Pioneer VSX-21TXH, VSX-23TXH Operating Instruction

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Operating Instructions

audio/video multi-channel receiver

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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY

This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Product Name: AUDIO/VIDEO MULTI-CHANNEL RECEIVER Model Number: VSX-23TXH, VSX-21TXH Responsible Party Name: PIONEER ELECTRONICS SERVICE, INC. Address: 1925 E. DOMINGUEZ ST. LONG BEACH, CA 90801-1760, U.S.A. Phone: 1-800-421-1404

IMPORTANT NOTICE

THE SERIAL NUMBER FOR THIS EQUIPMENT IS LOCATED IN THE REAR. PLEASE WRITE THIS SERIAL NUMBER ON YOUR ENCLOSED WARRANTY CARD AND KEEP IN A SECURE AREA. THIS IS FOR YOUR SECURITY.

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NOTE:

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures: — Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. — Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver. — Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. — Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

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This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.

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Information to User

Alterations or modifications carried out without appropriate authorization may invalidate the user’s right to operate the equipment.

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CAUTION

This product satisfies FCC regulations when shielded cables and connectors are used to connect the unit to other equipment. To prevent electromagnetic interference with electric appliances such as radios and televisions, use shielded cables and connectors for connections.

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WARNING

This equipment is not waterproof. To prevent a fire or shock hazard, do not place any container filled with liquid near this equipment (such as a vase or flower pot) or expose it to dripping, splashing, rain or moisture.

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WARNING

The voltage of the available power supply differs according to country or region. Be sure that the power supply voltage of the area where this unit will be used meets the required voltage (e.g., 230 V or 120 V) written on the rear panel.

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Before plugging in for the first time, read the following

section carefully.

This product is for general household purposes. Any failure due to use for other than household purposes (such as long-term use for business purposes in a restaurant or use in a car or ship) and which requires repair will be charged for even during the warranty period.

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CAUTION

To prevent fire hazard, the Class 2 Wiring Cable should be used for connection with speaker, and should be routed away from hazards to avoid damage to the insulation of the cable.

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The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the appliance.

The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.

CAUTION:

TO PREVENT THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK). NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

CAUTION

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

IMPORTANT

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Read these instructions. Keep these instructions. Heed all warnings. Follow all instructions. Do not use this apparatus near water. Clean only with dry cloth. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus.

10)

Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used, use caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.

Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.

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WARNING

To prevent a fire hazard, do not place any naked flame sources (such as a lighted candle) on the equipment.

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VENTILATION CAUTION

When installing this unit, make sure to leave space around the unit for ventilation to improve heat radiation (at least 60 cm at top, 10 cm at rear, and 30 cm at each side).

WARNING

Slots and openings in the cabinet are provided for ventilation to ensure reliable operation of the product, and to protect it from overheating. To prevent fire hazard, the openings should never be blocked or covered with items (such as newspapers, table-cloths, curtains) or by operating the equipment on thick carpet or a bed.

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Operating Environment

Operating environment temperature and humidity: +5 °C to +35 °C (+41 °F to +95 °F); less than 85 %RH (cooling vents not blocked) Do not install this unit in a poorly ventilated area, or in locations exposed to high humidity or direct sunlight (or strong artificial light)

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If the AC plug of this unit does not match the AC outlet you want to use, the plug must be removed and appropriate one fitted. Replacement and mounting of an AC plug on the power supply cord of this unit should be performed only by qualified service personnel. If connected to an AC outlet, the cut-off plug can cause severe electrical shock. Make sure it is properly disposed of after removal. The equipment should be disconnected by removing the mains plug from the wall socket when left unused for a long period of time (for example, when on vacation).

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CAUTION

The STANDBY/ON switch on this unit will not completely shut off all power from the AC outlet. Since the power cord serves as the main disconnect device for the unit, you will need to unplug it from the AC outlet to shut down all power. Therefore, make sure the unit has been installed so that the power cord can be easily unplugged from the AC outlet in case of an accident. To avoid fire hazard, the power cord should also be unplugged from the AC outlet when left unused for a long period of time (for example, when on vacation).

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WARNING: Handling the cord on this product or

cords associated with accessories sold with the product will expose you to chemicals listed on proposition 65 known to the State of California and other governmental entities to cause cancer and birth defect or other reproductive harm.

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Thank you for buying this Pioneer product. Please read through these operating instructions so you will know how to operate your model properly. After you have finished reading the instructions, put them away in a safe place for future reference.

Flow of settings on the receiver . . . . . . . . . 7

01 Before you start

Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Checking what’s in the box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Installing the receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Loading the batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Operating range of remote control unit . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

02 Controls and displays

Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Front panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

03 Connecting your equipment

Rear panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Determining the speakers’ application . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Other speaker connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Placing the speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

THX speaker system setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Some tips for improving sound quality . . . . . . . . . . 18

Connecting the speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Installing your speaker system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Standard 5.1/6.1/7.1-channel surround

connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Bi-amping your speakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Bi-wiring your speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Selecting the Surr Back system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

ZONE 2 setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Speaker B setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Bi-Am

g setup . .

About the audio connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

About the video converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Connecting your TV and playback components . . . . . 24

Connecting using HDMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Connecting your DVD player with no HDMI output

Connecting your TV with no HDMI input . . . . . . . . . 26

Connecting an HDD/DVD recorder, VCR and

other video sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Connecting a satellite/cable receiver or

other set-top box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Connecting the multichannel analog inputs . . . . . . . 29

Connecting other audio components. . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

About the WMA9 Pro decoder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Connecting additional amplifiers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Connecting AM/FM antennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Connecting external antennas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Connecting an XM Radio tuner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Connecting a SiriusConnect™ tuner . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

MULTI-ZONE setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Making MULTI-ZONE connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Connecting an IR receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Operating other Pioneer components with

this unit’s sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

. . . 25

Switching components on and off using

the 12 volt trigger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Connecting a PC fo Connecting an HDMI-equipped component to

the front panel input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Connecting a component to the front panel inputs

Connecting an iPod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Connecting a USB device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Plugging in the receiver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

r Adva

nced MCACC output . . .

04 Basic Setup

Switching the speaker impedance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Changing the OSD display language

(OSD Language) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Automatically setting up for surround sound

(Auto MCACC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Problems when using the Auto MCACC Setup . . . . 43

The Input Setup menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Input function default and possible settings . . . . . . 44

05 Basic playback

Playing a source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Playing a source with HDMI connection . . . . . . . . . 45

Selecting the multichannel analog inp uts . . . . . . . . 46

Playing an iPod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Playing back audio files stored on an iPod . . . . . . . 46

Playing a USB device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Playing back audio files stored

on a USB memory device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Playing back photo files stored

on a USB memory device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

About playable file formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Listening to the radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Improving FM sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Using Neural THX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Tuning directly to a station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Saving station presets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Naming station presets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Listening to station presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Listening to Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Listening to XM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Using XM HD Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Saving channel presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Using the XM Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Listening to SIRIUS Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Saving channel presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Using the SIRIUS Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

06 Listening to your system

Auto playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Listening in surround sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Standard surround sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Using the Home THX modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Using the Advanced surround effects . . . . . . . . . . . 58

. . 36

. . . 38

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Listening in stereo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Using Front Stage Surround Advance . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Using Stream Direct. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Using surround back channel processing . . . . . . . . . 59

Using the Virtual Surround Back mode . . . . . . . . . . 60

Setting the Up Mix function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Selecting MCACC presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Choosing the input signal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Better sound using Phase Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

07 KURO LINK

Making the KURO LINK connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Cautions on the KURO LINK function . . . . . . . . . . . 63

About connections with a product of a different

brand that supports the KURO LINK function . . . . . 64

KURO LINK Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Setting the PQLS function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Before using synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Synchronized amp mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Synchronized amp mode operations . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Canceling synchronized amp mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

08 Using other functions

Setting the Audio options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Setting the Video options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Switching the speaker system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Using the MULTI-ZONE controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Making an audio or a video recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Reducing the level of an analog signal . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Using the sleep timer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Dimming the display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Switching the HDMI output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Checking your system settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Resetting the system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Default system settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

09 Controlling the rest of your system

Operating multiple receivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Setting the remote to control other components . . . . 73

Selecting preset codes directly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Resetting the remote control presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Default preset codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Controls the components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

10 The Advanced MCACC menu

Making receiver settings from the Advanced

MCACC menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Automatic MCACC (Expert) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Manual MCACC setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Fine Channel Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Fine Speaker Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Standing Wave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Acoustic Calibration EQ Adjust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Acoustic Calibration EQ Professional. . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Checking MCACC Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Speaker Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Channel Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Speaker Distance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Standing Wave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Acoustic Cal EQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Output PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Data Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Renaming MCACC presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Copying MCACC preset data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Clearing MCACC presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

11 The system and the other setup

Making receiver settings from the System Setup

menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Manual speaker setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Surround back speaker setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Speaker Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Channel Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Speaker Distance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

X-Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

THX Audio Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

The Other Setup menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Multi Channel Input Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

ZONE Audio Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Power ON Level Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Volume Limit Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Remote Control Mode Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Flicker Reduction Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

12 Additional information

Speaker Setting Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Positional relationship between speakers and

monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

No sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Other audio problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Professional Calibration EQ graphical output . . . . 102

Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

HDMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Important information regarding the HDMI

connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

USB interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

XM radio messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

SIRIUS radio messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Surround sound formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Dolby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

DTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Windows Media Audio 9 Professional . . . . . . . . . . 108

About iPod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

About THX Abou

About SIRIUS and XM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Auto Surround, ALC and Stream Direct with

different input signal formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Preset code list. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Cleaning the unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Our philosophy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

t Neural – THX

Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Page 7

Flow of settings on the receiver

The unit is a full-fledged AV receiver equipped with an abundance of functions and terminals. It can be used easily after following the procedure below to make the connections and settings.

The colors of the steps indicate the following:

Required setting item

Setting to be made as necessary

1 Before you start

• Checking what’s in the box (page 9)

•Loading the batteries (page 9)



2 Determining the speakers’ application (page 17)

•7.1ch surround connection

•5.1ch surround & Front Bi-amping connection

•5.1ch surround & ZONE 2 connection

•5.1ch surround & Speaker B connection



3 Connecting the speakers

•Placing the speakers (page 18)

•Connecting the speakers (page 19)

•Standard 5.1/6.1/7.1-channel surround connections (page 20)

•Bi-amping your speakers (page 21)



4 Connecting the components

• About the audio connection (page 22)

• About the video converter (page 23)

•Connecting your TV and playback components (page 24)

• Connecting AM/FM antennas (page 31)

• Plugging in the receiver (page 39)



5 Switching the speaker impedance (page 40)

(Only if the impedance of the connected speakers is 6 Ω to 8 Ω)



6Power On



7 Changing the OSD display language (OSD

Language) (page 40)



Surround back speaker setting (page 91)



9 MCACC speaker settings

• Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC) (page 41)



10 The Input Setup menu (page 43)

(When using connections other than the recommended connections)



11 Switching the HDMI output (page 71)

(VSX-23TXH model only)



12 Basic playback (page 45)



13 Adjusting the sound and picture quality as desired

• Using the various listening modes

• Using surround back channel processing (page 59)

•Better sound using Phase Control (page 61)

•Measure the all EQ type (SYMMETRY/ALL CH ADJ/ FRONT ALIGN) (page 78)

• Change the channel level while listening (Tip on page 92)

• Switches on/off the Acoustic Calibration EQ, Sound retriever or Dialog Enhancement (page 66)

• Setting the PQLS function (page 65)

• Setting the Audio options (Tone, Loudness or Sound delay, etc.) (page 66)

• Setting the Video options (page 68)



14 Other optional adjustments and settings

•KURO LINK Setup (page 64)

• The Advanced MCACC menu (page 77)

• The system and the other setup (page 90)



15 Making maximum use of the remote control

•Operating multiple receivers (page 73)

• Setting the remote to control other components (page 73)

Page 8

Before you start

Chapter 1:

Before you start

Features

• Advanced Direct Energy design

This receiver offers a new advancement in discrete design unique to Pioneer for high-power drivability, low distortion and stable imaging. Through a circuit design that minimizes the energy loss of the amplifier for each of the channels, this receiver generates equal amplifier power to all channels, eliminating the possibility of one channel dominating a particular sound field.

• Easy setup using Advanced MCACC

The Auto MCACC Setup provides a quick but accurate surround sound setup, which includes the advanced features of Professional Acoustic Calibration EQ. This innovative technology measures the reverb characteristics of your listening area, allowing you to customize your system calibration with the help of a graphical output that can be displayed on-screen or using computer. With the additional benefits of numerous MCACC preset memories, standing wave control and microphone measurements from a series of reference points, your home theater experience can be truly customized for optimal surroun

• THX Select2 Plus certified design

This receiver bears the THX Select2 Plus logo, which means it has passed a rigorous series of quality and performance tests covering every aspect of the product. This includes testing of pre-amplifier and power amplifier

performance and operation, and hundreds of other parameters in both the digital and analog domain, making your home theater experience as faithful as possible to what the director intended.

• Dolby Digital and DTS decoding, including Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, DTS 96/24, DTS-ES, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-EXPRESS and DTS-HD Master Audio

Dolby Digital and DTS decoding brings theater sound right into your home with up to six channels of surround

sound, including a special LFE (Low Frequency Effects) channel for deep, realistic sound effects.

The built-in Dolby Pro Logic IIx and DTS Neo:6 decoders not only provide full surround sound decoding for Dolby Surround sources, but will also gener ate convincing surround sound for any stereo source.

Also, with the addition of a surround back speaker, you can take advantage of the built-in Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES decoders for six-channel surround sound.

d sound.

Furthermore, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD, which are designed for the next-generation highdefinition media such as Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD, support up to 7.1 channels and 8 channels respectively.

DTS-EXPRESS is a low-bitrate encoding technology supporti rates ranging from 24 kbps to 256 kbps (this encoding is available only when signals are delivered to this receiver as primary audio).

DTS-HD Master Audio delivers audio signals to listeners without any loss of data with its high transfer rates.

• Phase Control

The Phase Control technology incorporated into this receiver’s design provides coherent sound reproduction

through the use of phase matching for an optimal sound image at your listening position.

• Sound Retriever

The Sound Retriever feature employs DSP technology to restore sound pressure and smooth jagged artifacts left

over after compression. This helps bring CD quality sound back to WMA and MP3 audio files and achieves a richer sense of presence when playing Dolby Digital, DTS or WMA 9 Pro audio formats recorded in multiple channels on DVDs and other discs.

• Front Stage Surround Advance

With the Front Stage Surround Advance feature, you can enjoy seamless, natural surround sound effects using only the front speakers, without deteriorating the quality of the original sound.

• Auto Level Control

When the source is played in Auto level control mode (ALC), this receiver automatically equalizes the playback sound level according to the variation in recording levels.

• HDMI and digital video conversion

This receiver is compatible with the HDMI digital video format, providing you with high-definition digital video/ audio via a single cable.

High-quality sound formats such as DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD are supported while this receiver is also compatible with the Deep Color feature. You can operate this receiver in synchronization with your Pioneer component that supports the KURO LINK function by connecting your component to this receiver via HDMI. Also, the built-in digital video converter of this receiver makes both de-interlacing and up-scaling possible, and analog video signals being input are converted and output as digital video signals at the HDMI terminal.

ng up to

5.1 channels, with fixed data transfer

Page 9

Before you start

7 m (23 ft.)

30°

• XM and SIRIUS Ready

With the XM and SIRIUS Radio terminals, you’ll be up and running in no time. This receiver’s enhanced compatibility makes XM HD Surround playback as well as on-screen control of your XM and SIRIUS Radio an added possibility.

• iPod/iPhone and USB Ready

This receiver has the terminals for connecting an iPod/ iPhone unit and a USB mass storage device.

The iPod terminal is ready for handling digital audio and video, and this receiver’s enhanced compatibility makes on-screen control of your iPod an added possibility.

The USB terminal allows you to listen to two-channel audio from a USB mass storage device connected to this receiver.

Checking what’s in the box

Please check that you’ve received the following supplied accessories:

•Setup microphone (cable: 5 m (16.4 ft.))

• Remote control unit

• AA size IEC R6 dry cell batteries (to confirm system operation) x2

•AM loop antenna

•FM wire antenna

•iPod cable

•Power cord

•Warranty card

•These operating instructions

Installing the receiver

• When installing this unit, make sure to put it on a level and stable surface.

Don’t install it on the following places: – on a color TV (the screen may distort) – near a cassette deck (or close to a device that gives off a magnetic field). This may interfere with the sound. – in direct sunlight – in damp or wet areas – in extremely hot or cold areas – in places where there is vibration or other movement – in places that are very dusty – in places that have hot fumes or oils (such as a kitchen)

• Do not touch this receiver’s bottom panel while the power is turned on. The bottom panel gets hot when the power is on, and touching it could cause burns.

Loading the batteries

CAUTION

Incorrect use of batteries may result in such hazards as leakage and bursting. Observe the following precautions:

•Never use new and old batteries together.

• Insert the plus and minus sides of the batteries properly according to the marks in the battery case.

•Batteries with the same shape may have different voltages. Do not use different batteries together.

•When disposing of used batteries, please comply with governmental regulations or environmental public instruction’s rules that apply in your country or area.

• WARNING Do not use or store batteries in dire

xcessively hot place, such as inside a car or

other e near a heater. This can cause batteries to leak, overheat, explode or catch fire. It can also reduce the life or performance of batteries.

ct sunlight or

Operating range of remote control unit

The remote control may not work properly if:

•There are obstacles between the remote control and the receiver’s remote sensor.

•Direct sunlight or fluorescent light is shining onto the remote sensor.

•The receiver is located near a device that is emitting infrared rays.

•The receiver is operated simultaneously with another infrared remote control unit.

Page 10

DVD BD DVR HDMI

TV CD CD-R

TUNER

INPUT

SELECT

VIDEO

iPod USB SIRIUSXM

INPUT

T.EDIT GUIDE

TOP MENU BAND

MUTE

RETURNCATEGORY

iPod CTRL

HOME MENU

LIST

TOOLS

AUDIO

PARAMETER

VOL

AUTO/ALC/

DIRECT

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

HDD DVD

STANDARD

STEREO

ADV SURR

TV CONTROL

123

SLEEP

HDMI OUT

MCACCSIGNAL SEL

456

DIMMERA.ATTSBch

789

CLASS

MASTER VOLUME

CH LEVELD.ACCESS

ENTER

RECEIVER

SOURCE

ENTER

ANT

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

MEMORY

RECEIVER

TUNE

PRESET PRESET

TUNE

VIDEO

PARAMETER

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

16 17

Controls and displays

Chapter 2:

Controls and displays

Remote control

 RECEIVER

This switches between standby and on for this receiver.

2 Input function buttons

Press to select control of other components (see Controlling the rest of your system on page 73).

3 Number buttons and other receiver/component controls

Use the number buttons to directly select a radio frequency (page 51) or the tracks on a CD, DVD, etc.

The remote has been conveniently color-coded according to component control using the following system:

• White – Receiver control, TV Control

• Blue – Other controls

ENTER can be used to enter commands for TV or DTV. Press first to access:

RECEIVER

INPUT SELECT – Use to select the input function (page 45).

VSX-23TXH only: HDMI OUT – Switch the HDMI output terminal (page 71).

SIGNAL SEL – Use to select an input signal (page 61). MCACC – Press to switch between MCACC presets

(page 61). SLEEP – Use to put the receiver in sleep mode and

select the amount of time before sleep (page 71).

SBch

– Use to select the surround back/virtual surround

back channel mode A.ATT – Attenuates (lowers) the level of an analog

input signal to prevent distortion (page 70).

DIMMER – Dims or brightens the display (page 71). CH LEVEL – Press repeatedly to select a channel,

then use / to adjust the level (page 92).

Press TUNER first to access:

D.ACCESS – After pressing, you can access a radio station directly using the number buttons (page 51).

CLASS – Switches between the seven banks (classes) of radio station presets (page 51).

TV CONTROL

These buttons are dedicated to control the TV assigned to TV operation selector switch. Thus if you only have one TV to hook up to this system assign it to the TV operation selector switch (see page 74 for more on this).

 – Use to turn on/off the power of the TV.

INPUT – Use to select the TV input signal. CH +/– – Use to select channels. VOL +/– – Use to adjust the volume on your TV.

(page 59)

buttons

Page 11

Controls and displays

RECEIVER

5 Tuner/component control buttons/

These button controls can be accessed after you have selected the corresponding input function button (DVD, DVR, TV, etc.). The BAND and T.EDIT tuner controls are explained on page 51.

Press first to access:

RECEIVER

AUDIO PARAMETER – Use to access the Audio options (page 66).

VIDEO PARAMETER – Use to access the Video options (page 68).

HOME MENU – Use to access the Home Menu (pages 40, 43, 64, 77, 90 and 94).

RETURN – Press to confirm and exit the current menu screen (also use to return to the previous menu with DVDs or to select closed captioning with DTV).

/// (TUNE/PRESET

Use the arrow buttons when setting up your surround sound system (see page 77) and the Audio or Video options (page 66 or 68). Also used to control DVD menus/ options and for deck 1 of a double cassette deck player. Use TUNE/ to find radio frequencies and use PRESET / to find preset stations (page 51).

7 Component/Receiver control buttons

The main buttons (, , etc.) are used to control a component after you have selected it using the input function buttons.

The controls above these buttons can be accessed after you have selected the corresponding input function button (for example DVD, DVR o r TV). These buttons also function as described below.

Press TUNER first to access:

MPX

– Switches between stereo and mono reception of FM broadcasts. If the signal is weak, then switching to mono will improve the sound quality

Press first to access:

RECEIVER

AUTO/ALC/DIRECT – Surround Stream Direct mode

STEREO – Switches between stereo playback and Front Stage Surround Advance modes (page 58).

STANDARD – Press for Standard decoding and to switch between the various 2 Pro Logic IIx and Neo:6 options (page 56).

ADV SURR – Use to switch between the various surround modes (page 58).

THX – Press to select a Home THX listening mode (page 57).

PHASE CTRL – Press to switch on/off Phase Control (page 61).

STATUS – Press to check selected receiver settings (page 71).

PQLS – Press to select PQLS setting (page 65).

(page 56)

Switches between Auto

, Auto level control mode and

(page 59).

) /

ENTER

HOME MENU

(page 51)

AUDIO – Changes the audio or channel on DVD or

BD discs.

DISP – Switches between named station presets and radio frequencies.

CH +/– – Use to select channels for DVD/DVR units.

REMOTE SETUP

Use to input the preset code when making remote control settings and to set the remote control mode (page 73).

TV CTRL

Use this button to set preset code of your TV’s manufacturer when controlling TV (see Selecting preset codes directly on page 73 for more on this).

MULTI-ZONE

Switch to perform operations in the main zone, ZONE 2 and ZONE 3 (VSX-23TXH only) (page 70).

12 Remote control LED

Lights when a command is sent from the remote control (page 73).

 SOURCE

Press to turn on/off other components connected to the receiver (see page 73 for more on this).

MASTER VOLUME +/–

Use to set the listening volume.

MUTE

Mutes the sound or restores the sound if it has been muted (adjusting the volume also restores the sound).

Switches the remote to control the receiver (used to select the white commands above the number buttons (A.ATT, etc.)). Also use this button to set up surround sound.

Press to turn on/off the illumination of some of the buttons.

operation selector switch

Page 12

MASTER VOLUME

INPUT SELECTOR

STANDBY/ON

VSX-23TXH

PHONES

BAND TUNE TUNE

PHASE

CONTROL

AUTO SURR /ALC/ STREAM DIRECT

ADVANCED SURROUND

STANDARD SURROUND

MCACC SETUP MIC

STEREO

SPEAKERSHOME THX

USB

CONTROL

MULTI-ZONE

OFF

ADVANCED

MCACC

HDMIPQLS PRESET PRESET TUNER EDIT

ENTER

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO CAMERA

HDMI 4

MCACC

SETUP

MIC

USB VIDEO L RAUDIO

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO 2 INPUT

12 345

910 141211 13

786

16 1314

VSX-23TXH

VSX-21TXH

Controls and displays

Front panel

INPUT SELECTOR

dial

Use to select an input function.

 STANDBY/ON

Switches the receiver between on and standby. Power indicator lights when the receiver is on.

When the KURO LINK function is set to ON, the power indicator lights when the power is in standby.

3 Tuner controls

BAND – Switches between AM and FM radio bands

(page 51).

TUNE +/– – Use to find radio frequencies (page 51). PRESET +/– – Use to find preset stations (page 51). TUNER EDIT –

ENTER

to memorize and name stations for recall

(page 51)

PHASE CONTROL

Phase Control is selected

ADVANCED MCACC indicator

set to

Use with

in the

indicator

AUDIO PARAMETER

TUNE +/–, PRESET +/–

–

Lights to indicate

(page 61)

–

Lights when EQ is

and

(page 66)

VSX-23TXH only: PQLS indicator – Lights when the PQLS feature is active (page 65).

HDMI

indicator

equipped component; lights when the component is connected

5 Character display

See Display on page 13.

– Blinks when connecting an HDMI-

(page 24)

ENTER

7 Remote sensor

Receives the signals from the remote control (see Operating range of remote control unit on page 9).

MASTER VOLUME

PHONES

jack

dial

Use to connect headphones. When the headphones are connected, there is no sound output from the speakers.

10 Listening mode buttons

AUTO SURR/ALC/STREAM DIRECT –

between Auto Surround mode and Stream Direct mode

(page 56)

Switches

, Auto level control

(page 59)

STEREO – Switches between stereo playback and Front Stage Surround Advance modes (page 58).

ADVANCED SURROUND – Use to switch between the various surround modes (page 58).

STANDARD SURROUND – Press for Standard decoding and to switch between the various 2 Pro Logic IIx and Neo:6 options (page 56).

HOME THX – Press to select a Home THX listening mode (page 57).

SPEAKERS

Use to change the speaker system (page 69).

Page 13

Controls and displays

PCM

HDMI DIGITAL ANALOG

LCR SL SR XL XR

LFE

AUTO

DIGITAL PLUS

AUTO SURROUND STREAM DIRECT

PROLOGIC x

Neo:6 THX ADV.SURROUND STEREO STANDARD SP AB

SLEEP

DSD PCM

DTS HD ES 96/24

MSTR

S.RTRV SOUND UP MIX

OVER

MONO

MULTI-ZONE

STEREO

TrueHD WMA9Pro

TUNED

PQLS

ALC

AT T

USB XM

VIDEO

DVD

HDMI

DVR

TUNER SIRIUS

CD-R

iPod

[ 2 ]

[ 3 ]

[ 4 ]

21 3 118 9765 1210 13 14 15

21 2217 18 19 20

MULTI-ZONE

controls

If you’ve made MULTI-ZONE connections (see MULTIZONE setup on page 33) use these controls to control the sub zone from the main zone (see Using the MULTI-ZONE controls on page 69).

MCACC SETUP MIC

jack

Use to connect the supplied microphone (page 41).

iPod/iPhone/USB

terminals

Use to connect your Apple iPod as an audio and video source, or connect a USB device for audio and photo playback (page 38).

Display

VSX-23TXH only:

HDMI 4 input connector

Use for connection to compatible HDMI device (Video camera, etc.). See Connecting an HDMI-equipped component to the front panel input on page 37.

VSX-21TXH only: VIDEO 2 INPUT

terminals

Use to connect your portable equipment such as camcorders, video games and portable audio/video equipment. See Connecting a component to the front panel inputs on page 38.

Light to indicate the currently selected input signal. AUTO lights when the receiver is set to select the input signal automatically (page 61).

2 Program format indicators

Light to indicate the channels being input when PCM signals are being input. They do not indicate the audio signals being output from the receiver.

3 Digital format indicators

Light when a signal encoded in the corresponding format is detected.

Lights when the Sound Retriever function is (page 66)

Lights when the MULTI-ZONE feature is active (page 69).

SIGNAL

indicators

SOUND

Lights when any of the Midnight, Loudness or tone controls feature is selected (page 66).

Lights when Dialog Enhancement is switched on.

UP MIX

Lights when the Up Mix is switched on (page 60).

9 Listening mode indicators

L/R – Left front/Right front channel C – Center channel SL/SR – Left surround/Right surround channel LFE – Low frequency effects channel (the (( )) indicators light

when an LFE signal is being input)

XL/XR – Two channels other than the ones above XC – Either one channel other than the ones above, the mono

surround channel or matrix encode flag

AUTO SURROUND – Lights when the Auto Surround feature is switched on (page 56).

ALC – Lights when the ALC (Auto level control) mode is selected (page 59).

STREAM DIRECT – Lights when Direct/Pure Direct is selected (page 59).

ADV.SURROUND – Lights when one of the Advanced Surround modes has been selected (page 58).

S.RTRV

active

MULTI-ZONE

DSD PCM –

PCM conversion with SACDs. PCM – Lights during playback of PCM signals.

Light during DSD (Direct Stream Digital) to

STEREO – Lights when stereo listening is switched on (page 58).

STANDARD – Lights when one of the Standard Surround modes is switched on (page 56).

THX – Lights when one of the Home THX modes is selected (page 57).

10 (

Lights when the Phase Control is switched on (page 61).

PHASE CONTROL

)

Page 14

Controls and displays

11 Analog signal indicators

Light to indicate reducing the level of an analog signal (page 70).

12 Tuner indicators

TUNED – Lights when a broadcast is being received. STEREO –

received in auto stereo mode.

MONO – Lights when the mono mode is set using MPX.

Lights when the sound is muted (page 11).

14 Master volume level

Shows the overall volume level. “---” indicates the minimum level, and “+12dB” indicates the maximum level.

15 Input function indicators

Light to indicate the input function you have selected.

16 Scroll indicators

Light when there are more selectable items when making the various settings.

17 Speaker indicators

Lights to indicate the current speaker system, A and/or B (page 69).

SLEEP

Lights when the receiver is in sleep mode (page 71).

19 Matrix decoding format indicators

2PRO LOGIC IIx – This lights to indicate 2 Pro Logic II / 2 Pro Logic IIx decoding (page 56).

Neo:6 – is on, this lights to indicate Neo:6 processing

MSTR

Lights during playback of DTS-HD Master Audio signal.

21 Character display

Displays various system information.

22 Remote control mode indicator

Lights to indicate the receiver’s remote control mode setting. (Not displayed when set to 1.) (page 73)

Lights when a stereo FM broadcast is being

When one of the Neo:6 modes of the receiver

(page 56)

Page 15

Connecting your equipment

RS-232C

COMPONENT

VIDEO

HDMI

ZONE2

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

ASSIGN-

ABLE

MONITOR

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

DVDINTV/SATINVIDEO DVRINCD

ININOUT

CD-R/TAPE

MULTI CH IN PRE OUT

ANTENNA

SIRIUS

SPEAKERS

OPTICAL

AUDIO

FM UNMAL 75 ޓޓ

AM LOOP

AC IN

COAXIAL

INOUT

ZONE3

OUT

INBD IN

IN2IN OUT 1 OUT 2

(

KURO LINK

)

(

DVD

)(CD)(

TV/SAT)(DVR)(VIDEO

)

(

Single

)

(

Single

)

IN2IN

OUT

FRONT

L RL

CENTER

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK /

FRONT CENTER SURROUND FRONT CENTER

SURROUND SURROUND

BACK

1 3

(

DVD

)

(

DVR

)

CONTROL IR

12 V TRIGGER

IN IN IN

OUT

(OUTPUT 12 V TOT AL 50 mA MAX)

SUBWOOFER

RS-232C

COMPONENT

VIDEO

HDMI

ZONE2

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

ASSIGN-

ABLE

MONITOR

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

DVDINTV/SATINVIDEO DVRINCD

ININOUT

CD-R/TAPE

MULTI CH IN PRE OUT

ANTENNA

SIRIUS

SPEAKERS

OPTICAL

AUDIO

FM UNMAL 75 ޓޓ

AM LOOP

AC IN

COAXIAL

INOUT

INBD IN

IN2IN OUT

(

DVD

)(CD)(

TV/SAT)(DVR)(VIDEO

)

(

Single

)

(

Single

)

IN2IN

OUT

FRONT

L RL

CENTER

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK /

FRONT CENTER SURROUND FRONT CENTER

SURROUND SURROUND

BACK

1 3

(

DVD

)

(

DVR

)

CONTROL IR

12 V TRIGGER

IN IN

OUT

(OUTPUT 12 V TOT AL 50 mA MAX)

SUBWOOFER

7 9 10 11 12

2 3

16 17

7 9 10 11 12

2 3

16 17

VSX-23TXH

VSX-21TXH

Chapter 3:

Connecting your equipment

This receiver provides you with many connection possibilities, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. This page explains the kinds of components you can connect to make up your home theater system.

Important

•Illustration shows the VSX-23TXH, however connections for the VSX-21TXH are the same except where noted.

Rear panel

•Before making or changing the connections, switch off the power and disconnect the power cord from the power outlet. Plugging in should be the final step.

CAUTION

• To avoid hum, do not lay connected cables over the top of the receiver.

Page 16

Connecting your equipment

1 HDMI connectors (x6 (VSX-23TXH)/x5 (VSX-21TXH))

Multiple inputs and one (VSX-21TXH)/two (VSX-23TXH) output(s) for high-quality audio/video connection to compatible HDMI devices.  See Connecting your TV and playback components on page 24.

VSX-23TXH only: See Switching the HDMI output on page 71.

2 Coaxial digital audio inputs (x2)

Use for digital audio sources, including DVD players/ recorders, digital satellite receivers, CD players, etc.

 See also The Input Setup menu on page 43 to assign the inputs.

3 Optical digital audio output/input(s) (x4)

Use the OUT jack for recording to a CD or MiniDisc recorder.

 See Connecting other audio components on page 29. Use the IN jacks for digital audio sources, including DVD

players/recorders, digital satellite receivers, CD players, etc.  See also The Input Setup menu on page 43 to assign the inputs.

4 XM Radio input

 See Connecting an XM Radio tuner on page 32.

5 SIRIUS Radio input

 See Connecting a SiriusConnect™ tuner on page 32.

6 Component video connectors (x3)

Use the inputs to connect any video source that has component video output, such as a DVD player.  See Connecting your DVD player with no HDMI output on page 25.

Use the output to connect monitor or TV. 

See

Connecting your TV with no HDMI input on

page 26.

7 ZONE 2 and ZONE 3 (VSX-23TXH only) output(s)

Use to connect a second or third (VSX-23TXH only) amplifier and monitors or TVs in a separate room.  See MULTI-ZONE setup on page 33.

8 Composite and S-Video monitor outputs

Use to connect monitors and TVs. 

See

Connecting your TV with no HDMI input on

page 26.

9 Audio/video source inputs/(outputs) (x5)

Use for connection to audio/visual sources, such as DVD players/recorders, VCRs, etc. Each set of inputs has jacks

for composite video, S-Video and stereo analog audio.  See Connecting an HDD/DVD recorder, VCR and other video sources on page 28.

10 Stereo analog audio source inputs/(outputs) (x3)

Use for connection to audio sources such as CD players, tape decks, turntables, etc.  See Connecting other audio components on page 29.

11 Multichannel analog audio inputs

7.1 channel inputs for connection to a DVD player with multichannel analog outputs.  See Connecting the multichannel analog inputs on page 29.

12 Multichannel pre-amplifier outputs

Use to connect separate amplifiers for front, center, surround, surround back and subwoofer channels.  See Connecting additional amplifiers on page 30 (see also Installing your speaker system on page 20 for powered subwoofer connection).

13 AM and FM antenna terminals

Use to connect indoor or outdoor antennas for radio broadcasts.  See Connecting AM/FM antennas on page 31.

14 RS-232C connector

Use for connection to a PC for graphical output when using Advanced MCACC.  See Connecting a PC for Advanced MCACC output on page 36.

15 Control input/output

Use to connect other Pioneer components so that you can control all your equipment from a single IR remote sensor.  See Operating other Pioneer components with this unit’s sensor on page 35.

16 Remote input(s)/output (x3 (VSX-23TXH)/x2 (VSX21TXH))

Use for connection to an external remote control sensor for use in a MULTI-ZONE setup, for example.  See Connecting an IR receiver on page 35.

17 12 V trigger jacks

Use to switch components in your system on and off according to the input function of the receiver.  See Switching components on and off using the 12 volt trigger on page 36.

18 Speaker terminals

Use for connection to the main front, center, surround and surround back speakers.  See Connecting the speakers on page 19.

19 AC power inlet

Connect the supplied power cord here.  See Plugging in the receiver on page 39.

(total 50 mA max.)

(x2)

Page 17

Connecting your equipment

Subwoofer

Center

Front

right

Front

left

Surround

left

Surround

right

Surround

back left

Surround back right

Subwoofer

Center

Front right*

Front

left*

Surround

left

Surround

right

ZONE 2

Subwoofer

Center

Front

right

Front

left

Right

Left

Surround

left

Surround

right

Subwoofer

Center

Front

right

Front

left

Speaker B

Surround

left

Surround

right

Determining the speakers’ application

Surround sound with a strong sense of presence can be enjoyed by connecting 7 speakers and 1 subwoofer. It is also possible to achieve high sound quality using bi-amp connections and to enjoy music in other rooms using the MULTI-ZONE feature. High sound quality can be achieved with a minimum of two speakers.

•Be sure to connect speakers to the front left and right channels ( and ).

•The Surr Back System setting must be made if you use any of the connections shown below other than [1] (see Selecting the Surr Back system on page 22).

[1] 7.1ch surround connection (Simple connection & Best surround)

*Default setting

These connections prioritize surround sound with a speaker layout like that in a movie theater.

• Surr Back System setting: Normal (default)

• If you have six speakers, either only connect one surround back speaker (6.1 ch surround), or connect for the 7.1-channel setting as shown on the diagram below but without the center speaker.

[3] 5.1ch surround & ZONE 2 connection (Multi Zone)

With these connections you can simultaneously enjoy

5.1-channel surround sound in the main zone with stereo playback on another component in ZONE 2. (The selection of input devices is limited.)

• Surr Back System setting: ZONE 2

[4]

5.1ch surround & Speaker B connection

With these connections you can simultaneously enjoy

5.1-channel surround sound in the main zone with stereo playback of the same sound on the B speakers.

• Surr Back System setting: Speaker B

SBL SBR

[2] 5.1ch surround & Front Bi-amping connection (High quality surround)

Bi-amping connection of the front speakers for high sound quality with 5.1-channel surround sound.

• Surr Back System setting: Front Bi-Amp

*Bi-amp compatible speaker

Other speaker connection

•Your favorite speaker connections can be selected even if you have fewer than 5.1 speakers.

• When not connecting a subwoofer, connect speakers with low frequency reproduction capabilities to the front channel. (The subwoofer’s low frequency component is played from the front speakers, so the speakers could be damaged.)

•

After connecting, be sure to conduct the Auto MCACC (speaker environment setting) procedure.

See Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41.

Page 18

Center

Front left

Front right

Surround

left

Surround right

Subwoofer

120°

Center

Front left

Front right

Surround

left

Surround right

Subwoofer

120°

Surround Back

Center

Front left

Front right

Surround

left

Surround right

Subwoofer

90°

Surround back

left

Surround back right

60°

Connecting your equipment

Placing the speakers

To achieve the best possible surround sound, install your speakers as shown below.

5.1 channel surround system:

6.1 channel surround system:

7.1 channel surround system:

THX speaker system setup

If you are using a THX certified subwoofer use the THX INPUT jack on the subwoofer (if your subwoofer has one)

or switch the filter position to THX on your subwoofer. See also THX Audio Setting on page 93 to make the

settings that will give you the best sound experience when using the Home THX modes (page 57).

Some tips for improving sound quality

Where you put your speakers in the room has a big effect on the quality of the sound. The following guidelines should help you to get the best sound from your system.

•The subwoofer can be placed on the floor. Ideally, the other speakers should be at about ear-level when you’re listening to them. Putting the speakers on the floor (except the subwoofer), or mounting them very high on a wall is not recommended.

•For the best stereo effect, place the front speakers 2 m to 3 m (6 ft. to 9 ft.) apart, at equal distance from the TV.

•If you’re using a center speaker, place the front speakers at a wider angle. If not, place them at a narrower an

• Place the center speaker above or below the TV so that the sound of the center channel is localized at the TV screen. Also, make sure the center speaker does not cross the line formed by the leading edge of the front left and right speakers.

• It is best to angle the speakers towards the listening position. The angle depends on the size of the room. Use less of an angle for bigger rooms.

•Surround and surround back speakers should be positioned 60 cm to 90 cm (2 ft. to 3 ft.) higher than your ears and tilted slight downward. Make sure the speakers don’t face each other. For DVD-Audio, the speakers should be more directly behind than for home theater playback.

•If the surround speakers cannot be set directly to the side of the listening position with a 7.1-channel system, the surround effect can be enhanced by turning off the Up Mix function (see Setting the Up Mix function on page 60).

•Try not to place the surround speakers farther away from the listening position than the front and center speakers. Doing so can weaken the surround sound effect.

the listen

Page 19

Connecting your equipment

fig. A fig. B fig. C

10 mm (

/8 in.)

Connecting the speakers

Each speaker connection on the receiver comprises a positive (+) and negative (–) terminal. Make sure to

match these up with the terminals on the speakers themselves.

CAUTION

•These speaker terminals carry HAZARDOUS LIVE voltage. To prevent the risk of electric shock when

connecting or disconnecting the speaker cables, disconnect the power cord before touching any uninsulated parts.

•Make sure that all the bare speaker wire is twisted together and inserted fully into the speaker terminal. If any of the bare speaker wire touches the back panel it may cause the power to c

Bare wire connections

1 Twist exposed wire strands together. 2 Loosen terminal and insert exposed wire. 3 Tighten terminal.

(fig. C)

ut off as a safety measure.

(fig. A)

(fig. B)

Banana plug connections

If you want to use speaker cables terminated with banana plugs, screw the speaker terminal fully shut, then plug the banana plug into the end of the speaker terminal.

Important

•Please refer to the manual that came with your speakers for details on how to connect the other end of the speaker cables to your speakers.

• Use an RCA cable to connect the subwoofer. It is not possible to connect using speaker cables.

CAUTION

•Make sure that all speakers are securely installed. This not only improves sound quality, but also reduces the risk of damage or injury resulting from speakers being knocked over or falling in the event of extern

al shocks such as earth

quakes.

Page 20

RS-232C

COMPONENT

VIDEO

HDMI

ZONE2

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

ASSIGN-

ABLE

MONITOR

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

DVDINTV/SATINVIDEO DVRINCD

ININOUT

CD-R/TAPE

MULTI CH IN PRE OUT

ANTENNA

SIRIUS

SPEAKERS

OPTICAL

AUDIO

FM UNMAL

75 ޓޓ

AM LOOP

AC IN

COAXIAL

INOUT

ZONE3

OUT

INBD IN

1IN2

IN OUT 1 OUT 2

(

KURO LINK

)

(

DVD

)(CD)(

TV/SAT)(DVR)(VIDEO

)

(

Single

)

(

Single

)

IN2IN

OUT

FRONT

L RL

CENTER

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK /

FRONT CENTER SURROUND FRONT CENTER

SURROUND SURROUND

BACK

1 3

(

DVD

)

(

DVR

)

CONTROL IR

12 V TRIGGER

IN IN IN

OUT OUT

(OUTPUT 12 V TOTAL 50 mA MAX)

SUBWOOFER

LINE LEVEL

INPUT

Front left

Subwoofer

Center

Surround right

Surround back right

Surround back left

Front right

Surround left

The surround back terminals can also be used for the Speaker B and ZONE 2.

7.1 ch surround setting

No connectSurround back

Speaker B setting

Speaker B - Left

Speaker B - Right

ZONE 2 setting

ZONE 2 - Left

ZONE 2 - Right

6.1 ch surround setting

VSX-23TXH

Connecting your equipment

Installing your speaker system

At the very least, front left and right speakers only are necessary. Note that your main surround speakers should always be connected as a pair, but you can connect just one surround back speaker if you like (it must be connected to the left surround back terminal).

Standard 5.1/6.1/7.1-channel surround connections

Page 21

Connecting your equipment

RS-232C

COMPONENT

VIDEO

HDMI

ZONE2

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

ASSIGN-

ABLE

MONITOR

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

DVDINTV/SATINVIDEO DVRINCD

ININOUT

CD-R/TAPE

MULTI CH IN

PRE OUT

ANTENNA

SIRIUS

SPEAKERS

OPTICAL

AUDIO

FM UNMAL

75 ޓޓ

AM LOOP

AC IN

COAXIAL

INOUT

ZONE3

OUT

INBD IN

1IN2

IN OUT 1 OUT 2

(

KURO LINK

)

(

DVD

)(CD)(

TV/SAT)(DVR)(VIDEO

)

(

Single

)

(

Single

)

IN2IN

OUT

FRONT

L RL

CENTER

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK /

FRONT CENTER SURROUND FRONT CENTER

SURROUND SURROUND

BACK

1 3

(

DVD

)

(

DVR

)

CONTROL IR

12 V TRIGGER

IN IN IN

OUT OUT

(OUTPUT 12 V TOTAL 50 mA MAX)

SUBWOOFER

High

Low

High

Low

Front left

Subwoofer

Center

Surround right

Front right

Surround left

Bi-amp compatible

speaker

Bi-amp compatible

speaker

VSX-23TXH

Bi-amping your speakers

PRE OU

Bi-amping is when you connect the high frequency driver and low frequency driver of your speakers to different amplifiers for better crossover performance. Your speakers must be bi-ampable to do this (having separate terminals for high and low) and the sound improvement will depend on the kind of speakers you’re using.

CAUTION

•Most speakers with both High and Low terminals have two metal plates that connect the High to the Low terminals. These must be removed when you are bi-amping the speakers or yo damage the amplifier. See your speaker manual for

ould severely

u c

more information.

•If your speakers have a removable crossover network, make sure you do not remove it for bi-amping. Doing so may damage your speakers.

Bi-wiring your speakers

Your speakers can also be bi-wired if they support biamping.

• With these connections, the Surr Back System setting makes no difference.

• To bi-wire a speaker, connect two speaker cords to the speaker terminal on the receiver.

Using a banana plug for the second connection is recommended.

• Don’t connect different speakers from the same terminal in this way.

•When bi-wiring as well, heed the cautions for bi- amping shown at the left.

CAUTION

Page 22

Connecting your equipment

Selecting the Surr Back system

The surround back terminals can be used for bi-amping, Speaker B a nd ZONE 2 conne ctions, in a ddition to for the surround back speakers. Make this setting according to the application.

ZONE 2 setup

With these connections you can simultaneously enjoy

5.1-channel surround sound in the main zone with stereo playback on another component in ZONE 2.

1 Connect a pair of speakers to the surround back speaker terminals.

See Standard 5.1/6.1/7.1-channel surround connections on page 20.

2 Select ‘

See Surround back speaker setting on page 91 to do this.

Speaker B setup

You can listen to stereo playback in another room.

1 Connect a pair of speakers to the surround back speaker terminals.

See Standard 5.1/6.1/7.1-channel surround connections on page 20.

2 Select ‘ menu.

See Surround back speaker setting on page 91 to do this.

Bi-Amping setup

Bi-amping connection of the front speakers for high sound quality with 5.1-channel surround sound.

1 Connect Bi-amp compatible speakers to the front and surround back speaker terminals.

See Bi-amping your speakers on page 21.

2 Select ‘ menu.

See Surround back speaker setting on page 91 to do this.

ZONE 2

’ from the

Speaker B

Front Bi-Amp

’ from the

Surr Back System

’ from the

Surr Back System

menu.

About the

There are several types of audio input and output terminals on this receiver. The receiver selects the first available signal in the following order when you choose AUTO as the input signal:

Sound signal priority 

• With an HDMI cable, video and audio signals can be transferred in high quality over a single cable.

• When connecting optical cables, be careful when inserting the plug not to damage the shutter protecting the optical socket.

• When storing optical cable, coil loosely. The cable may be damaged if bent around sharp corners.

audio connection

Types of cables and

terminals

HDMI HD audio

Digital (Coaxial) Conventional digital audio

Digital (Optical)

RCA (Analog)

(White/Red)

CAUTION

Transferable audio

signals

Conventional analog audio

Page 23

Connecting your equipment

Note

HDMI IN

VIDEO IN

VIDEO

MONITOR OUT

COMPONENT

VIDEO IN

S-VIDEO IN S-VIDEO

MONITOR OUT

HDMI OUT

COMPONENT VIDEO

MONITOR OUT

High picture quality

Terminal for

connection with

source device

Terminal for

connection with TV

monitor

Video signals can be output

This receiver

Source device

TV monitor

Types of cables

This product incorporates copyright protection technology that is protected by method claims of certain U.S. patents and other intellectual property rights owned by Macrovision Corporation and other rights owners. Use of this copyright protection technology must be authorized by Macrovision Corporation, and is intended for home and other limited viewing uses only unless otherwise authorized by Macrovision Corporation. Reverse engineering or disassembly is prohibited.

About the video converter

The video converter ensures that all video sources are output through all of the MONITOR OUT jacks. The only exception is HDMI: since this resolution cannot be downsampled, you must connect your monitor/TV to the receiver’s HDMI video outputs when connecting this video source.

If several video components are assigned to the same input function (see The Input Setup menu on page 43), the converter gives priority to HDMI, component, S-Video, then composite (in that order).

•For optimal video performance, THX recommends switching Digital Video Conversion (in Setting the Video options on page 68) OFF.

1 • If the video signal does not appear on your TV or flat panel TV, try adjusting the resolution settings on your component or display. Note that

some components (such as video game units) have resolutions that may not be converted. In this case, try switching Digital Video Conversion (in Setting the Video options on page 68) OFF.

• The signal input resolutions that can be converted from the component video input for the HDMI output are 480i/576i, 480p/576p, 720p and

1080i. 1080p signal cannot be converted.

• Only signals with an input resolution of 480i/576i can be converted from the component video input for the composite and S-Video MONITOR

OUT.

Page 24

DIGITAL OUT

COAXIAL OPTICAL

ANALOG

AUDIO OUT

HDMI INHDMI OUTHDMI OUT

Other HDMI/DVIequipped component

HDMI/DVI-compatible Blu-ray disc player

HDMI/DVI-compatible monitor or flat panel TV

Select one

This connection is required in order to listen to the sound of the TV over the receiver.

VSX-23TXH

Connecting your equipment

Connecting your TV and playback components

Connecting using HDMI

If you have an HDMI or DVI (with HDCP) equipped component (Blu-ray disc player, etc.), you can connect it to this receiver using a commercially available HDMI cable.

If the TV and playback components support the Pioneer KURO LINK feature, the convenient KURO LINK functions can be used (see KURO LINK on page 63).

• When connecting a Blu-ray disc player, connect the player to the receiver’s BD IN terminal.

• VSX-23TXH only: When connecting to an HDMI/DVIcompatible monitor o r a flat panel TV using the HDMI

OUT 2 terminal, switch the HDMI output setting to HDMI OUT 2 or HDMI OUT ALL. See Switching the

HDMI output on page 71.

•The HDMI indicator lights on the front panel when an HDMI-equipped component is connected.

•For input co connections are also possible (see Connecting your DVD player with no HDMI output on page 25).

1IN2

MONITOR

RS-232C

IN (

DVR

OUT

INBD IN

)

ZONE2

ZONE3

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

CONTROL IR

IN IN IN

OUT OUT

HDMI

ASSIGNABLE

1 3

COMPONENT

VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

(

)

DVD

mpon

ents, connections other than HDMI

(

IN OUT 1 OUT 2

DVDINTV/SATINVIDEO DVRINCD

KURO LINK

12 V TRIGGER

(OUTPUT 12 V TOTAL 50 mA MAX)

COAXIAL

)

(

) (CD) (

DVD

CD-R/TAPE

ININOUT

SPEAKERS

) (

TV/SAT

FRONT CENTER SURROUND FRONT CENTER

INOUT

MULTI CH IN PRE

CENTER

FRONT

L RL

ABLE

IN2IN

DVR)(VIDEO

SUBWOOFER

OPTICAL

OUT

)

SUBWOOFER

SURROUND

ASSIGN-

ASSIGNABLE

•If your Blu-ray disc player offers multi-channel analog audio outputs, see Connecting the multichannel analog inputs on page 29.

• The sound of the TV cannot be heard over the receiver if the TV is connected using an HDMI cable. If you want to listen to the sound of the TV over the receiver, connect the receiver and TV with audio cables. When making digital connections with a coaxial cable at this time, the digital input setting must be made (see The Input Setup menu on page 43).

Page 25

Connecting your equipment

RS-232C

COMPONENT

VIDEO

HDMI

ZONE2

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

ASSIGN-

ABLE

MONITOR

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

DVDINTV/SATINVIDEO DVRINCD

ININOUT

CD-R/TAPE

MULTI CH IN PRE

SPEAKERS

OPTICAL

COAXIAL

INOUT

ZONE3

OUT

INBD IN

1IN2

IN OUT 1 OUT 2

(

KURO LINK

)

(

DVD

) (CD)(

TV/SAT

) (

DVR

) (

VIDEO

)

IN2IN

OUT

FRONT

L RL

CENTER

SURROUND

FRONT CENTER SURROUND FRONT CENTER

1 3

(

DVD

)

(

DVR

)

CONTROL IR

12 V TRIGGER

IN IN IN

OUT OUT

(OUTPUT 12 V TOTAL 50 mA MAX)

SUBWOOFER

HDMI IN

ANALOG

AUDIO OUT

VIDEO OUT

VIDEO S-VIDEO

COMPONENT VIDEO OUT

DIGITAL OUT

COAXIAL OPTICAL

DVD player, etc.

HDMI/DVI-compatible monitor or flat panel TV

Select one

VSX-23TXH

Connecting your DVD player with no HDMI output

This diagram shows connections of a TV (with HDMI input) and DVD player (or other playback component with no HDMI output) to the receiver.

• If you want to listen to the sound of the TV over the receiver, connect the receiver and TV with audio

cables.

•Component video should give superior picture quality when compared to composite

or S-Video. You can also

take advantage of progressive scan video (if your source and TV are both compatible), which delivers a very stable, flicker-free picture. See the manuals that came with your TV and source component to check whether they are compatible with progressive-scan video.

•If your DVD player offers multi-channel analog audio

outputs, see Connecting the multichannel analog inputs

on page 29

Page 26

ANALOG

AUDIO OUT

VIDEO IN

VIDEOS-VIDEO

COMPONENT VIDEO IN

VIDEO OUT

VIDEO S-VIDEO

COMPONENT VIDEO OUT

DIGITAL OUT

COAXIAL OPTICAL

HDMI OUT

DVD player, etc.

Select one

VSX-23TXH

Connecting your equipment

Connecting your TV with no HDMI input

This diagram shows connections of a TV (with no HDMI input) and DVD player (or other playback component) to the receiver.

• With these connections, the picture is not output to the TV even if the DVD player i s co nne cte d with an HDMI cab le. Connect the DVD player’s video signals using a composite,

S-Video or component cord.

1IN2

MONITOR

OUT

RS-232C

INBD IN

IN (

)

DVR

ZONE2

OUT

VIDEO

CONTROL IR

IN IN IN

HDMI

ASSIGNABLE

1 3

COMPONENT

VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

IN (

)

DVD

• Connect using an HDMI cable to listen to HD audio on the receiver. Do not use an HDMI cable to input video signals. Depending on the video component, it may not be possible to output signals connected by HDMI and other methods simultaneously, and it may be necessary to make output settings.

operating instructions

supplied with your component

Please refer to the

for more information.

IN OUT 1 OUT 2

DVDINTV/SATINVIDEO DVRINCD

ZONE3

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

S-VIDEO

OUT OUT

COAXIAL

(

) (CD)(

DVD

CD-R/TAPE

ININOUT

SPEAKERS

ASSIGNABLE

ABLE

IN2IN

) (

TV/SAT

DVR

FRONT CENTER SURROUND FRONT CENTER

SUBWOOFER

INOUT

MULTI CH IN PRE

CENTER

FRONT

L RL

) (

VIDEO

OUT

)

SURROUND

OPTICAL

SUBWOOFER

(

KURO

)

LINK

12 V TRIGGER

(OUTPUT 12 V TOTAL 50 mA MAX)

ASSIGN-

•Component video should give superior picture quality when compared to composite

or S-Video. You can also

•If your DVD player has multichannel analog outputs, you can connect these instead. See also Connecting the multichannel analog inputs on page 29.

Page 27

Connecting your equipment

Note

•The input functions below are assigned by default to the receiver’s different input terminals. Refer to The Input Setup menu on page 43 to change the assignments if other connections are used. For example, the BD terminal is fixed to BD input; no other audio and video signals can be input to this terminal.

Input function

DVD COAX-1 IN 1 BD (BD)

TV/SAT OPT-1

DVR OPT-2 IN 2

VIDEOa/VIDEO 1

HDMI 1 HDMI 2 (HDMI-2)

HDMI 3

HDMI 4

Digital HDMI

OPT-3

Input Terminals

(HDMI-1)

(HDMI-3) (

HDMI-4)

Component

(front panel)

CD COAX-2

a. VSX-23TXH only b. VSX-21TXH only

About HDMI

The HDMI connection transfers uncompressed digital vid eo, a s w ell a s a lmos t e very kind of digital audio that the connected component is compatible with, including DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, SACD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio (see below for limitations), Video CD/Super VCD and CD. See About the video converter on page 23 for more on HDMI compatibility.

This receiver incorporates High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI™) technology.

This receiver supports the functions described below through HDMI connections.

•Digital transfer of uncompressed video (contents protected by HDCP (1080p/24, 1080p/60, etc.))

•Deep Color signal transfer

• x.v.Color signal transfer

•Input of multi-channel linear PCM digital audio signals (192 kHz or less) for up to 8 channels

•Input of the following digital audio formats: – Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, High bitrate audio (Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio), DVDAudio, CD, SACD (DSD signal), Video CD, Super VCD

•Synchronized operation with components using the KURO LINK function (see KURO LINK on page 63)

HDMI, the HDMI logo and High-Definition Multimedia Interface are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing, LLC.

“x.v.Color” and x.v.Color logo are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

1 • An HDMI connection can only be made with DVI-equipped components compatible with both DVI and High Bandwidth Digital Content

Protection (HDCP). If you choose to connect to a DVI connector, you will need a separate adaptor (DVIHDMI) to do so. A DVI connection, however, does not support audio signals. Consult your local audio dealer for more information.

• If you connect a component that is not compatible with HDCP, an HDCP ERROR message is displayed on the front panel display. Some components that are compatible with HDCP still cause this message to be displayed, but so long as there is no problem with displaying video this is not a malfunction.

• Depending on the component you have connected, using a DVI connection may result in unreliable signal transfers. This receiver supports SACD,

•

sure that the component connected to this receiver also supports the corresponding format.

2 Signal transfer is only possible when connected to a compatible component.

Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD

and

DTS-HD Master Audio

. To take advantage of these formats, however, make

Page 28

DIGITAL OUT

COAXIAL OPTICAL

ANALOG

AUDIO OUTAUDIO IN

VIDEO OUT

VIDEO S-VIDEO

VIDEO IN

VIDEOS-VIDEO

HDD/DVD recorder, VCR, etc.

Select one

Select one Select one

VSX-23TXH

Connecting your equipment

Connecting an HDD/DVD recorder, VCR and other video sources

This receiver has two sets of audio/video inputs and outputs suitable for connecting analog or digital video devices, including HDD/DVD recorders and VCRs.

When you set up the receiver you’ll need to tell the receiver which input you connected the recorder to (see also The Input Setup menu on page 43).

ASSIGNABLE

1IN2

MONITOR

RS-232C

IN (

DVR

OUT

INBD IN

)

ZONE2

ZONE3

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

CONTROL IR

IN IN IN

OUT OUT

HDMI

ASSIGNABLE

1 3

COMPONENT

VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

(

)

DVD

IN OUT 1 OUT 2(KURO

DVDINTV/SATINVIDEO DVRINCD

12 V TRIGGER

(OUTPUT 12 V TOTAL 50 mA MAX)

COAXIAL

)

LINK

(

) (CD)(

DVD

CD-R/TAPE

ININOUT

SPEAKERS

INOUT

FRONT

ASSIGN-

ABLE

IN2IN

) (

TV/SAT

DVR

FRONT CENTER SURROUND FRONT CENTER

SUBWOOFER

MULTI CH IN PRE

CENTER

LR L

) (

VIDEO

OUT

)

SURROUND

OPTICAL

SUBWOOFER

Page 29

Connecting your equipment

S-VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

ASSIGN-

ABLE

MONITOR

OUT

DVDINTV/SATINVIDEO DVRINCD

ININOUT

CD-R/TAPE

MULTI CH IN PRE

SPEAKERS

OPTICAL

COAXIAL

INOUT

ZONE3

OUT

N1IN2IN OUT 1 OUT 2(KURO

LINK

)

(

DVD

) (CD) (

TV/SAT

) (

DVR)(VIDEO

)

IN2IN

OUT

FRONT

L RL

CENTER

SURROUND

FRONT CENTER SURROUND FRONT CENTER

12 V TRIGGER

N IN IN

OUT OUT

(OUTPUT 12 V TOTAL 50 mA MAX)

SUBWOOFER

VIDEO OUT

VIDEOS-VIDEO

ANALOG

AUDIO OUT

DIGITAL OUT

COAXIAL OPTICAL

STB

Select one

VSX-23TXH

DVD player, etc.

VSX-23TXH

Connecting a satellite/cable receiver or other set-top box

Satellite and cable receivers, and terrestrial digital TV tuners are all examples of so-called ‘set-top boxes’.

When you set up the receiver you’ll need to tell the receiver which input you connected the set-top box to (see The Input Setup menu on page 43).

Connecting the multichannel analog inputs

For DVD Audio and SACD playback, your DVD player may have 5.1 channel analog outputs. Make sure that the player is set to output multichannel analog audio.

OUT 1 OUT 2(KURO

LINK

DVR CD

12 V TRIGGER

(OUTPUT 12 V TOTAL 50 mA MAX)

)

COAXIAL

(

DVD)(CD

ININOUT

SPEAKERS

FRONT

OUTPUT

CD-R/TAPE

FRONT

CENTER OUTPUT

ASSIGN-

ASSIGNABLE

ABLE

)(

INOUT

IN2IN

TV/SAT)(DVR)(VIDEO

FRONT CENTER SURROUND FRONT CENTER

SUBWOOFER

MULTI CH IN PR

CENTER

L RL

OUT

)

SURROUND

OUTPUT

OPTICAL

SUBWOOFER

OUTPUT

•If your player has 7.1-channel analog outputs, the player’s surround back output terminals are not

used. Please refer to the operating instructions supplied with your component for more information.

Connecting other audio components

This receiver has both digital and analog inputs, allowing you to connect audio components for playback.

This receiver features five stereo audio-only inputs. One of these inputs have corresponding outputs for use with audio recorders.

Most digital components also have analog connections.

Page 30

Note

DIGITAL OUT

COAXIAL OPTICAL

ANALOG

AUDIO OUT

ANALOG

AUDIO IN

DIGITAL IN

OPTICAL

CD-R, MD, DAT, etc.

Select oneSelect one

VSX-23TXH

Powered subwoofer

Front channel amplifier

Center channel amplifier (mono)

Surround channel amplifier

Surround back channel amplifier

Connecting your equipment

When you set up the receiver you’ll need to tell the receiver which input you connected the component to (see also The Input Setup menu on page 43).

ASSIGN-

ASSIGNABLE

)

LINK

DVR C D

COAXIAL

(

ININOUT

SPEAKERS

) (CD) (

DVD

CD-R/TAPE

ABLE

INOUT

FRONT

IN2IN

) (

TV/SAT)(DVR

FRONT CENTER SURROUND FRONT CENTER

L RL

)

VIDEO

SUBWOOFER

MULTI CH IN PRE

CENTER

OUT

SURROUND

OPTICAL

SUBWOOFER

OUT 1 OUT 2(KURO

12 V TRIGGER

(OUTPUT 12 V TOTAL 50 mA MAX)

Connecting additional amplifiers

This receiver has more than enough power for any home use, but it’s possible to add additional amplifiers to every channel of your system using the pre-outs. Make the connections shown below to add amplifiers to power your speakers.

ANALOG

INPUT

ANALOG

INPUT

ANALOG

INPUT

OPTICAL

OUT

)

ND FRONT CENTER

SURROUNDRSURROUND BACK /

SUBWOOFER

SURROUND SURROUND

PRE OUT

SIRIUS

BACK

AUDIO

(

)

Single

ANALOG

INPUT

ANALOG

INPUT

•If your turntable has line-level outputs (i.e., it has a built-in phono pre-amp), connect it to the CD inputs instead.

•If you’re connecting a recorder, connect the analog audio outputs to the analog audio inputs on the recorder.

About the WMA9 Pro decoder

This unit has an on-board Windows Media™ Audio 9 Professional playback WMA9 Pro-encoded audio using HDMI, coaxial or optical digital connection when connected to a WMA9

(WMA9 Pro) decoder, so it is possible to

• You can use the additional amplifier on the surround back channel pre-outs for a single speaker as well. In this case plug the amplifier into the left (L (Single)) terminal only.

• The sound from the surround back terminals will depend on how you have configured the Surround back speaker setting on page 91.

•To hear sound only from the pre-outs, switch the speaker system to OFF, or simply disco

nnec

speakers that are connected directly to the receiver.

If you’re not using a subwoofer, change the front speaker setting (see Speaker Setting on page 91) to LARGE.

Pro-compatible player. However, the connected DVD player, set-top b ox, etc. must be abl e t o ou tput WMA9 Pro format audio signals through a coaxial or optical digital output.

1• Windows Media and the Windows logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other

countries.

• With WMA9 Pro, sound problems may occur depending on your computer system. Note that WMA9 Pro 96 kHz sources will be downsampled to 48 kHz.

t any

Page 31

Connecting your equipment

75 Ω coaxial cable

Outdoor antenna

5 m to 6 m

(16 ft. to 20 ft.)

Indoor antenna

(vinyl-coated wire)

Connecting AM/FM antennas

Connect the AM loop antenna and the FM wire antenna as shown below. To improve reception and sound quality, connect external antennas (see Connecting external antennas below).

Connecting external antennas

To improve FM reception connect an external FM antenna to the FM UNBAL 75 Ω.

ANTENNA

FM UNBAL

AM LOOP

g. a g. b g. c

1 Pull off the protective shields of both AM antenna wires.

2 Push open the tabs, then insert one wire fully into each terminal, then release the tabs to secure the AM antenna wires.

3 Fix the AM loop antenna to the attached stand.

To fix the stand to the antenna, bend in the direction indicated by the arrow (fig. a) then clip the loop onto the stand (fig. b).

•If you plan to mount the AM antenna to a wall or other surface, secure the stand with screws (fig. c) before clipping the loop to the stand. Make sure the reception is clear.

4 Place the AM antenna on a flat surface and in a direction giving the best reception.

5 Connect the FM wire antenna in the same way as the AM loop antenna.

For best results, extend the FM antenna fully and fix to a wall or door frame. Don’t drape loosely or leave coiled up.

ANTENNA

FM UNBAL 75

AM LOOP

To improve AM reception, connect a 5 m to 6 m (16 ft. to 20 ft.) length of vinyl-coated wire to the AM LOOP terminals without disconnecting the supplied AM loop antenna.

For the best possible reception, suspend horizontally outdoors.

ANTENNA

FM UNBAL

AM LOOP

Page 32

SATELLiTE RADiO

SATELLiTE

RADiO

XM Mini-Tuner and

Home Dock with antenna

SIRIUS

SiriusConnect™ HOME tuner

Antenna

AC adapter

Connecting your equipment

Connecting an XM Radio tuner

After purchasing an XM Mini-Tuner and Home Dock (both sold separately), you will also need to activate the XM Radio service to begin receiving broadcasts.

ASSIGN-

ABLE

IN2IN

(

TV/SAT)(DVR)(VIDEO

FRONT CENTER SURROUND FRONT CENTER

SUBWOOFER

MULTI CH IN PRE OUT

CENTER

L RL

OUT

)

SURROUND

OPTICAL

SUBWOOFER

SURROUND SURROUND

SIRIUS

AUDIO

BACK

SURROUND BACK /

ANTENNA

FM UNMAL

75 ޓޓ

(

)

Single

AM LOOP

(

)

Single

Connecting a SiriusConnect™ tuner

To receive SIRIUS Satellite Radio broadcasts, you will need to activate your SiriusConnect™ tuner.

ASSIGN-

ABLE

IN2IN

(

TV/SAT)(DVR)(VIDEO

FRONT CENTER SURROUND FRONT CENTER

SUBWOOFER

MULTI CH IN PRE OUT

CENTER

L RL

OUT

)

SURROUND

OPTICAL

SUBWOOFER

SURROUND SURROUND

SIRIUS

AUDIO

BACK

SURROUND BACK /

ANTENNA

FM UNMAL

75 ޓޓ

(

)

Single

AM LOOP

(

)

Single

•For instructions on playing the XM Radio, see Listening to XM Radio on page 52.

You will also need to connect the antenna and AC adapter to the SiriusConnect™ tuner.

•For instructions on playing the SIRIUS Radio, see Listening to SIRIUS Radio on page 54.

Page 33

Connecting your equipment

AUDIO IN

VIDEO IN

AUDIO IN

Main zone

Sub zone (ZONE 2)

Sub zone (ZONE 3)

(VSX-23TXH only)

VSX-23TXH

Note

MULTI-ZONE setup

This receiver can power up to two (VSX-21TXH)/three (VSX-23TXH) independent systems in separate rooms after you have made the proper MULTI-ZONE connections. An example MULTI-ZONE setup is shown below, but the number of MULTI- ZONE connections (and the way you choose to connect them) depends on how you want to set up your system.

1IN2

HDMI

ASSIGNABLE

1 3

COMPONENT

VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

(

)

DVD

MONITOR

RS-232C

(

OUT

INBD IN

)

DVR

ZONE2

ZONE3

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

CONTROL IR

IN IN IN

OUT

DVDINTV/SAT

Different sources can be playing in two (VSX-21TXH)/three (VSX-23TXH) zones at the same time or, depending on

your needs, the same source can also be used. The main and sub zone(s) have independent power (the main zone power can be off while one (or both) of the sub zone(s) is on) and the sub zone(s) can be controlled by the remote or front panel controls. However, you may need to specify the volume settings in ZONE Audio Setup on

page 95.

Making MULTI-ZONE connections

It is possible to make these connections if you have a separate TV and speakers for your primary (ZONE 2) sub zone (and a separate amplifier secondary (ZONE 3) sub zone (VSX-23TXH only)). You will also need a separate amplifier if you are not using the MULTI-ZONE setup using speaker terminals (ZONE 2) on page 34 for your primary sub zone. There are two primary

(and speakers) for your

sub zone setups possible with this system. Choose whichever works best for you.

MULTI-ZONE listening options

The following table shows the signals that can be output to sub zone(s):

Sub zone Input functions available

ZONE 2 Analog audio signals (AUDIO ZONE 2 OUT).

ZONE 3

(VSX-23TXH only)

a.Any analog signal. (This does not apply for the MULTI CH IN input.) b.JPEG files cannot be played with the USB input. c.iPod/USB, XM or SIRIUS Radio function cannot be selected for

ZONE 3.

1 You can’t use sound controls (such as the tone controls or Midnight listening) or any surround modes with a separate amplifier in the sub

zone. You can, however, use the features available with your sub zone amplifier.

With video signals,b the composite video (VIDEO ZONE 2 OUT) signals can be output.

Analog audio signals (AUDIO ZONE 3 OUT).

a,c

Page 34

RS-232C

COMPONENT

VIDEO

HDMI

ZONE2

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

MONITOR

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

ZONE3

OUT

INBD IN

1 3

(

DVD

)

(

DVR

)

CONTROL

OUT

AUDIO IN

VIDEO IN

Main zone

Sub zone (ZONE 2)

VSX-23TXH

RS-232C

COMPONENT

VIDEO

HDMI

ZONE2

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

MONITOR

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

DVIZONE3

OUT

INBD IN

1 3

(

DVD

)

(

DVR

)

CONTROL

OUT

PRE OUT

ANTE

AUDIO

(

Single

)

(

Single

)

OUT

SURROUND BACK /

CENTER

SURROUND SURROUND

BACK

Main zone

Sub zone (ZONE 2)

VSX-23TXH

Main zone

Sub zone (ZONE 3)

Connecting your equipment

Basic MULTI-ZONE setup (ZONE 2)

• Connect a separate amplifier to the OUT

jacks and a TV monitor to the

AUDIO ZONE 2

VIDEO ZONE 2 OUT

jack, both on this receiver.

You should have a pair of speakers attached to the sub zone amplifier as shown below.

MULTI-ZONE setup using speaker terminals (ZONE 2)

You must select ZONE 2 in Surround back speaker setting on page 91 to use this setup. Note that the sound in the sub zone will be temporarily interrupted when controlling the main zone (for example, changing the input function or starting playback).

• Connect a TV monitor to the

VIDEO ZONE 2 OUT

jacks on this receiver.

You should have a pair of speakers attached to the surround back speaker terminals as shown below.

Secondary MULTI-ZONE setup (ZONE 3)

(VSX-23TXH only)

• Connect a separate amplifier to the OUT

jacks on this receiver.

AUDIO ZONE 3

You should have a pair of speakers attached to the sub zone amplifier as shown below.

HDMI

ASSIGNABLE

1 3

COMPONENT

VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

AUDIO IN

IN (

)

(

DVD

DVR

MONITOR

OUT

RS-232C

)

ZONE2

VIDEO

INBD IN

OUT

CONTROL

ZONE3

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

S-VIDEO

OUT

VIDEO IN

Page 35

Connecting your equipment

Note

IN OUT

CONTROL

IR receiver

Closet or shelving unit

Non-Pioneer component

Pioneer component

VSX-23TXH

CONTROL

IN OUT

CONTROL

VSX-23TXH

Connecting an IR receiver

If you keep your stereo components in a closed cabinet or shelving unit, or you wish to use the sub zone remote control in another zone, you can use an optional IR receiver (such as a Niles or Xantech unit) to control your system instead of the remote sensor on the front panel of this receiver.

1 Connect the IR receiver sensor to the the rear of this receiver.

HDMI

ASSIGNABLE

1 3

COMPONENT

VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

(

)

DVD

MONITOR

RS-232C

(

OUT

1IN2IN3

INBD IN

)

DVR

ZONE2

ZONE3

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

CONTROL IR

IN IN IN

OUT OUT

DVDINTV/SATINVIDEO

IR IN

jack on

Operating other Pioneer components with this unit’s sensor

Many Pioneer components have SR CONTROL jacks which can be used to link components together so that you can use just the remote sensor of one component. When you use a remote control, the control signal is passed along the chain to the appropriate component.

Important

• Note that if you use this feature, make sure that you

also have at least one set of analog audio, video or HDMI jacks connected to another component for

grounding purposes.

1 Decide which component you want to use the remote sensor of.

When you want to control any component in the chain, this is the remote sensor at which you’ll point the corresponding remote control.

2 Connect the to the

CONTROL IN

Use a cable with a mono mini-plug on each end for the connection.

CONTROL OUT

jack of that component

jack of another Pioneer component.

MONITOR

OUT

RS-232C

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

CONTROL IR

IN IN IN

OUT OUT

2 Connect the IR OUT IR receiver.

jack on the rear of this receiver to link it to the

Please see the manual supplied with your IR receiver for the type of cable necessary for the connection.

• If you want to link a Pioneer component to the IR

receiver, see Operating other Pioneer components with this unit’s sensor below to connect to the

CONTROL jacks instead of the IR OUT jack.

1• Remote operation may not be possible if direct light from a strong fluorescent lamp is shining on the IR receiver remote sensor window.

• Note that other manufacturers may not use the IR terminology. Refer to the manual that came with your component to check for IR compatibility.

• If using two remote controls (at the same time), the IR receiver’s remote sensor takes priority over the remote sensor on the front panel.

2 • If you want to control all your components using this receiver’s remote control, see Setting the remote to control other components on

page 73.

• If you have connected a remote control to the CONTROL IN jack (using a mini-plug cable), you won’t be able to control this unit using the remote sensor.

IR IN

jack of another component to the

Continue the chain in the same way for as many components as you have.

Page 36

Note

RS-232C

COMPONENT

VIDEO

HDMI

ZONE2

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

MONITOR

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

DVDINTV/SATINVIDEO DVR

IN INOUT

ZONE3

OUT

INBD IN

1IN2

IN OUT 1 OU(KURO

LINK

)

1 3

(

DVD

)

(

DVR

)

CONTROL IR

12 V TRIGGER

IN IN IN

OUT OUT

(OUTPUT 12 V TOTAL 50 mA MAX)

12 V TRIGGER

INPUT

VSX-23TXH

Connecting your equipment

Switching components on and off using the 12 volt trigger

You can connect components in your system (such as a screen or projector) to this receiver so that they switch on or off using 12 volt triggers when you select an input function. However, you must specify which input functions switch on the trigger using the The Input Setup menu on page 43. Note that this will only work with components that have a standby mode.

• Connect the

12 V TRIGGER

the 12 V trigger of another component.

Use a cable with a mono mini-plug on each end for the connection.

•The trigger maximum power is DC OUT 12 V/50 mA.

After you’ve specified the input functions that will switch on the trigger, you’ll be able to switch the component on or off just by pressing the input function(s) you’ve set on page 43.

jack of this receiver to

Connecting a PC for Advanced MCACC output

When using Auto MCACC (page 78) or Acoustic Calibration EQ Professional (page 83) to calibrate the reverb characteristics of your listening room, the 3D graphs of the reverb characteristics in your listening room (before and after calibration) can be checked on a computer screen by connecting the receiver to the computer and using a special application to transfer the data. The various MCACC parameters can also be checked on the computer.

Use a commercially-available RS-232C cable to connect the RS-232C jack on your computer to the 9-pin RS-232C jack on the back panel cross type, female–female).

The software to output the results is available from the support area of the Pioneer website (http:// www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/ Home+Entertainment+Custom+Install). Instructions for using the software are also available here. If you have any questions regarding, please contact the Customer Support Division of Pioneer.

Please make sure your system meets the following requirements:

•The computer must be a PC functioning with one of the following operating systems: Microsoft Windows

Ultimate SP1, Windows Edition SP3 or Windows

• The monitor must have a display r esolution of 800 x 600 dots (SVGA) or greater.

•The computer must be equipped with at least one RS- 232C port.

• System must have internet access.

Microsoft®, Windows®Vista, Windows®XP and Windows®2000 are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

of this receiver

Vista Home Basic/Home Premium/

XP Professional/Home

2000 Professional SP4.

(the cable must be

1Triggered connections with up to two devices compatible with 12 volt triggers can be made with this receiver. 2Laptops and other computers not equipped with an RS-232C port can be connected via USB port using a commercially available USB to

RS-232C converter cable (USB to serial converter cable). For instructions on COM port connections and settings, contact the manufacturer of your computer.

Page 37

Connecting your equipment

Note

RS-232C

Personal computer

VSX-23TXH

MASTER VOLUME

MCACC SETUP MIC

USB

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO CAMERA

HDMI 4

CONTROL ON / OFF

Video camera, etc.

• Connect your computer to the

RS-232C

jack on the

rear panel of the receiver.

Make sure that the receiver and all connected components are switched off and disconnected from the power outlet when you do this.

Use a commercially-available cable to connect the RS232C jack on your computer to the 9-pin RS-232C jack on this receiver. See the documentation provided with the Advanced MCACC application for more information.

(

HDMI

ASSIGNABLE

1 3

COMPONENT

VIDEO

ASSIGNABLE

(

)

DVD

MONITOR

RS-232C

OUT

1IN2

INBD IN

IN (

)

DVR

ZONE2

ZONE3

OUT

MONITOR

OUT

VIDEO

S-VIDEO

CONTROL IR

IN IN IN

OUT OUT

IN OUT 1 O

DVDINTV/SATINVIDEO DVR

IN INOUT

12 V TRIGGER

(OUTPUT 12 V TOTAL 50 mA MAX)

KURO

)

LINK

Connecting an HDMI-equipped component to the front panel input

(VSX-23TXH only)

There is an HDMI input terminal on the front panel. High quality pictures can be viewed via the receiver simply by connecting an HDMI-equipped video camera with a single HDMI cable. HDMI-equipped components other than video cameras can also be connected to this terminal.

• Push down on the PUSH OPEN tab to access the front panel input.

• Select this input using INPUT SELECT (remote) or the INPUT SELECTOR dial (front panel) to select HDMI 4.

1The various parameters and the reverb characteristics data used for display on the computer are not cleared when the power is turned off (see

Output PC on page 88).

Page 38

MASTER VOLUME

MCACC

SETUP

MIC

USB VIDEO L RAUDIO

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO 2 INPUT

AUDIOVIDEO

OUTPUT

CONTROL ON / OFF

MCACC

SETUP

MIC

USB VIDEO L RAUDIO

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO 2 INPUT

TV game, video camera,

etc.





MASTER VOLUME

MCACC SETUP MIC

USB

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO CAMERA

HDMI 4

CONTROL ON / OFF

iPod

iPod cable

(supplied)





MASTER VOLUME

MCACC

SETUP

MIC

USB VIDEO LRAUDIO

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO 2 INPUT

CONTROL ON / OFF

MCACC

SETUP

MIC

USB VIDEO L RAUDIO

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO 2 INPUT

iPod

iPod cable

(supplied)

Connecting your equipment

Connecting a component to the front panel inputs

(VSX-21TXH only)

The front panel inputs comprise a composite video jack (VIDEO) and stereo analog audio inputs (AUDIO L/R). You can use these connections for any kind of audio/ video component, but they are especially convenient for portable equipment such as camcorders, video games and portable audio/video equipment.

• Push down on the PUSH OPEN tab to access the front panel inputs.

• Select these inputs using INPUT SELECT (remote) or the INPUT SELECTOR dial (front panel) to select VIDEO 2.

Connecting an iPod

This receiver has a dedicated iPod terminal that will allow you to control playback of audio content from your iPod using the controls of this receiver.

• Switch the receiver into standby then use the supplied iPod cable to connect your iPod to the iPod/ iPhone/USB terminal on the front panel of this receiver.

•Push down on the PUSH OPEN tab to access the iPod/iPhone/USB terminal.

•It is also possible to connect using the cable included with the iPod, but in this case it is not possible to view pictures via the receiver.

•For the cable connection, refer to also the operating instructions for iPod.

•For instructions on playing the iPod, see Playing an

iPod on page 46.

VSX-23TXH:

VSX-21TXH:

Page 39

Connecting your equipment

MASTER VOLUME

MCACC SETUP MIC

USB

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO CAMERA

HDMI 4

CONTROL ON / OFF

USB mass storage device

MASTER VOLUME

MCACC

SETUP

MIC

USB VIDEO L RAUDIO

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO 2 INPUT

CONTROL ON / OFF

MCACC

SETUP

MIC

USB VIDEO L RAUDIO

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO 2 INPUT

USB mass storage device

Note

Connecting a USB device

It is possible to playback files using the USB interface on the front of this receiver.

• Switch the receiver into standby then connect your USB device to the this receiver.

•Push down on the PUSH OPEN tab to access the USB terminal.

•For instructions on playing the USB device, see

Playing a USB device on page 48.

VSX-23TXH:

VSX-21TXH:

USB

terminal on the front panel of

Plugging in the receiver

Only plug in after you have connected all your components to this receiver, including the speakers.

1 Plug the supplied power cord into the on the back of the receiver.

2 Plug the other end into a power outlet.

CAUTION

• Handle the power cord by the plug part. Do not pull out the plug by tugging the cord, and never touch the power cord when your hands are wet, as this could cause a short circuit or electric shock. Do not place the unit, a piece of furniture, or other object on the power cord or pinch the cord in any other way. Never make a knot in the cord or tie it with other cables. The power cords should be routed so that they are not likely to be stepped on. A damaged power cord can cause a fire or give you an electric power cord once in a while. If you find it damaged, ask your nearest Pioneer authorized independent service company for a replacement.

• Do not use any power cord other than the one supplied with this unit.

• Do not use the supplied power cor d for any purpose other than that described below.

•The receiver should be disconnected by removing the mains plug from the wall socket when not in regular use, e.g., when on vacation.

•Make sure the blue  STANDBY/ON light has gone out before unplugging.

• If you have connected speakers with a 6 impedance, change the impedance setting before turning on the power.

AC IN

ck. Check the

sho

socket

1After this receiver is connected to an AC outlet, a 2 second to 10 second HDMI initialization process begins. You cannot carry out any

operations during this process. The HDMI indicator in the front panel display blinks during this process, and you can turn on this receiver once it has stopped blinking. When you set the KURO LINK mode to OFF, you can skip this process. For details about the KURO LINK feature, see KURO LINK on page 63.

Page 40

INPUT SELECTOR

STANDBY/ON

PHONES

BAND

TUNE

PHASE

CONTROL

AUTO SURR /ALC/

STREAM DIRECT

STEREO

ADVANC

MCACC

MULTI-ZONE

ON / OFF

HDMIPQLS

PRESET

TUNER EDIT

ENTER

PUSH OPEN

VSX-23TXH

DVD BD DVR HDMI

TV CD CD-R

TUNER

VIDEO

iPod USB SIRIUSXM

RECEIVER

SOURCE

T.ED I T GUIDE

TOP MENU BAND

RETURN

iPod CTRL

HOME MENU

LIST

TOOLS

CATEGORY

AUDIO

PARAMETER

ENTER

TUNE

PRESET PRESET

TUNE

VIDEO

PARAMETER

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

a.Manual SP Setup b. Input Setup

c. OSD Language

d. Other Setup

4.SystemSetup

4c.OSD Language

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

Language

: English

Basic Setup

Chapter 4:

Basic Setup

Switching the speaker impedance

We recommend using speakers of 8 Ω with this system, but it is possible to switch the impedance setting if you plan to use speakers with a 6 Ω impedance rating.

1 Switch on the receiver and your TV. Use  RECEIVER to switch on.

2 Press on the remote control, then press HOME MENU

RECEIVER

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) screen appears on your TV. Use /// and ENTER to navigate through the screens and select menu items. Press RETURN to exit the current menu.

3 Select ‘

4 Select ‘

System Setup

OSD Language

’ from the

HOME MENU

System Setup

menu.

4c.OSD Language

: English

A/V RECEIVER

Language

1 Switch the receiver into standby.

2 While holding down press

The display shows RESET  NO . Use TUNE +/– (or / on the remote control) to select

SPEAKER  8Ω , and then use PRESET +/– (or / on the remote control) to select SPEAKER 8Ω or SPEAKER 6Ω.

• SPEAKER 8Ω – Use this setting if your speakers are rated at 8 Ω or more.

• SPEAKER 6Ω – Use this setting if your speakers are rated at 6 Ω.

Changing the OSD display language (OSD Language)

The language used on the Graphical User Interface screen can be changed.

•The explanations in these operating instructions are for when English is selected for the GUI screen.

 STANDBY/ON

ENTER

on the front panel,

Exit Return

5 Select the desired language.

• English

• French

• German

• Italian

• Spanish

• Dutch

• Russian

6 Select ‘OK’ to change the language.

The setting is completed and the System Setup menu reappears automatically.

Page 41

Basic Setup

DVD BD DVR HDMI

TV CD CD-R

TUNER

VIDEO

iPod USB SIRIUSXM

RECEIVER

SOURCE

T.ED I T GUIDE

TOP MENU BAND

RETURN

iPod CTRL

HOME MENU

LIST

TOOLS

CATEGORY

AUDIO

PARAMETER

ENTER

TUNE

PRESET PRESET

TUNE

VIDEO

PARAMETER

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

Note

MASTER VOLUME

MCACC

SETUP

MIC

USB VIDEO L RAUDIO

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO 2 INPUT

CONTROL ON / OFF

MCACC

SETUP

MIC

USB VIDEO L RAUDIO

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO 2 INPUT

Surr Back System : Normal

1a.Full Auto MCACC

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

START

Save SYMMETRY to : M1.MEMORY 1

Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC)

The Auto MCACC Setup measures the acoustic characteristics of your listening area, taking into account ambient noise, speaker connection and speaker size, and tests for both channel delay and channel level. After you have set up the microphone provided with your system, the receiver uses the information from a series of test tones to optimize the speaker settings and equalization for your particular room.

Make sure you do this before moving on to Playing a source on page 45.

Important

•Make sure the microphone and speakers are not moved during the Auto MCACC Setup.

• Using the Auto MCACC Setup will overwrite a existing settings for the MCACC preset you select.

•Before using the Auto MCACC Setup, the headphones should be disconnected and the iPod/ USB, XM or SIRIUS Radio function should not be selected as an input function.

VSX-23TXH:

VSX-21TXH:

MCACC SETUP MIC

CONTROL ON / OFF

iPod

iPhone

MASTER VOLUME

VIDEO CAMERA

USB

HDMI 4

CAUTION

• The test tones used in the Auto MCACC Setup are output at high volume.

1 Switch on the receiver and your TV. Use  RECEIVER to switch on.

2 Connect the microphone to the jack on the front panel.

•Push down on the PUSH OPEN tab to access the MCACC SETUP MIC jack.

Make sure there are no obstacles between the speakers and the microphone.

1 It may not be possible to measure correctly if the microphone is placed on a table, sofa, etc. 2 • You can’t use the HOME MENU when the iPod/USB, XM or SIRIUS Radio input function is selected (in either the main or sub zone).

• VSX-23TXH: When you set ZONE 2, ZONE 3 or ZONE 2&3 to ON (page 69), you can’t use the HOME MENU.

• VSX-21TXH: When you set ZONE 2 to ON (page 69), you can’t use the HOME MENU.

• If you leave the GUI screen for over five minutes, the screen saver will appear.

MCACC SETUP MIC

If you have a tripod, use it to place the microphone so that it’s about ear level at your normal listening position. If you do not have a tripod, use some other object to install the

microphone. The Full Auto MCACC display appears once the

microphone is connected.

Page 42

Note

Now Analyzing... 2/9

Environment Check

1a.Full Auto MCACC

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Cancel

Ambient Noise : OK Microphone : Speaker YES/NO :

L : YES

R : YES

C : YES

1a.Full Auto MCACC

SR : YES SBR : YES SBL : YES SL : YES SW : YES 10

OK RETRY

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Cancel

Basic Setup

3 Select preset

Surr Back System

, press and then select

RECEIVER

setting,1 select an MCACC

START

Select Normal (Surround back), Speaker B, Front BiAmp or ZONE 2 for the Surr Back System setting

according to connections to the surround back speaker terminals.

4 Follow the instructions on-screen.

Make sure the microphone is connected, and if you’re using a subwoofer, make sure it is switched on and set to a comfortable volume level.

5 Wait for the test tones to finish, then confirm the speaker configuration in the GUI screen.

A progress report is displayed on-screen while the receiver outputs test tones to determine the speakers present in your setup. Try to be as quiet as possible while

it’s doing this.

If no operations are performed for 10 seconds while the speaker configuration check screen is being displayed, the Auto MCACC Setup will resume automatically. In this case, you don’t need to select ‘OK’ and press ENTER in step 6.

•With error messages (such as Too much ambient noise! or Check microphone.) select RETRY after checking for ambient noise (see Problems when using the Auto MCACC Setup below) and verifying the mic connection. If there doesn’t seem to be a problem, you can simply select GO NEXT and continue.

• If you see an ERR message (or the speaker configuration displayed isn’t correct), there may be a problem with the speaker connection. If selecting RETRY doesn’t work, turn off the power and check the speaker connections. If there doesn’t seem to be a problem, you can simply use / to select the speaker and / to change the setting and continue.

•If Reverse Phase is displayed, the speaker’s wiring (+ and –) may be inverted. Check the speaker connections.

– If the connections were wrong, turn off the power,

disconnect the power cord, then reconnect properly. After this, perform the Full Auto MCACC procedure again. – If the connections were right, select GO NEXT and

continue.

6 Make sure ‘OK’ is selected, then press

A progress report is displayed on-screen while the receiver outputs more test tones to determine the

optimum receiver settings for Channel Level, Speaker Distance, Standing Wave and Acoustic Cal EQ.

Again, try to be as quiet as possible while this is happening. It may take 3 to 10 minutes.

7 The Auto MCACC Setup procedure is completed and the

Home Menu

menu reappears automatically.

Be sure to disconnect the microphone from this receiver upon completion of the Auto MCACC Setup.

The settings made in the Auto MCACC Setup should give you excellent surround sound from your system, but it is also possible to adjust these settings manually using The

Advanced MCACC menu on page 77 or The system and the other setup on page 90.

ENTER

The configuration shown on-screen should reflect the actual speakers you have.

1• If you are planning on bi-amping your front speakers, or setting up a separate sp eaker system in another room, read through Surround back

speaker setting on page 91 and make sure to connect your speakers as necessary before continuing to step 4.

• If you have THX-certified speakers, select Return, then select Auto MCACC for the THX speaker setting. See Automatic MCACC (Expert) on page 78 for more on this.

2 The six MCACC presets are used for storing surround sound settings for different listening positions. Simply choose an unused preset for now

n rename it later in Data Management on page 88).

(you c

3Note that correction curves are saved only when set to SYMMETRY. Select Return, then select Auto MCACC to save other correction curves

(such as ALL CH ADJ and FRONT ALIGN). See Automatic MCACC (Expert) on page 78 for more on this. 4 Do not adjust the volume during the test tones. This may result in incorrect speaker settings. 5If the speaker is not pointed to the microphone (listening position) or when using speakers that affect the phase (dipole speakers, reflective

speakers, etc.), Reverse Phase may be displayed even if the speakers are properly connected. 6 You can also choose to view the settings from the MCACC Data Check screen. See Checking MCACC Data on page 86 for more on this. 7• Depending on the characteristics of your room, sometimes identical speakers with cone sizes of around 12 cm will end up with different size

settings. You can correct the setting manually using the Manual speaker setup on page 90.

• The subwoofer distance setting may be farther than the actual distance from the listening position. This setting should be ac

delay and room characteristics into account) and generally does not need to be changed.

• If Auto MCACC Setup measurement results are incorrect due to the interaction of the speakers and viewing environment, we recommend

adjusting the settings manually.

e (taking

curat

Page 43

Basic Setup

DVD BD DVR HDMI

TV CD CD-R

TUNER

VIDEO

iPod USB SIRIUSXM

RECEIVER

SOURCE

T.ED I T GUIDE

TOP MENU BAND

RETURN

iPod CTRL

HOME MENU

LIST

TOOLS

CATEGORY

AUDIO

PARAMETER

ENTER

TUNE

PRESET PRESET

TUNE

VIDEO

PARAMETER

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

a.Manual SP Setup

b. Input Setup

c. OSD Language d. Other Setup

4.SystemSetup

Note

4b.Input Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

Input : DVD

Input Name : Rename

Digital In : COAX-1 HDMI Input :

---

Input Skip : OFF

Component In : Comp-1 12V Trigger1 : OFF 12V Trigger2 : OFF

Problems when using the Auto MCACC Setup

If the room environment is not optimal for the Auto MCACC Setup (too much background noise, echo off the walls, obstacles blocking the speakers from the microphone) the final settings may be incorrect. Check for household appliances (air conditioner, fridge, fan, etc.), that may be affecting the environment and switch them off if necessary. If there are any instructions showing in the front panel display, please follow them.

• Some older TVs may interfere with the operation of the microphone. If this seems to be happening, switch off the TV when doing the Auto MCACC Setup.

The Input Setup menu

You only need to make settings in the Input Setup menu if you didn’t hook up your digital equipment according to the default settings (see Input function default and possible settings on page 44). In this case, you need to tell the receiver what equipment is hooked up to which terminal so the buttons on the remote control correspond to the components you’ve connected.

1 Switch on the receiver and your TV. Use  RECEIVER to switch on.

2 Press on the remote control, then press HOME MENU

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) screen appears on your TV.

Use /// and ENTER to navigate through the screens and select menu items. Press RETURN to confirm and exit the current menu.

3 Select ‘

4 Select ‘

System Setup

Input Setup

’ from the

Input : DVD

Input Name : Rename Input Skip : OFF

Digital In : COAX-1 HDMI Input : Component In : Comp-1 12V Trigger1 : OFF 12V Trigger2 : OFF

HOME MENU

System Setup

4b.Input Setup

A/V RECEIVER

---

menu.

5 Select the input function that you want to set up.

The default names correspond with the names next to the terminals on the rear panel (such as DVD or VIDEO) which, in turn, correspond with the names on the remote control.

6 Select the input(s) to which you’ve connected your component.

For example, if your DVD player only has an optical output, you will need to change the DVD input function’s Digital In setting from COAX-1 (default) to the optical input you’ve connected it to. The numbering (OPT-1 to 3) corresponds with the numbers beside the inputs on the back of the receiver.

•If your component is connected via a component video cable to an input terminal other than the default, you must tell the receiver which input terminal your component is connected to, or else you may see the S-Video or composite video signals instead of the component video signals.

7 When you’re finished, proceed to the settings for other inputs.

There are three optional settings in addition to the assignment of the input jacks:

• Input Name – You can choose to rename the input function for easier identification. Select Rename to do so, or Default to return to the system default.

• Input Skip – When set to ON, that input is skipped when selecting the input using INPUT SELECT or the front panel INPUT SELECTOR dial. (DVD and other inputs can be still be selected directly with the input function buttons.)

• 12V Trigger1/2 – After connecting a component to one of the 12 volt triggers (see Switching components on and off using the 12 volt trigger on page 36), select MAIN, ZONE 2, ZONE 3 (VSX-23TXH only) or OFF for the correspondin

trigger setting to switch it on automatically along with the (main or sub) zone specified.

1For high-definition video (using component video connections), or when digital video conversion is switched off (in Setting the Video options

on page 68), you must connect your TV to this receiver using the same type of video cable as you used to connect your video component.

Exit Finish

8 When you’re finished, press

RETURN

You will return to the System Setup menu.

Page 44

Basic Setup

Input function default and possible settings

The terminals on the receiver generally correspond to the name of one of the input functions. If you have connected components to this receiver differently from (or in addition to) the defaults below, see The Input Setup menu on page 43 to tell the receiver how you’ve connected up. The dots () indicate possible assignments.

Input function

DVD COAX-1  BD (BD)

TV/SAT OPT-1 

DVR OPT-2 

VIDEOc/VIDEO 1

VIDEO 2

HDMI 1 HDMI 2 (HDMI-2)

HDMI 3

HDMI 4

iPod/USB

CD COAX-2

CD-R/TAPE 

TUNER

MULTI CH IN

SIRIUS 

a.With KURO LINK set to ON, assignments cannot be made (see

KURO LINK on page 63). b.This assignment is fixed and cannot be changed. c. VSX-23TXH only d. VSX-21TXH only

Digital HDMI

OPT-3 

Input Terminals

(HDMI-1)

(HDMI-3)

(HDMI-4)



Component

IN 1



IN 2



Page 45

Basic playback

Note

DVD BD DVR HDMI

TV CD CD-R

TUNER

VIDEO

iPod USB SIRIUSXM

123

HDMI OUT

RECEIVER

SOURCE

INPUT

SELECT

AUTO/ALC/

DIRECT

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

HDD DVD

STANDARD

STEREO

ADV SURR

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

Chapter 5:

Basic playback

Playing a source

Here are the basic instructions for playing a source (such as a DVD disc) with your home theater system.

When using a surround back speaker, 2D+PLIIx MOVIE is displayed when playing Dolby Digital 5.1- channel signals, and DTS+Neo:6 is displayed when playing DTS 5.1-channel signals.

When not using a surround back speak

er, DO

LBY

DIGITAL is displayed when playing Dolby Digital 5.1-

channel signals. If the display does not correspond to the input signal and

listening mode, check the connections and settings.

4 Use the volume control to adjust the volume level.

Turn down the volume of your TV so that all sound is coming from the speakers connected to this receiver.

1 Switch on your system components and receiver.

Start by switching on the playback component (for example a DVD player), your TV

and subwoofer (if you

have one), then the receiver (press  RECEIVER).

•Make sure the setup microphone is disconnected.

2 Select the input function you want to play.

You can use the input function buttons on the remote control, INPUT SELECT, or the front panel INPUT

SELECTOR dial.

3 Press , then press (

AUTO SURR/ALC/STREAM DIRECT

SURROUND

AUTO/ALC/DIRECT

) to select ‘

’ and start playback of the source.

AUTO

If you’re playing a Dolby Digital or DTS surround sound DVD disc, you should hear surround sound. If you are playing a stereo source, you will only hear sound from the front left/right speakers in the default listening mode.

•See also Listening to your system on page 56 for information on different ways of listening to sources.

It is possible to check on the front panel display whether or not multi-channel playback is being performed properly.

Playing a source with HDMI connection

•Use connected to (for example,

You can also perform the same operation by using the

INPUT SELECTOR dial on the front panel or by pressing HDMI on the remote control repeatedly.

INPUT SELECT

to select the HDMI input you’ve

HDMI 1

• Set the HDMI parameter in Setting the Audio options on page 66 to THROUGH if you want to hear HDMI audio output from your TV or flat panel TV (no sound will be heard from this receiver).

• If the video signal does not appear on your TV or flat panel TV, try adjusting the resolution settings on your component or display. Note that some components (such as video game units) have resolutions that may not be converted. In this case, use an analog video connection.

• You can’t hear HD

MI audio throu

gh this receiver’s

digital out jack.

1Make sure that the TV’s video input is set to this receiver (for example, if you connected this receiver to the VIDEO jacks on your TV, make sure

that the VIDEO input is now selected). 2 If you need to manually switch the input signal type press SIGNAL SEL (page 61). 3 • You may need to check the digital audio output settings on your DVD player or digital satellite receiver. It should be set to output Dolby

Digital, DTS and 88.2 kHz / 96 kHz PCM (2 channel) audio, and if there is an MPEG audio option, set this to convert the MPEG audio to PCM.

• Depending on your DVD player or source discs, you may only get digital 2 channel stereo and analog sound. In this case, the receiver must be

set to a multichannel listening mode (see

sound.

Listening in surround sound on page 56

if you need to do this) if you want multichannel surround

Page 46

Note

Basic playback

Selecting the multichannel analog inputs

If you have connected a decoder or a DVD player as above, you must select the analog multichannel inputs for surround sound playback.

1 Make sure you have set the playback source to the proper output setting.

For example, you might need to set your DVD player to output multichannel analog audio.

2Use

INPUT SELECT

to select

MULTI CH IN

You can also use the INPUT SELECTOR dial on the front panel.

•Depending on the DVD player you’re using, the analog output level of the subwoofer channel may be too low. In this case, the output level of the subwoofer can be increased by 10 dB in the Multi Ch In Setup in Other Setup. For details, see Multi Channel Input Setup on page 94.

Playing an iPod

This receiver has a dedicated iPod terminal that will allow you to control playback of audio content from your iPod using the controls of this receiver.

1 Switch on the receiver and your TV.

See Connecting an iPod on page 38.

•It is also possible to operate the iPod on the iPod itself, without using the TV screen. For details, see Switching the iPod controls on page 47.

2 Press receiver to the

iPod USB

iPod/USB

on the remote control to switch the

Loading appears in the GUI screen while the receiver

verifies the connection and retrieves data from the iPod. When the display shows iPod top menu you’re ready to

play music from the iPod.

• Main Zone:

iPod

Playlists

Artists Albums Songs Podcasts Genres Composers Audiobooks 1 / 9

A/V RECEIVER

iPod CTRL

• Sub Zone:

Genres

iPod

] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]

[ Playlists [ Artists [ Albums [ Songs [ Podcasts [ [ Composers [ Audiobooks 1/9

Playing back audio files stored on an iPod

To navigate songs on your iPod, you can take advantage of the GUI screen of your TV connected to this receiver. You can also control all operations for music in the front panel display of this receiver.

Finding what you want to play

When your iPod is connected to this receiver, you can browse songs stored on your iPod by playlist, artist name, album name, song name, genre or composer, similar to using your iPod directly.

1Use

/

to select a category, then press

ENTER

browse that category.

•To return to the previous level any time, press

RETURN.

2Use

/

to browse the selected category (e.g.,

albums).

•Use / to move to previous/next levels.

1• When playback from the multichannel inputs is selected, only the volume and channel levels can be set.

• You can’t listen to your speaker B system during playback from the multichannel inputs.

• With MULTI CH IN inputs, it is possible to play pictures simultaneously. For details, see Multi Channel Input Setup on page 94.

2 • This system is compatible with the audio and video of the iPod nano, iPod fifth generation (audio only), iPod classic, iPod touch and iPhone.

However, some of the functions may be restricted for some models. The system is not compatible with the iPod shuffle.

•

Compatibility may vary depending on the software version of your iPod and iPhone. Please be sure to use the latest available software

version.

• iPod and iPhone are licensed for reproduction of non-copyrighted materials or materials the user is legally permitted to reproduce.

• Features such as the equalizer cannot be controlled using this receiver, and we recommend switching the equalizer off before connecting.

• Pioneer cannot under any circumstances accept responsibility for any direct or indirect loss arising from any inconvenience or loss of

recorded material resulting from the iPod failure.

• When listening to a track on the iPod in the main zone, it is possible to control the sub zone, but not to listen to a different track in the sub

zone from the one playing in the main zone. 3 The controls of your iPod will be inoperable when connected to this receiver. 4• Note that characters that cannot be displayed on this receiver are displayed as #.

is feature is not available for photos or video clips on your iPod. To display video clips, switch iPod operation to the iPod (see Switching

• T

the iPod controls on page 47).

Page 47

Basic playback

Note

Play mode

Track title

Album title

Artist name

Track Title

Artist Name

Genre : xxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter Number : xxx/xxx

xxxx/xxxx

Now Playing

Album Title

iPod

iPod CTRL

Top Menu

List

Shuffle Songs

PLAY 3:02 -2:02

Playing time File information

Track number

Track Title

Shuffle Songs

3:02 -2:02

Artist Name

Album Title

Play

xxxx/xxxx

Chap

xxx/xxx

Play mode

Track title

Album title

Artist name

Playing time

File information

Track number

3 Continue browsing until you arrive at what you want to play, then press



to start playback.

• Main Zone:

• Sub Zone:

Navigation through categories on your iPod looks like this:

Playlists  Songs Artists  Albums  Songs Albums  Songs Songs Podcasts Genres  Artists  Albums  Songs Composers  Albums  Songs Audiobooks Shuffle Songs

Tip

•You can play all of the songs in a particular category by selecting the All item at the top of each category list. For example, you can play all the songs by a particular artist.

Basic playback controls

The following table shows the basic playback controls for your iPod. Press iPod USB to switch the remote control to the iPod/USB operation mode.

Button What it does

 Press to start playback.

If you start playback when something other than a song is selected, all the songs that fall into that category will play.

 Pauses/unpauses playback. / Press and hold during playback to start scanning. / Press to skip to previous/next track.

Press repeatedly to switch between

Repeat All

and

Repeat Off

Repeat One

Press repeatedly to switch between Shuffle

Songs, Shuffle Albums and Shuffle Off.

DISP Press repeatedly to change the song playback

information displayed in the front panel display.

ENTER When browsing, press to move to next levels.

During playback, press to set the play and pause

modes. RETURN When browsing, press to move to previous levels. / When browsing, press to move to pr evious/next

levels.

/ During Audiobook playback, press to switch the

playback speed: Faster  Normal  Slower

TOP MENU

Switching the iPod controls

Press to return to the iPod top menu screen.

You can switch over the iPod controls between the iPod and the receiver.

1Press

iPod CTRL

to switch the iPod controls.

This enables operation and display on your iPod, and this receiver’s remote control and GUI screen become

inactive.

2Press

iPod CTRL

again to switch back to the receiver

controls.

1If you’re in the song category, you can also press ENTER to start playback. 2 You cannot use this function, when an iPod of fifth generation or iPod nano of first generation is connected. 3 When this function is set, iPod images cannot be played on this receiver. However, when video clips recorded on the iPod are played, the

playback picture is displayed.

Page 48

Note

USB Top

[ Music

]

[ Photos

]

[ Slideshow Setup

]

1/3

USB Top

Music

Photos Slideshow Setup

1/3

A/V RECEIVER

Track Title

USB

Top Menu

Return

Random On

PLAY 3:02 -2:02

Artist Name

Now Playing

Album Title

Genre : xxxxxxxxxxx

Format : xxxxxxxxxxx

Bit Rate : xxxxxxxxxxx

xxxx/xxxx

Play mode

Track title or File name

Album title

Artist name

Playing time

File information

Track number

Track Title

Random On

3:02 -2:02

Artist Name

Album Title

Play

xxxx/xxxx

Play mode

Track title or File name

Album title

Artist name

Playing time

Track number

Basic playback

Playing a USB device

It is possible to playback files1 using the USB interface on the front of this receiver.

1 Switch on the receiver and your TV.

See Connecting a USB device on page 39.

2 Press receiver to the

iPod USB

iPod/USB

on the remote control to switch the

Loading appears in the GUI screen as this receiver starts

recognizing the USB device connected. display shows USB Top menu you’re ready to playback from the USB device.

• Main Zone:

USB Top

A/V RECEIVER

Music

Photos Slideshow Setup

1/3

• Sub Zone:

When the

Playing back audio files stored on a USB memory device

The maximum number of levels that you can select in Step 2 (below) is 8. Also, you can display and play back up to 30 000 folders and files within a USB memory device.

1Use

2Use browse that folder.

3 Continue browsing until you arrive at what you want to play, then press

/

to select ‘Music’ from the

Top Menu

1 / 9

Folder1

Folder2 Folder3 Music1 Music2 Music3 Music4 Music5

USB Top

Music

A/V RECEIVER

/

to select a folder, then press

ENTER

•To return to the previous level any time, press RETURN.



to start playback.

• Main Zone:

menu.

Return

Important

If an Over Current message lights in the display, the power requirements of the USB device are too high for

this receiver. Try following the points below:

• Switch the receiver off, then on again.

• Reconnect the USB device with the receiver switched off.

• Use a dedicated AC adapter (supplied with the device) for USB power.

If this doesn’t remedy the problem, it is likely your USB device is incompatible.

1• Compatible USB devices include external magnetic hard drives, portable flash memory (particularly keydrives) and digital audio players

(MP3 players) of format FAT16/32. It is not possible to connect this unit to a personal computer for USB playback.

• Pioneer cannot guarantee compatibility (operation and/or bus power) with all USB mass storage devices and assumes no responsibility for

any loss of data that may occur when connected to this receiver. 2Make sure the receiver is in standby when disconnecting the USB device. 3• When a USB memory device with a large capacity is connected, it may take some time to read all the contents.

• This receiver does not support a 4Note that characters that cannot be displayed on this receiver are displayed as #. 5 • If the file selected cannot be played back, this receiver automatically skips to the next file playable.

• When the file currently being played back has no title assigned to it, the file name is displayed in the GUI screen instead; when neither the

album name nor the artist name is present, the row is displayed as a blank space.

• Playback stops when the last song in a USB memory device is played back to the end.

• Copyrighted audio files cannot be played back on this receiver.

• DRM-protected audio files cannot be played back on this receiver.

• Sub Zone:

USB hub.

Page 49

Basic playback

Note

USB Top

Music

Photos

Slideshow Setup

2/3

A/V RECEIVER

USB Top

Music Photos

Slideshow Setup

3/3

A/V RECEIVER

Slideshow Setup

Return

A/V RECEIVER

Top Menu

Theme : Normal(OFF)

Interval : 5 sec BGM : ON Music Select : Select Folder1

Basic playback controls

The following table shows the basic playback controls for your USB memory device. Press iPod USB to switch the remote control to the iPod/USB operation mode.

Button What it does

 Press to start playback.  Pauses/unpauses playback. / Press and hold during playback to start scanning. / Press to skip to previous/next track.

Press repeatedly to switch between

Repeat Folder, Repeat All

and

Repeat One

Repeat Off

Press repeatedly to switch between Random On and Random Off.

DISP Press repeatedly to change the song playback

information displayed in the front panel display.

ENTER When browsing, press to move to next levels.

During playback, press to set the play and pause

modes. RETURN When browsing, press to move to previous levels. / When browsing, press to move to previous/next

levels. TOP MENU Press to return to the USB Top menu.

Playing back photo files stored on a USB memory device

1Use

/

menu.

to select ‘

Photo

s’ from the

USB Top

2Use

/

to select a folder, then press

ENTER

browse that folder.

• To return to the previous level any time, press RETURN.

3 Continue browsing until you arrive at what you want to play, then press



to start playback.

The selected content is displayed in full screen and starts a slideshow.

After a slideshow launches, pressing ENTER toggles between play and pause (only when Theme on the Slideshow Setup is set to Normal (OFF)).

Basic playback controls

Button(s) What it does

ENTER,  Starts displaying a photo and playing a slideshow.

RETURN, 







DISP

a.You can only use this button when Theme on the Slideshow Setup

is set to Normal (OFF)

Stops the Player and returns to the previous menu.

Displays the previous photo content.

Displays the next photo content. Pauses/unpauses the slideshow.

Displays the photo information.

Slideshow Setup

Make the various settings for playing slideshows of photo files here.

1Use

/

Top

menu.

to select ‘

Slideshow Setup

’ from the

USB

1 Photo files cannot be played in the sub zone. 2 If the slideshow is left in the pause mode for five minutes, the list screen reappears.

2 Select the setting you want.

• Theme – Add various effects to the slideshow.

• Interval – Set the interval for switching the photos. This may not be available depending on the Theme setting.

• BGM – Play music files stored on the USB device while displaying photos.

• Music Select – Select the folder containing the music files to be played when BGM is set to ON.

3 When you’re finished, press

RETURN

You will return to the USB Top menu.

Page 50

Basic playback

About playable file formats

The USB function of this receiver supports the following file formats. Note that some file formats are not available for playback although they are listed as playable file formats.

Music files

Category Extension Stream

MP3

WAV .wav LPCM Sampling frequency 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz

WMA .wma

a.“MPEG Layer-3 audio decoding technology licensed from Fraunhofer IIS and Thomson multimedia.”

b.Files encoded using Windows Media Codec 9 may be playable but some parts of the specific ation are not supported; specifically, Pro, Lossless,

Voice.

Photo files

Category Extension

JPEG .jpg

a.The maximum playable resolution for 4:4:4 is 5120 x 8192 pixels.

.mp3 MPEG-1, 2, 2.5 Audio Layer-3 Sampling frequency 8 kHz to 48 kHz

Quantization bitrate 16 bit Channel 2 ch Bitrate 8 kbps to 320 kbps VBR/CBR Supported/Supported

Quantization bitrate 8 bit, 16 bit Channel 2 ch, Monaural

.jpeg .jpe .jif .jfif

WMA8/9

Format Meeting the following conditions:

• Baseline JPEG format (including files recorded in Exif/DCF format)

• Y:Cb:Cr - 4:4:4a, 4:2:2 or 4:2:0

Resolution 30 to 8192 pixels vertical, 40 to 8192 pixels horizontal

Sampling frequency 8 kHz to 48 kHz Quantization bitrate 16 bit Channel 2 ch Bitrate 8 kbps to 320 kbps VBR/CBR Supported/Supported

Page 51

Basic playback

TUNERiPod USB XM SIRIUS

123

SLEEP

HDMI OUT

MCACCSIGNAL SEL

456

DIMMERA.ATTSBch

789

CLASSCH LEVELD.ACCESS

ENTER

INPUT

SELECT

T.EDIT

GUIDE

TOP MENU

BAND

RETURNCATEGORY

iPod CTRL

HOME MENU

LIST

TOOLS

AUDIO

PARAMETER

ENTER

TUNE

PRESET PRESET

TUNE

VIDEO

PARAMETER

AUTO/ALC/

DIRECT

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

HDD DVD

STANDARD

STEREO

ADV SURR

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

Listening to the radio

The following steps show you how to tune in to FM and AM radio broadcasts using the automatic (search) and manual (step) tuning functions. If you already know the frequency of the station you want, see Tuning directly to a station below. Once you are tuned to a station you can memorize the frequency for recall later—see Saving station presets below for more on how to do this.

1Press

2 Use BAND to change the band (FM or AM), if necessary.

Each press switches the band between FM and AM.

3 Tune to a station.

There are three ways to do this:

Improving FM sound

If the TUNED or STEREO indicator doesn’t light when tuning to an FM station because the signal is weak, press MPX to switch the receiver into mono reception mode. This should improve the sound quality and allow you to enjoy the broadcast.

Using Neural THX

This feature uses Neural Surround™, THX® technologies to achieve optimal surround sound from FM radio.

• While listening to FM radio, press AUTO/ALC/

See About Neural – THX Surround on page 110 for more on this.

The Neural THX mode can be selected also with

STANDARD.

TUNER

to select the tuner.

Automatic tuning – To search for stations in the

currently selected band, press and hold TUNE / for about a second. The receiver will start searching for the next station, stopping when it has found one. Repeat to search for other stations.

Manual tuning – To change the frequency one step at a time, press TUNE /.

High speed tuning – Press and hold TUNE / for high speed tuning. Release the button at the frequency you want.

DIRECT for Neural THX listening.

Tuning directly to a station

Sometimes, you’ll already know the frequency of the station you want to listen to. In this case, you can simply enter the frequency directly using the number buttons on the remote control.

1Press

Use

TUNER

to select the tuner.

BAND

to change the band (FM or AM),

necessary.

Each press switches the band between FM and AM.

3Press

D.ACCESS

(Direct Access).

4 Use the number buttons to enter the frequency of the radio station.

For example, to tune to 106.00 (FM), press 1, 0, 6, 0, 0. If you make a mistake halfway through, press D.ACCESS

twice to cancel the frequency and start over.

Saving station presets

If you often listen to a particular radio station, it’s convenient to have the receiver store the frequency for easy recall whenever you want to listen to that station. This saves the effort of manually tuning in each time. This receiver can memorize up to 63 stations, stored in seven banks, or classes (A to G) of 9 stations each. When saving an FM frequency, the MPX setting (see above) is also stored.

1 Tune to a station you want to memorize.

See Listening to the radio above for more on this.

2Press

T.EDIT (TUNER EDIT

The display shows PRESET MEMORY, then a blinking memory class.

3Press press

CLASS

to select one of the seven classes, then

PRESET /

to select the station preset you

want.

You can also use the number buttons to select a station preset.

4Press

ENTER

After pressing ENTER, the preset class and number stop blinking and the receiver stores the station.

Naming station presets

For easier identification, you can name your station presets.

1 Choose the station preset you want to name.

See Listening to station presets below for how to do this.

2Press

The display shows PRESET NAME, then a blinking cursor at the first character position.

T.EDIT (TUNER EDIT

Page 52

Note

Basic playback

3 Input the name you want.

Choose from the following characters for a name up to eight characters long.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789

!”#$%&’()

Use / to select a character, / to set the position, and ENTER to confirm your selection.

•To erase a station name, simply repeat steps 1 to 3 and input eight spaces instead of a name.

• Once you have named a station preset, you can press DISP when listening to a station to switch the display between name and frequency.

Listening to station presets

You will need to have some presets stored to do this. See Saving station presets on page 51 if you haven’t done this already.

1 Press

2 Press is stored.

Press repeatedly to cycle through classes A to G.

3 Press want.

• You can also use the number buttons on the remote control to recall the station preset.

∗+,–./:;<=>?@[ \ ]^_{|} ˜ [space]

Tip

TUNER

to select the tuner.

CLASS

to select the class in which the station

PRESET /

to select the station preset you

Listening to Satellite Radio

To listen to Satellite Radio, you’ll need to connect either a SIRIUS or XM Satellite Radio tuner (sold separately) to your satellite-ready receiver. Satellite Radio is available to residents of the US (except Alaska and Hawaii) and Canada.

Satellite Radio delivers a variety of commercial-free music from categories ranging from Pop, Rock, Country, R&B, Dance, Jazz, Classical and many more plus coverage of all the top professional and college sports including play by play games from select leagues and teams. Additional programming includes expert sports talk, uncensored entertainment, comedy, family programming, local traffic and weather and news from your mos

Wh to activate and subscribe to begin enjoying the service.

Easy to follow installation and setup instructions are provided with the satellite tuners. Whichever service you choose, there are a variety of programming packages available, including the option of adding “The Best of SIRIUS” programming to your XM tuner or “The Best of XM” programming to your SIRIUS tuner, enabling you to enjoy the most popular programming among both services. The “Best of” packages are not available to SIRIUS or XM Canada subscribers at this time.

Family friendly pac channels featuring content that may be inappropriate for children.

To subscribe to XM, U.S. customers should visit xmradio.com or call 1-800-XMRADIO (1-800-967-2346); Canadian customers should visit xmradio.ca or call XM Listener Care at 1-877-GETXMSR (1-877-438-9677).

To subscribe to SIRIUS, U.S. and Canadian customers can call 1-888-539-SIRI (1-888-539-7474) or visit sirius.com (US) or siriuscanada.ca (Canada).

t trusted sources.

ether you purchase a SIRIUS or XM tuner, you’ll need

kages are al

so available to restrict

1 You can check the strength of reception in Using the XM Menu (page 54).

Listening to XM Radio

For more details, see About SIRIUS and XM on page 111.

• Press

For best reception, you may need to move the XM MiniTuner antenna near a window (the southernmost window should produce the best results).

•If after pressing XM the display shows Check XM

to switch to the

Tuner or Check Antenna, try disconnecting the

receiver and tuner connections, and then plugging them back in.

XM RADIO

input.

Page 53

Basic playback

Note

Signal strength

Preset class

Category

Song name

Channel name

Artist name

Channel number

Preset number

Life is Like a Wind

Rie fue

The Blend

Preset Number Channel Number

Category : Hits

Top Menu Preset

Preset Class : A

Category

Rie fue

The Blend A1

XM25

Hits

Life is Like a Wind

Signal strength

Preset class

Category

Song name

Channel name

Artist name Preset number

Channel number

Channel Guide

Exit

A/V RECEIVER

0 RADIO ID

1 Preview 2 Highway 1 3 America 4 Hank’s Place 5 Fifties (50’s) 6 Sixties (60’s) 7 Seventies (70’s)

After connecting, you will be able to use this receiver to select channels and navigate categories using the GUI

screen.

The information displayed is as follows:

• Main Zone:

• Sub Zone:

Selecting channels and browsing by genre

From the XM Channel Guide, you can browse XM Radio channels in the order that they appear, or you can narrow your channel search by genre.

• Main Zone:

• Sub Zone:

1 It’s easiest if you have your TV switched on to take advantage of the GUI screens. You can, however, use just the front panel display to do

everything if you prefer. 2 Select 0 (RADIO ID) from the GUI screen to check the Radio ID of the XM Mini-Tuner. 3 You can reset the channel presets and memory in Resetting the system on page 72.

Channel Guide

[ 0 RADIO ID [ 1 Preview [ 2 Highway 1 [ 3 America [ 4 Hank’s Place [

5 Fifties (50’s) [ 6 Sixties (60’s) [ 7 Seventies (70’s) 1/xxx

•Press navigate through the channels one at time with then press

/

to enter the XM Channel Guide, then

ENTER

to listen to the XM radio broadcast.

/

•To browse by genre, first press CATEGORY, use / to select a genre, then press ENTER.

• To cancel and exit any time, press RETURN.

Tip

• You can select channels directly by pressing D.ACCESS, then the three-digit channel number.

•You can press DISP to change XM Radio information in the front panel display.

•The currently selected channel is automatically chosen (without pressing ENTER) after 5 seconds.

Using XM HD Surround

XM HD Surround uses Neural Surround™, THX® technologies to achieve optimal surround sound from XM radio. XM HD Surround Sound is available on select XM channels only.

• While listening to XM Radio, press DIRECT

for XM HD Surround listening.

See About Neural – THX Surround on page 110 for more on this.

XM HD Surround can be selected also with STANDARD.

Saving channel presets

This receiver can memorize up to 63 channels, stored in seven banks, or classes (A to G) of 9 channels each.

1 Select the channel you want to memorize.

See Selecting channels and browsing by genre above.

2Press

T.EDIT

The display shows a blinking memory class.

3Press press

CLASS

to select one of the seven classes, then

/

to select the channel preset you want.

You can also use the number buttons to select a preset.

• The default for all presets is XM1.

] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]

4Press

After pressing ENTER, the preset class and number stop blinking and the receiver stores the XM channel.

Tip

ENTER

•You can also press MEMORY during reception display to save the information of up to five songs. See Using the XM Menu below to recall this information.

AUTO/ALC/

Page 54

Note

Johnny B. Goode

Chuck Berry

Fifties (50’s)

Preset Number Channel Number

Category : Decades

Composer : Chuck Berry

Top Menu Preset

Preset Class : A

Category

A1 123

Signal strength

Preset class

Category

Song name

Channel name

Artist name

Composer name

Channel number

Preset number

Chuck Berry

Fifties (50’s) A1

SR123

Decades

Chuck Berry

Johnny B. Goode

Signal strength

Preset class

Category

Song name

Channel name

Artist name

Composer name

Preset number

Channel number

Basic playback

Listening to channel presets

1 Press is stored.

Press repeatedly to cycle through classes A to G.

2 Press

Using the XM Menu

The XM Menu provides additional XM Radio features.

1 Press

2Use

Choose from the following menu items:

3 When you’re finished press the reception display.

CLASS

to select the class in which the channel

/

to select the channel preset you want.

• You can also use the number buttons on the remote control to recall the channel preset.

TOP MENU

/

to select a menu item, then press

ENTER

• Channel Skip/Add – Use / and ENTER to select channels you would like to remove/restore from/to the channel guide.

• Antenna Aiming – Check the strength of satellite and terrestrial reception.

• Memory Recall – Use / to browse your saved song information (see Tip on page 55).

TOP MENU

to return to

Listening to SIRIUS Radio

For more details, see About SIRIUS and XM on page 111.

• Press

For best reception, you may need to move the SiriusConnect™ tuner antenna near a window (refer to the manual for the SiriusConnect™ Home tuner for antenna placement recommendations).

•If after pressing SIRIUS the display shows Antenna

After connecting, you will be able to use this receiver to select channels and navigate categories using the GUI screen.

• Main Zone:

SIRIUS

to switch to the SIRIUS input.

Error, try disconnecting the antenna and

reconnecting.

If the display shows Check Sirius Tuner, check the connection of the AC adapter and this receiver to the SiriusConnect™ tuner.

The information displayed is as follows:

1 You can reset the Channel Skip/Add settings in Resetting the system on page 72. 2• In order to activate your radio subscription, you will need the SIRIUS ID (SID) which uniquely identifies your tuner. The SID may be found on

a sticker located on the packaging, or on the bottom of the tuner itself. The label will have a printed 12-digit SID number. When you have located the SID, write it down in the space provided near the end of this manual. Contact SIRIUS on the internet at: https://

activate.siriusradio.com

• Follow the prompts to activate your subscription, or you can also call SIRIUS toll-free at 1-888-539-SIRIUS (1-888-539-7474).

• Select 0 (SIRIUS ID) from the GUI screen to check the Radio ID of the SiriusConnect™ tuner (see Selecting channels and browsing by genre

below). 3 You can check the strength of reception in Using the SIRIUS Menu on page 55. 4 It’s easiest if you have your T

everything if you prefer.

V switched on to take advantage of the GUI screens.

• Sub Zone:

You can, however, use just the front panel display to do

Page 55

Basic playback

Channel Guide

Exit

A/V RECEIVER

184 Weather

185 TWN 186 Hardcore Sports 187 InfoPlus 188 RCI Plus 192 Rock Velours 193 energie2 198 Playboy

Note

Selecting channels and browsing by genre

From the SIRIUS Channel Guide, you can browse SIRIUS Radio channels in the order that they appear, or you can narrow your channel search by genre.

• Main Zone:

• Sub Zone:

Channel Guide

•Press

/

[ 184 Weather [ 185 TWN [ 186 Hardcore Sports ] [ 187 InfoPlus [ 188 RCI Plus [

192 Rock Velours [ 193 energie2 [ 198 Playboy 1/xxx

to enter the SIRIUS Channel Guide, then navigate through the channels one at time with then press

ENTER

to listen to the SIRIUS radio

] ]

] ] ] ] ]

/

broadcast.

•To browse by genre, first press CATEGORY, use / to select a genre, then press ENTER.

• To cancel and exit any time, press RETURN.

Tip

• You can select channels directly by pressing D.ACCESS, then the three-digit channel number.

•You can press DISP to change SIRIUS Radio information in the front panel display.

•The currently selected channel is automatically chosen (without pressing ENTER) after 10 seconds.

Saving channel presets

This receiver can memorize up to 63 channels, stored in seven banks, or classes (A to G) of 9 channels each.

1 Select the channel you want to memorize.

See Selecting channels and browsing by genre above.

2Press

The display shows a blinking memory class.

3Press press

You can also use the number buttons to select a preset.

4Press

After pressing ENTER, the preset class and number stop blinking and the receiver stores the SIRIUS channel.

T.EDIT

CLASS

to select one of the seven classes, then

/

to select the channel preset you want.

ENTER

Tip

•You can also press MEMORY during reception display to save the information of up to five songs. See Using the SIRIUS Menu below to recall this information.

Listening to channel presets

1Press

CLASS

to select the class in which the channel

is stored.

Press repeatedly to cycle through classes A to G.

2Press

/

to select the channel preset you want.

• You can also use the number buttons on the remote control to recall the channel preset.

Using the SIRIUS Menu

The SIRIUS Menu provides additional SIRIUS Radio features.

1Press

2Use

Choose from the following menu items:

• Channel Skip/Add – Use / and ENTER to select

• Parental Lock – Use / and ENTER to select

• Antenna Aiming – Check the strength of satellite

• Memory Recall – Use / to browse your saved

• Password Set – Set the parental lo

3 When you’re finished press the reception display.

TOP MENU

/

to select a menu item, then press

channels you would like to remove/restore from/to the channel guide.

channels you would like to place under parental lock. Channels put under parental lock are not displayed in the Channel Guide, but may be accessed by dir ectly inputting their channel number and providing the parental lock password.

and terrestrial reception.

song information (see Tip above).

ck password.

TOP MENU

ENTER

to return to

1 You can reset the Channel presets, Memory, Channel Skip/Add, Parental Lock and Password settings in Resetting the system on page 72.

Page 56

Note

AUTO/ALC/

DIRECT

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

HDD DVD

STANDARD

STEREO

ADV SURR

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

AUTO/ALC/

DIRECT

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

HDD DVD

STANDARD

STEREO

ADV SURR

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

Listening to your system

Chapter 6:

Listening to your system

Important

• The listening modes and many features described in this section may not be available depending on the current source, settings and status of the receiver.

Auto playback

There are many ways to listen back to sources using this receiver, but for the simplest, most direct listening option

is the Auto Surround feature. The receiver automatically detects what kind of source you’re playing and selects multichannel or stereo playback as necessary.

• While listening to a source, press , then press

AUTO/ALC/DIRECT (AUTO SURR/ALC/STREAM

DIRECT

)2 for auto playback of a source.

AUTO SURROUND shows briefly in the display before

showing the decoding or playback format. Check the digital format indicators in the front panel display to see how the source is being processed.

•If the source is Dolby Digital, DTS, or Dolby Surround encoded, the proper decoding format will automatically be selected and shows in the display.

• When listening to the FM radio, the Neural THX feature is selected automatically (see Using Neural THX on page 51 for more on this).

ALC – In the Auto level control (ALC) mode, this receiver equalizes playback sound levels.

RECEIVER

Tip

• When an ALC is selected, the effect level can be adjusted using the EFFECT parameter in Setting the Audio options on page 66.

Listening in surround sound

Using this receiver, you can listen to any source in surround sound. However, the options available will depend on your speaker setup and the type of source you’re listening to.

If you connected surround back speakers, see also Using surround back channel processing on page 59.

Standard surround sound

The following modes provide basic surround sound for stereo and multichannel sources.

• While listening to a source, press , then press

STANDARD (STANDARD SURROUND

If necessary, press repeatedly to select a listening mode.

•If the source is Dolby Digital, DTS, or Dolby Surround encoded, the proper decoding format will automatically be selected and shows in the display.

With two channel sources, you can select from:

• 2 Pro Logic IIx MOVIE – especially suited to movie sources

RECEIVER

Up to 7.1 channel sound,

1• Stereo surround (matrix) formats are decoded accordingly using Neo:6 CINEMA or 2 Pro Logic IIx MOVIE (see Listening in surround

sound above for more on these decoding formats).

• The Auto Surround feature is canceled if you connect headphones.

2• For more options using this button, see Using Stream Direct on page 59.

• The AUTO SURROUND mode cannot be selected in the following cases: – When MULTI CH IN input is selected.

– When the HDMI audio output parameter is set to THROUGH in Setting the Audio options on page 66. 3 In modes that give 6.1 channel sound, the same signal is heard from both surround back speakers. 4 The STANDARD listening mode cannot be selected in the following cases:

– When headphones are plugged in.

– When MULTI CH IN input is selected.

– When the HDMI audio output parameter is set to THROUGH in Setting the Audio options on page 66. 5If surround back channel processing (page 59) is switched OFF, or the surround back speakers are set to NO (this happens automatically if

the Surround back speaker setting on page 91 is set to anything but Normal), 2 Pro Logic IIx becomes 2 Pro Logic II (5.1 channel sound).

Page 57

Listening to your system

Note

AUTO/ALC/

DIRECT

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

HDD DVD

STANDARD

STEREO

ADV SURR

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

• 2 Pro Logic IIx MUSIC – especially suited to music sources

Up to 7.1 channel sound,

• 2 Pro Logic IIx GAME – Up to 7.1 channel sound, especially suited to video games

• 2 Pro Logic – 4.1 channel surround sound (sound from the surround speakers is mono)

• Neo:6 CINEMA – 7.1 channel sound, especially suited to movie sources

• Neo:6 MUSIC – 7.1 channel sound, especially suited to music sources

• Neural THX – Up to 7.1 channel sound, especially suited to music sources

With multichannel sources, if you have connected surround back speaker(s) and have selected SBch ON, you

can select (according to format):

• 2 Pro Logic IIx MOVIE – See above (only available when you’re using two surround back speakers)

• 2 Pro Logic IIx MUSIC – See above

• Dolby Digital EX –

Creates surround back channel sound for 5.1 channel sources and provides pure decoding for 6.1 channel sources (like Dolby Digital Surround EX)

• DTS-ES – Allows you to hear 6.1 channel playback with DTS-ES encoded sources

• DTS Neo:6 – Allows you to hear 6.1 channel playback with DTS encoded sources

Using the Home THX modes

THX and Home THX are technical standards created by THX Ltd. for cinema and home theater sound. Home THX is designed to make home theater audio sound more like what you hear in a cinema.

Different THX options will be available depending on the source and the setting for surround back channel processing (see Using surround back channel processing on page 59 for more on this).

• Press , then press select a listening mode.

THX (HOME THX

) to

With two channel sources, press THX repeatedly to select a matrix-decoding process for the THX CINEMA mode (see Using surround back channel processing on page 59 for an explanation of each process):

• 2 Pro Logic IIx MOVIE+THX CINEMA

• 2 Pro Logic+THX CINEMA

• Neo:6 CINEMA+THX CINEMA

• 2 Pro Logic IIx MUSIC+THX MUSIC

• Neo:6 MUSIC+THX MUSIC

• 2 Pro Logic IIx GAME+THX GAMES

• THX Select2 GAMES

With multichannel sources, press THX (HOME THX) repeatedly to select from:

• THX Surround EX – Allows you to hear 6.1 or 7.1 channel playback with 5.1 channel sources

• 2 Pro Logic IIx MOVIE+THX CINEMA

• THX Select2 CINEMA5 – Allows you to hear 7.1 channel playback with 5.1 channel sources

• 2 Pro Logic IIx MUSIC+THX MUSIC

•

THX Select2 MUSIC5– This mode is suited not only for sources recorded in Dolby Digital and DTS, but also to all multi-channel music sources (DVD-Audio, etc.).

• THX Select2 GAMES5 – This mode is suited to playing the sound of games.

1 When listening to 2-channel sources in Dolby Pro Logic IIx Music mode, there are three further parameters you can adjust: C.WIDTH,

DIMENSION and PANORAMA. See Setting the Audio options on page 66 to adjust them.

2 When listening to 2-channel sources in Neo:6 Cinema or Neo:6 Music mode, you can also adjust the center image effect (see Setting the Audio

options on page 66).

3 Neural THX can be selected for 2-channel signals for which the input signal is PCM (48 kHz or less), Dolby Digital, DTS or analog 2-channel

sources.

4 • When the function is set to TUNER, iPod/USB, PHONO, XM or SIRIUS, it is not possible to select 2 Pro Logic IIx GAME+THX GAMES or

THX Select2 GAME.

• The THX mode cannot be selected in the following cases: – When headphones are plugged in. – When MULTI CH IN input is selected. – When the HDMI audio output parame

• When playing an SACD, 2 Pro Logic IIx MUSIC+THX MUSIC, Neo:6 MUSIC+THX MUSIC and THX Select2 MUSIC can be selected. 5 Unavailable with only one surround back speaker connected. 6• THX CINEMA, THX MUSIC and THX GAMES can be selected when surround back processing is set to SBch OFF, when there is no surround

back speaker, or when playing 6.1- and 7.1-channel sources.

• THX CINEMA, THX MUSIC and THX GAMES can be selected when there are only front speakers and THX GAMES cannot be selected when

the function is set to TUNER, iPod/USB, PHONO, XM or SIRIUS.

7 When playing DTS-encoded sources, Neo:6 CINEMA+THX CINEMA can be selected, not THX Surround EX.

set to THROUGH in Setting the Audio options on page 66.

ter is

Page 58

Note

AUTO/ALC/

DIRECT

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

HDD DVD

STANDARD

STEREO

ADV SURR

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

AUTO/ALC/

DIRECT

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

HDD DVD

STANDARD

STEREO

ADV SURR

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

AUTO/ALC/

DIRECT

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

HDD DVD

STANDARD

STEREO

ADV SURR

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

Listening to your system

Using the Advanced surround effects

The Advanced surround effects can be used for a variety of additional surround sound effects. Most Advanced Surround modes are designed to be used with film soundtracks, but some modes are also suited for music sources. Try different settings with various soundtracks to see which you like.

• Press , then press (

ADVANCED SURROUND

listening mode.

• ACTION – Designed for action movies with dynamic soundtracks

• DRAMA – Designed for movies with lots of dialog

• SCI-FI – Designed for science fiction with lots of special effects

• MONO FILM – Creates surround sound from mono soundtracks

• ENT.SHOW – Suitable for musical sources

• EXPANDED – Creates an extra wide stereo field

• TV SURROUND – Provides surround sound for both mono and stereo TV sources

• ADVANCED GAME – Suitable for video games

• SPORTS – Suitable for sports programs

• CLASSICAL – Gives a large concert hall-type sound

• ROCK/POP – Creates a live concert sound for rock and/or pop music

• UNPLUGGED – Suitable for acoustic music sources

• EXT.STEREO – Gives multichannel sound to a stereo source, using all of your speakers

• PHONES SURR – When listening through headphones, you can still get the effect of overall surround.

ADV SURR

) repeatedly to select a

Tip

• When an Advanced Surround listening mode is selected, the effect level can be adjusted using the

EFFECT parameter in Setting the Au

dio options on

page 66.

Listening in stereo

When you select STEREO, you will hear the source through just the front left and right speakers (and possibly your subwoofer depending on your speaker settings). Dolby Digital, DTS and WMA9 Pro multichannel sources are downmixed to stereo.

• While listening to a source, press , then press

STEREO

for stereo playback.

RECEIVER

Press repeatedly to switch between:

• STEREO – The audio is heard with your surround settings and you can still use the Midnight, Loudness, and Tone functions.

• F.S.SURR FOCUS – See Using Front Stage Surround Advance below for more on this.

• F.S.SURR WIDE – See Using Front Stage Surround Advance below for more on this.

Using Front Stage Surround Advance

The Front Stage Surround Advance function allows you to create natural surround sound effects using just the front speakers and the subwoofer.

1• Depending on the source and the sound mode you have selected, you may not get sound from the surround back speakers in your setup.

For more on this, refer to Using surround back channel processing on page 59.

• If you press ADV SURR when the headphones are connected, the PHONES SURR mode will automatically be selected. 2 Use with Dolby Pro Logic for a stereo surround effect (stereo field is wider than Standard modes with Dolby Digital sources). 3 • The STEREO, F.S.SURR FOCUS and F.S.S WIDE mode cannot be selected in the following cases:

– When MULTI CH IN input is selected. – When the HDMI audio output parameter is set to THROUGH in Setting the Audio options on page 66.

• When headphones are plugged in, the F.S.SURR FOCUS and F.S.SURR WIDE are cannot be selected.

Page 59

Listening to your system

Note

RECEIVER

FOCUS position

(Recommended)

WIDE position

Front left

speaker

Front right

speaker

Front left

speaker

Front right

speaker

AUTO/ALC/

DIRECT

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

HDD DVD

STANDARD

STEREO

ADV SURR

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

INPUT

123

SLEEP

HDMI OUT

MCACCSIGNAL SEL

456

DIMMERA.ATTSBch

789

CLASS

MASTER VOLUME

CH LEVELD.ACCESS

ENTER

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

ANT MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

• While listening to a source, press , then press

STEREO

to select Front Stage Surround Advance

modes.

• STEREO – See Listening in stereo above for more on this.

• F.S.SURR FOCUS – Use to provide a rich surround sound effect directed to the center of where the front left and right speakers sound projection area converges.

• F.S.SURR WIDE – Use to provide a surround sound effect to a wider area than FOCUS mode.

Using Stream Direct

Use the Stream Direct modes when you want to hear the truest possible reproduction of a source. All unnecessary signal processing is bypassed, and you’re left with the pure analog or digital sound source.

• PURE DIRECT – Analog sources are heard without any digital processing. No sound is output from the Speaker B in this mode.

Using surround back channel processing

• Default setting: SBch ON

You can have the receiver automatically use 6.1 or 7.1 decoding for 6.1 encoded sources (for example, Dolby Digital EX or DTS-ES), or you can choose to always use

6.1 or 7.1 decoding (for example, with 5.1 encoded material). With 5.1 encoded sources, a surround back channel will be generated, but the material may sound better in the 5.1 format for which it was originally encoded (in which case, you can simply switch surround back channel processing off).

• With a 7.1-channel surround system, audio signals that have undergone matrix decoding processing through surround back channel processing to which the Up Mix function is added are output from the surround back speakers.

• While listening to a source, press , then press DIRECT

Check the digital format indicators in the front panel display to see how the source is being processed.

• AUTO SURROUND – See Auto playback on page 56.

• ALC – Listening in Auto level control mode (page 56).

• DIRECT – Sources are heard according to the

1 When using F.S.SURR WIDE, a better effect can be obtained if the Full Auto MCACC procedure under Advanced MCACC is performed. For

more on this, refer to Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41.

2 When headphones are plugged in, the AUTO SURROUND and DIRECT are cannot be selected.

AUTO/ALC/DIRECT (AUTO SURR/ALC/STREAM

) to select the mode you want.

settings made in the Surround Setup (speaker setting, channel level, speaker distance, acoustic calibration EQ, and X-curve), as well as with dual mono, the input attenuator, and any sound delay settings. You will hear sources according to the number of channels in the signal.

• Press , then press

SBch

repeatedly to

cycle the surround back channel options.

Each press cycles through the options as follows:

• SBch ON –

Matrix decoding processing for generating the surround back component from the surround component is turned on.

• SBch AUTO – Matrix decoding processing for generating the surround back component from the surround component is switched automatically. Matrix decoding processing is only performed when surround back channel signals are detected in the input signals.

• SBch OFF –

Matrix decoding processing for generating the surround back component from the surround component is turned off.

Page 60

Note

INPUT SELECTOR

STANDBY/ON

PHONES

BAND

TUNE

PHASE

CONTROL

AUTO SURR /ALC/

STREAM DIRECT

STEREO

ADVANC

MCACC

MULTI-ZONE

ON / OFF

HDMIPQLS

PRESET

TUNER EDIT

ENTER

PUSH OPEN

Listening to your system

Using the Virtual Surround Back mode

•Default setting: OFF

When you’re not using surround back speakers, selecting this mode allows you to hear a virtual surround back channel through your surround speakers. You can choose to listen to sources with no surround back channel information, or if the material sounds better in the format (for example, 5.1) for which it was originally encoded, you can have the receiver only apply this effect to 6.1 encoded sources like Dolby Digital EX or DTS-ES.

• Press

SBch

repeatedly to cycle the virtual surround

back channel options.

Each press cycles through the options as follows:

• VirtualSB ON – Virtual Surrou nd Ba ck is al ways us ed (for example, on 5.1 encoded material)

• VirtualSB AUTO – Virtual Surround Back is automatically applied to 6.1 encoded sources (for example, Dolby Digital EX or DTS-ES)

• VirtualSB OFF – Virtual Surround Back mode is switched off

Setting the Up Mix function

In a 7.1-channel surround system with surround speakers placed directly at the sides of the listening position, the surround sound of 5.1-channel sources is heard from the side. The Up Mix function mixes the sound of the surround speakers with the surround back speakers so that the surround sound is heard from diagonally to the rear as it should be.

•Using the Up Mix function is effective when the speakers in the 7.1-channel surround system are set up as recommended in the example on page 18.

•Depending on the positions of the speakers and the sound source, in some cases it may not be possible to achieve good results. In this case, set the setting to OFF.

Up Mix OFF Up Mix ON

L R

SL SR

L R

SBL SBR SBL SBR

1 Switch the receiver into standby.

2 While holding down press

 STANDBY/ON

ENTER

on the front panel,

The display shows RESET  NO . Use TUNE +/– (or / on the remote control) to select

UP MIX  ON , and then use PRESET +/– (or / on the remote control) to select ON or OFF.

3 Press

ENTER

to confirm.

• When set to ON, the UP MIX indicator on the front panel lights.

1 • You can’t use the Virtual Surround Back mode when the headphones are connected to this receiver or when any of the stereo, Front Stage

Surround Advance or Stream Direct mode is selected.

You can only use the Virtual Surround Back mode if the surround speakers are on and the SB setting is set to NO or if

• or ZONE 2 is selected at Surr Back System.

• The Virtual Surround Back mode cannot be applied to sources that do not have surround channel information.

2 • Set to ON regardless of this setting when playing DTS-HD signals.

Front Bi-Amp, Speaker B

• May automatically be set to OFF even when set to ON, depending on the input signal and listening mode.

Page 61

Listening to your system

Note

INPUT

123

SLEEP

HDMI OUT

MCACCSIGNAL SEL

456

DIMMERA.ATTSBch

789

CLASS

MASTER VOLUME

CH LEVELD.ACCESS

ENTER

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

INPUT

123

SLEEP

HDMI OUT

MCACCSIGNAL SEL

456

DIMMERA.ATTSBch

789

CLASS

MASTER VOLUME

CH LEVELD.ACCESS

ENTER

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

Selecting MCACC presets

• Default setting: MEMORY 1

If you have calibrated your system for different listening positions kind of source you’re listening to and where you’re sitting (for example, watching movies from a sofa, or playing a video game close to the TV).

• While listening to a source, press , then press

Press repeatedly to select one of the six MCACC presets2. See Data Management on page 88 to check and manage your current settings.

, you can switch between settings to suit the

MCACC

• PCM – For PCM input signals.5 The receiver selects the first available signal in the following order: HDMI; DIGITAL.

When set to DIGITAL, HDMI or AUTO (only selected DIGITAL or HDMI), the indicators light according to the signal being decoded, as follows:

– 2 DIGITAL lights with Dolby Digital decoding. – 2 DIGITAL PLUS lights with Dolby Digital Plus

decoding. – 2 TrueHD lights with Dolby TrueHD decoding. – DTS lights with DTS decoding. – DTS HD lights with DTS-HD decoding. – MSTR lights with DTS-HD Master Audio decoding. – 96/24 lights with DTS 96/24 decoding. – WMA9 Pro lights to indicate that a WMA9 Pro signal

is being decoded.

• HDMI is not assigned by default. To select an HDMI signal, conduct the input setup procedure (see The Input Setup menu on page 43).

Choosing the input signal

On this receiver, it is possible to switch the input signals for the different inputs as described below.

• Press , then press the input signal corresponding to the source component.

Each press cycles through the options as follows:

• AUTO – The receiver selects the first available signal

• ANALOG – Selects an analog signal.

• DIGITAL – Selects an optical or coaxial digital signal.

• HDMI – Selects an HDMI signal.

1 Different presets might also have separate calibration settings for the same listening position, depending on how you’re using your system.

These presets can be set in Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41 or Automatic MCACC (Expert) on page 78, either of which you should have already completed.

2 • These settings have no effect when headphones are connected.

• You can also press / to select the MCACC preset.

3 • This receiver can only play back Dolby Digital, PCM (32 kHz to 192 kHz), DTS (including DTS 96/24) and WMA9 Pro digital signal formats.

The compatible signals via the HDMI terminals are: Dolby Digital, DTS, WMA9 Pro, PCM (32 kHz to 192 kHz), Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-EXPRESS, DTS-HD Master Audio, SACD and DVD Audio (including 192 kHz). With other digital signal formats, set to ANALOG (the MULTI CH IN and TUNER).

• You may get digital noise when a LD or CD player compatible with DTS is playing an analog signal. To prevent noise, make the proper dig con

• Some DVD players don’t output DTS signals. For more details, refer to the instruction manual supplied with your DVD player. 4 When the HDMI audio output parameter is set to THROUGH, the sound will be heard through your TV, not from this receiver. 5 • This is useful if you find there is a slight delay before AUTO recognizes the PCM signal on a CD, for instance.

• When PCM is selected, noise may be output during playback of non-PCM sources. Please select another input signal if this is a problem.

SIGNAL SEL

to select

in the following order: HDMI; DIGITAL; ANALOG.

nections (page 29) and set the signal input to DIGITAL.

Better sound using Phase Control

This receiver’s Phase Control feature uses phase correction measures to make sure your sound source arrives at the listening position in phase, preventing unwanted distortion and/or coloring of the sound.

During multichannel playback, LFE (Low-Frequency Effects) signals as well as low-frequency signals in each channel are assigned to the subwoofer or the other most appropriate speaker. At least in theory, however, this type of processing involves a group delay that varies with frequency, resulting in phase distortion where the lowfrequency sound is delayed or muffled by the conflict with other channels. With the Phase Control mode s

wit

ched on, this receiver can reproduce powerful bass sound without deteriorating the quality of the original sound (see illustration below).

ital

Page 62

Note

Front speaker

Subwoofer

Sound source

Sound muffled due to a delay in time

Listening position

Front speaker

Subwoofer

Sound source

Original sound preserved with no loss of clarity

Listening position

AUTO/ALC/

DIRECT

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

HDD DVD

STANDARD

STEREO

ADV SURR

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

Listening to your system

Phase Control OFF

•Rhythms blurred and difficult to hear

• Bass sound with loss of depth

• Sound of musical instruments with no reality

Phase Control ON

•Rhythms with crystal-like clarity

• Bass sound with no loss of depth

• Sound of musical instruments with superb reality

Phase Control technology provides coherent sound reproduction through the use of phase matching

for an optimal sound image. The default setting is on and we recommend leaving Phase Control switched on for all sound sources.

• Press , then press CONTROL

RECEIVER

PHASE CTRL (PHASE

) to switch on phase correction.

The PHASE CONTROL indicator on the front panel lights.

1 • Phase matching is a very important factor in achieving proper sound reproduction. If two waveforms are ‘in phase’, they crest and trough

together, resulting in increased amplitude, clarity and presence of the sound signal. If a cr est of a wave meets a trough, then the sound will be ‘out of phase’ and an unreliable sound image will be produced.

• The PHASE CONTROL feature is available even when the headphones are plugged in.

• If your subwoofer has a phase control switch, set it to the plus (+) sign (or 0°). However, the effect you can actually feel when PHASE

CONTROL is set to ON on this receiver depends on the type of your subwoofer. Set your subwoofer to maximize the effect. It is also recommended you try changing

• Set the built-in lowpass filter switch of your subwoofer to off. If this cannot be done on your subwoofer, set the cutoff frequency to a higher value.

• If the speaker distance is not properly set, you may not have a maximized PHASE CONTROL effect.

• The PHASE CONTROL mode cannot be set to ON in the following cases: – When the PURE DIRECT mode is switched on. – When the MULTI CH IN input is selected. – When the HDMI audio output parameter is set to THROUGH in Setting the Audio options on page 66.

ntation or the place of your subwoofer.

the orie

Page 63

KURO LINK

Chapter 7:

KURO LINK

Synchronized operation with a KURO LINK-compatible Pioneer flat panel TV or Blu-ray disc player or with a component of another make that supports the KURO LINK function is possible when the component is connected to the receiver using an HDMI cable.

For details about concrete operations, settings, etc., refer to the operating instructions for each component.

• You cannot use this function with components that do not support KURO LINK.

• We do not guarantee this receiver will work with Pioneer KURO LINK-compatible components or components of other makes that support the KURO LIN

function. We do not guarantee that all synchronized operations will work with components of other makes that support the KURO LINK function.

•Use a High Speed HDMI™ cable when you want to use the KURO LINK function. The KURO LINK function may not work properly if a different type of HDMI cable is used.

Making the KURO LINK connections

You can use synchronized operation for a connected flat panel TV and up to four (VSX-23TXH)/three (VSX-21TXH)

other components. Be sure to connect the flat panel TV’s audio cable to the

audio input of this unit. For details, see Connecting your TV and playback

components on page 24.

Important

• When connecting this system or changing connections, be sure to switch the power off and disconnect the power cord from the wall socket. After completing all connections, connect the power cords to the wall socket.

•After this receiver is connected to an AC outlet, a 2 second to 10 second HDMI initialization process begins. You cannot carry out any operations during initialization. The HDMI indicator on the display unit blinks during initialization, and you can turn this receiver on o

• To get the most out of this function, we recommend that you connect your HDMI component not to a flat panel TV but rather directly to the HDMI terminal on this receiver.

e it has stopped blinking.

• VSX-23TXH only: To use the KURO LINK function, connect this receiver and flat panel TV using the HDMI OUT 1 terminal. Connecting the KURO LINK compatible component using the HDMI OUT 2 terminal may result in malfunction. If this happens, turn off the KURO LINK compatible component’s KURO LINK setting.

•While the receiver is equipped with four (VSX-23TXH)/ three (VSX-21TXH) HDMI inputs, the KURO LINK function can only be used with up to three DVD or Blu-ray disc players or up to three DVD recorders.

or Blu-ray disc

Cautions on the KURO LINK function

• Connect the TV directly to this receiver. Interrupting a direct connection with other amps or an AV converter (such as an HDMI switch) can cause operational errors.

• Only connect components (Blu-ray disc player, etc.) you intend to use as a source to the HDMI input of this receiver. Interrupting a direct connection with other amps or an AV converter (such as an HDMI switch) can cause operational errors.

•When KURO LINK is set to ON, HDMI Input is automatically set to OFF.

• If a listening mode other than AUTO SURROUND, ALC, DIRECT, PURE DIRECT or ST while the PQLS effect is enabled, the PQLS effect is disabled.

•When this receiver is connected by HDMI cable to a Pioneer player that is compatible with the PQLS function via HDMI connection and HDMI reauthentication is performed (the HDMI indicator blinks), the PQLS effect is enabled and the listening mode is set to AUTO SURROUND if a listening mode other than AUTO SURROUND, ALC, DIRECT, PURE DIRECT or STEREO is selected.

•When the receiver’s KURO LINK is turned ON, even if the receiver’s power is in the standby mode, it is

possible to output the audio and video signals from a player via HDMI to the TV without producing sound

from the receiver, but only when a KURO LINKcompatible component (Blu-ray disc player, etc.) and compat

ible TV are receiver’s power turns on and the power and HDMI indicators light.

connected. In this case, the

EREO is

selected

Page 64

T.EDIT GUIDE

TOP MENU BAND

RETURN

iPod CTRL

HOME MENU

LIST

TOOLS

CATEGORY

AUDIO

PARAMETER

ENTER

TUNE

PRESET PRESET

TUNE

VIDEO

PARAMETER

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

2. Multi Ch In Setup

3. ZONE Audio Setup

4. Power ON Level Setup

5. Volume Limit Setup

Remote Control Mode Setup

Flicker Reduction Setup

1. KURO LINK Setup

4d.Other Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

KURO LINK

About connections with a product of a different brand that supports the KURO LINK function

The synchronized operations below can be used when the receiver’s KURO LINK function is connected to a TV of a brand other than Pioneer that supports the KURO LINK function. (Depending on the TV, however, some of the KURO LINK functions may not work.)

• You can set whether to output the sound over the speakers connected to the receiver or over the TV’s speakers using the TV’s menu screen.

•You can adjust the receiver’s volume or mute the sound using the TV’s remote control.

• When the TV’s power is set to standby, the receiver’s power is also set to standby. (Only when the input for a component connected to the receiver by HDMI connection is selected or when watching the TV.)

• The sound of TV programs or an connected to the TV can also be output from the speakers connected to the receiver. (This requires connection of an optical digital cable, etc., in addition to the HDMI cable.)

The synchronized operations below can be used when the receiver’s KURO LINK function is connected to a player or recorder of a brand other than Pioneer that supports the KURO LINK function.

• When playback starts on the player or recorder, the receiver’s input switches to the HDMI input to which that component is connected.

See the Pioneer website for the latest information on the models of non-Pioneer brands and produc the KURO LINK function.

externa

l input

ts th

at support

KURO LINK Setup

You must adjust the settings of this receiver as well as KURO LINK-compatible connected components in order to make use of the KURO LINK function. For more information see the operating instructions for each component.

1 Press , then press

2 Select ‘

3 Select ‘

4 Select the ‘

System Setup

Other Setup

KURO LINK

’, then press

Choose whether to set this unit’s KURO LINK function ON or OFF. You will need to set it to ON to use the KURO LINK function.

When using a component that does not support the KURO LINK function, set this to OFF.

• ON – Enables the KURO LINK function. When this unit’s power is turned off and you have a supported source begin playback while using the KURO LINK function, the audio and video output from the HDMI connection are output from the flat panel TV.

• OFF – The KURO LINK is disabled. Synchronized operations cannot be used. When this unit’s power is turned off, audio and video of sources connected via HDMI are not output.

5 Select the ‘

Display Power Off

If the TV’s power is turned off while using the KURO LINK function, the receiver’s power is also turned off (all power off function). This function can be disabled.

•

YES

– The all power off function is enabled. The

receiver’s power turns off together with the TV’s power.

This function only works when the input for a component connected to the receiver by HDMI connection is selected or when watching the TV.

• NO – The all power off function is disabled. The receiver’s power is not affected when the TV’s power is turned off.

6 When you’re finished, press You will finish to HOME MENU.

Home Menu

’, then press

ENTER

4d1.KURO LINK Setup

KURO LINK : ON

Display Power Off : YES

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

’ setting you want.

HOME MENU

Page 65

KURO LINK

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

Setting the PQLS function

PQLS (Precision Quartz Lock System) is a digital audio signal transfer control technology using the KURO LINK function. It offers higher-quality audio playback by controlling audio signals from the receiver to a PQLS compatible player, etc. This enables removing jitter that has a negative effect on the quality of the sound and is generated upon transmission.

• VSX-23TXH only: On players compatible with PQLS Multi Surround, PQLS works for all sources. Set the player’s audio output to Linear PCM.

•On players compatible with PQLS 2 ch Audio, PQLS only works when playing CDs.

To use the PQLS function, set PQLS in the player’s Setup Navigator to AUTO.

Please refer to the operat

ing instructi

ons supplied with

your player for more information. This function is activated when KURO LINK is set to ON.

• Press , then press

PQLS

to select PQLS

setting.

The setting is displayed on the front panel display.

• PQLS AUTO – PQLS is enabled. A precision quartz controller in this receiver eliminates distortion caused by timing errors (jitter), giving you the best possible digital-to-analog conversion when you use the HDMI interface. This is valid as an HDMI function for PQLS-compatible players.

• PQLS

OFF – PQLS is disabled.

Before using synchronization

Once you have finished all connections and settings, you must:

1 Put all components into standby mode.

2 Turn the power on for all components, with the power for the flat panel TV being turned on last.

3 Choose the HDMI input to which the TV is connected to this receiver, and see if video output from connected components displays properly on the screen or not.

4 Check whether the components connected to all HDMI inputs are properly displayed.

Synchronized amp mode

The synchronized amp mode can be set from the KURO LINK-compatible TV’s remote control. See the explanation below for operations in the synchronized amp mode.

These functions are set from the TV’s menu screen. For more information, refer to the operating instructions of the KURO LINK-compatible TV.

Synchronized amp mode operations

When using the synchronized amp mode, the KURO LINK-compatible component connected to the receiver operates in sync as described below.

•The receiver’s volume can be set and the sound can be muted using the TV’s remote control.

•When the TV’s power is set to standby, the receiver’s power is also set to standby. (Only when the input for a component connected to the receiver by HDMI connection is selected or when watching the TV.)

•The receiver’s input switches automatically when the KURO LINK-compatible component is played.

•The receiver’s input switches automatically when the TV’s channel is switched.

•The synchronized amp mode remains in effect even if the receiver’s input is switched to a component other than one connected by HDMI.

The opera LI

•When the receiver’s volume is adjusted or the sound

• When the OSD language is switched on the flat panel

Canceling synchronized amp mode

• When the synchronized amp mode is canceled, the

• When in the synchronized amp mode, the

tions below c an also be used on Pioneer KURO

NK-compatible flat panel TVs.

is muted, the volume status is displayed on the flat panel TV’s screen.

TV, the receiver’s language setting also switches accordingly.

receiver’s power turns off if you were viewing an HDMI input or a TV program on the TV.

synchronized amp mode is canceled when the receiver’s power is turned off. To turn the synchronized amp mode back on, select the synchronized amp mode using the TV’s remote control.

synchronized amp mode is canceled if an operation that produces sound from the TV is performed from the TV’s menu screen, if the receiver’s HDMI output setting is changed, etc.

Page 66

Using other functions

Chapter 8:

Using other functions

Setting What it does Option(s)

Setting the Audio options

There are a number of additional sound settings you can make using the AUDIO PARAMETER menu. The defaults, if not stated, are listed in bold.

Important

• Note that if a setting doesn’t appear in the AUDIO PARAMETER menu, it is unavailable due to the

current source, settings and status of the receiver.

1 Press , then press

2Use

Depending on the current status/mode of the receiver, certain options may not be able to be selected. Check the table below for notes on this.

3Use

See the table below for the options available for each setting.

4 Press

Setting What it does Option(s)

MCACC

(MCACC preset)

EQ (Acoustic Calibration EQ)

S-WAVE

(Standing Wave)

DELAY

(Sound Delay)

MIDNIGHT Allows you to hear effective

LOUDNESS Used to get good bass and treble

RECEIVER

/

to select the setting you want to adjust.

/

to set it as necessary.

RETURN

to confirm and exit the menu.

Selects your favorite MCACC preset memory when multiple preset memories are saved. When

an MCACC preset memory has been renamed, the given name is displayed.

Switches on/off the effects of EQ Pro.

Switches on/off the effects of Standing Wave Control.

Some monitors have a slight delay when showing video, so the soundtrack will be slightly out of sync with the picture. By adding a bit of delay, you can adjust the sound to match the presentation of the video.

surround sound of movies at low volumes.

from music sources at low volumes.

AUDIO PARAMETER

M1. MEMORY 1

frames (NTSC)

MIDNIGHT ON

M6. MEMORY 6

Default:

OFF

0.0 to 10.0 (frames)

1 second = 30

Default: 0.0

MIDNIGHT/ LOUDNESS

OFF

LOUDNESS

TONE

(Tone Control)

BASS

TREBLE

S.RTRV

(Sound Retriever)

DNR

(Digital Noise Reduction)

DIALOG E.

(Dialog Enhancem ent)

DUAL

(Dual Mono)

DRC

(Dynamic Range Control)

LFE (LFE Attenuate)

Applies the treble and bass tone controls to a source, or bypasses them completely.

Adjusts the amount of bass. –6 to +6 (dB)

Adjusts the amount of treble. –6 to +6 (dB)

With the Sound Retriever function, DSP processing is used to compensate for the loss of audio data upon compression, improving the sound’s sense of density and modulation.

May improve the quality of sound in a noisy source (for example, video tape with lots of background noise) when switched on.

Localizes dialog in the center channel to make it stand out from other background sounds in a TV or movie soundtrack.

Specifies how dual mono encoded Dolby Digital soundtracks should be played. Dual mono is not widely used, but is sometimes necessary when two languages need to be sent to separate channels.

Adjusts the level of dynamic range for movie soundtracks optimized for Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD and DTS-HD Master Audio (you may need to use this feature when listening to surround sound at low volumes).

Some Dolby Digital and DTS audio sources include ultra-low bass tones. Set the LFE attenuator as necessary to prevent the ultra- low bass tones from distorting the sound from the speakers.

The LFE is not limited when set to 0 dB, which is the recommended value. When set to –5 dB, –10 dB, –15 dB or –20 dB, the LFE is limited by the respective degree. When OFF is selected, no sound is output from the LFE channel.

BYPASS

Default: 0 (dB)

OFF

CH1 – Channel

1 is heard only

CH2 – Channel

2 is heard only

CH1 CH2 –

Both channels

heard from

front speakers

AUTO

MAX

MID

OFF

0dB

/ –5dB/

–10dB/ –15dB/

–20dB

OFF

Page 67

Using other functions

Setting What it does Option(s)

SACD GAIN

HDMI

(HDMI Audio)

Brings out detail in SACDs by

maximizing the dynamic range (during digital processing).

Specifies the routing of the HDMI audio signal out of this receiver (amp) or through to a TV or flat panel TV. When THROUGH is

0dB

+6 dB

AMPLIFIER

THROUGH

selected, no sound is output from this receiver.

A.DELAY

(Auto delay)

This feature automatically corrects the audio-to-video delay between components connected

OFF

with an HDMI cable. The audio delay time is set depending on the operational status of the display connected with an HDMI cable. The video delay time is

C.WIDTH

(Center Width) (Applicable only when using a

automatically adjusted according to the audio delay time.

Provides a better blend of the front speakers by spreading the center channel between the front right and left speakers, making it sound wider (higher settings) or narrower (lower settings).

0 to 7

Default: 3

center speaker)

DIMENSION

Adjusts the depth of the surround sound balance from front to back, making the sound more distant

–3 to +3

Default: 0

(minus settings), or more forward (positive settings).

PANORAMA

C.IMAGE

(Center Image) (Applicable only when using a center

Extends the front stereo image to include the surround speakers for a ‘wraparound’ effect.

Adjusts the center image to create a wider stereo effect with vocals. Adjust the effect from 0 (all center channel sent to front right and left speakers) to 10 (center channel sent to the center speaker only).

OFF

0 to 10

Defaults:

Neo:6 MUSIC:

Neo:6

CINEMA: 10

speaker) EFFECT Sets the effect level for the

currently selected Advanced Surround or ALC mode (each mode can be set separately).

10 to 90 Defaults: 50 (90 for

EXT.STEREO

only)

a.When EQ OFF is selected, the MCACC indicator does not light. b.• This setting is only displayed when the listening mode is Stereo,

Auto surround (STEREO) or ALC (STEREO).

• This setting is disabled in THX listening modes. c.The adjustment can be made only when TONE is set to ON. d.With the iPod/USB input function, by default S.RTRV is set to ON. e.The initially set AUTO is only available for Dolby TrueHD signals.

Select MAX or MID for signals other than Dolby TrueHD.

f. You shouldn’t have any problems using this with most SACD

discs, but if the sound distorts, it is best to switch the gain setting back to 0 dB.

g.• HDMI Audio setting cannot be switched while performing

synchronized amp mode operations.

• The synchronized amp mode must be turned on in order to play the receiver’s HDMI audio and video input signals from the TV with the receiver’s power in the standby mode. See Synchronized amp mode on page 65.

h.This feature is only available when the connected display supports

the automatic audio/video synchronizing capability (‘lipsync’) for HDMI. If you find the automatically set delay time unsuitable, set A.DELAY to OFF and adjust the delay time manually. For more details about the lipsync feature of your display, contact the manufacturer directly.

i. Only when listening to 2-channel sources in Dolby Pro Logic IIx

Music/Dolby Pro Log

j. Only when listening to 2-channel sources in Neo:6 MUSIC/CINEMA

mode.

c II Music mode.

Page 68

Note

RECEIVER

Using other functions

Setting the Video options

There are a number of additional picture settings you can make using the VIDEO PARAMETER menu. The defaults, if not stated, are listed in bold.

Important

• Note that if an option cannot be selected on the VIDEO PARAMETER menu, it is unavailable due to the current source, setting and status of the receiver.

• These functions do not affect inputs other than DVD, TV/SAT, DVR, VIDEO (VSX-21TXH), VIDEO1 and 2 (VSX- 23TXH).

1 Press , then press

2Use

/

to select the setting you want to adjust.

Depending on the current status/mode of the receiver, certain options may not be able to be selected. Check the table below for notes on this.

3Use

See the table below for the options available for each setting.

4 Press

/

to set it as necessary.

RETURN

Setting What it does Option(s)

V.CONV

(Digital Video Conversion)

RESa

(Resolution)

ASPb

(Aspect)

to confirm and exit the menu.

Converts video signals for output from the MONITOR OUT jacks (including HDMI OUT connector) for all video types (see page 23).

Specifies the output resolution of the video signal (when analog video input signals are output at the HDMI OUT connector, select this according to the resolution of your monitor and the images you wish to watch).

Specifies the aspect ratio when analog video input signals are output at the HDMI output. Make your desired settings while checking each setting on your display (if the image doesn’t match your monitor type, cropping or black bands appear).

VIDEO PARAMETER

OFF

AUTO

PURE

480p/576p

720p

1080i

1080p

THROUGH

NORMAL

Setting What it does Option(s)

c,d

PCINEMA

(PureCinema)

P.MOTION

(Progressive Motion)

YNR

DETAIL

SHARP

(Sharpness)

BRIGHT

(Brightness)

CONTRAST

c,f

HUE

CHROMA

(Chroma Level)

a.• When set to a resolution with which the TV (monitor) is not

compatible, no picture is output. Also, in some cases no picture will be output due to copyright protection signals. In this case, change the setting.

• When AUTO is selected, the resolution is selected automatically according to the capacity of the TV (monitor) connected by HDMI. When PURE is selected, the signals are output with the same resolution as when input (At this time, video signals are only output from the same type of terminals to which they were input).

• When a display is connected by HDMI, if this is set to something other than PURE and 480i/576i analog signals are input, 480p/576p signals are output from the component output terminals.

• Conversion to 1080p is only performed for 480 576p input signals.

b.• If the image doesn’t match your monitor type, adjust the aspect

ratio on the source component or on the monitor.

• This cannot be set when the resolution is set to PURE.

• NORMAL setting is only displayed when 480i/p or 576i/p video signals are being input.

c.This setting is only displayed when 480i or 576i video signals are

being input. d.This setting is only valid for component outputs. e.This setting is not valid for HDMI output(s). f. This setting is not displayed for component inputs.

This setting optimizes the picture for film material when the video output is set to progressive. Usually set to AUTO; but try switching to OFF if the picture appears unnatural.

Additionally, certain PAL movie video (576i, 25 frames/second STB video output or DVD disc playback, etc.) that contain film progressive material cannot be recognized as such by this receiver.

c,d

Adjusts the motion and still picture quality when video output is set to

progressive.

Adjusts the amount of noise reduction (NR) applied to the Y (brightness) component.

Adjusts how sharp edges appear. –4 to +4

c,e

Adjusts the sharpness of the highfrequency (detailed) elements in the picture.

Adjusts the overall brightness. –6 to +6

Adjusts the contrast between light and dark.

Adjusts the red/green balance. –6 to +6

Adjusts saturation from dull to bright.

AUTO

PAL

OFF

–4 to +4

Default: 0

0 to +8

Default: 0

–4 to +4

Default: 0

–6 to +6

Default: 0

–6 to +6

Default: 0

576i, 480p and

1 • All of the setting items can be set for each input function.

• Setting items other than V.CONV can only be selected when V.CONV is set to ON.

Page 69

Using other functions

Note

MASTER VOLUME

VSX-23TXH

STANDARD

SURROUND

SPEAKERS

HOME THX CONTROL

MULTI-ZONE

ON / OFF

HDMIPQLS PRESET PRESET TUNER EDIT

ENTER

PUSH OPEN

VSX-23TXH

INPUT SELECTOR

STANDBY/ON

PHONES

BAND TUNE

PUSH OPEN

MASTER VOLUME

VSX-23TXH

SPEAKERS

CONTROL

MULTI-ZONE

ON / OFF

HDMIPQLS PRESET PRESET TUNER EDIT

ENTER

VSX-23TXH

Switching the speaker system

If you selected Speaker B in Surround back speaker setting on page 91, three speaker system settings are

possible using SPEAKERS. If you selected Normal, Front Bi-Amp or ZONE 2, the button will simply switch your

main speaker system on or off. The options below are for the Speaker B setting only.

•Use

SPEAKERS

on the front panel to select a

speaker system setting.

As mentioned above, if you have selected Normal, the button will simply switch your main speaker system (A) on or off.

Press repeatedly to choose a speaker system option:

• SPA – Sound is output from speaker system A and the same signal is output from the pre-out terminals.

• SPB – Sound is output from the two speaker s connected to speaker system B. Multichannel sources will not be heard. The same signal is output from the surround back channel pre-out terminals.

• SPAB – Sound is output from speaker system A (up to 5 channels, depending on the source), the two spea

rs in speaker system B, and the subwoofer. The sound from speaker system B will be the same as the sound from speaker system A (multichannel sources will be downmixed to 2 channels).

• SP (of f) – No so und is o utput from the speakers. The same sound is output from the pre-out terminals (including from your subwoofer, if connected) as when selecting speaker system A (above).

Using the MULTI-ZONE controls

The following steps use the front panel controls to adjust the sub zone volume and select sources. See MULTI- ZONE remote controls on page 70.

1Press

Each press selects a MULTI-ZONE option:

•

• VSX-23TXH only: ZONE 3 ON – Selects your secondary

• MULTI ZONE OFF – Switches the MULTI-ZONE

The MULTI-ZONE indicator lights when the MULTI-ZONE control has been switched ON.

2Press select the sub zone(s) you want.

VSX-23TXH only: If you selected ZONE 2&3 ON above, you can toggle between ZONE 2 and ZONE 3.

•When the receiver is on,

3Use the for the zone you have selected.

For example, ZONE 2 CD-R sends the source connected to the CD-R inputs to the primary (ZONE 2) sub room.

•If you select TUNER, you can use the tuner controls

MULTI-ZONE ON/OFF

ZONE 2 ON

VSX-23TXH only:

– Selects your primary (

ZONE 2&3 ON

on the front panel.

ZONE 2

) sub zone

– Select bot h sub zones

(ZONE 3) sub zone

feature off

MULTI-ZONE CONTROL

on the front panel to

make sure that any operations for the sub zone are done while ZONE and your selected sub zone(s) show in the display. If this is not showing, the front panel controls affect the main zone only.

INPUT SELECTOR

to select a preset station (see Saving station presets on page 51 if you’re unsure how to do this).

dial to select the source

1 • The subwoofer outp ut depends on the settings you made in Manual speaker setup on page 90. However, if SPB is selected above, no sound

is heard from the subwoofer (the LFE channel is not downmixed).

• Depending on the settings in Surround back speaker setting on page 91 output from the surround back pre-out terminals may change.

• All speaker systems (except Speaker B connections) are switched off when headphones are connected. 2If the receiver is in standby, the display is dimmed, and ZONE and your selected sub zone(s) continue to show in the display. 3 The tuner cannot be tuned to more than one station at a time. Therefore, changing the station in one zone also changes the station in the other

zone. Please be careful not to change stations when recording a radio broadcast.

Page 70

Note

DVD BD DVR HDMI

TV CD CD-R

TUNER

VIDEO

iPod USB SIRIUSXM

123

SLEEP

HDMI OUT

MCACCSIGNAL SEL

456

INPUT

SELECT

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

123

SLEEP

HDMI OUT

MCACCSIGNAL SEL

456

DIMMERA.ATTSBch

789

CLASSCH LEVELD.ACCESS

ENTER

INPUT

SELECT

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

Using other functions

4Use the

MASTER VOLUME

dial to adjust the

volume for the zone you have selected.

This is only possible if you selected the Variable volume control in ZONE Audio Setup on page 95.

5 When you’re finished, press CONTROL

again to return to the main zone controls.

You can also press MULTI-ZONE ON/OFF on the front panel to switch off all output to the sub zone(s).

MULTI-ZONE

MULTI-ZONE remote controls

Set the MULTI-ZONE operation switch to

ZONE 2

ZONE

3 (VSX-23TXH only) to operate the corresponding zone.

The following table shows the possible MULTI-ZONE remote controls:

Button What it does

 Switches on/off power in the sub zone.

INPUT SELECT Use to select the input function in the sub

zone.

Input function buttons

Use to select the input function directly (this may not work for some functions) in the sub zone.

MASTER VOLUME +/–

Use to set the listening volume in the sub zone.

MUTE Mutes the sound or restores the sound if it

has been muted (adjusting the volume also restores the sound).

Making an audio or a video recording

You can make an audio or a video recording from the built-in tuner, or from an audio or video source connected to the receiver (such as a CD player or TV).

Keep in mind you can’t make a digital recording from an analog source or vice-versa, so make sure the components you are recording to/from are hooked up in the same way (see Connecting your equipment on page 15 for more on connections).

Since the video converter is not available when making recordings (from the video OUT jacks) make sure to use the same type of video cable for connecting your recorder as you used to connect your video source (the one you want to record) to this receiver. For example, you must connect your recorder using Component video if your source h

as also been connected using Compo

nent video.

For more information about video connections, see

Connecting an HDD/DVD recorder, VCR and other video sources on page 28.

1 Select the source you want to record.

Use the input function buttons (or INPUT SELECT).

• If necessary, press , then press SIGNAL SEL to select the input signal corresponding to the source component (see Choosing the input signal on page 61 for more on this).

2 Prepare the source you want to record.

Tune to the radio station, load the CD, video, DVD etc.

3 Prepare the recorder.

Insert a blank tape, MD, video etc. into the recording device and set the recording levels.

Refer to the instructions that came with the recorder if you are unsure how to do this. Most video recorders set the audio recording level automatically—check the component’s instruction manual if you’re unsure.

4 Start recording, then start playback of the source component.

Reducing the level of an analog signal

The input attenuator lowers the input level of an analog signal when it’s too strong. You can use this if you find that the OVER indicator lights often or you can hear distortion in the sound.

• Press , then press

RECEIVER

input attenuator on or off.

A.ATT

to switch the

1 The volume levels of the main and sub zone(s) are independent. 2 • You won’t be able to switch the main zone off completely unless you’ve switched off the MULTI-ZONE control first.

• If you don’t plan to use the MULTI-ZONE feature for a while, turn off the power in both the sub and main rooms so that this receiver is in standby.

3• The receiver’s volume, Audio parameters (the tone controls, for example), and surround effects have no effect on the recorded signal.

• Some digital sources are copy-protected, and can only be recorded in analog.

• Some video sources are copy-protected. These cannot be recorded.

4 The attenuator isn’t available with digital sources, or when using the Stream Direct (ANALOG DIRECT) modes.

Page 71

Using other functions

Note

123

SLEEP

HDMI OUT

MCACCSIGNAL SEL

456

DIMMERA.ATTSBch

789

CLASSCH LEVELD.ACCESS

ENTER

INPUT

SELECT

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

30 min

60 min

90 minOff

123

SLEEP

HDMI OUT

MCACCSIGNAL SEL

456

DIMMERA.ATTSBch

789

CLASSCH LEVELD.ACCESS

ENTER

INPUT

SELECT

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

123

SLEEP

HDMI OUT

MCACCSIGNAL SEL

456

DIMMERA.ATTSBch

789

CLASSCH LEVELD.ACCESS

ENTER

INPUT

SELECT

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

REMOTE

SETUP

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

Using the sleep timer

The sleep timer switches the receiver into standby after a specified amount of time so you can fall asleep without worrying about the receiver being left on all night. Use the remote control to set the sleep timer.

• Press , then press the sleep time.

• You can check the remaining sleep time at any time by pressing SLEEP once. Pressing repeatedly will cycle through the sleep options again.

SLEEP

repeatedly to set

• Press , then press

HDMI OUT

Please wait a while when Please wait ... is displayed. The output switches among

and HDMI OUT 2 each time the button is pressed.

HDMI OUT ALL, HDMI OUT 1

Checking your system settings

Use the status display screen to check your current settings for features such as surround back channel processing and your current MCACC preset.

Dimming the display

You can choose between four brightness levels for the front panel display. Note that when selecting sources, the display automatically brightens for a few seconds.

• Press , then press change the brightness of the front panel display.

Switching the HDMI output

(VSX-23TXH only)

Set which terminal to use when outputting video and audio signals from the HDMI output terminals (HDMI OUT ALL, HDMI OUT 1 or HDMI OUT 2).

The HDMI OUT1 terminal is compatible with the KURO LINK function.

1 • You can also switch off the sleep timer simply by switching off the receiver.

• The sleep timer is valid for all zones. If any zone is on, the sleep timer continues functioning.

2• Synchronized amp mode on page 65 is canceled when the HDMI output is switched. If you wish to use the synchronized amp mode, switch

to HDMI OUT 1, then select the synchronized amp mode on the flat panel TV using the flat panel TV’s remote control.

• When the power is turned off then back on after switching the HDMI output, the input is set to a setting between HDMI1 and HDMI3 (VSX-

21TXH)/4 (VSX-23TXH), or BD.

3If the Pure Direct mode is switched on, some settings above will show OFF, even though they are on.

RECEIVER

DIMMER

repeatedly to

1 Press , then press system settings.

These appear on the front panel display.

STATUS

to check the

The front panel display shows each of the following settings for three seconds each:

Input Source

Sampling Frequency

Surround Back channel Processing

↓

MCACC preset

↓

ZONE 2 input

↓

ZONE 3 input

(VSX-23TXH only)

↓

KURO LINK

↓

HDMI OUT

(VSX-23TXH only)

2 When you’re finished, press

STATUS

again to

switch off the display.

Page 72

Using other functions

Resetting the system

Use this procedure to reset all the receiver’s settings to the factory default. Use the front panel controls to do this. Set MULTI-ZONE to OFF.

• Disconnect the iPod and USB memory device from the receiver beforehand.

1 Switch the receiver into standby.

2 While holding down press

 STANDBY/ON

The display shows RESET  NO .

3 Select ‘

RESET

on the front panel. The display shows RESET? OK.

4 Press

ENTER

to confirm.

OK appears in the display to indicate that the receiver

has been reset to the factory default settings.

• Note that all settings will be saved, even if the receiver is unplugged.

Default system settings

Setting Default

Digital Video Conversion ON SPEAKERS A Surround Back System Normal Speaker System Front SMALL

Crossover 80 Hz X-Curve OFF THX Audio Setting 4 ft< DIMMER Brightest

Inputs

See Input function default and possible settings on page 44.

MULTI-ZONE

ZONE 2/ZONE 3 (VSX-23TXH only) Volume Level

ZONE 2/ZONE 3 (VSX-23TXH only) Volume –60 dB

HDMI

HDMI Audio Amp HDMI output (VSX-23TXH only) HDMI OUT ALL KURO LINK ON

ENTER

on the front panel,

’ using

PRESET +/–

Center SMALL Surr SMALL SB SMALLx2 SW YES

, then press

ENTER

Variable

Setting Default

DSP

Surround back channel Processing ON Phase Control ON Sound Retriever

Sound Delay 0.0 frame Dual Mono CH1 DRC AUTO SACD Gain 0 dB LFE Attenuate 0 dB Auto delay OFF Up Mix ON Digital Safety OFF Effect Level EXT.STEREO 90

2 PL II Music Options

Neo:6 Options Center Image Neo:6 MUSIC: 3

All Inputs Listening Mode

See also Setting the Audio options on page 66 for other default DSP settings.

MCACC

MCACC Position Memory M1: MEMORY 1 Channel Level (M1 to M6) 0.0 dB Speaker Distance (M1 to M6) 10’00” Standing Wave

(M1 to M6)

EQ Data (M1 to M6) All channels/bands 0.0 dB

iPod/USB function Other functions

Other modes 50 Center Width 3 Dimension 0 Panorama OFF

(2 ch) Listening Mode

(x ch) Listening Mode (HP) STEREO

ATT of all channels/ filters

SWch Trim 0.0 dB

EQ Trim 0.0 dB

ON OFF

Neo:6 CINEMA: 10 AUTO

SURROUND AUTO

SURROUND

0.0 dB

Page 73

Controlling the rest of your system

123

SLEEP

HDMI OUT

MCACCSIGNAL SEL

456

DIMMERA.ATTSBch

789

CLASSCH LEVELD.ACCESS

ENTER

INPUT

SELECT

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

Note

RECEIVER

Chapter 9:

Controlling the rest of your system

Operating multiple receivers

The remote control included with this receiver can be used to operate up to three other receivers (of the same model as this receiver) in addition to this receiver. The

receiver to be operated is switched by inputting the preset code to set the remote control setting.

•Set the remote modes on the receivers before using this function (see Remote Control Mode Setup on page 96).

1 Check the operation selector switch to

2Press .

3 Press and hold

REMOTE SETUP

, then release it after

the LED flashes twice.

4 Use the number buttons to enter the 5-digit preset code (see below).

• Receiver 1: 6 1 9 3 5 (Default)

• Receiver 2: 6 2 6 3 0

• Receiver 3: 6 2 6 3 1

• Receiver 4: 6 2 6 3 2

When the preset code is fully input, the LED flashes once to indicate that the setting is completed.

To operate another receiver, start over from step 1 to input its preset code.

MAIN

Setting the remote to control other components

Most components can be assigned to one of the input function buttons (such as DVD or CD) using the component’s manufacturer preset code stored in the remote.

However, there are cases where only certain functions may be controllable after assigning the proper preset code, or the codes for the manufacturer in the remote control will not work for the model that you are using.

Note

•You can cancel or exit any of the steps by pressing . To go back a step, press RETURN.

•After one minute of inactivity, the remote

automatically exits the operation.

Selecting preset codes directly

1 Press the input function button for the component you want to control. When assigning preset codes to TV CONTROL, press TV CTRL here.

2 Press and hold the LED flashes twice.

3 Use the number buttons to enter the 5-digit preset code.

See Preset code list on page 113. When the preset code is fully input, the LED flashes once

to indicate that the setting is completed.

4 Repeat steps 1 through 3 for the other components you want to control.

To try out the remote control, switch the component on or off (into standby) by pressing  SOURCE. If it doesn’t seem to work, select the next code from the list (if there is one).

REMOTE SETUP

, then release it after

1 You can’t assign , TUNER, iPod/USB, XM or SIRIUS.

RECEIVER

Page 74

RECEIVER

Controlling the rest of your system

Resetting the remote control presets

This will erase all preset remote control preset codes and programmed buttons.

1 Check the operation selector switch to

2 Press .

3 Press and hold

RECEIVER

REMOTE SETUP

, then release it after

the LED flashes twice.

4 Use the number buttons to enter 9, 8, 1.

The LED flashes four times to indicate that the resetting is completed.

Default preset codes

Input function button Preset code

DVD 31571 BD 32442 DVR 22306 HDMI 32442 TV 14001 CD 70468 CD-R 71087 VIDEO 20058 TV CTRL 14001

61935

MAIN

Controls the components

This remote control can control components after entering the proper codes (see Setting the remote to control other components on page 73 for more on this). Use the input function buttons to select the component.

•The TV CONTROL buttons on the remote control are dedicated to control the TV assigned to the TV CTRL button. If you have two TVs, assign the main TV to the TV CTRL button.

RECEIVER

DVD BD DVR HDMI

TV CD CD-R

TUNER

iPod USB SIRIUSXM

INPUT

SELECT

123

456

789

TV CONTROL

AUDIO

PARAMETER

LIST

TOP MENU

BAND

PRESET PRESET

MCACCSIGNAL SEL

CH LEVELD.ACCESS

INPUT

VOL

TUNE

ENTER

SOURCE

HDMI OUT

SLEEP

DIMMERA.ATTSBch

CLASS

ENTER

MASTER VOLUME

MUTE

PARAMETER

TOOLS

VIDEO

T.E DI T

GUIDE

iPod CTRL

AUTO/ALC/

DIRECT

HDD DVD

ANT

AUDIO

REMOTE

SETUP

HOME

TUNE

STANDARD

STEREO

PHASE CTRLTHX STATUS

MPX PQLS

INFO

DISP

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

ZONE 2

MAIN

RECEIVER

ZONE 3

ADV SURR

MEMORY

RETURNCATEGORY

Page 75

Controlling the rest of your system

Button(s) TV TV (Monitor) BD/DVD HDD/DVR VCR SAT/CATV

 SOURCE POWER ON/OFF POWER ON/OFF POWER ON/OFF POWER ON/OFF POWER ON/OFF POWER ON/OFF Number buttons numerics numerics numerics numerics numerics numerics

• (dot) • (dot) KURO LINK CLEAR + - 

ENTER

(CLASS)

ENTER CH ENTER ENTER ENTER - ENTER

EXIT/INFO EXIT TOP MENU TOP MENU - LIST

TOOLS/GUIDE/

EPG /////////////// - /// ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER - ENTER

HOME MENU HOME MENU HOME MENU HOME MENU - HOME / MENU

RETURN RETURN RETURN RETURN - RETURN

HDD (Red) Red Red -HDD -Red DVD (Green) Green Green -DVD -Green

(Yellow)

(Blue)

 - -  - AUTO SETUP   - FREEZE   - -  - -  ANT  -SCREEN SIZE - 

AUDIO AUDIO AUDIO AUDIO AUDIO AUDIO AUDIO DISP DISPLAY DISPLAY DISPLAY DISPLAY - DISPLAY/INFO CH +/– CH+/

 +  - - - - -RECORD

a. Controls for BD.

Yellow Yellow -VCR -Yellow

Blue Blue MENU MENU - Blue

USER MENU TOOLS GUIDE - GUIDE

AV SELECTION

CH+/

 - 

OUTPUT RESOLUTION+/

CH+/

Page 76

Controlling the rest of your system

Button(s) LD CD/CD-R/SACD MD/DAT TAPE

 SOURCE POWER ON/OFF POWER ON/OFF POWER ON/OFF POWER ON/OFF Number buttons numerics numerics numerics -

• (dot) +10 >10/CLEAR CLEAR

ENTER

(CLASS)

////// - -/// ENTER ENTER - - -















AUDIO AUDIO DISP DISPLAY/INFO TIME

b. Controls for SACD. c. Controls for MD.

ENTER DISK/ENTER

TOP MENU - -MS

RETURN - - -

LEGATO LINK

SACD SETUPb - -

PURE AUDIO

OPEN/CLOSEcENTER

-MS

- -

CLEAR



Button(s) TV (Projector)

 SOURCE POWER ON 1 MOVIE 2 STANDARD 3 DYNAMIC 4 USER1 5 USER2 6 USER3 7 COLOR+ 8 SHARP+ 9 GAMMA 0 COLOR

• (dot) SHARP ENTER (CLASS) COLOR TEMP

//////

ENTER ENTER

 HDMI1  HDMI2  COMP.  VIDEO  S-VIDEO  BRIGHT  BRIGHT+

AUDIO POWER OFF DISP ASPECT CH +/– CONTRAST+/

EXIT

INFO

TEST

HIDE

Page 77

The Advanced MCACC menu

Note

DVD BD DVR HDMI

TV CD CD-R

TUNER

VIDEO

iPod USB SIRIUSXM

RECEIVER

SOURCE

T.ED I T GUIDE

TOP MENU BAND

RETURN

iPod CTRL

HOME MENU

LIST

TOOLS

CATEGORY

AUDIO

PARAMETER

ENTER

TUNE

PRESET PRESET

TUNE

VIDEO

PARAMETER

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

RECEIVER

1. Advanced MCACC

2. MCACC Data Check

3. Data Management

4. System Setup

Exit Return

HOME MENU

A/V RECEIVER

a. Full Auto MCACC

b. Auto MCACC c. Manual MCACC d. Demo

1.Advanced MCACC

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

Chapter 10:

The Advanced MCACC menu

Making receiver settings from the Advanced MCACC menu

The Advanced MCACC (Multi Channel ACoustic Calibration) system was developed in Pioneer’s laboratories with the aim of making it possible for home users to perform adjustments of the same level as in a studio easily and with high precision. The acoustic characteristics of the listening environment are measured and the frequency response is calibrated accordingly to allow high precision, automatic analysis and optimal calibration of the sound field to bring it closer to a studio environment than ever before. Furthermore, while it was previously difficult to eliminate standing waves, this receiver is equipped with a standing wave control function using a unique process to perform acoustic analysis and reduce their in

This section describes how to calibrate the sound field automatically and fine-adjust the sound field data manually.

1 Switch on the receiver and your TV.

Use  RECEIVER to switch on.

•If headp hones are connected to the receiver, disconnect them.

flu

ence.

3Select ‘ then press

Advanced MCACC

ENTER

’ from the

HOME MENU

4 Select the setting you want to adjust.

• Full Auto MCACC – See Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41 for a quick

and effective automatic surround setup.

• Auto MCACC – See Automatic MCACC (Expert) on page 78 for a more detailed MCACC setup.

• Manual MCACC – Fine-tunes your speaker settings and customize the Acoustic Calibration EQ (see Manual MCACC setup on page 80).

• Demo – No settings are saved and no errors occur. When the speakers are connected to this receiver, the test tone is output repeatedly. Press RETURN to cancel the test tone.

2 Press on the remote control, then press HOME MENU

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) screen appears on your TV. Use /// and ENTER to navigate through the screens and select menu items. Press RETURN to confirm and exit the current menu.

•Pr ess HOME MENU at any time to exit the HOME MENU.

1Make sure not to switch off the power when using the HOME MENU. 2 • You can’t use the HOME MENU when the iPod/USB, XM or SIRIUS Radio input function is selected (in either the main or sub zone).

• VSX-23TXH: When you set ZONE 2, ZONE 3 or ZONE 2&3 to ON (page 69), you can’t use the HOME MENU.

• VSX-21TXH: When you set ZONE 2 to ON (page 69), you can’t use the HOME MENU.

Page 78

Note

a. Full Auto MCACC

b. Auto MCACC

c. Manual MCACC d. Demo

1.Advanced MCACC

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

ALL

1b.Auto MCACC

START

Exit

A/V RECEIVER

Return

Speaker Setting Channel Level Speaker Distance EQ Pro & S-Wave

SYMMETRY : M1.MEMORY 1 ALL CH ADJ : M2.MEMORY 2 FRONT ALIGN : M3.MEMORY 3 THX Speaker : NO

ALL

SYMMETRY : M1.MEMORY 1

1b.Auto MCACC

ALL CH ADJ : M2.MEMORY 2 FRONT ALIGN : M3.MEMORY 3

START

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

Speaker Setting Channel Level Speaker Distance EQ Pro & S-Wave

THX Speaker : NO

The Advanced MCACC menu

Automatic MCACC (Expert)

If your setup requires more detailed settings than those provided in Automatically setting up for surround sound

(Auto MCACC) on page 41, you can customize your setup options below. You can calibrate your system differently for up to six different MCACC presets if you have different listening positions depending on the type of source (for example, watching movies from a sofa, or playing a video game close to the TV).

Important

•Make sure the microphone/speakers are not moved during the Auto MCACC Setup.

• Using the Auto MCACC Setup will overwrite any existing settings for the MCACC preset you select.

•The screen saver will automatically appear after five minutes of inactivity.

CAUTION

• The test tones used in the Auto MCACC Setup are output at high volume.

THX

1 Select ‘ menu, then press

Auto MCACC

ENTER

’ from the

If the Advanced MCACC screen is not displayed, refer to

Making receiver settings from the Advanced MCACC menu on page 77.

, which are useful

Advanced MCACC

1b.Auto MCACC

ALL

SYMMETRY : M1.MEMORY 1 ALL CH ADJ : M2.MEMORY 2 FRONT ALIGN : M3.MEMORY 3 THX Speaker : NO

START

A/V RECEIVER

Exit

Speaker Setting Channel Level Speaker Distance EQ Pro & S-Wave

Return

2 Select the parameters you want to set.

Use / to select the item, then use / to set.

• Auto MCACC – The default is ALL (recommended), but you can limit the system calibration to only one setting (to save time) if you want. options are ALL, Keep SP System,

The available

Speaker

Setting, Channel Level, Speaker Distance and EQ Pro & S-Wave.

• EQ Type (only available when the Auto MCACC Menu above is EQ Pro & S-Wave) – This determines

how the frequency balance is adjusted.

After a single calibration is performed, each of the following three correction curves can be stored separately in the MCACC memory. SYMMETRY (default) implements symmetric correction for each pair of left and right speakers to flatten the frequency-amplitude characteristics. ALL CH ADJ is a ‘flat’ setting where all the speakers are set individually so no special weighting

is given to any one channel. FRONT ALIGN

sets all speakers in accordance with the front speaker settings (no equalization is applied to the front left and right channels).

• THX Speaker (only available when the Auto MCACC Menu above is ALL or Speaker Setting) – Select YES if you are using THX speakers (set all speakers to SMALL), otherwise leave it set to NO.

• STAND.WAVE Multi-Point (only available when the Auto MCACC Menu above is EQ Pro & S-Wave) – In addition to measurements at the listening position, you can use two more reference points for which test tones will be analyzed for standing waves. This is useful if you want to get a balanced ‘flat’ calibration for several seating positions in your listening area. Place the microphone at the reference point indicated on-screen and note the last microphone

placement will be at your main listening position:

1 These are stored in memory and referred to as MEMORY1 to MEMORY6 until you rename them in Data Management on page 88. 2 You may also want to have separate calibration settings for the same listening position, depending on how you’re using your system. 3Except in cases where you are only adjusting one parameter (i.e. channel level) from the Auto MCACC menu (step 2). 4• The EQ Pro & S-Wave measurement is also taken when Keep SP System or EQ Pro & S-Wave is selected. See Acoustic Calibration EQ

Professional on page 83 for more on this.

• Either effect of Acoustic Calibration EQ Professional and Standing Wave can be switched on and off in the respective MCACC preset. For

details, see Setting the Audio options on page 66. 5The Keep SP System option allows you to calibrate your system while leaving your current speaker setting (page 91) unchanged. 6 If you selected ALL as your Auto MCACC menu, you can specify the MCACC preset where you want to save the ALL CH ADJ and FRONT

ALIGN settings.

7 Switch the Multi-Point setting NO if you only use one listening position.

Page 79

The Advanced MCACC menu

Note

1 2

2nd reference

point

3rd reference

point

Main listening

position

MASTER VOLUME

MCACC SETUP MIC

USB

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO CAMERA

HDMI 4

CONTROL ON / OFF

MASTER VOLUME

MCACC

SETUP

MIC

USB VIDEO L RAUD IO

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO 2 INPUT

CONTROL ON / OFF

MCACC

SETUP

MIC

USB VIDEO L RAUDIO

iPod

iPhone

VIDEO 2 INPUT

Now Analyzing... 2/9

Environment Check

1b.Auto MCACC

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Cancel

Ambient Noise : OK Microphone : Speaker YES/NO :

L : YES

R : YES

C : YES

1b.Auto MCACC

SR : YES SBR : YES SBL : YES SL : YES SW : YES 10

OK RETRY

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Cancel

3 Connect the microphone to the jack on the front panel.

•Push down on the PUSH OPEN tab to access the MCACC SETUP MIC jack.

Make sure there are no obstacles between the speakers and the microphone.

VSX-23TXH:

VSX-21TXH:

MCACC SETUP MIC

4 When you’re finished setting the options, select START

then press

ENTER

5 Follow the instructions on-screen.

•Make sure the microp hone is connected.

•If you’re using a subwoofer, it is automatically detected every time you switch on the system. Make sure it is on and the volume is turned up.

•See Problems when using the Auto MCACC Setup on page 43 for notes regarding high background noise levels and other possible interference.

6 Wait for the Auto MCACC Setup to finish outputting test tones.

A progress report is displayed on-screen while the receiver outputs test tones to determine the speakers present in your setup. Try to be as quiet as possible while

it’s doing this.

• Do not adjust the volume during the test tones. This may result in incorrect speaker settings.

•With error messages (such as Too much ambient noise! or Check microphone) select RETRY after checking for ambient noise (see Problems when using the Auto MCACC Setup on page 43) and verifying the mic connection. If there doesn’t seem to be a problem, you can simply select GO NEXT and continue.

7 If necessary, confirm the speaker configuration in the GUI screen.

The configuration shown on-screen should reflect the actual speakers you have.

If you have a tripod, use it to place the microphone so that it’s about ear level at your normal listening position. If you do not have a tripod, use some other object to install the microphone.

1 It may not be possible to measure correctly if the microphone is placed on a table, sofa, etc. 2 This screen is only shown if you selected ALL or Speaker Setting from the Auto MCACC menu.

Page 80

Note

Now Analyzing...

1b.Auto MCACC

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Cancel

Subwoofer Check :

The Advanced MCACC menu

•If Reverse Phase is displayed, the speaker’s wiring (+ and –) may be inverted. Check the speaker connections.

– If the connections were wrong, turn off the power,

disconnect the power cord, then reconnect properly. After this, perform the Full Auto MCACC procedure again. – If the connections were right, select GO NEXT and

continue.

8 Make sure ‘OK’ is selected, then press

A progress report is displayed on-screen while the receiver outputs more test tones to determine the

optimum receiver settings for channel level, speaker distance, and Acoustic Calibration EQ.

Now Analyzing... 5/9

Surround Analysis

Speaker System : OK Channel Level : Speaker Distance : Standing Wave : Reverb : Aco Cal EQ Pro :

Exit Cancel

Again, try to be as quiet as possible while this is happening. It may take 3 to 7 minutes.

•If you selected a STAND.WAVE Multi-Point setup (in step 2), you will be asked to place the mic at the 2nd and 3rd reference points before finally placing it at your main listening position.

9 The Auto MCACC Setup procedure is completed and the

Advanced MCACC

menu reappears automatically.

The settings made in the Auto MCACC Setup should give you excellent surround sound from your system, but it is also possible to adjust these settings manually using the

Manual MCACC setup menu (starting below) or Manual SP Setup menu (starting on page 90).

ENTER

1b.Auto MCACC

A/V RECEIVER

You can also choose to view the settings by selecting individual parameters from the MCACC Data Check screen:

• Speaker Setting – The size and number of speakers you’ve connected (see page 91 for more on this)

• Channel Level – The overall balance of your speaker system (see page 81 or 92 for more on this)

• Speaker Distance – The distance of your speakers from the listening position (see page 82 or 93 for more on this)

• Standing Wave – Filter settings to control lower ‘boomy’ frequencies (see page 82 for more on this)

• Acoustic Cal EQ – Adjustments to the frequency balance of your speaker system based on the acoustic characteristics of your room (see page 83 for more on this)

• Output PC – The data transfer mode with the connected computer is set. The graphs of the reverb characteristics before and after calibration and the various MCACC parameters can be checked (see Output PC on page 88 for more on this).

Press RETURN after you have finished checking each screen. Wh

en you’re fin

ished, select RETURN to go back

to the HOME MENU. Be sure to disconnect the microphone from this receiver

upon completion of the Auto MCACC Setup.

Manual MCACC setup

You can use the settings in the Manual MCACC setup menu to make detailed adjustments when you’re more familiar with the system. Before making these settings, you should have already completed Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41.

You only need to make these settings once (unless you change the placement of your current speaker system or add new speakers).

CAUTION

• The test tones used in the Manual MCACC setup a re output at high volume.

1If the speaker is not pointed to the microphone (listening position) or when using speakers that affect the phase (dipole speakers, reflective

speakers, etc.), Reverse Phase may be displayed even if the speakers are properly connected.

2• Depending on the characteristics of your room, sometimes identical speakers with cone sizes of around 12 cm will end up with different size

settings. You can correct the setting manually using the Manual speaker setup on page 90.

• The subwoofer distance setting may be farther than the actual distance from the listening position. This setting should be accurate (taking delay and room characteristics into account) and generally does not need to be changed.

• If Auto MCACC Setup measurem adjusting the settings manually.

3 Since the distance measurements have been set according to the sound characteristics of your speakers, there are cases where (for optimal

surround sound) the actual distance may differ from the speaker distance setting.

nt results are incorrect due to the interaction of the speakers and viewing environment, we recommend

Page 81

The Advanced MCACC menu

a. Full Auto MCACC b. Auto MCACC

c. Manual MCACC

d. Demo

1.Advanced MCACC

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

1. Fine Channel Level

2. Fine SP Distance

3. Standing Wave

1c.Manual MCACC

4. EQ Adjust

5. EQ Professional

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

1. Fine Channel Level

2. Fine SP Distance

3. Standing Wave

1c.Manual MCACC

4. EQ Adjust

5. EQ Professional

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

CAUTION

Loud test tones will be output.

Please wait...**

1c1.Fine Channel Level

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Cancel

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Cancel

MCACC : M1.MEMORY 1

Reference Ch : L

1c1.Fine Channel Level

Ref.Ch Level : 0.0 dB

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

R <=> L L : 0.0 dB

1c1.Fine Channel Level

R : 0.0 dB

C : 0.0 dB

SR : 0.0 dB

SL : 0.0 dB

SBL : 0.0 dB SBR : 0.0 dB SW : 0.0 dB

Important

• You will need to first specify the MCACC preset you want to adjust by pressing MCACC before pressing

HOME MENU (step 2 in Making receiver settings from the Advanced MCACC menu on page 77).

•For some of the settings below, you’ll have to connect the setup microphone to the front panel and place it about ear level at your normal listening position. Press HOME MENU to display the HOME MENU before you connect the microphone to this receiver. If the microphone is connected while the HOME MENU is not being displayed, the display will change to the Full Auto MCACC under Advanced MCACC.

•See Problems when using the Auto MCACC Setup on page 43 for notes regarding high backgrou

nd no

ise

levels and other possible interference.

•If you’re using a subwoofer, switch it on and turn up the volume to the middle position.

1 Select ‘ MCACC

Manual MCACC

menu.

’ from the

Advanced

See Making receiver settings from the Advanced MCACC menu on page 77 if you’re not already at this screen.

Fine Channel Level

• Default setting: 0.0dB (all channels)

You can achieve better surround sound by properly adjusting the overall balance of your speaker system. You can adjust the Channel Level of each speaker in 0.5 dB increments. The following setting can help you make detailed adjustments that you may not achieve using the Manual speaker setup on page 90.

1Select ‘ MCACC

The volume increases to the 0.0 dB reference level.

2 Adjust the level of the left channel.

This will be the reference speaker level, so you may want to keep the level around 0.0dB so that you’ll have plenty of room to adjust the other speaker levels.

Fine Channel Level

setup menu.

’ from the

Manual

2 Select the setting you want to adjust.

If you’re doing this for the first time, you might want to make these settings in order.

• Fine Channel Level – Make fine adjustments to the overall balance of your speaker system (see Fine Channel Level below).

• Fine SP Distance – Make precise delay settings for your speaker system (see Fine Speaker Distance below).

• Standing Wave – Control overly resonant low frequencies in your listening room (see Standing Wave on page 82).

The last two settings are specifically for customizing the parameters explained in Acoustic Calibration EQ Adjust on page 83:

• EQ Adjust – Manually adjust the frequency balance of your speaker system while listening to test tones (see Acoustic Calibration EQ Adjust on page 83).

• EQ Profes

nal – Calibrate your system based on

sio

the direct sound coming from the speakers and make detailed settings according to your room’s reverb characteristics (see Acoustic Calibration EQ Professional on page 83).

•After pressing ENTER, test tones will be output.

3 Select each channel in turn and adjust the levels ( –10.0 dB

) as necessary.

Use / to adjust the volume of the speaker you selected to match the reference speaker. When it sounds like both tones are the same volume, press  to confirm and continue to the next channel.

•For comparison purposes, the reference speaker will change depending on which speaker you select.

• If you want to go back and adjust a channel, simply use / to select it.

4 When you’re finished, press

RETURN

You will return to the Manual MCACC setup menu.

Page 82

Note

1. Fine Channel Level

2. Fine SP Distance

3. Standing Wave

1c.Manual MCACC

4. EQ Adjust

5. EQ Professional

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

1. Fine Channel Level

2. Fine SP Distance

3. Standing Wave

1c.Manual MCACC

4. EQ Adjust

5. EQ Professional

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

The Advanced MCACC menu

Fine Speaker Distance

•Default setting: 10’00” (all speakers)

For proper sound depth and separation with your system, it is necessary to add a slight bit of delay to some speakers so that all sounds will arrive at the listening position at the same time. You can adjust the distance of each speaker in 1/2 inch increments. The following setting can help you make detailed adjustments that you may not achieve using the Manual speaker setup on page 90.

1 Select ‘ setup menu.

2 Adjust the distance of the left channel from the listening position.

3 Select each channel in turn and adjust the distance as necessary.

Use / to adjust the delay of the speaker you selected to match the reference speaker. The delay is measured in terms of speaker distance from 0’00-1/2” to 45’00”.

Listen to the reference speaker and use it to measure the target channel. From the listening position, face the two speakers with your arms outstretched pointing at each speaker. Try to make the two tones sound as if they are arriving simultaneously at a position slightly in fr ont of you and between your arm span.

Fine SP Distance

1c2.Fine SP Distance

R <=> L L : 10’10”

R : 9’10”

C : 10’10” SL : 9’00” SR : 9’00” SBL : 6’00” SBR : 6’00” SW : 12’10”

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

’ from the

MCACC : M1.MEMORY 1

Reference Ch : L

Ref.Ch Distance

Manual MCACC

1c2.Fine SP Distance

A/V RECEIVER

: 10’00”

Exit Cancel

When it sounds like the delay settings are matched up, press  to confirm and continue to the next channel.

•For comparison purposes, the reference speaker will change depending on which speaker you select.

• If you want to go back and adjust a channel, simply use / to select it.

4 When you’re finished, press

RETURN

You will return to the Manual MCACC setup menu.

Standing Wave

• Default setting: ON2/ATT 0.0dB (all filters)

Acoustic standing waves occur when, under certain conditions, sound waves from your speaker system resonate mutually with sound waves reflected off the walls in your listening area. This can have a negative effect on the overall sound, especially at certain lower frequencies. Depending on speaker placement, your listening position, and ultimately the shape of your room, it results in an overly resonant (‘boomy’) sound. The Standing Wave Control uses filters to reduce the effect of overly resonant sounds in your listening area. During playback of a source, you can customize the filters used for Standing Wave Control for each of your MCACC

presets.

1 Select ‘ setup menu.

Standing Wave

’ from the

Manual MCACC

1c3.Standing Wave

A/V RECEIVER

Filter 2

Filter 1

Filter

Freq

QATT

Freq

Channel

MCACC

M1.MEMORY1

Exit Finish

QATT

[Hz]

[dB]

[Hz]

63SW

105.0 120 105.0 201 10 +10.05.0

0 5

16 32 63 125 250 500 1k Hz

[dB]

Filter 3

TRIM

Freq

QATT

[Hz]

[dB]

1 • If you can’t seem to achieve this by adjusting the distance setting, you may need to change the angle of your speakers very slightly.

• For better audibility, the subwoofer emits a continuous test tone (oscillating pulses are heard from your other speakers). Note that it may be difficult to compare this tone with the other speakers in your setup (depending on the low frequency response of the reference speaker).

2 You can switch on or off the Standing Wave and Acoustic Calibration EQ feature in the AUDIO PARAMETER menu. See Setting the Audio

options on page 66 for more on this.

3 • Since they will be overwritten, you may want to save the standing wave settings made with the Auto MCACC Setup to another MCACC preset.

• Standing Wave control filter settings cannot be changed during playback of sources using the HDMI connection.

• When Standing Wave is selected for an MCACC preset memory where STAND.WAVE is set to OFF in the AUDIO PARAMETER,

STAND.WAVE ON is automatically selected.

Page 83

The Advanced MCACC menu

Note

1. Fine Channel Level

2. Fine SP Distance

3. Standing Wave

1c.Manual MCACC

4. EQ Adjust

5. EQ Professional

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

1c4.EQ Adjust

Exit Finish

0.0Ch : L -6.0-8.0 0.0 +8.5+3.0 +8.5 0.0 0.0+3.0

A/V RECEIVER

[Hz]

125

[Hz]

250

[Hz]

500

[Hz]1k[Hz]2k[Hz]4k[Hz]8k[Hz]

16k

[Hz]

TRIM

MCACC

M1.MEMORY1

2 Adjust the parameters for the Standing Wave Control.

• Filter Channel – Select the channel to which you will apply the filter(s): MAIN (all except center channel and subwoofer), Center or SW (subwoofer).

• TRIM (only available when the filter channel above is SW) – Adjust the subwoofer channel level (to compensate for the difference in output post-filter).

• Freq / Q / ATT – These are the filter parameters where Freq represents the frequency you will be targeting and Q is the bandwidth (the higher the Q, the narrower the bandwidth, or range) of the attenuation (ATT, the amount of reduction to the targeted frequency).

3 When you’re finished, press

RETURN

You will return to the Manual MCACC setup menu.

Acoustic Calibration EQ Adjust

• Default setting: ON1/0.0dB (all channels/bands)

Acoustic Calibration Equalization is a kind of room equalizer for your speakers (excluding the subwoofer). It works by measuring the acoustic characteristics of your room and neutralizing the ambient characteristics that can color the original source material (providing a ‘flat’ equalization setting). If you’re not satisfied with the adjustment provided in Automatically setting up for

surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41 or Automatic MCACC (Expert) on page 78, you can also adjust these

settings manually to get a frequency balance that suits your tastes.

1 Select ‘ menu.

2 Select the channel(s) you want and adjust to your liking.

EQ Adjust

’ from the

Manual MCACC

setup

Use / to select the channel. Use / to select the frequency and / to boost or

cut the EQ. When you’re finished, go back to the top of the screen and press  to return to Ch, then use / to select the channel.

•The OVER! indicator shows in the display if the frequency adjustment is too drastic and might distort. If this happens, bring the level down until OVER! disappears from the display.

Tip

•Changing the frequency curve of one channel too drastically will affect the overall balance. If the speaker balance seems uneven, you can raise or lower channel levels using test tones with the



to select

TRIM

, then use

TRIM

/

feature. Use

to raise or lower the

/

channel level for the current speaker.

3 When you’re finished, press

RETURN

You will return to the Manual MCACC setup menu.

Acoustic Calibration EQ Professional

This setup minimizes the unwanted effects of room reverberation by allowing you to calibrate your system

based on the direct sound coming from the speakers. It can also provide you with a graphical output of the frequency response of your room.

How to use Acoustic Calibration EQ Professional

If you find that lower frequencies seem overly reverberant in your listening room (i.e. it sounds ‘boomy’), or that different channels seem to exhibit different reverb characteristics, select EQ Pro & S-Wave (or ALL) for the Auto MCACC setting in Automatic MCACC (Expert) on

page 78 to calibrate the room automatically. This should provide a balanced calibration that suits the

characteristics of your listening room. If you still aren’t satisfied with the results, the manual

Advanced EQ Setup (below) provides a more customized calibration of your system using the direct sound of the speakers. This is done with the help of a graphical output that can be displayed on-screen, or using a

mputer (with software available from Pioneer

— see Output PC on page 88).

1 When EQ Adjust is selected for an MCACC preset memory where EQ is set to OFF in the AUDIO PARAMETER, EQ ON is automatically

selected.

2 This system allows you to customize your system calibration with the help of a graphical output that can be displayed on-screen, or using a

computer (with software available from Pioneer—see Output PC on page 88 for more on this).

Page 84

Note

Level

Test tone

Acoustic Cal. EQ Pro. calibration range

Conventional MCACC EQ calibration range

Time (in msec)

160

Level

Low frequencies

Acoustic Cal. EQ Pro. calibration range

Time (in msec)

80 160

High frequencies

Conventional MCACC EQ calibration range

Level

Front L

Acoustic Cal. EQ Pro. calibration range

Time (in msec)

80 160

Front R

Conventional MCACC EQ calibration range

1. Fine Channel Level

2. Fine SP Distance

3. Standing Wave

1c.Manual MCACC

4. EQ Adjust

5. EQ Professional

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

The Advanced MCACC menu

How to interpret the graphical output

The graph shows decibels on the vertical axis and time (in milliseconds) on the horizontal axis. A straight line indicates a flat-response room (no reverb), whereas a sloping line indicates the presence of reverberation when outputting test tones. The sloping line will eventually flatten out when the reverberant sound stabilizes (this usually takes about 100 ms or so).

By analyzing the graph, you should be able to see how your room is responding to certain frequencies. Differences in channel level and speaker distance are taken into account automatically (compensation is provided for comparison purposes), and the frequency measurements can be examined both with and without the equalization performed by t

is receiver.

Setting Acoustic Calibration EQ Professional according to your room characteristics

Using the manual setup, you can set the time period at which the frequency response is analyzed, pinpointing the time that is best for system calibration with your particular room characteristics.

The graph below shows the difference between conventional acoustic calibration and professional calibration (the gray circle indicates the point where the microphone captures sound during frequency analysis).

• Reverberance of high vs. low frequencies – Depending on your room, you may find that lower frequencies seem overly reverberant compared to higher frequencies (i.e. your room sounds ‘boomy’). This may result in a skewed frequency analysis if the measurement is done too late.

• Reverb characteristics for different channels – Reverb characteristics can be somewhat different for each channel. Since this difference increases as the sound is influenced by the various room characteristics, it is often better to capture a frequency an

aly

sis early on for smoother mixing of

channel frequencies/sounds.

As soon as audio is output from your speaker system, it is influenced by room characteristics, such as walls, furniture, and the dimensions of the room. The sooner the frequency a room. We recommend an earlier time setting of 30-50ms to compensate for two major factors that will influence the sound of most rooms:

1 Note that due to an effect known as ‘group delay’, lower frequencies will take longer to be generated than higher frequencies (this is most

obvious when comparing the frequencies at 0 ms). This initial slope is not a problem (i.e. excessive reverb) with your listening room.

nalysis, the less it

is influenced by the

If your room isn’t affected by the factors above, it is often not necessary to make a 30-50ms setting. Later time settings may provide a more detailed sound experience with your speaker system. It is best to try and see what works best for your particular room.

Note that changing the room (for example, moving furniture or paintings) will affect the calibration results. In such cases, you should recalibrate your system.

Using Acoustic Calibration EQ Professional

1 Select ‘

EQ Professional

’, then press

a. Reverb Measurement

b. Reverb View c. Advanced EQ Setup

Exit Return

ENTER

1c5.EQ Professional

A/V RECEIVER

Page 85

The Advanced MCACC menu

Note

MCACC : M1.MEMORY 1

1c5a.Reverb Measurement

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Cancel

START

Reverb Measure with : EQ OFF

1c5b.Reverb View

Exit Return

Channel : Front M1.MEMORY 1

Calibration : After

Frequency : 63Hz

SYMMETRY

A/V RECEIVER

53.0

55.0

57.0

59.0

61.0

63.0

16 kHz

8 kHz 4 kHz 2 kHz

1 kHz 500 Hz 250 Hz 125 Hz

63 Hz

0 40 80 120 160

2 Select an option and press

ENTER

• Reverb Measurement – Use this to measure the reverb characteristics before and after calibration.

(For graphical output using a PC, see Connecting a PC for Advanced MCACC output on page 36 to

connect an RS-232C cable before selecting this option.)

• Reverb View – You can check the reverb measurements made for specified frequency ranges in each channel. the reverb characteristics before and after calibration.

This can also be used to compare

• Advanced EQ Setup – Use this to select the time period that will be used for frequency adjustment and calibration, based on the reverb measurement of your listening area. Note that customizing system calibration using this setup will alter the settings you made in Automatically setting up for surround sound

(Auto MCACC) on page 41 or Automatic MCACC (Expert) on page 78 and is not necessary if you’re

satisfied with these settings.

3 If you selected ‘ ON

OFF

, and then

Reverb Measurement

START

’, select EQ

The following options determine how the reverb characteristics of your listening area are displayed in

Reverb View and Output PC (see Connecting a PC for Advanced MCACC output on page 36):

• EQ OFF – You will see the reverb characteristics of your listening area without the equalization performed by this receiver (before calibration).

• EQ ON – You will see the reverb characteristics of your listening area with the equalization performed by this receiver (after calibration). response may not appear entirely flat due to adjustments necessary for your listening area.

Note that the EQ

When the reverb measurement is finished, you can select Reverb View to see the results on-screen. See Professional Calibration EQ graphical output on page 102 for troubleshooting information.

4 If you selected ‘ reverb characteristics for each channel. Press

Reverb View

’, you can check the

RETURN

when you’re done.

The reverb characteristics are displayed when the Full Auto MCACC or Reverb Measurement measurements

are conducted.

Use / to select the channel, frequency and calibration setting you want to check. Use / to go back and forth between the three. The reverb characteristics graph before and after EQ calibration can be displayed by selecting Calibration : Before / After. Note that the markers on the vertical axis indicate decibels in 2 dB steps.

1If the Reverb View procedure is performed after the Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41 or Reverb

Measurement operation, depending on the standing wave control setting, differences may appear on the reverb graph. With the Auto MCACC function, the reverberations are measured with the standing waves controlled, so the reverb characteristics graph shows the characteristics with the effect of the standing waves eliminated. By contrast, the Reverb Measurement function measures the reverberations without controlling the standing waves, so the graph indicates the reverb characteris check the reverb characteristics of the room itself (with the standing waves as such), we recommend using the Reverb Measurement function.

2The reverb characteristics after calibration can be displayed even after performing the Full Auto MCACC function (Automatically setting up

for surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41). In this case, the display shows the predicted reverb characteristics after calibration. If the measurements are taken using the Reverb Measurement command (page 85) with the equalizer on, the actually measured reverb characteristics after calibration are displayed.

3 • The calibration corresponding to the currently selected MCACC preset will be used when EQ ON is selected. To use another MCACC preset,

exit the HOME MENU and press MCACC to select it before pressing HOME MENU.

• The predicted reverb characteristics after calibration can be acquired with the Full Auto MCACC function (Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41), but here the actually measured reverb characteristics after calibration can be acquired.

4After auto calibration with EQ Type : SYMMETRY (Full Auto MCACC, etc.), the graph for the inferred reverb characteristics can be displayed

by selecting Rever

5The After display when measurements have been made using the Full Auto MCACC o r Auto MCACC (ALL) function shows the graph for the

inferred reverb characteristics after EQ Type : SYMMETRY calibration.

6The reverb characteristics graph is overwritten each time the reverberations are measured. No Data is displayed if there is no reverb

characteristic data,

b Vie

w. To display the actually measured reverb characteristics after EQ calibration, measure with EQ ON.

for ex

ample before measurements have been taken.

tics including the effect of the s

tanding waves. If you wish to

Page 86

MCACC : M1.MEMORY 1

1c5c.Adv.EQ Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Cancel

START

Time Position : 30-5 0ms

EQ Type : SYMMETRY STAND.WAVE Multi-P : NO

MCACC : M1.MEMORY 1

1c5c.Adv.EQ Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Cancel

START

Time Position : 30-5 0ms EQ Type : SYMMETRY STAND.WAVE Multi-P

: NO

1. Advanced MCACC

2. MCACC Data Check

3. Data Management

4. System Setup

Exit Return

HOME MENU

A/V RECEIVER

The Advanced MCACC menu

5If ‘

Advanced EQ Setup MCACC memory to be stored, then enter the desired time setting for calibration, and then select

Based on the reverb measurement above, you can choose the time period that will be used for the final frequency adjustment and calibration. Even though you can make this setting without reverb measurement, it is best to use the measurement results as a reference for your time setting. For an optimal system calibration based on the direct sound coming from the speakers, we recommend using the 30-50ms setting.

Use / to select the setting. Use / to switch between them.

Select the setting from the following time periods (in milliseconds): 0-20ms, 10-30ms, 20-40ms, 30-50ms, 40- 60ms, 50-70ms and 60-80ms. This setting will be applied to all channels during calibration.

When you’re finished, select START. It will take about 2 to 4 minutes for the calibration to finish.

After the Acoustic Calibration Equalization is set, you are given the option to check the settings on-screen.

’ is selected, select the

START

Checking MCACC Data

At the procedure of Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41, the procedure of Automatic MCACC (Expert) on page 78 or after fine-

adjusting at Manual MCACC setup on page 80, you can check your calibrated settings using the GUI screen or, if a computer is connected, on the computer’s screen.

1 Press , then press

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) screen appears on your TV. Use /// and ENTER to navigate through the screens and select menu items. Press RETURN to confirm and exit the current menu.

2 Select ‘ MENU

3 Select the setting you want to check.

• Speaker Setting – Used to check the settings of the

• Channel Level – Used to check the output level of the

• Speaker Distance – Used to check the distance to

• Standing Wave – Used to check the standing wave

• Acoustic Cal EQ –

• Output PC – See Output PC on page 88 for more on

4 Press menu, repeating steps 2 and 3 to check other settings.

5 When you’re finished, press You will return to the HOME MENU.

RECEIVER

MCACC Data Check

HOME MENU

’ from the

HOME

2.MCACC Data Check

a. Speaker Setting

b. Channel Level c. Speaker Distance d. Standing Wave e. Acoustic Cal EQ f. Output PC

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

speaker systems. See Speaker Setting below for more on this.

different speakers. See Channel Level below for more on this.

the different speakers. See Speaker Distance below for more on this.

control filter settings. See Standing Wave on page 87 for more on this.

Used to check the calibration values of the listening environment’s frequency response. See

Acoustic Cal EQ on page 87

for more on

this.

RETURN

to go back to

MCACC Data Check

RETURN

Page 87

The Advanced MCACC menu

Front : LARGE

Surr : LARGE

Center : LARGE

2a.Speaker Setting

SB : LARGE x 2 SW : YES

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

MCACC : M1.MEMORY 1

L : 0.0 dB

2b.Channel Level

C : 0.0 dB R : 0.0 dB

SBR : 0.0 dB

SR : 0.0 dB

SBL : 0.0 dB SL : 0.0 dB SW : 0.0 dB

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

L : 10’10”

2c.Speaker Distance

C : 10’10” R : 9’10”

SBR : 6’00”

SR : 9’00”

SBL : 6’00” SL : 9’00” SW : 12’10”

MCACC : M1.MEMORY 1

2d.Standing Wave

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

Filter 1

Freq

[Hz]

QATT

[dB]

Filter 2

Freq

[Hz]

QATT

[dB]

Filter 3

Freq

[Hz]

QATT

[dB]

63SW

Filter

Channel

105.0 120 105.0 201 10 +10.05.0

TRIM

[dB]

0 5

16 32 63 125 250 500 1k Hz

MCACC

M1.MEMORY1

[Hz]

125

[Hz]

250

[Hz]

500

[Hz]1k[Hz]2k[Hz]4k[Hz]8k[Hz]

16k

[Hz]

TRIM

2e.Acoustic Cal EQ

Exit Return

0.0Ch : L -6.0-8.0 0.0 +8.5+3.0 +8.5 0.0 0.0+3.0

A/V RECEIVER

MCACC

M1.MEMORY1

Speaker Setting

Use this to display the speaker size and number of speakers. See

1 Select ‘ Check

Speaker Setting

menu.

on page 91 for more on this.

’ from the

MCACC Data

2 Select the channel you want to check.

Use / to select the channel. The corresponding channel on the layout diagram is highlighted.

Channel Level

Use this to display the level of the various channels. See Channel Level on page 92 for more on this.

1 Select ‘ Check

Channel Level

menu.

’ from the

MCACC Data

2 When ‘

MCACC

’ is highlighted, use

/

to select

the MCACC preset you want to check.

The distance from the various channels set at the selected MCACC preset is displayed. ‘---’ is displayed for channels that are not connected.

Standing Wave

Use this to display the standing wave related adjustment values for the various MCACC memories. See Standing Wave on page 82 for more on this.

1Select ‘ Check

2 When ‘ select the channel for which you want to check standing wave control.

The standing wave related calibration value for the selected channel stored at the selected MCACC preset and its graph are displayed.

3Press  to highlight ‘ select the MCACC preset you want to check.

Standing Wave

menu.

Filter Channel

’ from the

MCACC Data

’ is highlighted, use

MCACC

’, then use

/

MCACC

2 When ‘

’ is highlighted, use

the MCACC preset you want to check.

The level of the various channels set at the selected MCACC preset is displayed. ‘---’ is displayed for channels that are not connected.

Speaker Distance

Use this to display the distance from the different channels to the listening position. See Speaker Distance on page 93 for more on this.

1 Select ‘ Check

Speaker Distance

menu.

’ from the

/

to select

MCACC Data

Acoustic Cal EQ

Use this to display the calibration values for the frequency response of the various channels set in the different MCACC presets. See Acoustic Calibration EQ Adjust on page 83 for more on this.

1Select ‘ Check

2 When ‘ channel.

The calibration value for the frequency response of the selected channel stored at the selected MCACC preset and its graph are displayed.

3Press  to highlight ‘ select the MCACC preset you want to check.

Acoustic Cal EQ

menu.

’ is highlighted, use

’ from the

MCACC

MCACC Data

/

to select the

’, then use

/

Page 88

Note

1. Advanced MCACC

2. MCACC Data Check

3. Data Management

4. System Setup

Exit Return

HOME MENU

A/V RECEIVER

The Advanced MCACC menu

Output PC

Before continuing, make sure you have completed step 2 in Checking MCACC Data on page 86. The data measured with the Advanced MCACC function is transmitted to the connected computer. characteristics before and after calibration and the MCACC results (parameters) can be checked.

1 Select ‘ and press

Output PC

ENTER

When the receiver is ready for transmission, Start the MCACC application on your PC shows on the GUI

screen.

2 Start the MCACC application on your computer.

Follow the instructions provided with the application. It will take about ten seconds for the transmission to complete, then you will be able to analyze the output on your computer. The various parameters and the reverb characteristics data used for display on the computer are not cleared when the power is turned off. If the reverb characteristics are re-measured, however, the data is overwritten.

3 When you’re finished, press

You will return to the MCACC Data Check menu. Continue with other operations in the MCACC Data Check menu if necessary. Press RETURN again to exit the MCACC Data Check menu.

The 3D graphs of the reverb

’ from

MCACC Data Check

2f.Output PC

A/V RECEIVER

Start the MCACC application on your PC.

Exit Cancel

RETURN

Data Management

This system allows you to store up to six MCACC presets, allowing you to calibrate your system for different listening positions (or frequency adjustments for the same listening position). settings to match the kind of source you’re listening to and where you’re sitting (for example, watching movies from a sofa, or playing a video game close to the TV).

From this menu you can copy from one preset to another, name presets for easier identification and clear any ones you don’t need.

1 Press , then press

RECEIVER

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) screen appears on your TV. Use /// and ENTER to navigate through the screens and select menu items. Press RETURN to confirm and exit the current menu.

2 Select ‘

Data Management

3 Select the setting you want to adjust.

• Memory Rename – Name your MCACC presets for easy identification (see Renaming MCACC presets below).

• MCACC Memory Copy – Copy settings from one MCACC preset to another (see Copying MCACC preset data below).

• MCACC Memory Clear – Clear any MCACC presets that you don’t want (see Clearing MCACC presets on page 89).

This is useful for alternate

HOME MENU

’ from the

3.Data Management

a. Memory Rename

b. MCACC Memory Copy c. MCACC Memory Clear

Exit Return

HOME MENU

A/V RECEIVER

1To transmit data, the receiver and computer must be connected using an RS-232C cable and a special application must be installed on the

computer. See Connecting a PC for Advanced MCACC output on page 36 for more on this.

2 Only one set of reverb characteristics is stored on the receiver. If you wish to compare several different measurement results, transmit the

data to the computer each time reverb measurements are taken.

3 This can be done in Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41 or Automatic MCACC (Expert) on page 78, either of

which you should have already completed.

Page 89

The Advanced MCACC menu

Note

a. Memory Rename

b. MCACC Memory Copy c. MCACC Memory Clear

3.Data Management

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

a. Memory Rename

b. MCACC Memory Copy

c. MCACC Memory Clear

3.Data Management

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

Copy : All Data

From : M1.MEMORY 1

3b.MCACC Memory Copy

To : M1.MEMORY 1

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Cancel

a. Memory Rename b. MCACC Memory Copy

c. MCACC Memory Clear

3.Data Management

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

Clear : M1.MEMORY 1

3c.MCACC Memory Clear

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Cancel

Renaming MCACC presets

If you have several different MCACC presets that you’re using, you may want to rename them for easier identification.

1 Select ‘ Management

Memory Rename

setup menu.

’ from the

MCACC Position Rename

M1 : MEMORY 1

M2 : MEMORY 2 M3 : MEMORY 3 M4 : MEMORY 4 M5 : MEMORY 5 M6 : MEMORY 6

Exit Finish

Data

3a.Memory Rename

A/V RECEIVER

2 Select the MCACC preset you want to rename, then select an appropriate preset name.

Use / to select the preset, then / to select a preset name.

3 Repeat for as many MCACC presets as necessary, then press

RETURN

when you’re finished.

You will return to the Data Management setup menu.

Copying MCACC preset data

If you want to manually adjust the Acoustic Calibration EQ (see Manual MCACC setup on page 80), we recommend copying your current settings MCACC preset. Instead of just a flat EQ curve, this will give you a reference point from which to start.

1 Select ‘ Management

MCACC Memory Copy

setup menu.

to an unused

’ from the

Data

4Select ‘OK’ to confirm and copy the settings.

When MCACC Memory Copy? is displayed, select YES. If NO is selected, the memory is not copied.

Completed! shows in the GUI screen to confirm the MCACC preset has been copied, then you automatically return to the Data Management setup menu.

Clearing MCACC presets

If you are no longer using one of the MCACC presets stored in memory, you can choose to clear the calibration settings of that preset.

1Select ‘ Management

2 Select the MCACC preset you want to clear.

Make sure you don’t clear an MCACC preset you’re currently using (this can’t be undone).

3Select ‘OK’ to confirm and clear the preset.

When MCACC Memory Clear? is displayed, select YES. If NO is selected, the memory is not cleared.

Completed! shows in the GUI screen to confirm the MCACC preset has been cleared, then you automatically

return to the Data Management setup menu.

MCACC Memory Clear

setup menu.

’ from the

Data

2 Select the setting you want to copy.

• All Data – Copies all the settings of the selected MCACC preset memory.

• Level & Distance – Copies only the channel level and speaker distance settings of the selected MCACC preset memory.

3 Select the MCACC preset you’ll be copying the settings ‘ them (‘

From

’, then specify where you want to copy

’).

Make sure you don’t overwrite an MCACC preset you’re currently using (this can’t be undone).

1 The settings made in Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41 or Automatic MCACC (Expert) on page 78.

Page 90

Note

DVD BD DVR HDMI

TV CD CD-R

TUNER

VIDEO

iPod USB SIRIUSXM

RECEIVER

SOURCE

T.ED I T GUIDE

TOP MENU BAND

RETURN

iPod CTRL

HOME MENU

LIST

TOOLS

CATEGORY

AUDIO

PARAMETER

ENTER

TUNE

PRESET PRESET

TUNE

VIDEO

PARAMETER

REMOTE

SETUP

ZONE 2

MAIN

ZONE 3

ANT

MEMORY

AUDIO

INFO

DISP

MPX PQLS

RECEIVER

TV CTRL

1. Advanced MCACC

2. MCACC Data Check

3. Data Management

4. System Setup

Exit Return

HOME MENU

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

a.Manual SP Setup

b. Input Setup c. OSD Language d. Other Setup

4.System Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

a.Manual SP Setup

b. Input Setup c. OSD Language d. Other Setup

4.System Setup

The system and the other setup

Chapter 11:

The system and the other setup

• Manual SP Setup – Sets the type of connection used

Making receiver settings from the System Setup menu

The following section describes how to change the speaker-related settings manually and make various other settings (input selection, OSD language selection, etc.).

1 Switch on the receiver and your TV.

Use the  RECEIVER button to switch on.

•If headphones are connected to the receiver, disconnect them.

2 Press , then press

RECEIVER

HOME MENU

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) screen appears on your TV. Use /// and ENTER to navigate through the screens and select menu items. Press RETURN to confirm and exit the current menu.

•Press HOME MENU at any time to exit the HOME

MENU.

3 Select ‘ press

System Setup

ENTER

’ from the

4 Select the setting you want to adjust.

HOME MENU

, then

for surround back terminals and the size, number distance and overall balance of the connected speakers (see Manual speaker setup below).

• Input Setup – Specifies what you’ve connected to the digital, HDMI and component video inputs (see The Input Setup menu on page 43).

• OSD Language – The GUI screen’s display language can be changed (see Changing the OSD display language (OSD Language) on page 40).

• Other Setup – Changes customized settings to

reflect how you are using the receiver (see The Other Setup menu on page 94).

Manual speaker setup

This receiver allows you to make detailed settings to optimize the surround sound performance. You only need to make these settings once (unless you change the placement of your current speaker system or add new speakers).

These settings are designed to customize your system, but if you’re satisfied with the settings made in

Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41, it isn’t necessary to make all of

these settings.

CAUTION

• The test tones used in the Manual SP Setup are output at high volume.

1 Select ‘

See Making receiver settings from the System Setup menu above if you’re not already at this screen.

Manual SP Setup

’, then press

4a.Manual SP Setup

1. Surr Back System

2. Speaker Setting

3. Channel Level

4. Speaker Distance

5. X-Curve

6. THX Audio Setting

A/V RECEIVER

ENTER

1Make sure not to switch off the power when using the System Setup menu. 2 • You can’t use the HOME MENU when the iPod/USB, XM or SIRIUS Radio input function is selected (in either the main or sub zone).

• VSX-23TXH: When you set ZONE 2, ZONE 3 or ZONE 2&3 to ON (page 69), you can’t use the HOME MENU.

• VSX-21TXH: When you set ZONE 2 to ON (page 69), you can’t use the HOME MENU.

Exit Return

2 Select the setting you want to adjust.

If you are doing this for the first time, you may want to adjust these settings in order:

Page 91

The system and the other setup

1. Surr Back System

2. Speaker Setting

3. Channel Level

4a.Manual SP Setup

4. Speaker Distance

5. X-Curve

6. THX Audio Setting

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

Normal

Front : Normal

4a1.Surr Back System

Center : Normal Surr : Normal SB : Normal

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

Note

1. Surr Back System

2. Speaker Setting

3. Channel Level

4. Speaker Distance

5. X-Curve

6. THX Audio Setting

4a.Manual SP Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

Front : LARGE

Surr : LARGE

Center : LARGE

4a2.Speaker Setting

SB : LARGE x 2 SW : YES

X.OVER : 80Hz

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

• Surr Back System – Specifies how you are using your surround back speakers (see below).

• Speaker Setting – Specifies the size and number of speakers you’ve connected (see below).

• Channel Level – Adjusts the overall balance of your speaker system (page 92).

• Speaker Distance – Specifies the distance of your speakers from the listening position (page 93).

• X-Curve – Adjusts the tonal balance of your speaker system for movie soundtracks (page 93).

• THX Audio Setting – Specifies whether you are using a THX speaker setup (page 93).

3 Make the adjustments necessary for each setting, pressing

RETURN

to confirm after each screen.

Surround back speaker setting

• Default setting: Normal

There are several ways you can use the surround back speaker channels with this system. In addition to a normal home theater setup where they are used for the surround back speakers, they can be used for bi-amping the front speakers or as an independent speaker system in another room.

1 Select ‘ Setup

See Making receiver settings from the System Setup menu on page 90 if you’re not already at this screen.

2 Select the surround back speaker setting.

• Normal – Select for normal home theater use with

• Speaker B – Select to use the (surround back) B

• Front Bi-Amp – Select this setting if you’re bi-

• ZONE 2 – Select to use the (surround back) B

Surr Back System

’ from the

Manual SP

menu.

surround back speakers in your main (speaker system A) setup.

speaker terminals to listen to stereo playback in another room (see Switching the speaker system on page 69).

amping your front speakers (see Bi-amping your speakers on page 21).

speaker terminals for an independent system in another zone (see Using the MULTI-ZONE controls on page 69).

3 When ‘

Setting Change?

’ is displayed, select

Yes

If No is selected, the setting is not changed. You will return to the Manual SP Setup menu.

Speaker Setting

Use this setting to specify your speaker configuration (size, number of speakers and crossover frequency) a good idea to make sure that the settings made in

Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC) on page 41 are correct. Note that this setting

applies to all MCACC presets, and cannot be set independently.

1Select ‘

Speaker Setting

’ from the

Manual SP Setup

menu.

2 Choose the set of speakers that you want to set, then select a speaker size.

Use / to select the size (and number) of each of the following speakers:

• Front – Select LARGE if your front speakers reproduce bass frequencies effectively, or if you didn’t connect a subwoofer. Select SMALL to send the bass frequencies to the subwoofer.

• Center – Select LARGE if your center speaker reproduces bass frequencies effectively, or select SMALL to send bass frequencies to the other speakers or subwoofer. If you didn’t connect a center speaker, choose NO (the center channel is sent to the front speakers).

• Surr – Select LARGE if your surround speakers reproduce bass freque

ncies effective

ly. Select SMALL to send bass frequencies to the other speakers or subwoofer. If you didn’t connect surround speakers choose NO (the sound of the surround channels is sent to the front speakers or a subwoofer).

. It is

1If you’re using a THX speaker setup, set all speakers to SMALL. 2 If you select SMALL for the front speakers the subwoofer will automatically be fixed to YES. Also, the center, surround and surround back

speakers can’t be set to LARGE if the front speakers are set to SMALL. In this case, all bass frequencies are sent to the subwoofer.

Page 92

Note

4a.Manual SP Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

1. Surr Back System

2. Speaker Setting

3. Channel Level

4. Speaker Distance

5. X-Curve

6. THX Audio Setting

RECEIVER

The system and the other setup

• SB – Select the number of surround back speakers you have (one, two or none).

Select LARGEx2 or LARGEx1 if your surround back speakers reproduce bass frequencies effectively. Select SMALLx2 or SMALLx1 to send bass frequencies to the other speakers or subwoofer. If you didn’t connect surround back speakers choose NO.

• SW – LFE signals and bass frequencies of channels set to SMALL are output from the subwoofer when YES is selected. Choose the PLUS setting if you want the subwoofer to output bass sound continuously or you want deeper bass (the bass frequencies that would normally come out the front and center speakers are also routed to the subwoofer).

If you did not connect a subwoofer choose NO (the bass frequencies are output from other speakers).

3 Select ‘

X.OVER

’ and set the crossover frequency.

Frequencies below this point will be sent to the subwoofer (or LARGE speakers).

4 When you’re finished, press

RETURN

You will return to the Manual SP Setup menu.

Channel Level

Using the channel level settings, you can adjust the overall balance of your speaker system, an important factor when setting up a home theater system.

1 Select ‘ menu.

Channel Level

’ from the

MCACC : M1.MEMORY 1

Test Tone : AUTO

Manual SP Setup

4a3.Channel Level

A/V RECEIVER

2 Select a setup option.

• MANUAL – Move the test tone manually from speaker to speaker and adjust individual channel levels.

• AUTO – Adjust channel levels as the test tone moves from speaker to speaker automatically.

3 Confirm your selected setup option. The test tones will start after you press ENTER.

4a3.Channel Level

A/V RECEIVER

CAUTION

Loud test tones will be output.

Please wait...**

Exit Cancel

4 Adjust the level of each channel using

If you selected MANUAL, use / to switch speakers. The AUTO setup will output test tones in the order shown on-screen:

4a3.Channel Level

MCACC : M1.MEMORY 1

L : 0.0 dB

C : 0.0 dB R : 0.0 dB SR : 0.0 dB SBR : 0.0 dB SBL : 0.0 dB SL : 0.0 dB SW : 0.0 dB

Adjust the level of each speaker as the test tone is emitted.

5 When you’re finished, press

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

RETURN

You will return to the Manual SP Setup menu.

/

1 • If you selected Speaker B, ZONE 2 or Front Bi-Amp (in Surround back speaker setting on page 91) you can’t adjust the surround back

settings.

• If the surround speakers are set to NO, the surround back speakers will automatically be set to NO.

• If you select one surround back speaker only, make sure that speaker is hooked up to the left surround back terminal.

2 If you have a subwoofer and like lots of bass, it may seem logical to select LARGE for your front speakers and PLUS for the subwoofer. This

may not, however, yield the best bass results. Depending on the speaker placement of your room you may actually experience a decrease in the amount of bass due low frequency cancellations. In this case, try ch results, listen to the bass response with it set to PLUS and YES or the front speakers set to LARGE and SMALL alternatively and let your ears judge which sounds best. If you’re having problems, the easiest option is to route all the bass sounds to the subwoofer by selecting SMALL for the front speakers.

3 • This setting decides the cutoff between bass sounds playing back from the speakers selected as LARGE, or the subwoofer, and bass sounds

playing back from those selected as SMALL. It also decides where the cutoff will be for bass sounds in the LFE channel.

• If you’re using a THX speaker setup, confirm that the crossover frequenc

4 • If you are using a Sound Pressure Level (SPL) meter, take the readings from your main listening position and adjust the level of each speaker

to 75 dB SPL (C-weighting/slow reading).

• The subwoofer test tone is output at low volumes. You may need to adjust the level after testing with an actual soundtrack.

5 The channel level cannot be adjusted using this procedure while making settings on HOME MENU.

Exit Return

Tip

• You can change the channel levels by press

 on the remote control.

, then press CH LEVEL, and then using /

anging the position or dire

y is set to 80Hz.

ction of speakers. If you can’t get good

Page 93

The system and the other setup

Note

1. Surr Back System

2. Speaker Setting

3. Channel Level

6. THX Audio Setting

4. Speaker Distance

5. X-Curve

4a.Manual SP Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

4a.Manual SP Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

1. Surr Back System

2. Speaker Setting

3. Channel Level

4. Speaker Distance

6. THX Audio Setting

5. X-Curve

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

Loudness Plus : ON

SB SP Position : 4 ft<

BGC : OFF

THX Select2 SW : YES

4a6.THX Audio Setting

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

4a6.THX Audio Setting

Loudness Plus : ON

SB SP Position : 4 ft<

BGC : OFF

THX Select2 SW : YES

Speaker Distance

For good sound depth and separation from your system, you need to specify the distance of your speakers from the listening position. The receiver can then add the proper delay needed for effective surround sound.

1 Select ‘ Setup

2 Adjust the distance of each speaker using

Speaker Distance

menu.

’ from the

MCACC : M1.MEMORY 1

L : 10’10”

C : 9’05-1/2” R : 10’10” SR : 9’00” SBR : 10’00” SBL : 10’00” SL : 9’00” SW : 12’10-1/2”

Exit Finish

Manual SP

4a4.Speaker Distance

A/V RECEIVER

/

You can adjust the distance of each speaker in 1/2 inch increments.

3 When you’re finished, press

RETURN

You will return to the Manual SP Setup menu.

Tip

•For best surround sound, make sure the surround back speakers are the same distance from the listening position.

X-Curve

Most soundtracks mixed for cinema sound too bright when played back in large rooms. The X-Curve setting acts as a kind of re-equalization for home theater listening, and restores proper tonal balance of movie soundtracks.

1 Select ‘

X-Curve

1. Surr Back System

2. Speaker Setting

3. Channel Level

4. Speaker Distance

5. X-Curve

6. THX Audio Setting

’ from the

4a.Manual SP Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Manual SP Setup

menu.

•If you select OFF, the frequency curve will be flat and the X-Curve has no effect.

3 When you’re finished, press

RETURN

THX Audio Setting

This menu allows the user to adjust various THX features including Loudness Plus, SB Speaker Position, THX Select2 Subwoofer (on/off), and Boundary Gain Control. Please see page 109 for a details regarding these THX features.

1Select ‘ setup menu.

2 Select either setting.

3 Specify the distance of your surround back speakers from each other.

THX Audio Setting

OFF

for

’ from the

Manual SP

THX Loudness Plus

Exit Return

2 Choose the X-Curve setting you want.

Use / to adjust the setting. The X-Curve is expressed as a downwards slope in decibels per octave, starting at 2 kHz. The sound becomes less bright as the slope increases (to a maximum of –3.0dB/oct). Use the following guidelines to set the X-Curve according to your

• 0–1 ft – Surround back speakers within 1 foot apart (best for THX surround sound).

• >1– 4 ft – Surround back speakers between 1 and 4 feet apart.

• 4 ft< – Surround back speakers more than 4 feet apart (default).

room size:

≤

Room size (ft2)

X-Curve (dB/oct)

1Since the principal is the same, X-Curve isn’t applied when you’re using any of the Home THX modes (see Using the Home THX modes on

page 57).

400≤550≤650≤800≤2200≤12000

–0.5 –1.0 –1.5 –2.0 –2.5 –3.0

Page 94

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

4a6.THX Audio Setting

Loudness Plus : ON SB SP Position : 4 ft<

BGC : OFF

THX Select2 SW : YES

Loudness Plus : ON SB SP Position : 4 ft<

BGC : OFF

THX Select2 SW : YES

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

4a6.THX Audio Setting

RECEIVER

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

a.Manual SP Setup b. Input Setup c. OSD Language

d. Other Setup

4.SystemSetup

The system and the other setup

4 Specify whether your subwoofer is THX Select2 certified or not.

If your subwoofer isn’t THX Select2 certified, but you still want to switch boundary gain compensation on, select

YES here, but the effect might not work properly.

5 Select either ON or

OFF

for Boundary Gain

Compensation (BGC) setting.

6 When you’re finished, press

RETURN

You will return to the Manual SP Setup menu.

The Other Setup menu

The Other Setup menu is where you can make customized settings to reflect how you are using the receiver.

1 Press on the remote control, then press HOME MENU

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) screen appears on your TV. Use /// and ENTER to navigate through the screens and select menu items. Press RETURN to confirm and exit the current menu.

2 Select ‘

3 Select ‘

System Setup

Other Setup

’ from the

’, then press

1. KURO LINK Setup

2. Multi Ch In Setup

3. ZONE Audio Setup

4. Power ON Level Setup

5. Volume Limit Setup

Remote Control Mode Setup

Flicker Reduction Setup

HOME MENU

ENTER

4d.Other Setup

A/V RECEIVER

• Multi Ch In Setup – a multi-channel input

Specifies the optional settings for

(page 94)

• ZONE Audio Setup – Specifies the volume setting for a MULTI-ZONE setup (page 95).

• Power ON Level Setup – Specifies the volume level set when the power is turned on (page 95).

• Volume Limit Setup – Limits the maximum volume (page 95).

• Remote Control Mode Setup – Sets this receiver’s remote control mode (page 96).

• Flicker Reduction – Adjusts the way the GUI screen looks (page 96).

5 Make the adjustments necessary for each setting, pressing

RETURN

to confirm after each screen.

Multi Channel Input Setup

You can adjust the level of the subwoofer for a multichannel input. Also, when the multi-channel input is selected as an input function, you can display the video images of other input functions. In the Multi Channel Input Setup, you can assign a video input to the multichannel input.

1 Select ‘ menu.

2 Select the ‘

• 0dB – Outputs sound of the subwoofer at the level

• +10dB – Outputs sound of the subwoofer at the level

Multi Ch In Setup

1. KURO LINK Setup

2. Multi Ch In Setup

3. ZONE Audio Setup

4. Power ON Level Setup

5. Volume Limit Setup

Remote Control Mode Setup

Flicker Reduction Setup

Exit Return

SW Input Gain

’ from the

4d.Other Setup

A/V RECEIVER

’ setting you want.

originally recorded on the source.

increased by 10 dB.

4d2.Multi Ch In Setup

SW Input Gain : 0dB

Video Input : DVD

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

Other Setup

4 Select the setting you want to adjust.

If you are doing this for the first time, you may want to adjust these settings in order:

• KURO LINK Setup – Synchronizes this receiver with your Pioneer component support in g K UR O L IN K ( se e

KURO LINK Setup on page 64).

Exit Return

Page 95

The system and the other setup

Note

4d2.Multi Ch In Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

SW Input Gain : +10dB

Video Input : DVD

2. Multi Ch In Setup

3. ZONE Audio Setup

4. Power ON Level Setup

5. Volume Limit Setup

Remote Control Mode Setup

Flicker Reduction Setup

1. KURO LINK Setup

4d.Other Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

4d.Other Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

3. ZONE Audio Setup

4. Power ON Level Setup

5. Volume Limit Setup

Remote Control Mode Setup

Flicker Reduction Setup

2. Multi Ch In Setup

1. KURO LINK Setup

4d4.Power ON Level Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

Power ON Level : LAST

4d.Other Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

3. ZONE Audio Setup

4. Power ON Level Setup

5. Volume Limit Setup

Remote Control Mode Setup

Flicker Reduction Setup

2. Multi Ch In Setup

1. KURO LINK Setup

4d5.Volume Limit Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

Volume Limit : OFF

3 Select the ‘

Video Input

’ setting you want.

When the multi-channel input is selected as an input function, you can display the video images of other input functions. The video input can be selected from the following: DVD, TV/SAT, DVR, VIDEO, OFF.

4 When you’re finished, press

RETURN

You will return to the Other Setup menu.

ZONE Audio Setup

If you’ve made MULTI-ZONE connections (see Using the MULTI-ZONE controls on page 69), you may need to

specify your volume setting.

1 Select ‘ menu.

2 Select the volume level setting of ZONE 3

• Variable – Use this setting if you’ve connected a

• Fixed – Use this setting if you’ve connected a fully

With the Fixed setting, the source is sent from this receiver at maximum volume, so make sure the volume is quite low in the sub zone at first, and then experiment to find the correct level.

3 When you’re finished, press You will return to the Other Setup menu.

ZONE Audio Setup

’ from the

ZONE 2 Volume Level : Variable

ZONE 3 Volume Level : Variable

Exit Finish

Other Setup

4d3.ZONE Audio Setup

A/V RECEIVER

ZONE 21 and

(VSX-23TXH only)

power amplifier in the sub room (this receiver is simply being used as a pre-amp) and you will be using this receiver’s controls to adjust the volume.

integrated amplifier (such as another Pioneer VSX

receiver) in the sub room and want to use that receiver’s volume controls.

RETURN

Power ON Level Setup

The volume can be set so that it is always set to the same level when the receiver’s power is turned on.

1Select ‘ Setup

Power ON Level Setup

menu.

’ from the

2 Select the

Power ON Level

setting you want.

• LAST – When the power is turned on, the volume is set to the same level as when the power was last turned off.

•“---” – When the power is turned on, the volume is set to minimum level.

• –80.0dB to +12.0dB – Specify the volume to be set when the power is turned, in steps of 0.5 dB.

It is not possible to set a volume level greater than the value specified at Volume Limit Setup.

3 When you’re finished, press

RETURN

You will return to the Other Setup menu.

Volume Limit Setup

Use this function to limit the maximum volume. The volume cannot be increased above the level set here, even by operating MASTER VOLUME button (or the dial on the front panel).

1Select ‘ menu.

2 Select the Volume Limit setting you want.

• OFF – The maximum volume is not limited.

• –20.0dB/–10.0dB/0.0dB – The maximum volume is

3 When you’re finished, press You will return to the Other Setup menu.

Volume Limit Setup

limited to the value set here.

’ from the

RETURN

Other Setup

Other

1 If you selected ZONE 2 in the Surround back speaker setting on page 91, you won’t be able to change the volume level.

Page 96

Note

4d.Other Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

3. ZONE Audio Setup

4. Power ON Level Setup

5. Volume Limit Setup

Remote Control Mode Setup

Flicker Reduction Setup

2. Multi Ch In Setup

1. KURO LINK Setup

4d.Other Setup

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Return

3. ZONE Audio Setup

4. Power ON Level Setup

5. Volume Limit Setup

Remote Control Mode Setup

Flicker Reduction Setup

2. Multi Ch In Setup

1. KURO LINK Setup

The system and the other setup

Remote Control Mode Setup

•Default setting: 1

This sets this receiver’s remote control mode to prevent erroneous operation when multiple units of the receiver are being used.

1 Select ‘ Other Setup

2 Select the

3 Select “

4 Follow the instructions on the screen to change the remote control’s setting.

See Operating multiple receivers on page 73.

5 When you’re finished, press

You will return to the Other Setup menu.

Remote Control Mode Setup

’ from the

menu.

4d6.Remote Control Mode Setup

Remote Control Mode : 1

Remote Control Mode

” to change the remote control mode.

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Cancel

setting you want.

RETURN

Flicker Reduction Setup

•Default setting: 4

The GUI screen’s resolution can be increased. If you feel the GUI screen is hard to see, try changing this setting. Note this setting only affects the GUI screen; it has no influence on the video output.

1 Select ‘ Setup

2 Select the Flicker Reduction setting you want.

3 When you’re finished, press You will return to the Other Setup menu.

Flicker Reduction Setup

menu.

’ from the

4d7.Flicker Reduction Setup

Flicker Reduction : 4

A/V RECEIVER

Exit Finish

RETURN

Other

1 If you change this receiver’s setting, also change the setting on the remote control.

Page 97

Additional information

Chapter 12:

Additional information

Step 3: Adjusting the speaker orientation

Speaker Setting Guide

In order to achieve an even better surround effect, it is important to accurately position the speakers and make their volume and tone characteristics uniform so as to finely focus the multi-channel sound.

The three major elements in positioning the speakers are distance, angle and orientation (the direction in which the speakers are pointing).

Distance: The distance of all the speakers should be equal.

Angle: The speakers should be horizontally symmetrical. Orientation: The orientation should be horizontally

symmetrical. In most homes, however, it is not possible to achieve this

environment. For the distance, on this receiver it is pos

le to automatically correct the speaker distance

sib electrically to a precision of 1/2 inch using the Auto MCACC Setup function (page 41).

Step 1: Speaker layout and distance adjustment

Use speaker stands or the like to make sure the speakers are steady, and leave at least 10 cm (4 inches) from the surrounding walls. Position the speakers attentively so that the speakers on the left and right are at equal angles from the listening position (center of the adjustments). (We recommend using cords, etc., when adjusting the layout.) Ideally all the speakers should be equidistant from the listening position.

Tip

•If the speakers cannot be set at equal distances (on a circle), use the Auto MCACC Setup speaker distance correction and Fine Speaker Distance functions to make them equalize the distance artificially.

Step 2: Adjusting the speaker height

Adjust the heights (angles) of the different speakers. Adjust so that the front speaker units reproducing mid-

and high frequencies is roughly at the height of the ears. If the center speaker cannot be set at the same height as

the front speakers, adjust its angle of elevation to point it to the listening position.

Set surround speaker 1 so that it is not under the height of the ears.

If the left and right speakers are not pointing in the same direction, the tone will not be the same on the right and left, and as a result the sound field will not be reproduced properly. However, if all the speakers are pointed towards the listening position, the sound field will seem cramped. Testing by the Pioneer Multi-channel Research Group has shown that a good sense of sound positioning can be achieved by pointing all the speakers towards an area 30 cm (12 inches) to 80 cm (31 inches) behind the listening position (between the surround speakers and the listening position).

However, the sense of sound positioning can differ according to the conditions in the room and the speakers being used. In smaller en the front speakers are close to the listening position), with this method the speakers will be pointed too inward. We suggest you use this example of installation as reference when trying out different installation methods.

Step 4: Positioning and adjusting the subwoofer

Placing the subwoofer between the center and front speakers makes even music sources sound more natural (If there is only one subwoofer, it doesn’t matter if it is placed on the left or right side). The low bass sound output from the subwoofer is not directional and there is no need to adjust the height. Normally the subwoofer is placed on the floor. Put it in a position at which it will not cancel out the bass sound output from the other speakers. Also note that placing it near a wall may result in sympathetic vibrations with the building that could excessively amplify the bass sound.

If the subwoofer must be installed near a wall, place it at an angle so that it is not parallel to the wall surface. This can help reduce any sympathetic vibrat dependin standing waves. However, even if standing waves are generated, their influence on the sound quality can be prevented using the Auto MCACC’s standing wave control function (page 87).

g on the shape of the room this could result in

Step 5: Default settings with the Auto MCACC Setup (auto sound field correction) function

It is more effective to perform the Auto MCACC Setup (page 41) procedure once the adjustments described above have been completed.

Tip

• The distance to the subwoofer may be slightly larger than the distance actually measured with a tape measure, etc. This is because this distance is corrected for electric delay, and is not a problem.

viron

ments in particular (when

ions, but

Page 98

45° to 60°

Installation on floor

(Diagram as seen

from the side)

Monitor

Additional information

Positional relationship between speakers and monitor

Position of front speakers and monitor

The front speakers should be as equidistant as possible to the monitor.

Position of center speaker and monitor

Since mostly dialogs are output from the center speaker, keeping the center speaker as close as possible to the screen makes the overall sound more natural. For TVs using Braun tubes, however, when installing the center speaker on the floor, adjust its angle of elevation to point it towards the listening position.

•If the center s peaker is not of the shielded type, install it away from the TV.

• When installing the center speaker on top of the monitor, place it facing slightly downwards towards the listening position.

Troubleshooting

Incorrect operations are often mistaken for trouble and malfunctions. If you think that there is something wrong with this component, check the points below. Sometimes the trouble may lie in another component. Investigate the other components and electrical appliances being used. If the trouble cannot be rectified even after exercising the checks listed below, ask your nearest Pioneer authorized independent service company to carry out repair work.

Power

Symptom Remedy

The power does not turn on. • Make sure that the power cord is plugged in to an active power outlet.

Power cannot be turned off. (ZONE 2 ON or ZONE 3 ON

(VSX-23TXH only) is displayed.) The receiver suddenly switches

off or the PHASE CONTROL indicator blinks.

During loud playback the power suddenly switches off.

The unit does not respond when the buttons are pressed.

Note

• If the unit does not operate normally due to external effects such as static electricity disconnect the power plug from the outlet and insert again to return to normal operat

• Try disconnecting from the power outlet, then plugging back in.

• Set the remote control’s MULTI-ZONE operation selector switch to ZONE 2 or ZONE 3 (VSX-23TXH only), then press  RECEIVER to switch the sub zone off.

• Check that there are no loose strands of speaker wire to wires. If so, re-attach the speaker wires, making sure there are no stray strands.

• The receiver may have a serious problem. Disconnect from the power and call a Pioneer authorized independent service company.

• Turn down the volume.

• Lower the 63 Hz and 125 Hz equalizer levels in the Manual MCACC setup on page 80.

• Switch on the digital safety feature. While holding down ENTER on the front panel, press

 STANDBY/ON to set this receiver to the standby mode. Use TUNE +/– to select D.SAFETY OFF, and then use PRESET +/– to select 1 or 2 (select D.SAFETY OFF to deactivate this

feature). If the power switches off even with 2 switched on, turn down the volume. With 1 or 2 on, some features may be unavailable.

• Try switching the receiver off, then back on again.

• Try disconnecting the power cord, then connect again.

ing conditions.

uching the rear panel or another set of

Page 99

Additional information

Symptom Remedy

AMP ERR blinks in the display,

then the power automatically switches off. The ADVANCED MCACC blinks and the power does not turn on.

The ADVANCED MCACC indicator flashes and power turns off.

AMP OVERHEAT and the

power indicator flash and the power turns off.

The Receiver suddenly power off or the blue indicator at the center of the receiver flashes.

Display blinks 12V TRG ERR.• An error has arisen in the 12 V trigger jacks. Reconnect accurately then turn the power back on.

No sound

Symptom Remedy

No sound is output when an input function is selected.

No sound output from the front speakers.

No sound from the surround or center speakers.

No sound from surround back speakers.

No sound from subwoofer. • Check that the subwoofer is connected properly, switched on and the volume turned up.

• The receiver may have a serious problem. Do not try switching the receiver on. Unplug the receiver from the wall and call a Pioneer authorized independent service company.

• There is a problem with the receiver’s power unit. The receiver may have a serious problem. Unplug the receiver from the wall and call a Pioneer authorized independent service company.

• Allow the unit to cool down in a well-ventilated place before switching back on.

• Wait at least 1 minute, then try turning the power on again.

• The power unit is damaged. Unplug the receiver from the wall and call a Pioneer authorized independent service company.

• Check the volume, mute setting (press MUTE) and speaker setting (press SPEAKERS).

• Make sure the correct input function is selected.

• Check that the MCACC setup microphone is disconnected.

• Make sure the correct input signal is selected (press SIGNAL SEL). Note that when PCM is selected, you won’t be able to hear any other signal format.

• Check that the source component is connected properly (see Connecting your equipment on page 15).

• Check that the speakers are connected properly (see Connecting the speakers on page 19).

• Check that the Stereo listening mode or the Front Stage Surround Advance mode isn’t selected; select one of the surround listening modes (see Listening in surround sound on page 56).

• Check that the surround/center speakers are not set to NO (see Speaker Setting on page 91).

• Check the channel level settings (see Channel Level on page 92).

• Check the speaker connections (see Connecting the speakers on page 19).

• Check that the surround back speakers are set to LARGE or SMALL (see Speaker Setting on page 91).

• Make sure surround back channel processing is set to SBch ON (see Using surround back channel processing on page 59).

• If the source is Dolby Surround EX or DTS-ES with no flag to indicate 6.1 compatibility, then with surround back channel processing set to SBch Auto, there will be no sound from the surround back speakers. In this case, set to SBch ON (see Using surround back channel processing on page 59).

• If the source does not have 6.1 playback channels, make sure that surround back channel

processing is set to SBch ON and a surround mode is selected (see Listening in surround sound on page 56).

• Check the speaker connections (see Connecting the speakers on page 19). If only one surround back speaker is connected, make sure it’s connected to the left channel speaker terminal.

• If your subwoofer has a sleep function, make sure it is swit

• Make sure that the Subwoofer setting is YES or PLUS (see Speaker Setting on page 91).

• The crossover frequency may be set too low; try setting it higher to match the characteristics of your other speakers (see Speaker Setting on page 91).

• If there is very little low frequency information in the source material, change your speaker settings to Front: SMALL / Subwoofer: YES, or Front: LARGE / Subwoofer: PLUS (see Speaker Setting on page 91).

• Check that the LFE channel is not set to OFF, or a very quiet setting (see Setting the Audio options on page 66).

• Check the speaker level set

tings (see Channel Level on page 92).

ched off.

Page 100

Additional information

Symptom Remedy

No sound from one speaker.• Check the speaker connection (see Connecting the speakers on page 19).

• Check the speaker level settings (see Channel Level on page 92).

• Check that the speaker hasn’t been set to NO (see Speaker Setting on page 91).

• The channel may not be recorded in the source. By using one of the advanced effect listening mode, you may be able to create the missing channel (see Listening in surround sound on page 56).

Sound is produced from analog components, but not from digital ones (DVD, LD, CD-ROM, etc.).

No sound is output or a noise is output when Dolby Digital/DTS software is played back.

No sound when using the HOME MENU.

Pioneer VSX-21TXH, VSX-23TXH Operating Instruction

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Before you start

Features

Checking what’s in the box

Installing the receiver

Loading the batteries

Operating range of remote control unit

Controls and displays

Remote control

Front panel

Display

Connecting your equipment

Rear panel

Determining the speakers’ application

Other speaker connection

Placing the speakers

THX speaker system setup

Some tips for improving sound quality

Connecting the speakers

Installing your speaker system

Standard 5.1/6.1/7.1-channel surround connections

Bi-amping your speakers

Bi-wiring your speakers

Selecting the Surr Back system

ZONE 2 setup

Speaker B setup

Bi-Amping setup

About the video converter

Connecting your TV and playback components

Connecting using HDMI

Connecting your DVD player with no HDMI output

Connecting your TV with no HDMI input

Connecting an HDD/DVD recorder, VCR and other video sources

Connecting a satellite/cable receiver or other set-top box

Connecting the multichannel analog inputs

Connecting other audio components

Connecting additional amplifiers

About the WMA9 Pro decoder

Connecting AM/FM antennas

Connecting external antennas

Connecting an XM Radio tuner

Connecting a SiriusConnect™ tuner

MULTI-ZONE setup

Making MULTI-ZONE connections

Connecting an IR receiver

Operating other Pioneer components with this unit’s sensor

Switching components on and off using the 12 volt trigger

Connecting a PC for Advanced MCACC output

Connecting an HDMI-equipped component to the front panel input

Connecting a component to the front panel inputs

Connecting an iPod

Connecting a USB device

Plugging in the receiver

Basic Setup

Switching the speaker impedance

Changing the OSD display language (OSD Language)

Automatically setting up for surround sound (Auto MCACC)

Problems when using the Auto MCACC Setup

The Input Setup menu

Input function default and possible settings

Basic playback

Playing a source

Playing a source with HDMI connection

Selecting the multichannel analog inputs

Playing an iPod

Playing back audio files stored on an iPod

Playing a USB device

Playing back audio files stored on a USB memory device

Playing back photo files stored on a USB memory device

About playable file formats

Listening to the radio

Improving FM sound

Using Neural THX

Tuning directly to a station

Saving station presets

Naming station presets