find this:
http://www.pioneer.com.sg/data/sg/pdf/2010_REF_GUIDE_VSX_Receiver_GA.pdf

which makes reference to the 925 in the small print but just wanted to get someones feedback on the unit. I know the obvious answer is go to the store and have a look but I stay away from malls during the holidays and was hoping I'd get lucky with a quick answer.

Thanks

Pete

 

[Simkins]

I picked one up on boxing day and yes it does have a LAN port on the back. It has the same specs as the US 920 although has a LAN port and on screen GUI added.

 

[jmatteis]

My brother in law picked this up, I missed the deal... however, does it do wifi, or do you have to use the LAN port? I was also looking at the 920, as BestBuy has it on sale right now for $399 as well, but the specs say nothing of XM radio, according to the US pioneer site, it doesn't support the IPOD/IPHONE app, but you can plug and use it (which leads me to believe that since you can use your iphone with an app, the 925 must do wifi as well), and the 920 specs say nothing of LAN or wifi. Other than those few differences, I imagine they are pretty much the same... 3D ready, 4 in, 1 out HDMI, etc etc.

 

[neilK]

hi,

waiting for my 925 too.... any day now! sadly i hesitated a day too long and it cost me 50 bucks in savings. it's back up to $699 now so i won't complain too hard

my understanding was that wireless iPhone/iTouch communication is handled through your LAN. receiver will have to be wired in via ethernet.

i'm considering getting an airport express to connect the 925 to my LAN - it has an ethernet port on it - but perhaps there is something cheaper out there.

i'd seen a demo video of the app on youtube that says it will work with any network-capable Pioneer receiver but have not yet personally tested this. I know that David S. wasn't impressed by the app, but if it will let me turn on the receiver and route music to a second set of speakers in the upstairs living room, without getting my butt off the couch, then it will satisfy me

 

[tweezok]

I received my 925 from FS today and have not been able to get the iControlAV app to work -- if anyone manages to, please let me know.. I've since read that it is only supported on the 1025 and up? So much conflicting info out there....

 

[csks]

What does the 925 manual say re the capabilities of the LAN port?

Keeping model #s separate to avoid Price Matching is one thing but to change the spec and not make it readily available to potential buyers is completely unacceptable in my opinion. The FS specific AVR models are also not listed on the Pioneer Canada site which does not give me a warm feeling.

 

[tweezok]

The manual has VSX-1025/VSX-925 written on it and mentions nothing about the iPhone app that I can see...

I also can't see how to get any OSD overlay for volume or source selection -- which if it had that, I could care a bit less about the iphone capability -- but if I want to hide the receiver away, I need one of the two to work

 

[neilK]

can you log into your router and see the 925 as a device on your network? (we are skipping question 1 - is the 925 plugged into your network )

here is a link to the manual for the 1020 (had to find with google. site is a mess). LARGE FILE, approx 15MB

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/StaticFiles/Manuals/Home/VSX-1020_OperatingInstructions0302.pdf

chapter 11 page 103 - network setup. maybe some useful info there.

(i know it is often said that the 925 is the same as the USA 920, but when i look at pics it looks more like the USA 1020. USA 920 has no LAN, for example)

USA 920 back panel
USA 1020 back panel
FS 925 back panel

so it might be worth a look

 

[neilK]

a bit more:

interesting link here: http://parts.pioneerelectronics.com/model.asp?modelNum=VSX30&x=31&y=7

bottom item - vsx30/vsx31/vsx925 service manual.

back panel of a vsx30 is an even closer match to a 925 - no 12v triggers and no rs232

vsx30 back panel

we know the vsx 1325 is basically a re-branded vsx-33. maybe the 925 is a vsx-30 with a few missing features?

 

[neilK]

ok, nerding out big time now.

has anyone ever seen this app (or equivalent for your pio model): http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/StaticFiles/Manuals/Home/VSX-925-K_OperatingInstructions0316_MCACC.pdf

looks like a tweak-fiend's dream.

finally found an online link to the 925 manual. LARGE, 16MB

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/StaticFiles/Manuals/Home/VSX-925_OperatingInstructions0518.pdf

network setup on page 106 (english). looks the same as the US 1020 manual for network setup.

 

[bobmac]

tweezok wrote

--I received my 925 from FS today and have not been able to get the iControlAV app to work -- if anyone manages to, please let me know
---

Well the iControlAV app works on a 1025. I set it up with a Airport Express in bridge mode and set the network info through the network setup option of the receiver ( I use static iPs). Fired up my iPhone and it worked. AND.. haven't used it since.

I can see it being useful if you have 2 zones or the receiver is hidden. But for me it was more of a trial than anything else.

Good Luck
Bob

 

[pistolpetexxx]

I got mine today and it sure is pretty.

Awesome investigatory work there NeilK, the most interesting to me is the service manuals. Very annoying that all this digging is required to see what the reciever can do.

So far, still comparing to the 920 from BB, you get:

-different remote

-better Gui interface for setup

-brushed black metal look as opposed to glossy

-Lan port for internet radio (at least that is in the manual) and possibly the mysterious iPhone app which I have no use for now but I am really curious too know if one of you get it going

 

[tweezok]

My 925 responds to pings from the other machines on my network.... and the internet radio worked without issues as soon as I fired it up.

I guess for me, without having overlay OSD on HDMI (that I can tell yet) or having iphone app for control, it's gotta go back... not sure why I felt it had these - confusion over the bizarre model number differences for FS and Canada mostly I guess. I'll see how I feel after a couple more days of playing.

 

[neilK]

iphone app is a nice frill, i bought the 925 because i thought i would be able to do OSD on HDMI with this receiver.

with an HDMI input device, it isn't working?

 

[jayoldschool]

I can only speak for the older 918, but the OSD is usually only on composite outputs.

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

a bit more:
we know the vsx 1325 is basically a re-branded vsx-33. maybe the 925 is a vsx-30 with a few missing features?

Could be. The VSX-33 is the 1325. The VSX-32 is the 1120/1125 with 12V Triggers and Elite branding/badging. Since the 1020 is the VSX-31, it seems plausible that you're right.

 

[neilK]

I can only speak for the older 918, but the OSD is usually only on composite outputs.

no mention of this limitation in the manual at all that i can find.

makes no sense to me why you would allow HDMI i/o and not put your OSD through it.

i would have assumed i was in the high majority of people planning to run all their devices into the receiver, and send video via a single output to their TV.

(edit: added quote for context)

 

[tweezok]

The setup GUI worked fine over HDMI, but I haven't seen any volume indicator, source identifier/information or any info at all other than the GUI... I too assumed it could do this, but in retrospect that was probably a gross assumption as the more I read it seems like very few devices actually do OSD overlay over HDMI....

The iphone gui works when hooked up via the supplied cable, but for me that's pretty useless -- I'd rather run my iphone wirelessly and and control the music streaming through my airport express....

 

[neilK]

somewhat disappointing but this receiver is still an upgrade for me, coming from a second-hand vsx-816. so i'll get my first lossless audio for movies at last. that has always been priority 1.

i'm looking into a workaround for wireless music by using the internet radio function, if i can get it to "find" a VLC streaming server on the LAN, controlled by the free VLC control app for iphone/itouch.

i'll have to get off my butt to turn on the receiver, but the pioneer app doesn't do that yet anyway. ahh well... i'm not getting any thinner anyway hahaha

 

[57]

Most newer AVRs with HDMI ins/out have OSD via HDMI now, however, you may need to press "amp" or "receiver" or similar button before pressing the setup or menu buttons on the remote. You also need to be patient as the OSD via HDMI is sometimes pretty slow to come up.