Pioneer Sonic Center Control and Sound Retriever

[sjv13 10+ year member]

Ok, so I have a Pioneer hu and these two settings I'm not completely sure exactly what they do.

I have the Sonic Center Control to 3-left (max 7 both ways) and it sounds good to me. Is this just a time alignment?

Secondly, the sound retriever... what exactly does this do? I have it set on 1 (options are off, 1, or 2) All pioneer says is that it makes compressed music sound better. But how? Is it just another loudness setting? (I switch loudness between off and low depending on my mood (options being off, low, mid, or high)). I'd say the music does sound better with the sound retriever, but I know they cant actually be making it a high quality file because their is just not the possibility of ever doing that.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

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[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Yes, SCC is basically time alignment with lesser adjustments. Sound Retriever is basically dynamic compression. Pioneer says it "enhances" compressed recordings, but I've noticed it just jacks up the bass and pushes everything together.

 

[calebkhill 10+ year member]

Ok, so I have a Pioneer hu and these two settings I'm not completely sure exactly what they do.
I have the Sonic Center Control to 3-left (max 7 both ways) and it sounds good to me. Is this just a time alignment?

Secondly, the sound retriever... what exactly does this do? I have it set on 1 (options are off, 1, or 2) All pioneer says is that it makes compressed music sound better. But how? Is it just another loudness setting? (I switch loudness between off and low depending on my mood (options being off, low, mid, or high)). I'd say the music does sound better with the sound retriever, but I know they cant actually be making it a high quality file because their is just not the possibility of ever doing that.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

Wow I've had the same question past couple days..

Hey neo', ive had a problem out my tweeters cracking sometimes' noticed the f/l0 f/r0 fader on our head unit has helped me get this distortion out... My speakers are wired kinda weird, with the 2 front tweets ran off the hu's front rca's and the front and rear speakers ran off the hu's rear rca's. So when I decease the fronts on the fader, I can back off until the cracking goes away, how much I have to back off depends on the song. Some songs have no distortion from the tweets. My question is when you fade from lh to rh, or front to rear, does it decrease the volume or db's, seems its volume because you can silence it completely.....

Seems I've only found a band aid for the problem, I really feel the tweets are damaged' as I ran them only at 400hz hp at volume for a couple weeks.

 

[sjv13 10+ year member]

Wow I've had the same question past couple days..
Hey neo', ive had a problem out my tweeters cracking sometimes' noticed the f/l0 f/r0 fader on our head unit has helped me get this distortion out... My speakers are wired kinda weird, with the 2 front tweets ran off the hu's front rca's and the front and rear speakers ran off the hu's rear rca's. So when I decease the fronts on the fader, I can back off until the cracking goes away, how much I have to back off depends on the song. Some songs have no distortion from the tweets. My question is when you fade from lh to rh, or front to rear, does it decrease the volume or db's, seems its volume because you can silence it completely.....

Seems I've only found a band aid for the problem, I really feel the tweets are damaged' as I ran them only at 400hz hp at volume for a couple weeks.

EDIT: My original answer made no sense. I read what you wrote too fast. That's how I have mine wired as well. Are you running a four channel amp? Make sure the gains are set right. Sounds like maybe they are distorting the tweeters. And what's the hpf set to for the tweeters now?

 

[sjv13 10+ year member]

Yes, SCC is basically time alignment with lesser adjustments. Sound Retriever is basically dynamic compression. Pioneer says it "enhances" compressed recordings, but I've noticed it just jacks up the bass and pushes everything together.

What is dynamic compression? And yeah, I turned it on today as thought great... now I have to re-set my sub gain.

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Wow I've had the same question past couple days..
Hey neo', ive had a problem out my tweeters cracking sometimes' noticed the f/l0 f/r0 fader on our head unit has helped me get this distortion out... My speakers are wired kinda weird, with the 2 front tweets ran off the hu's front rca's and the front and rear speakers ran off the hu's rear rca's. So when I decease the fronts on the fader, I can back off until the cracking goes away, how much I have to back off depends on the song. Some songs have no distortion from the tweets. My question is when you fade from lh to rh, or front to rear, does it decrease the volume or db's, seems its volume because you can silence it completely.....

Seems I've only found a band aid for the problem, I really feel the tweets are damaged' as I ran them only at 400hz hp at volume for a couple weeks.

The 8400 isn't an active-capable HU, so you shouldn't be running the tweets off their own channel from the HU. Sounds like they're receiving a full-range signal (which you should never do) and by using the fader, you're effectively dropping the gain which is why they stop crackling. Take those tweets off a 400Hz HP, they can't handle it. You should be crossing somewhere closer to 2KHz-4KHz.

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

What is dynamic compression? And yeah, I turned it on today as thought great... now I have to re-set my sub gain.

Dynamic Compression just makes everything louder. It's why you're noticing having to readjust the sub. Think of it as compensating for having a crappy stock system without a sub. Since you have the equipment you need, keep Sound Retreiver off. If you've ever listened to the same album on vinyl and CD/mp3, you can see how dynamic compression comes into play. Reader's Digest version? It's not good news for sound quality.

 

[sjv13 10+ year member]

Dynamic Compression just makes everything louder. It's why you're noticing having to readjust the sub. Think of it as compensating for having a crappy stock system without a sub. Since you have the equipment you need, keep Sound Retreiver off. If you've ever listened to the same album on vinyl and CD/mp3, you can see how dynamic compression comes into play. Reader's Digest version? It's not good news for sound quality.

ah thanks. How does this help a stock system?

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

ah thanks. How does this help a stock system?

People tend to think louder=better. So the stock systems that can't handle the wide frequency range of our systems think they're getting better SQ.

 

[sjv13 10+ year member]

People tend to think louder=better. So the stock systems that can't handle the wide frequency range of our systems think they're getting better SQ.

But if it boosts the bass, wouldnt the stock systems distort at lower levels then?

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

But if it boosts the bass, wouldnt the stock systems distort at lower levels then?

Most of them do, it's just that most people don't care. Like I said, I've played with it on and off, lost all of my midrange info when it was on. I think of it as the same thing as the loudness control.

 

[calebkhill 10+ year member]

EDIT: My original answer made no sense. I read what you wrote too fast. That's how I have mine wired as well. Are you running a four channel amp? Make sure the gains are set right. Sounds like maybe they are distorting the tweeters. And what's the hpf set to for the tweeters now?

Its not gain. Happens with gain. At min. Yea its 4 ch. Hpf is 3.5

 

[calebkhill 10+ year member]

The 8400 isn't an active-capable HU, so you shouldn't be running the tweets off their own channel from the HU. Sounds like they're receiving a full-range signal (which you should never do) and by using the fader, you're effectively dropping the gain which is why they stop crackling. Take those tweets off a 400Hz HP, they can't handle it. You should be crossing somewhere closer to 2KHz-4KHz.

Yea, al already put the tweets on a passive set at 3.5. I just didnt at first, adding the passive crossovers was a loose end afterf a 20 hour install.. So i ran them at 400hZ. But idk, depending on the song or whether the quality is good, itll crackle. 90% of songs it wont though. Still thinik idamagved the tweet. Using fader helps alottho than k god.

P.S.

When using fader, your lowering gain? I didnt know wheteher it was volume or db...

 

[sjv13 10+ year member]

I didnt know wheteher it was volume or db...

Decibels are a measure of the volume... I dont get what you're saying.

 

[calebkhill 10+ year member]

Decibels are a measure of the volume... I dont get what you're saying.

The reason I ask.....

Because i noticed the only thing that stops the noise is reducing volume, which made me think that fading to the rear lowered the volume rather than reduce db's.

Amp gain or eq wont stop it.

Reason im thinking theres a diff in volume and db is because I can back off the volume and the noise stops, but i can go into my HU's eq and lower every band to minimum and you will still hear distortion from the tweets. So sinse fading to the rear clears the noise, im thinking its reducing volume to the tweets.

And i dont think my HU is clipping because its at certain parts of certain songs. 90% of other songs, no distortion.

My amp isnt clipping because the gain was at zero.