Pioneer VSX-59TXi User Manual

AUDIO/VIDEO MULTI-CHANNEL RECEIVER

VSX-59TXi

www.pioneerelectronics.com

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Operating Instructions

CAUTION

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

The lightning flash with arrowhead, 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.

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.

CAUTION – PREVENT ELECTRIC SHOCK DO

RECEPTACLE OR OTHER OUTLET

ATTENTION –

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.

NOT USE THIS (POLARIZED) PLUG WITH AN EXTENSION CORD.

UNLESS THE BLADES CAN BE FULLY INSERTED TO PREVENT BLADE EXPOSURE. POUR PREVENIR LES CHOCS ELECTRIQUES NE PAS UTILISER CETTE FICHE POLARISEE AVEC UN PROLONGATEUR UNE PRISE DE COURANT OU UNE AUTRE SORTIE

WARNING – TO PREVENT FIRE OR SHOCK

HAZARD, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

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DE COURANT, SAUF SI LES LAMES PEUVENT ETRE INSEREES A FOND SANS EN LAISSER AUCUNE PARTIE A DECOUVVERT.

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

Cet appareil numérique de la Classe B est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

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Information to User

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

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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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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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IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

READ INSTRUCTIONS — All the safety and

operating instructions should be read before the product is operated.

RETAIN INSTRUCTIONS — The safety and

operating instructions should be retained for future reference.

HEED WARNINGS — All warnings on the product

and in the operating instructions should be adhered to.

FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS — All operating and use

instructions should be followed.

CLEANING — The product should be cleaned only

with a polishing cloth or a soft dry cloth. Never clean with furniture wax, benzine, insecticides or other volatile liquids since they may corrode the cabinet.

ATTACHMENTS — Do not use attachments not

recommended by the product manufacturer as they may cause hazards.

WATER AND MOISTURE — Do not use this

product near water — for example, near a bathtub, wash bowl, kitchen sink, or laundry tub; in a wet basement; or near a swimming pool; and the like.

ACCESSORIES — Do not place this product on an

unstable cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table. The product may fall, causing serious injury to a child or adult, and serious damage to the product. Use only with a cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table recommended by the manufacturer, or sold with the product. Any mounting of the product should follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and should use a mounting accessory recommended by the manufacturer.

CART — A product and cart combination should be

moved with care. Quick stops, excessive force, and uneven surfaces may cause the product and cart combination to overturn.

VENTILATION — Slots and openings in the cabinet

are provided for ventilation and to ensure reliable operation of the product and to protect it from overheating, and these openings must not be blocked or covered. The openings should never be blocked by placing the product on a bed, sofa, rug, or other similar surface. This product should not be placed in a built-in installation such as a bookcase or rack unless proper ventilation is provided or the manufacturer’s instructions have been adhered to.

POWER SOURCES — This product should be

operated only from the type of power source indicated on the marking label. If you are not sure of the type of power supply to your home, consult your product dealer or local power company.

LOCATION – The appliance should be installed in a

stable location.

NONUSE PERIODS – The power cord of the

appliance should be unplugged from the outlet when left un-used for a long period of time.

GROUNDING OR POLARIZATION

• If this product is equipped with a polarized alternating current line plug (a plug having one blade wider than the other), it will fit into the outlet only one way. This is a safety feature. If you are unable to insert the plug fully into the outlet, try reversing the plug. If the plug should still fail to fit, contact your electrician to replace your obsolete outlet. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized plug.

• If this product is equipped with a three-wire grounding type plug, a plug having a third (grounding) pin, it will only fit into a grounding type power outlet. This is a safety feature. If you are unable to insert the plug into the outlet, contact your electrician to replace your obsolete outlet. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the grounding type plug.

POWER-CORD PROTECTION — Power-supply

cords should be routed so that they are not likely to be walked on or pinched by items placed upon or against them, paying particular attention to cords at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the product.

OUTDOOR ANTENNA GROUNDING — If an

outside antenna or cable system is connected to the product, be sure the antenna or cable system is grounded so as to provide some protection against voltage surges and built-up static charges. Article 810 of the National Electrical Code, ANSI/NFPA 70, provides information with regard to proper grounding of the mast and supporting structure, grounding of the lead-in wire to an antenna discharge unit, size of grounding conductors, location of antenna-discharge unit, connection to grounding electrodes, and requirements for the grounding electrode. See Figure A.

LIGHTNING — For added protection for this

product during a lightning storm, or when it is left unattended and unused for long periods of time, unplug it from the wall outlet and disconnect the antenna or cable system. This will prevent damage to the product due to lightning and power-line surges.

POWER LINES — An outside antenna system

should not be located in the vicinity of overhead power lines or other electric light or power circuits, or where it can fall into such power lines or circuits. When installing an outside antenna system, extreme care should be taken to keep from touching such power lines or circuits as contact with them might be fatal.

OVERLOADING — Do not overload wall outlets,

extension cords, or integral convenience receptacles as this can result in a risk of fire or electric shock.

ELECTRIC SERVICE EQUIPMENT

Fig. A

OBJECT AND LIQUID ENTRY — Never push

objects of any kind into this product through openings as they may touch dangerous voltage points or short-out parts that could result in a fire or electric shock. Never spill liquid of any kind on the product.

SERVICING — Do not attempt to service this

product yourself as opening or removing covers may expose you to dangerous voltage or other hazards. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel.

DAMAGE REQUIRING SERVICE — Unplug this

product from the wall outlet and refer servicing to qualified service personnel under the following conditions:

• When the power-supply cord or plug is damaged.

• If liquid has been spilled, or objects have fallen into the product.

• If the product has been exposed to rain or water.

• If the product does not operate normally by following the operating instructions. Adjust only those controls that are covered by the operating instructions as an improper adjustment of other controls may result in damage and will often require extensive work by a qualified technician to restore the product to its normal operation.

• If the product has been dropped or damaged in any way.

• When the product exhibits a distinct change in performance — this indicates a need for service.

REPLACEMENT PARTS — When replacement parts

are required, be sure the service technician has used replacement parts specified by the manufacturer or have the same characteristics as the original part. Unauthorized substitutions may result in fire, electric shock, or other hazards.

SAFETY CHECK — Upon completion of any service

or repairs to this product, ask the service technician to perform safety checks to determine that the product is in proper operating condition.

WALL OR CEILING MOUNTING — The product

should not be mounted to a wall or ceiling.

HEAT — The product should be situated away from

heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other products (including amplifiers) that produce heat.

GROUND CLAMP

GROUND CLAMPS

POWER SERVICE GROUNDING ELECTRODE SYSTEM (NEC ART 250, PART H)

NEC — NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE

ANTENNA LEAD IN WIRE

ANTENNA DISCHARGE UNIT (NEC SECTION 810-20)

GROUNDING CONDUCTORS (NEC SECTION 810-21)

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CAUTION : USE OF CONTROLS OR ADJUSTMENTS OR PERFORMANCE OF PROCEDURES OTHER THAN THOSE

SPECIFIED HEREIN MAY RESULT IN HAZARDOUS RADIATION EXPOSURE.

CAUTION : THE USE OF OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS WITH THIS PRODUCT WILL INCREASE EYE HAZARD.

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For U.S. and Australia Model

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Selecting fine audio equipment such as the unit you’ve just purchased is only the start of your musical enjoyment. Now it’s time to consider how you can maximize the fun and excitement your equipment offers. This manufacturer and the Electronic Industries Association’s Consumer Electronics Group want you to get the most out of your equipment by playing it at a safe level. One that lets the sound come through loud and clear without annoying blaring or distortion-and, most importantly, without affecting your sensitive hearing.

Sound can be deceiving. Over time your hearing “comfort level” adapts to higher volumes of sound. So what sounds “normal” can actually be loud and harmful to your hearing. Guard against this by setting your equipment at a safe level BEFORE your hearing adapts.

To establish a safe level:

• Start your volume control at a low setting.

• Slowly increase the sound until you can hear it

comfortably and clearly, and without distortion.

Once you have established a comfortable sound level:

• Set the dial and leave it there.

WARNING: Handling the cord on this product or cords associated with accessories sold with the product will expose you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California and other governmental entities to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.

Wash hands after handling

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We Want You Listening For A Lifetime

Used wisely, your new sound equipment will provide a lifetime of fun and enjoyment. Since hearing damage from loud noise is often undetectable until it is too late, this manufacturer and the Electronic Industries Association’s Consumer Electronics Group recommend you avoid prolonged exposure to excessive noise. This list of sound levels is included for your protection.

Decibel Level Example

30 Quiet library, soft whispers 40

Living room, refrigerator, bedroom away from traffic 50 Light traffic, normal conversation, quiet office 60 Air conditioner at 20 feet, sewing machine 70 Vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, noisy restaurant

Average city traffic, garbage disposals, alarm clock

80 at two feet.

THE FOLLOWING NOISES CAN BE DANGEROUS UNDER CONSTANT EXPOSURE

Subway, motorcycle, truck traffic, lawn mower

90 100 Garbage truck, chain saw, pneumatic drill 120 Rock band concert in front of speakers, thunderclap 140 Gunshot blast, jet plane 180 Rocket launching pad

Information courtesy of the Deafness Research Foundation.

Taking a minute to do this now will help to prevent hearing damage or loss in the future. After all, we want you listening for a lifetime.

If the socket outlets on the associated equipment are not suitable for the plug supplied with the product, 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 perfomed only by qualified service personnel. The cut-off plug must be disposed of as an electrical shock hazard could exist if connected to a socket outlet.

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The STANDBY/ON switch is secondary connected and therefore, does not separate the unit from mains power in STANDBY position. Therefore install the unit suitable places easy to disconnect the MAINS plug in case of the accident. The MAINS plug of unit should be unplugged from the wall socket when left unused for a long period of time.

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Our philosophy

Pioneer is dedicated to making your home theater listening experience as close as possible to the vision of the moviemakers and mastering engineer when they created the original soundtrack. We do this by focusing on three important steps:

1 Achieving the highest possible sound quality

2 Allowing for customized acoustic calibration according to any listening area

3 Fine-tuning the receiver with the help of worldclass studio engineers

Features

Easy setup using Advanced MCACC

Setting up for home theater sound is as easy as connecting your speakers, a DVD player or other source, and your TV. The Auto Surround Setup provides a quick but accurate surround sound setup, while for complete surround sound control you still have access to the full range of surround sound settings.

In addition, the Profession Acoustic Calibration EQ setup 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 a computer.

i.LINK

digital interface

The i.LINK interface makes it possible to connect this receiver to i.LINK-equipped components, allowing you to enjoy high sampling rate (up to 192kHz) PCM multichannel digital audio from DVD-Audio and SACD discs, as well as digital audio from DVD-Video, CD and Video CD discs, all with a single cable.

USB digital interface

It is possible to listen to multichannel audio sources from your computer by connecting to the USB interface on the rear of this receiver. Depending on your model of computer and the software installed, you can listen to any source compatible with your operating system through the speaker setup connected to this receiver.

Dolby Pro Logic IIx and DTS Neo:6 decoders

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 generate convincing surround sound for any stereo source.

THX certified design

This receiver is THX Ultra2™ certified, allowing you to take advantage of new THX technologies such as ASA (Advanced Speaker Array), which can process any 5.1 channel source for 6.1 channel (THX Surround EX) or 7.1 channel (THX Ultra2™ Cinema and THX MusicMode) playback. These features are also available when using the i.LINK interface.

Windows Media

It is possible to listen to the Windows Media Professional (WMA9 Pro) discrete surround format using the on-board WMA9 Pro decoder, or through the USB connection using a software decoder on your computer.

Audio 9 Professional decoding

Audio 9

Seamless video conversion

With the Pioneer video converter, you can use a wide range of cords interchangeably, giving you more flexibility when making video connections.

Easy-to-use remote control

The remote control gives you not only complete control over every function of this receiver, but also over the main functions for other components in your home theater system. Using a system of preset codes, you can program the remote to operate a wide range of other equipment.

Energy-saving design

This receiver is designed to use less than 0.65 W of energy when in standby.

With the cooperation of AIR Studios, this receiver has

been designated AIR Studios Monitor Reference:

Dolby Digital and DTS decoding, including Dolby Digital EX, DTS 96/24 and DTS-ES

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.

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

“i.LINK” and the i.LINK logo are trademarks of the Sony Corporation.

Contents

Our philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

01 Before you start

Checking the supplied accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Ventilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Installing the receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Using the remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Operating range of the remote control . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Recharging the remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Setting up the remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Calibrating the remote control screen . . . . . . . . . . 10

Setting the clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Setting the button alert volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Setting the time-out setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Resetting the remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Locking the remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Restarting the remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Replacing the lithium-ion batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

02 Connecting your equipment

Rear panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

When making cable connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Connecting your TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Connecting a DVD player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Connecting the multichannel analog outputs . . . . 18

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

Connecting a VCR or DVD recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Connecting other video sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Using the component video jacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

About the video converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Connecting digital audio sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Connecting analog audio sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Connecting a component to the front panel inputs . . 25

Installing your speaker system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Connecting the speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Placing the speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Connecting antennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

AM loop antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

FM wire antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Connecting external antennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Plugging in the receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

About the AC outlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

03 Controls and displays

Front panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Basic remote control displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Remote control displays for the tuner . . . . . . . . . . 35

Remote control displays for other components . . . 36

04 Getting started

Introduction to home theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Automatically setting up for surround sound . . . . . . 39

Other problems when using the Auto Surround

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Setup

Checking the settings on your DVD (or other)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

player

Playing a source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

05 Listening to your system

About the listening modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Listening in surround sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Using the Advanced surround effects . . . . . . . . . . 45

Using the Home THX modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Listening in stereo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Listening with headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Using the multichannel analog inputs . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Using the Stream Direct mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Listening with Acoustic Calibration EQ . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Selecting the input signal type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Selecting USB and multichannel analog

input channels

Listening to high-sampling formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Using the surround back channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Listening with virtual surround back speakers . . . . . 51

Creating a center speaker effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Using Hi-bit and Hi-sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Using Midnight and Loudness listening . . . . . . . . . . 52

Using the tone control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Switching the tone control on or off . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Adjusting the bass and treble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Reducing noise during playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Listening to dual mono soundtracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

06 Using the tuner

Finding a station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Tuning directly to a station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

MPX mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Memorizing station presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Naming station presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Listening to memorized station presets . . . . . . . . . 56

07 The Surround Setup menu

Making receiver settings from the Surround Setup menu

Speaker Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Channel Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Speaker Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Acoustic Calibration EQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Professional Acoustic Calibration EQ . . . . . . . . . . 63

X-Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Checking your surround settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

08 Controlling other equipment

Using the remote control with other components . . 67

Recalling preset codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Programming signals from other remote controls . . 69

Remote Direct function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Editing remote control button names . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Multi Operation and System Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Programming a multi operation or a

shutdown sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Switching components on and off using the

12 volt trigger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Operating other Pioneer components with this

unit’s sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

09 Using other functions

Making an audio or a video recording . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Monitoring your recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Reducing the level of an analog signal . . . . . . . . . . 76

Adjusting the delay of a soundtrack. . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Watching video and audio sources independently . . 76

Enhancing SACD playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Using the A/D converters to give greater definition

to 2-channel sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Dimming the display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Switching the speaker impedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Checking your system settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Resetting the system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Default receiver settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

10 Other connections

Using speaker system B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Switching the speaker system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Using speaker system B in another room . . . . . . . 80

Alternating surround speaker setups using

speaker system B (ITU-R) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Bi-amping your front speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Bi-wiring your speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Adding a second set of surround speakers for

Bi-Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Using the pre-outs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Connecting additional amplifiers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Connecting an external stereo pre-amplifier . . . . . 83

Multi-room setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Making multi-room connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Using the sub room controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Using the i.LINK interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

About i.LINK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

About PQLS rate control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Creating an i.LINK network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Using the USB interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Connecting a PC for Advanced MCACC output . . . . 88

11 Advanced setup

The Input Assign menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Assigning the digital inputs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Assigning the component video inputs . . . . . . . . . 91

Assigning the i.LINK inputs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Assigning the video inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

The Expert Setup menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

OSD Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Bass Peak Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Dynamic Range Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Function Rename . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

OSD Overlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

12 Volt Trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Multi-Room Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

THX Audio Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

THX Ultra2 Subwoofer Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Surround Back Speaker Position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

12 Additional information

Optimizing your speaker setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Basic surround setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

THX speaker system setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Speaker system setup for DVD-Audio/

multichannel music sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

No sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Other audio problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

i.LINK interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

i.LINK messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

USB interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Surround sound formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Dolby. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

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

Windows Media® Audio 9 Professional . . . . . . . 109

PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

About THX® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Maintenance of external surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Before you start

Chapter 1

Before you start

Checking the supplied accessories

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

• Microphone

• Remote control unit

• Remote control unit recharger and AC adapter

• AM loop antenna

• U-shaped connectors x2 (attached to back of receiver)

• These operating instructions

• Warranty card

Ventilation

When installing this unit, make sure to leave space around the unit for ventilation to improve heat dispersal (at least 8 in. (20 cm) at the top). If not enough space is provided between the unit and walls or other equipment, heat will build up inside, interfering with performance and/or causing malfunctions.

8 inches

Receiver

Slot and openings in the cabinet are provided for ventilation and to protect the equipment from overheating. To prevent fire hazard, do not place anything on top of the unit, make sure the openings are never blocked or covered with items (such as newspapers, table-cloths and curtains), and do not operate the equipment on thick carpet or a bed.

(20 cm)

• FM wire antenna

• Power cord

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

Before you start

– 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)

Using the remote control

Keep the following in mind when using the remote control:

Operating range of the remote control

• Make sure that there are no obstacles between the remote and the remote sensor on the unit.

• The remote has a range of about 23 feet (7 meters).

23 feet (7m)

• Remote operation may become unreliable if strong sunlight or fluorescent light is shining on the unit’s remote sensor.

• Remote controllers for different devices can interfere with each other. Avoid using remotes for other equipment located close to this unit.

Recharging the remote control

When the battery indicator on the remote control display shows that the rechargeable battery is almost depleted, recharge the remote as shown below. To make sure the battery doesn’t run out completely, simply leave the remote control in the recharger when not in use.

Caution

• Do not use AC adaptors other than the one supplied.

1 Connect the AC adaptor to the recharger and plug it into an AC outlet.

2 Place the remote control on the recharger, aligning the indent on the bottom of the remote with the tabs on the recharger.

• When the remote control is recharging, you’ll see the indicator appear in the upper right corner of the

display:

Note

• If the remote hasn’t been charged for awhile, the

remote control display may remain blank for several minutes before the touch screen appears. If it continues to remain blank, try lifting the remote control up from the recharger and reseating it on the recharger. If after several tries, this does not work, see Replacing the lithium-ion batteries on page 12.

Setting up the remote control

After you have calibrated the screen and set the display clock, use the other settings to customize your remote control.

Note

• The remote control operations in this section are

accessed from the remote setup menu. To go to the

1/3

RECEIVER

SAT

/ DVD

CD TUNER

SYSTEM

MULTI

OFF

SETUP

remote setup menu, press from the remote control Home menu ( ):

HOME

RECEIVER

INPUT 1 2 3

DVR / LD

DVR

/ VCR1

OPERATION

CONT

Before you start

There are three remote setup menu screens, which can be navigated by using the touch panel / (cursor left/right) soft keys:

1/3SETUP

CALIBRATE

PRESET RECALL

LEARNING

MULTI OPERATION

DIRECT FUNCTION

SETUP 2/3

CLOCK DISPLAY : AM/PM

CLOCK SETTING

BEEP :

TIMEOUT

KEY LABEL

• For more on navigating the remote control menu

screens, see Basic remote control displays on page 33.

Calibrating the remote control screen

This will make sure the remote control responds correctly when you touch it.

1 Press CALIBRATE.

SETUP 1/3

CALIBRATE

PRESET RECALL

LEARNING

MULTI OPERATION

DIRECT FUNCTION

2 Press the center of each cross point to align the touch screen with the LCD panel underneath.

This adjustment will make sure your remote control is calibrated correctly.

PLEASE TOUCH

THE UPPER "+" MARK

Setting the clock

The remote control features a clock that shows both 12 and 24 hour formats.

1 Press CLOCK DISPLAY to select either AM/PM or 24H display format.

Each press switches between the two settings. The current display format is shown after CLOCK DISPLAY.

SETUP 2/3

CLOCK DISPLAY : AM/PM

CLOCK SETTING

BEEP :

TIMEOUT

KEY LABEL

2 Press CLOCK SETTING to set the date. Use the + and – buttons to set the year, month and day.

SETUP 2/3

CLOCK DISPLAY : AM/PM

CLOCK SETTING

BEEP :

TIMEOUT

KEY LABEL

DATE

+++

2003 /10 /09

---

3 Press NEXT to continue and set the time. Use the + and – buttons to set the hour and minute.

TIME

17 : 08

2/2

CANCELENTER

1/2

CANCELNEXT

"MUTE": CANCEL

When you've touched both cross points, PLEASE WAIT is displayed and you’ll return to the remote setup menu when calibration is finished.

4 Press ENTER when you’re finished.

You’ll return to the remote setup menu.

Before you start

Setting the button alert volume

You can set the volume of the ‘beep’ you hear when you press a button on the remote.

• Press BEEP to select a setting.

Each press selects between quiet, loud or off. The current setting is shown on the touch screen.

SETUP 2/3

CLOCK DISPLAY : AM/PM

CLOCK SETTING

BEEP :

TIMEOUT

KEY LABEL

Setting the time-out setting

• Default setting: 60sec

To save battery life, a timer automatically switches off the remote control off after a set amount of time if no commands are entered. You can adjust separate timeout settings for the LCD, and the remote backlight.

1 Press TIMEOUT.

3 Press ENTER when you’re finished.

You’ll return to the remote setup menu.

Resetting the remote control

Use this feature to reset the remote control settings to the factory defaults.

Important

• Doing this will erase any of your personalized

settings.

1 Press RESET TO DEFAULT.

SETUP 3/3

RESET TO DEFAULT

2 Confirm by pressing YES after reading each screen.

SETUP 2/3

CLOCK DISPLAY : AM/PM

CLOCK SETTING

BEEP :

TIMEOUT

KEY LABEL

2 Use the + and – buttons to set the LCD TIMEOUT and BACKLIGHT TIMEOUT settings.

You can adjust these from 20–120 seconds.

• The backlight timeout can’t be longer than the LCD timeout setting.

TIMEOUT

LCD TIME OUT

60 sec

BACKLIGHT TIME OUT

60 sec

CANCELENTER

RESET

Do you want to reset

the REMOTE to the

DEFAULT settings ?

YES

RESET

ALL settings you made

will be ERASED.

Is it all right?

YES

After the screen goes blank, the Home menu appears within a minute or so, and the remote control will be reset to the default settings.

RESET

Before you start

Locking the remote control

This receiver has a remote control lock feature that makes the remote control touch screen and hard keys inoperative.

1 At the same time, press the  and  hard keys for about three seconds.

• This is not possible from the remote setup screen.

CHANNEL VOLUME

SYSTEM

ENTER

MENU MUTE

SETUP

RECEIVER

LOCKED! shows on the touch screen to indicate the remote control is locked.

2 To unlock the remote control, repeat step 1.

Once the remote control is unlocked, the touch screen shows the Home menu.

Restarting the remote control

If the remote control display freezes during operation (none of the buttons seem to work), you may need to restart the unit.

Important

• Doing this will not erase any of your personalized

settings or presets except for the clock setting.

1 Use a small phillips screwdriver to remove the screw fixing the battery cover to the back of the remote.

2 Remove the battery cover.

3 Use a pen or other sharp instrument to press the reset button located in the hole to the right (above the battery).

RESET

After restarting the remote control, the touch screen shows the Home menu.

Replacing the lithium-ion batteries

If you notice that the remote will no longer hold a charge, you may need to replace the lithium-ion battery cells.

Caution

• The lithium-ion batteries may present a fire or chemical burn hazard if misused. Do not disassemble, heat above 100˚C (212˚F), or incinerate.

• Replacement cells must be of type AZW7264, manufactured by NEC TOKIN Corporation. Use of any other battery cells may result in fire or explosion. Contact the Pioneer Customer Support division to obtain new batteries. Replacement cells are not covered under warranty.

• Dispose of used battery cells immediately after replacement. Keep away from children.

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

Before you start

1 Use a small phillips screwdriver to remove the screw fixing the battery cover to the back of the remote.

2 Remove the battery cover.

3 Disconnect the old battery cell from the unit.

Do not pull the connector out by holding onto the attached wires. Hold the connector firmly with your fingers, or use a small screwdriver (or other sharp tool) to disconnect it.

4 Connect the new battery cell.

Push the connector in until it is fully inserted. Make sure you keep the wire out of the way and line up the cell properly so that the battery cover can be closed easily.

SUR-ROUND

SUR-

SPEAK

12V TRIGGER

AC IN

AC OUTLET

VIDEO

Connecting your equipment

Chapter 2

Connecting your equipment

This receiver provides you with almost limitless possibilities for connecting your audio/video system, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. Depending on your needs, you could be up and running in no time after a few simple connections. This section has been designed so that you can read through this short introduction, then jump to the specific connections that you need to make. For a basic home theater setup, you may only need to look through the TV, DVD and speaker connections.

Rear panel

0W (0.8A) MA

OUT

DVR/ VCR1

OUT

VCR2

OUT

VCR

DC OUT 12

TOTAL 100mA MA

(Single)

Caution

• Before making or changing the connections, switch off the power and disconnect the power cord from the power outlet. Plugging in components should be the last connection you make with your system.

1 USB audio input

The USB audio input allows you to use your PC as a playback source for stereo or multichannel digital audio. See Using the USB interface on page 87 for connection details.

2 Digital audio outputs

Two optical digital audio outputs for connecting to a CD, MD or other digital recorder. See Connecting a VCR or DVD recorder on page 20 for connection details.

3 Digital audio inputs

Three optical and three coaxial digital audio inputs for connecting digital audio sources to this receiver. There’s also a 2 RF IN jack for connection to an LD player with a 2 RF output.

All the inputs are freely assignable to input functions for maximum flexibility.

• If a connected component does not correspond to

the input function (DVD/LD, etc.), see Assigning the digital inputs on page 90 to assign it properly.

4 Stereo analog audio source inputs/outputs

Four sets of analog audio jacks for connection to audio sources such as CD players, tape decks and turntables. The CD-R/TAPE 1/MD and TAPE 2 MONITOR functions also feature outputs for recording. See Connecting analog audio sources on page 24 for connection details.

5 Multichannel analog audio inputs

7.1 channel analog inputs for connection to a DVD player with multichannel analog outputs. See Connecting the multichannel analog outputs on page 18 for connection details.

6 i.LINK connectors

Two S400-type i.LINK connectors allow you to connect this receiver to other compatible i.LINK audio devices for high-resolution, multichannel digital audio input/output. See Using the i.LINK interface on page 85 for connection details.

7 Turntable ground

A grounding (earth) terminal for use with turntables that require it. See Connecting analog audio sources on page 24 for connection details.

Connecting your equipment

8 Pre-amplifier output/power amplifier input

When using this receiver as an integrated amplifier, leave the pre-amp outputs connected to the power amp inputs with the supplied U-shaped connectors. Removing these connectors allows you to use this unit as a pre-amplifier or power amplifier only, or to integrate another amplifier into your setup for more inputs. See Using the pre-outs on page 82 for connection details.

9 Multichannel pre-amplifier outputs

Multichannel pre-amp outputs that you can use to connect separate amplifiers for center, surround, surround back and subwoofer channels. See Using the pre-outs on page 82 for connection details.

10 Control input/output

Mini jack terminals for connection to other Pioneer components to enable you to control all your equipment from a single IR remote sensor. See Operating other Pioneer components with this unit’s sensor on page 74 for connection details.

11 Monitor video outputs

Three video outputs consisting of a standard composite video output and two S-video outputs, for connection to monitors and TVs. See Connecting your TV on page 16 for connection details.

12 Multi-room and source outputs

Outputs for connection to a second amplifier in a separate room. See Multi-room setup on page 83.

13 Audio/video source inputs

Each of the seven source input functions has stereo analog audio jacks, a composite video jack and an Svideo jack for basic connections. On top of these, you can assign digital audio and component video jacks to input functions as necessary. As well as audio/video inputs, the three input functions DVR/VCR 1, VCR 2 and VCR 3 also have audio/video outputs for recording. See Connecting a VCR or DVD recorder on page 20 for connection details.

14 Remote input (multi-room and source)

The remote input allows you to connect an external remote control sensor, for use in a multi-room setup, for example. See Multi-room setup on page 83 for connection details.

15 Component video inputs/output

The three component video inputs are freely assignable to any of the audio/video input functions. The component video output is for connection to a monitor or TV. See Using the component video jacks on page 22 for connection details.

16 RS-232C connector

This port is provided for connecting a personal computer for graphical output when using Advanced MCACC.

17 Antenna terminals

Connections for AM and FM radio antennas. See Connecting antennas on page 28 for connection details.

18 12V trigger jacks

These terminals output DC 12V according to the input functions (total 100 mA max.). See Switching components on and off using the 12 volt trigger on page 74 for connection details.

19 Speaker terminals

These are the main speaker terminals for front, center, surround and surround back speakers. See Installing your speaker system on page 26 for connection details.

20 AC power outlet

This 120V AC power outlet can be used to power another component in your setup (up to 100 W). Power to this outlet is switched off when the receiver is in standby.

21 AC power inlet

Connect the supplied power cord here.

22 B speaker terminals

Stereo B speaker terminals that you can use to connect a second pair of speakers for use in another room, for example. See Using speaker system B on page 80 for connection details.

When making cable connections

Be careful not to arrange cables in a manner that bends the cables over the top of this unit. If the cables are laid on top of the unit, the magnetic field produced by the transformers in this unit may cause a humming noise to come from the speakers.

• 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.

Connecting your equipment

Connecting your TV

This page shows you how to connect your TV to the receiver. To be able to play the sound from the TV’s builtin tuner, connect the analog audio outputs from your TV to this receiver.

If your TV has a built-in digital decoder, you can connect the digital audio output to this receiver to enjoy Dolby Digital and DTS sound from digital TV broadcasts.

1 Connect the MONITOR OUT 1 video jack on this receiver to a video input on your TV.

• You can use a standard RCA/phono jack video cable to connect to the composite video jack, or for higher quality video, you can use an S-video cable to connect to the S-video jack (S2 VIDEO).

• See Using the component video jacks on page 22 if you want to use the component video outputs to connect this receiver to your TV.

2 Connect the analog audio outputs from your TV to the TV/DVD AUDIO inputs on this receiver.

• Use a stereo RCA/phono jack cable for the connection.

3 Connect a coaxial digital audio output from your TV to the DIGITAL 2 (TV/DVD) input on this receiver.

• Use a coaxial cable designed for digital audio for the connection.

• If your TV only has an optical digital output, you can connect it to one of the optical inputs on this receiver using an optical cable. When you set up the receiver you’ll need to tell the receiver which input you connected the TV to (see also Assigning the digital inputs on page 90).

Note

• If your TV doesn’t have a digital audio output, omit step 3 above.

• If you use different cord types for the TV and the source component, overlay information doesn’t appear.

DIGITAL

USB AUDIO

AUDIO

R L

PHONO

OUT 2

OUT 1

(CD-R/

TAPE1/

MD)

IN 5

IN 4

3 IN

2 IN

1 IN

2RF

ASSIGNABLE MULTI CH INPUT

R L

OUT

(DVR/

REC

VCR1)

CD-R/ TAPE1/ MD

(SAT)

PLAY

OUT

(CD)

REC

TAPE 2 MONITOR

(TV/

DVD)

PLAY

FRONT SUB W CENTER

(DVD/

LD)

SURROUND

(DVD/

LD)

OPTICAL DIGITAL AUDIO OUT

S400 (AUDIO)

AUDIO POWER

CENTER

(Single)

R L

COAXIAL

CONTROL

OUT

AMP

SUB W.

PRE OUT

SURROUND

(Single)

SURROUND BACK

(Single)

R L

MULTIROOM & SOURCE

DVD/

LD IN

TV/ DVD

SAT

OUT DVR/

VCR1

OUT

VCR2

OUT

VCR3

VIDEOAUDIO S2 VIDEO

MONITOR

OUT 1

MONITOR

OUT 2

REMOTE IN MULTI ROOM & SOURCE

COMPONENT VIDEO

(DVD/

LD) IN

OUT

ASSIGNABLE

RS-232C

MONITOR

OUT

12V TRIGGER

ANTENNA

AM LOOP ANTENNA

75Ω UNBAL

DC OUT 12V

TOTAL 100mA MAX 2

FRONT

CENTER

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK

SPEAKERS

AC 120 V 60Hz

AC OUTLET

SWITCHED 100W (0.8A) MAX

AC IN

(Single)

SELECTABLE (SURROUND BACK & B )

VSX-59TXi

ANALOG AUDIO OUT

VIDEOINS-VIDEO

Connecting your equipment

Connecting a DVD player

DIGITAL

USB AUDIO

AUDIO

R L

PHONO

OUT 2

OUT 1

(CD-R/ TAPE1/

MD)

3 IN

2 IN

1 IN

2RF

ASSIGNABLE MULTI CH INPUT

R L

OUT

(DVR/

REC

VCR1)

CD-R/ TAPE1/ MD

(SAT)

PLAY

OUT

(CD)

REC

TAPE 2 MONITOR

(TV/

DVD)

PLAY

FRONT SUB W CENTER

(DVD/

LD)

SURROUND

(DVD/

LD)

COAXIAL

S400 (AUDIO)

AUDIO POWER

AMP

CENTER

SUB W.

(Single)

R L

PRE OUT

SURROUND

(Single)

SURROUND BACK

(Single)

CONTROL

OUT

R L

AUDIORL S-VIDEOOPTICAL

MULTIROOM & SOURCE

DVD/

LD IN

TV/

DVD

SAT

OUT

DVR/ VCR1

OUT

VCR2

OUT

VCR3

VIDEOAUDIO S2 VIDEO

MONITOR

OUT 1

MONITOR

OUT 2

OUT

DIGITAL OUT ANALOG OUT VIDEO OUT

1 2 3

COMPONENT VIDEO

(DVD/ LD) IN

IN 2

ASSIGNABLE

RS-232C

REMOTE IN MULTI ROOM & SOURCE

MONITOR

OUT

IN 3

12V TRIGGER

ANTENNA

AM LOOP

ANTENNA

75Ω UNBAL

DC OUT 12V

TOTAL 100mA MAX 2

FRONT

CENTER

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK

SPEAKERS

AC 120 V 60Hz

AC OUTLET

SWITCHED 100W (0.8A) MAX

AC IN

(Single)

SELECTABLE (SURROUND BACK & B )

VSX-59TXi

DVD player

Different DVD players offer a different selection of connections, but all should give you at least a digital audio output, stereo analog audio outputs and a video output. Additionally, you may have a player with multichannel analog audio outputs and different kinds of video outputs to choose from.

1 Connect a coaxial digital audio output on your DVD player to the DIGITAL 1 (DVD/LD) input on this receiver.

• Use a coaxial cable designed for digital audio for the connection.

• If your DVD player only has an optical digital output, you can connect it to one of the optical inputs on this receiver using an optical cable. When you set up the receiver you’ll need to tell the receiver which input you connected the player to (see also Assigning the digital inputs on page 90).

2 If your DVD player only has stereo analog audio outputs, connect these to the DVD/LD AUDIO inputs on this receiver.

• Use standard RCA/phono jack cables for the connections.

• If your DVD player has multichannel analog outputs, see Connecting the multichannel analog outputs below for how to connect it.

3 Connect a composite or S-video output on your DVD player to the DVD/LD VIDEO or DVD/LD S2 VIDEO input on this receiver.

• Use a standard video cable or an S-video cable for the connection.

• If your player also has a component video output, you can connect this too. See Using the component video jacks on page 22 for more on this.

Connecting your equipment

Connecting the multichannel analog outputs

DIGITAL

USB AUDIO

AUDIO

R L

PHONO

OUT 2

OUT 1

(CD-R/ TAPE1/

MD)

IN 5

IN 4

3 IN

2 IN

1 IN

2RF

ASSIGNABLE MULTI CH INPUT

R L

OUT

(DVR/

REC

VCR1)

CD-R/ TAPE1/ MD

(SAT)

PLAY

OUT

(CD)

REC

TAPE 2 MONITOR

(TV/

DVD)

PLAY

FRONT SUB W CENTER

(DVD/

LD)

SURROUND

(DVD/

LD)

FRONT SUB W. CENTER

S400 (AUDIO)

AUDIO POWER

AMP

CENTER

SUB W.

(Single)

PRE OUT

SURROUND

R L

(Single)

SUR- ROUND BACK

(Single)

OUT

R L

CONTROL

MULTIROOM & SOURCE

DVD/

LD IN

TV/

DVD

SAT

OUT

DVR/ VCR1

OUT

VCR2

OUT

VCR3

VIDEOAUDIO S2 VIDEO

MONITOR

OUT 1

MONITOR

OUT 2

OUT

ANTENNA

AM LOOP ANTENNA

75Ω UNBAL

FRONT

CENTER

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK

SPEAKERS

AC 120 V 60Hz

AC OUTLET

SWITCHED 100W (0.8A) MAX

AC IN

(Single)

SELECTABLE (SURROUND BACK & B )

REMOTE IN MULTI ROOM & SOURCE

COMPONENT VIDEO

(DVD/

LD) IN

MONITOR

OUT

ASSIGNABLE

DC OUT 12V

12V TRIGGER

RS-232C

TOTAL 100mA MAX

VSX-59TXi

SURR.

MULTI CH

OUTPUT

SURR.

BACK

MULTI CH. OUT

1 2

DVD player

For DVD Audio and SACD playback, your DVD player may have 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 channel analog outputs (depending on whether your player supports surround back channels).

1 Connect the front, surround, center and subwoofer outputs on your DVD player to the corresponding MULTI CH INPUTS on this receiver.

• Use standard RCA/phono jack cables for the connections.

• Take care to connect each output to its corresponding input on the receiver.

2 If your DVD player also has outputs for surround back channels, connect these to the corresponding MULTI CH INPUTS on this receiver.

• Use standard RCA/phono jack cables for the connections.

• If there is a single surround back output, connect it to the SURROUND BACK L (SINGLE) jack on this receiver.

Note

• To listen to multichannel analog audio you’ll need to switch the input signal selector to MULTI CH INPUT (see Playing a source on page 41 for more on this). See also Selecting USB and multichannel analog input channels on page 49.

Connecting your equipment

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’.

1 Connect a set of audio/video outputs on the settop box component to the SAT AUDIO and VIDEO inputs on this receiver.

• Use a stereo RCA/phono jack audio cable for the audio connection and a video or S-video cable for the video connection.

2 Connect an optical digital audio output from your set-top box component to the DIGITAL 4 (SAT) input on this receiver.

• Use an optical cable for the connection.

• If your set-top box only has a coaxial digital output, you can connect it to one of the coaxial inputs on this receiver using a coaxial digital audio cable. When you set up the receiver you’ll need to tell the receiver which input you connected the set-top box to (see also Assigning the digital inputs on page 90).

Note

• If your satellite/cable receiver doesn’t have a digital audio output, omit step 2 above.

DIGITAL

USB AUDIO

AUDIO

R L

PHONO

OUT 2

OUT 1

(CD-R/

TAPE1/

MD)

IN 5

IN 4

3 IN

2 IN

1 IN

2RF

ASSIGNABLE MULTI CH INPUT

R L

OUT

(DVR/

REC

VCR1)

CD-R/ TAPE1/ MD

(SAT)

PLAY

OUT

(CD)

REC

TAPE 2 MONITOR

(TV/

DVD)

PLAY

FRONT SUB W CENTER

(DVD/

LD)

SUR- ROUND

(DVD/

LD)

S400 (AUDIO)

AUDIO POWER

AMP

CENTER

SUB W.

(Single)

R L

PRE OUT

SURROUND

(Single)

SURROUND BACK

(Single)

DIGITAL OUT

OUT

R L

CONTROL

MULTIROOM & SOURCE

DVD/

LD IN

TV/

DVD

SAT

OUT

DVR/ VCR1

OUT

VCR2

OUT

VCR3

VIDEOAUDIO S2 VIDEO

MONITOR

OUT 1

MONITOR

OUT 2

OUT

REMOTE IN MULTI ROOM & SOURCE

COMPONENT VIDEO

(DVD/

LD) IN

MONITOR

OUT

ASSIGNABLE

12V TRIGGER

RS-232C

ANTENNA

AM LOOP ANTENNA

75Ω UNBAL

DC OUT 12V

TOTAL 100mA MAX 2

FRONT

CENTER

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK

SPEAKERS

AC 120 V 60Hz

SWITCHED 100W (0.8A) MAX

AC OUTLET

AC IN

(Single)

SELECTABLE (SURROUND BACK & B )

VSX-59TXi

VIDEO S-VIDEOAUDIOL

AV OUT

STB

Connecting your equipment

Connecting a VCR or DVD recorder

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

1 Connect a set of audio/video outputs on the recorder to the DVR/VCR1 AUDIO and VIDEO inputs on this receiver.

• Use a stereo RCA/phono jack audio cable for the audio connection and a video or S-video cable for the video connection.

• For a second and third recorder, use the VCR2 IN and

VCR3 IN inputs.

2 Connect a set of audio/video inputs on the recorder to the DVR/VCR1 AUDIO and VIDEO outputs on this receiver.

• Use a stereo RCA/phono jack audio cable for the audio connection and a video or S-video cable for the video connection.

• For a second and third recorder, use the VCR2 and

VCR3 outputs.

3 Connect an optical digital audio output from the recorder to the DIGITAL 5 (DVR/VCR1) input on this receiver.

• Use an optical cable for the connection.

• If your recorder only has a coaxial digital output, you can connect it to one of the coaxial inputs on this receiver using a coaxial digital audio cable. When you set up the receiver you’ll need to tell the receiver which input you connected the recorder to (see also Assigning the digital inputs on page 90).

• The digital outputs from other recorders can be connected to any spare digital audio inputs on this receiver. You can assign them when setting up the receiver (see also Assigning the digital inputs on page 90).

Note

• If your video component doesn’t have a digital audio output, omit step 3 above.

• In order to record, you must connect the analog audio cables (the digital connection is for playback only).

DIGITAL

USB AUDIO

AUDIO

R L

PHONO

OUT 2

OUT 1

(CD-R/ TAPE1/

MD)

3 IN

2 IN

1 IN

2RF

ASSIGNABLE MULTI CH INPUT

R L

OUT

(DVR/

REC

VCR1)

CD-R/ TAPE1/ MD

(SAT)

PLAY

OUT

(CD)

REC

TAPE 2 MONITOR

(TV/

DVD)

PLAY

FRONT SUB W CENTER

(DVD/

LD)

SURROUND

(DVD/

LD)

S400 (AUDIO)

AUDIO POWER

AMP

CENTER

SUB W.

PRE OUT

(Single)

SURROUND

R L

(Single)

SURROUND BACK

(Single)

OPTICAL COAXIAL

DIGITAL OUT

OUT

R L

CONTROL

MULTI- ROOM & SOURCE

DVD/

LD IN

TV/ DVD IN

SAT IN

OUT DVR/

VCR1 IN

OUT

VCR2

OUT

VCR3

VIDEOAUDIO S2 VIDEO

MONITOR

VSX-59TXi

FRONT

CENTER

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK

SPEAKERS

AC 120 V 60Hz

SWITCHED 100W (0.8A) MAX

AC OUTLET

AC IN

(Single)

SELECTABLE (SURROUND BACK & B )

1 23

VIDEO S-VIDEO

AV IN

OUT 1

OUT 2

OUT

COMPONENT VIDEO

(DVD/ LD) IN

IN 2

ASSIGNABLE

RS-232C

REMOTE IN MULTI ROOM & SOURCE

MONITOR

12V TRIGGER

AV OUT

AM LOOP

ANTENNA

OUT

75Ω UNBAL

DC OUT 12V

TOTAL 100mA MAX

VIDEOAUDIOLR

S-VIDEO AUDIOLR

ANTENNA

DVR, VCR, etc.

Connecting your equipment

Connecting other video sources

You can basically use any of the audio/video inputs on this receiver for any kind of video source. The example illustration below shows a component connected to the

VCR2 inputs.

1 Connect the analog audio outputs and a video output of the source component to a set of spare audio/video inputs on this receiver.

• Use a stereo RCA/phono jack audio cable for the audio connection and a video or S-video cable for the video connection.

2 If the source component has a digital audio output, connect it to a spare digital audio input on this receiver.

• Use a coaxial cable designed for digital audio or an optical cable for the connection depending on the type of input you used.

• You may need to assign the digital input you used

when setting up the receiver (see also Assigning the digital inputs on page 90).

3 If the source component is an LD player with a 2 RF digital audio output, connect this to the 2 RF input on this receiver.

To ensure compatibility with all laserdiscs, connect both the PCM and 2 RF outputs from your LD player.

• Use a coaxial cable designed for digital audio for the

2 RF connection.

• You may need to assign the 2 RF digital input when

setting up the receiver (see also Assigning the digital inputs on page 90).

DIGITAL

USB AUDIO

AUDIO

R L

PHONO

OUT 2

OUT 1

(CD-R/ TAPE1/

MD)

IN 5

IN 4

3 IN

2 IN

1 IN

2RF

ASSIGNABLE MULTI CH INPUT

R L

OUT

(DVR/

REC

VCR1)

CD-R/ TAPE1/ MD

(SAT)

PLAY

OUT

(CD)

REC

TAPE 2 MONITOR

(TV/

DVD)

PLAY

FRONT SUB W CENTER

(DVD/

LD)

SURROUND

(DVD/

LD)

2 3

S400 (AUDIO)

AUDIO POWER

AMP

CENTER

SUB W.

(Single)

R L

PRE OUT

SURROUND

(Single)

SURROUND BACK

(Single)

DIGITAL OUT

PCM 2 RF

CONTROL

OUT

R L

MULTI-

ROOM &

SOURCE

DVD/

LD IN

TV/ DVD

SAT

OUT DVR/

VCR1

OUT

VCR2

OUT

VCR3

VIDEOAUDIO S2 VIDEO

MONITOR

OUT 1

MONITOR

OUT 2

OUT

ANTENNA

AM LOOP

ANTENNA

75Ω UNBAL

FRONT

CENTER

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK

SPEAKERS

AC 120 V 60Hz

SWITCHED 100W (0.8A) MAX

AC OUTLET

AC IN

(Single)

SELECTABLE (SURROUND BACK & B )

REMOTE IN MULTI ROOM & SOURCE

COMPONENT VIDEO

(DVD/

LD) IN

IN 2

ASSIGNABLE

RS-232C

MONITOR

OUT

12V TRIGGER

DC OUT 12V

TOTAL 100mA MAX 2

VSX-59TXi

VIDEO S-VIDEOAUDIO

AV OUT

LD player, video player, TV game, etc.

Connecting your equipment

Using the component video jacks

Component video should deliver superior picture quality when compared to composite or S-video. A further advantage (if your source and TV are both compatible) is progressive-scan video, 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. Note that it is not possible to see overlay information when you have connected using component video cables.

1 Connect the component video outputs of your source to a set of component video inputs on this receiver.

There are three component video inputs; they are all freely assignable (COMPONENT IN 1, as a default, should already be assigned to DVD/LD) so that they can be used in conjunction with any of the audio/video input functions of the receiver.

Note that in most cases, you’ll need to assign the component video input (see Assigning the component video inputs on page 91), or else you may see the S-video or composite video input instead.

• Use a three-way component video cable for the connection.

2 Connect the COMPONENT VIDEO MONITOR OUT jacks on this receiver to the component video inputs on your TV or monitor.

• Use a three-way component video cable.

About the video converter

The video converter allows you to connect various video sources using composite, S-video or component video connections and the signal will be output through all of the MONITOR VIDEO OUT jacks. The only exception is component video input, which is only output from the component video output. Therefore, if you want to connect any source using component video, you must also connect your TV using component video. If several video components are connected to the same input function, the converter gives priority to component, Svideo, then composite (in that order).

• You can’t see overlay information if you use different cord types for the TV and the source component.

• Also note that this feature is available with NTSC signals only. For a PAL signal, make sure you’ve used the same type of cable for your video component and monitor connections.

DIGITAL

USB AUDIO

PHONO

OUT 2

OUT 1

(CD-R/ TAPE1/

MD)

IN 5

OUT

(DVR/

REC

VCR1)

CD-R/

TAPE1/

(SAT)

PLAY

OUT

(CD)

REC

3 IN

TAPE 2 MONITOR

(TV/

2 IN

DVD)

PLAY

FRONT SUB W CENTER

(DVD/

1 IN

LD)

SURROUND

2RF

(DVD/

LD)

ASSIGNABLE MULTI CH INPUT

DVD player

AUDIO

R L

S400 (AUDIO)

AUDIO POWER

AMP

CENTER

SUB W.

PRE OUT

(Single)

SURROUND

R L

(Single)

SURROUND BACK

(Single)

OUT

R L

CONTROL

MULTIROOM & SOURCE

DVD/

LD IN

TV/ DVD

SAT

OUT DVR/

VCR1

OUT

VCR2

OUT

VCR3

MONITOR

OUT 1

MONITOR

OUT 2

OUT

VIDEOAUDIO S2 VIDEO

COMPONENT

VIDEO

COMPONENT

VIDEO

COMPONENT VIDEO

(DVD/ LD) IN

ASSIGNABLE

RS-232C

REMOTE IN MULTI ROOM & SOURCE

MONITOR

OUT

12V TRIGGER

ANTENNA

FRONT

AM LOOP ANTENNA

75Ω UNBAL

DC OUT 12V

CENTER

SURROUND

(Single)

SURROUND BACK

SPEAKERS

TOTAL 100mA MAX 2

AC OUTLET

AC 120 V 60Hz

SWITCHED 100W (0.8A) MAX

SELECTABLE (SURROUND BACK & B )

AC IN

VSX-59TXi

Connecting your equipment

Connecting digital audio sources

This receiver has both digital inputs and outputs, allowing you to connect digital components for playback and for making digital recordings. Many digital components also have analog connections for recording analog sources (such as a turntable or tape deck). See Connecting analog audio sources below for more on this.

1 Connect an optical digital audio output on your digital component to the DIGITAL 6 (CD-R/TAPE1/ MD) input on this receiver.

• Use an optical cable for the connection.

• If your digital component only has a coaxial digital output, you can connect it to one of the coaxial inputs on this receiver using a coaxial cable. When you set up the receiver you’ll need to tell the receiver which input you connected the component to (see also Assigning the digital inputs on page 90).

• The digital outputs from other components can be connected to any spare digital audio inputs on this receiver. You can assign them when setting up the receiver (see also Assigning the digital inputs on page 90).

2 Connect one of the DIGITAL outputs on this receiver to a digital input on the component.

• Use an optical cable to connect to the DIGITAL OUT1 or OUT2 (OUT1 is shown in the illustration

below).

Note

• In order to record some digital sources, you must make analog connections as explained in Connecting analog audio sources below.

• This unit has an on-board WMA9 Pro decoder, so it is possible to playback WMA9 Pro-encoded audio using a coaxial or optical digital connection when connected to a WMA9 Pro-compatible player. However, the connected PC, DVD player, set-top box, etc. must be able to output WMA9 Pro format audio signals through a coaxial or optical digital output.

DIGITAL

USB AUDIO

AUDIO

R L

PHONO

OUT 2

OUT 1

(CD-R/ TAPE1/

MD)

3 IN

2 IN

1 IN

2RF

ASSIGNABLE MULTI CH INPUT

R L

OUT

(DVR/

REC

VCR1)

CD-R/ TAPE1/ MD

(SAT)

PLAY

OUT

(CD)

REC

TAPE 2 MONITOR

(TV/

DVD)

PLAY

FRONT SUB W CENTER

(DVD/

LD)

SURROUND

(DVD/

LD)

1 2

AUDIO POWER

CENTER

SUB W.

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK

OUT

AMP

PRE OUT

(Single)

S400 (AUDIO)

(Single)

R L

OPTICAL COAXIAL

DIGITAL OUT

CD-R, MD, DAT, etc.

CONTROL

R L

MULTI-

ROOM &

SOURCE

DVD/

TV/

DVD

SAT

OUT

DVR/ VCR1

OUT

VCR2

OUT

VCR3

MONITOR

OUT 1

MONITOR

OUT 2

OUT

VIDEOAUDIO S2 VIDEO

COMPONENT VIDEO

(DVD/ LD) IN

IN 2

ASSIGNABLE

RS-232C

OPTICAL

DIGITAL IN

REMOTE IN MULTI ROOM & SOURCE

MONITOR

OUT

12V TRIGGER

ANTENNA

FRONT

AM LOOP ANTENNA

75Ω UNBAL

DC OUT 12V

CENTER

SURROUND

(Single)

SURROUND BACK

SPEAKERS

IN 3

TOTAL 100mA MAX 2

AC OUTLET

AC 120 V 60Hz

SWITCHED 100W (0.8A) MAX

SELECTABLE (SURROUND BACK & B )

AC IN

VSX-59TXi

Connecting your equipment

Connecting analog audio sources

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

One of the audio inputs (PHONO) is a dedicated turntable input which should not be used for any other type of component. This input also has a grounding terminal that most turntables require.

1 Connect the analog audio outputs of the source component to a set of spare audio inputs on this receiver.

• If you’re connecting a tape deck, MD recorder, etc., connect the analog audio outputs (REC) to the analog audio inputs on the recorder.

Turntable

• Use a stereo RCA/phono jack audio cable for the connections.

• If your cassette deck has a monitoring function, connect it to the TAPE 2 MONITOR jacks on the rear panel. See Monitoring your recording on page 75 for more on this.

2 Turntables only: Connect the stereo audio outputs to the PHONO inputs on this receiver.

• If your turntable has a grounding wire, secure it to the ground terminal on this receiver.

• If your turntable has line-level outputs (no grounding wire), connect them to the CD inputs instead.

DIGITAL

USB AUDIO

PHONO

OUT 2

OUT 1

(CD-R/

TAPE1/

MD)

IN 5

OUT

(DVR/

REC

VCR1)

CD-R/

TAPE1/

(SAT)

PLAY

OUT

(CD)

REC

3 IN

TAPE 2 MONITOR

(TV/

2 IN

DVD)

PLAY

FRONT SUB W CENTER

(DVD/

1 IN

LD)

SURROUND

2RF

(DVD/

LD)

OUT

PLAY

REC

AUDIO IN/OUT

ASSIGNABLE MULTI CH INPUT

AUDIO

R L

S400 (AUDIO)

OUT

AUDIO POWER

AMP

CENTER

SUB W.

(Single)

R L

PRE OUT

SURROUND

(Single)

SURROUND BACK

(Single)

Tape deck, etc.

CONTROL

R L

MULTIROOM & SOURCE

DVD/

LD IN

TV/ DVD

SAT

OUT DVR/

VCR1

OUT

VCR2

OUT

VCR3

VIDEOAUDIO S2 VIDEO

MONITOR

OUT 1

MONITOR

OUT 2

ANTENNA

AM LOOP ANTENNA

75Ω UNBAL

FRONT

CENTER

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK

SPEAKERS

AC 120 V 60Hz

SWITCHED 100W (0.8A) MAX

AC OUTLET

AC IN

(Single)

SELECTABLE (SURROUND BACK & B )

REMOTE IN MULTI ROOM & SOURCE

COMPONENT VIDEO

(DVD/

LD) IN

OUT

ASSIGNABLE

RS-232C

MONITOR

OUT

12V TRIGGER

DC OUT 12V

TOTAL 100mA MAX 2

VSX-59TXi

Connecting your equipment

Connecting a component to the front panel inputs

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

ACOUSTIC

PHONES

CAL.

TONE OPTION DIGITAL NR CLASS STATION

MIDNIGHT

SP SYSTEM

SIGNAL

VIDEO

TAPE2

STREAM

A/B

SELECT

MONITOR

SETUP

DIRECT

TUNER

DIGITAL IN

MIC

S-VIDEO VIDEO

VSX-59TXi

video games and portable audio/video equipment.

• Pull down the front cover where indicated to access the front panel inputs.

• The illustration below shows example connections to a portable DVD player.

MULTI ROOM & SOURCE

SB CH MODE

CONTROL

ON/OFF

VIDEO INPUT

AUDIOLR

COLOR BRIGHT MONITOR

VIDEO IN/OUT

AUDIO IN/OUT

PHONES

DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL)

Portable DVD player, etc.

HOLDON/OFF

Connecting your equipment

Installing your speaker system

To take full advantage of the receiver’s surround sound capabilities connect front, center, surround and surround back speakers, as well as a subwoofer. Although this is ideal, other configurations with fewer speakers—no subwoofer or no center speaker, or even no surround speakers—will work. 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). You can use speakers with a nominal impedance between 4–16Ω (please see Switching the speaker impedance on page 78 if you plan to use speakers with an impedance of less than 6Ω).

Subwoofer

LINE LEVEL

INPUT

VSX-59TXi

DIGITAL

USB AUDIO

AUDIO

R L

PHONO

OUT 2

OUT 1

(CD-R/

TAPE1/

MD)

R L

OUT

(DVR/

REC

VCR1)

CD-R/

TAPE1/

(SAT)

PLAY

OUT

(CD)

REC

3 IN

TAPE 2 MONITOR

(TV/

2 IN

DVD)

PLAY

FRONT SUB W CENTER

(DVD/

1 IN

LD)

SURROUND

2RF

(DVD/

LD)

ASSIGNABLE MULTI CH INPUT

Surround left

Front left

S400 (AUDIO)

AUDIO POWER

AMP

CENTER

SUB W.

PRE OUT

(Single)

SURROUND

R L

(Single)

SURROUND BACK

(Single)

OUT

R L

CONTROL

MONITOR

OUT 1

MULTI-

MONITOR

ROOM &

OUT 2

SOURCE

DVD/

LD IN

TV/ DVD

SAT

OUT DVR/

VCR1

OUT

VCR2

OUT

VCR3

VIDEOAUDIO S2 VIDEO

Surround back left

Center

OUT

COMPONENT VIDEO

(DVD/ LD) IN

IN 2

ASSIGNABLE

RS-232C

REMOTE IN MULTI ROOM & SOURCE

MONITOR

OUT P

12V TRIGGER

Surround back right

Front

right

FRONT

CENTER

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK

SPEAKERS

AC 120 V 60Hz

SWITCHED 100W (0.8A) MAX

AC OUTLET

AC IN

(Single)

SELECTABLE (SURROUND BACK & B )

ANTENNA

AM LOOP

ANTENNA

75Ω UNBAL

DC OUT 12V

TOTAL 100mA MAX 2

Surround

right

Connecting the speakers

Each speaker connection on the receiver comprises a positive (+) red, and negative (–) white terminal. For proper sound you should take care to match these up with the terminals on the speakers themselves.

Connecting your equipment

Caution

• 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 cut off as a safety measure.

Bare wire connections

Before you start connecting the speakers, make sure that the speaker cable you’re going to use is properly prepared with about 0.4 in. of insulator stripped from each wire, and the exposed wire strands twisted together.

To connect a terminal, unscrew the terminal a few turns until there is enough space to insert the exposed wire. Once the wire is in position, tighten the terminal until the wire is firmly clamped.

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.

• Other connections on page 80 provides greater detail

on alternate speaker setups such as using speaker system B (page 80), bi-surround (page 80), bi-amping (page 81) and bi-wiring (page 82).

Placing the speakers

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. (see also Optimizing your speaker setup on page 97).

• 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 6–9 ft. apart, at equal distance from the TV.

• Install the center speaker above or below the TV so that the sound of the center channel is localized at the TV screen.

• When placing speakers near the TV, use magnetically shielded speakers to prevent possible interference, such as discoloration of the picture when the TV is switched on. If you do not have magnetically shielded speakers and notice discoloration of the TV picture, move the speakers farther away from the TV.

• If possible, install the surround speakers slightly above ear level.

Front L

Subwoofer

Front R

Center

Note

• 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.

• The speaker terminals on this receiver can be connected in a number of ways, depending on your setup. See Speaker Systems on page 58 for an overview of the possible configurations.

Surround

back L

Surround

back R

Surround

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 external shocks such as earthquakes.

Connecting your equipment

Connecting antennas

The supplied antennas provide a simple way to listen to AM and FM radio. If you find that reception quality is poor, an outdoor antenna should give you better sound quality—see Connecting external antennas below.

DIGITAL

USB AUDIO

AUDIO

R L

PHONO

OUT 2

OUT 1

(CD-R/ TAPE1/

MD)

3 IN

2 IN

1 IN

2RF

ASSIGNABLE MULTI CH INPUT

R L

OUT

(DVR/

REC

VCR1)

CD-R/ TAPE1/ MD

(SAT)

PLAY

OUT

(CD)

REC

TAPE 2 MONITOR

(TV/

DVD)

PLAY

FRONT SUB W CENTER

(DVD/

LD)

SURROUND

(DVD/

LD)

S400 (AUDIO)

AUDIO POWER

AMP

CENTER

SUB W.

(Single)

PRE OUT

SURROUND

R L

(Single)

SURROUND BACK

(Single)

CONTROL

OUT

R L

MULTIROOM & SOURCE

DVD/

TV/ DVD

SAT

OUT DVR/

VCR1

OUT

VCR2

OUT

VCR3

VIDEOAUDIO S2 VIDEO

MONITOR

OUT 1

OUT 2

COMPONENT VIDEO

(DVD/

LD) IN

OUT

RS-232C

VSX-59TXi

AM loop antenna

1 Assemble the stand as shown in the illustration.

fig. A fig. B fig. C

• Bend the stand in the direction indicated (fig. A).

• Clip the loop into the stand (fig. B).

• It’s possible to fix the AM antenna to a wall (fig. C). Before fixing, make sure that the reception is satisfactory.

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

3 Press the AM LOOP antenna terminal tabs to open and insert one wire into each terminal.

4 Release the tabs to secure the AM antenna wires.

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

Avoid placing near computers, television sets or other electrical appliances and do not let it come into contact with metal objects.

ANTENNA

AM LOOP ANTENNA

75Ω UNBAL

DC OUT 12V

FRONT

CENTER

SURROUND

SURROUND BACK

AC 120 V 60Hz

(Single)

AC OUTLET

SWITCHED 100W (0.8A) MAX

AC IN

SELECTABLE (SURROUND BACK & B )

SPEAKERS

MULTI ROOM & SOURCE

ASSIGNABLE

REMOTE IN

MONITOR

OUT PB

IN 3

12V TRIGGER

TOTAL 100mA MAX 2

Note

• The signal ground () is designed to reduce noise

that occurs when an antenna is connected. It is not an electrical safety ground.

FM wire antenna

• Connect the FM wire antenna to the FM UNBAL 75Ω in the same way as the AM 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.

Connecting external antennas

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

75Ω coaxial cable

ANTENNA

AM LOOP ANTENNA

75Ω UNBAL

Connecting your equipment

To improve AM reception, connect a 16–19 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.

Outdoor antenna

Indoor antenna

(vinyl-coated wire)

AM LOOP ANTENNA

75Ω UNBAL

ANTENNA

15–18 ft.

Plugging in the receiver

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

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 shock. Check the power cord once in a while. If you find it damaged, ask your nearest Pioneer authorized service center or your dealer for a replacement.

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

2 Plug the other end into a power outlet.

About the AC outlet

Power supplied through this outlet is turned on and off by the receiver's power switch. Total electrical power consumption of connected equipment should not exceed 100 W (0.8 A).

Caution

• Do not connect a monitor, TV set, heater, or similar appliance to this unit's AC outlet.

• Do not connect appliances with high power consumption to the AC outlet in order to avoid overheating and fire risk. This can also cause the receiver to malfunction.

Controls and displays

Chapter 3

Controls and displays

Front panel

STANDBY/ON

OFF ON

23 5 847

STANDBY

DVD/LD TV/DVD SAT VIDEO

INPUT SELECTOR

VIDEO AUDIO

DVR/VCR1 VCR2 VCR3 CD TUNER PHONO

1312 14 15 17 18

ACOUSTIC

CAL.

PHONES

TONE OPTION DIGITAL NR CLASS STATION

MIDNIGHT

SP SYSTEM

SIGNAL

VIDEO

TAPE2

STREAM

A/B

SELECT

MONITOR

DIRECT

SETUP

MIC

69 1011

AUDIO/VIDEO MULTI-CHANNEL RECEIVER

LISTENING MODE SELECTOR

TURN/PUSH

CD-R/

TAPE1/MD

MULTI CH

INPUT

MASTER VOLUME

1916 20

MULTI ROOM & SOURCE

VIDEO INPUT

SB CH MODE

CONTROL

ON/OFF

TUNER

DIGITAL IN

VSX-59TXi

21 22 23 24 25 2726

1 INPUT SELECTOR dial (page 41)

Turn to select a source component. The input indicators show the current component.

2  STANDBY/ON and power OFF  / ON 

Press  STANDBY/ON to switch the receiver on or into standby. The OFF  / ON  switch turns of the main power (you can’t switch on using the remote when it is in the OFF  position).

3 STANDBY indicator

Lights when the receiver is in standby.

4 Remote sensor

Receives the signals from the remote control.

S-VIDEO VIDEO

AUDIOLR

5 Display

See Remote control on page 33.

6 MCACC indicator (page 48) Lights when Acoustic Calibration EQ is on. Acoustic Cal EQ is automatically set after the Auto Surround Setup has been completed.

7 i.LINK indicator (page 85) Lights when an i.LINK-Audio-equipped component is selected.

8 MULTI ROOM indicator (page 83) Shows whether the multi-room function is active or not.

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