Pioneer VSX-AX4AV-S User Manual

VSX-AX4AVi-S AUDIO/VIDEO MULTI-CHANNEL RECEIVER

VSX-AX2AV-S

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Operating Instructions

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IMPORTANT

CAUTION

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

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.

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.

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Replacement and mounting of an AC plug on the power supply cord of this unit should be performed only by qualified service personnel.

	IMPORTANT		The cut-off plug should be disposed of and must	Do not connect either wire to the earth terminal of a
			not be inserted into any 13 amp socket as this can	three pin plug.
			result in electric shock. The plug or adaptor or the	NOTE
	FOR USE IN THE UNITED		distribution panel should be provided with 10 A
			fuse. As the colours of the wires in the mains lead	After replacing or changing a fuse, the fuse cover in
	KINGDOM
			of this appliance may not correspond with coloured	the plug must be replaced with a fuse cover which
	The wires in this mains lead are coloured in		markings identifying the terminals in your plug,	corresponds to the colour of the insert in the base
	accordance with the following code:		proceed as follows ;	of the plug or the word that is embossed on the
	Blue	: Neutral	The wire which is coloured blue must be connected	base of the plug, and the appliance must not be
	Brown	: Live	to the terminal which is marked with the letter N or	used without a fuse cover. If lost replacement fuse
	If the plug provided is unsuitable for your socket		coloured black.	covers can be obtained from your dealer.
	outlets, the plug must be cut off and a suitable plug		The wire which is coloured brown must be	Only 10 A fuses approved by B.S.I or A.S.T.A to
	fitted.		connected to the terminal which is marked with the	B.S.1362 should be used.
			letter L or coloured red.	D3-4-2-1-2-2_En

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.

WARNING

Before plugging in for the first time, read the following section carefully.

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., 230V or 120V) written on the rear panel.

WARNING

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

This product complies with the Low Voltage Directive (73/23/EEC, amended by 93/68/EEC), EMC Directives (89/336/EEC, amended by 92/31/EEC and 93/68/EEC).

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.

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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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).

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

Operating Environment

Operating environment temperature and humidity: +5 ºC – +35 ºC (+41 ºF – +95 ºF); 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)

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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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.

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.

Important information about this unit‘s AC outlets Switched total 100 W MAX

Power supplied through these outlets is turned on and off by this unit’s STANDBY/ON switch. Total electrical power consumption of connected equipment should not exceed 100 W.

CAUTION

•Do not connect a TV set, monitor, 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 cause this unit to malfunction.

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Contents

01 Before you start

Checking what’s in the box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Installing the receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Loading the batteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

02 5 minute guide

Introduction to home theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Listening to Surround Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Automatically setting up for surround sound

(MCACC). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Problems when using the Auto MCACC Setup . . . . . 9 Playing a source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Better sound using Phase Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

03 Connecting your equipment

Rear panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 When making cable connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 About the video converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Connecting your TV and DVD player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Connecting a satellite/cable receiver or other

set-top box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Connecting a DVD/HDD recorder, VCR and

other video sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Using the component video jacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Connecting digital audio sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 About the WMA9 Pro decoder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Connecting analog audio sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Connecting a component to the front panel

inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Installing your speaker system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Connecting the speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Placing the speakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 THX speaker system setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Connecting antennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 AM loop antenna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 FM wire antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Connecting external antennas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Plugging in the receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 AC outlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

04 Controls and displays

Front panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Operating range of remote control unit . . . . . . . . . . 22 Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Remote control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

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05 Listening to your system

Auto playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Listening in surround sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Standard surround sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Using the Home THX modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Using the Advanced surround effects . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Listening in stereo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Using Stream Direct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Selecting MCACC presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Choosing the input signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Using surround back channel processing . . . . . . . . . 29 Using the Virtual Surround Back mode . . . . . . . . . . 29

06 Using the tuner

Listening to the radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Improving FM stereo sound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Tuning directly to a station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Saving station presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Naming station presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Listening to station presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 An introduction to RDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Searching for RDS programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Using EON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

07 The System Setup menu

Making receiver settings from the System

Setup menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Automatic MCACC (Expert) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Surround back speaker setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Manual MCACC setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Fine Channel Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Fine Speaker Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Standing Wave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Acoustic Calibration EQ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Professional Acoustic Calibration EQ . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Data Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Manual speaker setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Speaker Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Channel Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Speaker Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Bass Peak Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 X-Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 THX Audio Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

08 Other connections

Connecting an iPod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Connecting your iPod to the receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Playing music from your iPod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Connecting using HDMI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 About HDMI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

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Using the i.LINK interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Checking the i.LINK inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 About i.LINK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 About PQLS rate control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Creating an i.LINK network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Connecting the multichannel analog inputs . . . . . . . 51 Selecting the multichannel analog inputs . . . . . . . . 51 Using the USB interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Second Zone speaker B setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Switching the speaker system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Bi-amping your front speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Bi-wiring your speakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Connecting additional amplifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Multi-room listening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Making multi-room connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Using the multi-room controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Connecting an IR receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Switching components on and off using the

12 volt trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Using this receiver with a Pioneer plasma

display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Using the SR+ mode with a Pioneer plasma

display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Connecting a PC for Advanced MCACC output . . . . . 59 Advanced MCACC output using your PC . . . . . . . . . 59

09 Other Settings

The Input Setup menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Input function default and possible settings . . . . . . 61 The Other Setup menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Multi-Room and IR receiver setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 SR+ Setup for Pioneer plasma displays. . . . . . . . . . 62 OSD Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

10 Using other functions

Setting the AV options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Making an audio or a video recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Playing a different source when recording. . . . . . . . 64 Reducing the level of an analog signal . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Watching video and audio sources independently . . 65 Using the sleep timer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Dimming the display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Switching the speaker impedance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Checking your system settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Resetting the system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Default system settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

11 Controlling the rest of your system

Setting the remote to control other components . . . 67 Selecting preset codes directly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Programming signals from other remote

controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Erasing one of the remote control button

settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Resetting the remote control presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Confirming preset codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Renaming input source names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Direct function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Multi Operation and System Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Programming a multi-operation or a shutdown sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Using multi operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Using System off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Controls for TVs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Controls for other components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Operating other Pioneer components with this

unit’s sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

12 Additional information

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 No sound. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Other audio problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 i.LINK interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 i.LINK messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 USB interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 HDMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 iPod messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Surround sound formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Dolby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 DTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Windows Media® Audio 9 Professional . . . . . . . . . 80 About THX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Listening modes with different input signal

formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Stream direct with different input signal formats . . . 84 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Cleaning the unit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Our philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

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01 Before you start

Chapter 1:

Before you start

Checking what’s in the box

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

•Setup microphone (cable: 5m.)

•Remote control unit

•AA/LR6 dry cell batteries x2

•AM loop antenna

•FM wire antenna

•Power cord

•Caution sheet

•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)

6

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.

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5 minute guide

Chapter 2:

5 minute guide

Introduction to home theater

Home theater refers to the use of multiple audio tracks to create a surround sound effect, making you feel like you're in the middle of the action or concert. The surround sound you get from a home theater system depends not only on your speaker setup, but also on the source and the sound settings of the receiver.

This receiver will automatically decode multichannel Dolby Digital, DTS, or Dolby Surround sources according to your speaker setup. In most cases, you won’t have to make changes for realistic surround sound, but other possibilities (like listening to a CD with multichannel surround sound) are explained in Listening to your system on page 26.

Listening to Surround Sound

This receiver was designed with the easiest possible setup in mind, so with the following quick setup guide, you should have your system hooked up for surround sound in no time at all. In most cases, you can simply leave the receiver in the default settings.

•Be sure to complete all connections before connecting this unit to an AC power source.

1 Connect your TV and DVD player.

See Connecting your TV and DVD player on page 12 to do this. For surround sound, you’ll want to hook up using a digital connection from the DVD player to the receiver.

2 Connect your speakers and place them for optimal surround sound.

Connect your speakers as shown in Installing your speaker system on page 17.

Where you place the speakers will have a big effect on the sound. Place your speakers as shown below for the best surround sound effect. Also see Placing the speakers on page 18 for more on this.

Center (C)	Front
	Right (R)
Front
Left (L)	Subwoofer (SW)	Surround

		Right (SR)
		Surround
	Listening	Back
		Right (SBR)
	position
		Surround
		Left (SL)
		Surround
		Back Left (SBL)

02

3Plug in the receiver and switch it on, followed by your DVD player, your subwoofer and the TV.

Make sure you’ve set the video input on your TV to this receiver. Check the manual that came with the TV if you don’t know how to do this.

•Set the subwoofer volume to a comfortable level.

4Use the on-screen automatic MCACC setup to set up your system.

See Automatically setting up for surround sound (MCACC) below for more on this.

5Play a DVD, and adjust the volume to your liking.

Make sure that DVD/LD is showing in the receiver’s display, indicating that the DVD input is selected. If it isn’t, press DVD/LD on the remote control to set the receiver to the DVD input.

In addition to the basic playback explained in Playing a source on page 9, there are several other sound options you can select. See Listening to your system on page 26 for more on this.

See also Making receiver settings from the System Setup menu on page 33 for more setup options.

Automatically setting up for surround sound (MCACC)

The Auto MCACC Setup measures the acoustic characteristics of your listening area, taking into account ambient noise, speaker size and distance, 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 9.

Important

•Make sure the microphone and 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.

•Before using the Auto MCACC Setup the headphones should be disconnected.

Caution

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

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02 5 minute guide

		INPUT		SYSTEM OFF
	RECEIVER			SOURCE	D.ACCESS				CLASS
		SELECT			+10				DISC
									ENTER
					AVPARAMETER				CH LEVEL
					TOP MENU				MENU
									T.EDIT
					SETUP		ENTER		RETURN
					PTY SEARCH				BAND
					GUIDE
	CD	TV	VIDEO 2				TV CONTROL
	DVD	SAT	VIDEO1	TVCONT
					TVVOL	INPUT		TV CH	VOL
	DVR2	CD-R	MULTI IN	ROOM2/3		SELECT
	DVR1	iPod	TUNER	RECEIVER

1Switch on the receiver and your TV.

2Connect the microphone to the MCACC SETUP MIC jack on the front panel.

Place the microphone so that it’s about ear level at your normal listening position (use a tripod if possible). Make sure there are no obstacles between the speakers and the microphone.

SPEAKERS		(TUNE +)		BAND	MULTI – ROOM &	VIDEO	SIGNAL	SBch
					SOURCE/REC SEL
					CONTROL ON/OFF	SELECT	SELECT	PROCESSING STEREO
	AV		TUNER
	PARAMETER		EDIT
						VIDEO/GAME 2 INPUT
PHONES	(ST –)	ENTER	(ST +)	MCACC
				SETUP MIC
	SETUP		RETURN

(TUNE –)

DIGITAL IN

S-VIDEO

VIDEO

L AUDIO R

7 Wait for the test tones to finish then confirm the speaker configuration in the OSD.

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.5

•With error messages (such as Ambient Noise or Microphone Check) 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.

1.Auto MCACC

1.Auto MCACC

Now Analyzing…

(2/9)

Check!

Front

[

]

YES

Environment Check

Center

[

YES

]

Ambient Noise

[ OK ]

Surround

[ YES ]

Microphone

[

]

SB

[ Yx2 ]

Speaker YES/NO

[

]

SUB W.

[ YES ]

:Cancel

[ OK ]

:Cancel

The configuration shown on-screen should reflect the actual speakers you have.6

3 Press RECEIVER on the remote, then press SETUP.1

An on-screen display (OSD) appears on your TV. Use the / / / buttons and ENTER to navigate through the

screens and select menu items. Press RETURN to exit the current menu. Press SETUP at any time to cancel.2

4 Select ‘Auto MCACC’ from the System Setup menu then press ENTER.

System Setup

1.Auto

MCACC

Surr

Back System

1.Auto

MCACC

2.Surr

Back System

[

Normal (SB)

]

3.Manual MCACC

Data

Save to

4.Data

Management

[M1. MEMORY

1 ]

5.Manual SP Setup

6.Input

Setup

Setting Start?

[

OK

]

7.Other

Setup

[Option]

: Exit

ENTER:Next

:Cancel

If you see an error message (ERR) in the right side column (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 number for surround back) and continue.

8 Make sure ‘OK’ is selected, then press ENTER.

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.

Again, try to be as quiet as possible while this is happening. It may take 2–6 minutes.

5Make sure ‘Normal (SB)’ is selected,3 select an MCACC preset4 then select OK.

6Follow 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.

9 The Auto MCACC Setup has finished! Press RETURN

to go back to the System Setup menu.7

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

System Setup menu (starting on page 33).8

Note

1 You can’t use the System Setup menu when the iPod input source is selected (in either the main or sub room).

2If you cancel the Auto MCACC Setup, or leave an error message for over three minutes, the screen saver will appear.

3• If you are planning on bi-amping your front speakers, or setting up a separate speaker system in another room, read through Surround back speaker setting on page 35 and make sure to connect your speakers as necessary before continuing to step 6.

•If you have THX-certified speakers, select Option and choose YES for the THX Speaker setting.

4The six MCACC presets are used for storing surround sound settings for different listening positions. Simply choose an unused preset for now (you can rename it later in Data Management on page 41).

5Do not adjust the volume during the test tones. This may result in incorrect speaker settings.

6If you’re using the front panel display, the diagram in Listening to Surround Sound above indicates (in bold) how each speaker is displayed.

7You can also choose to view the settings from the MCACC Data Check screen. See Automatic MCACC (Expert) on page 33 for more on this.

8• Depending on the characteristics of your room, sometimes identical speakers with cone sizes of around 12cm will end up with different size settings. You can correct the setting manually using the Manual speaker setup on page 42.

•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.

8

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5 minute guide

02

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.

Playing a source

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

					TV CONTROL
				TVVOL	INPUT	TV CH	VOL
					SELECT
RECEIVER	INPUT		SYSTEM OFF
			SOURCE
	SELECT				REC		MUTE
				A
				MPX	EON	REC STOP
				B	C	D	E
				AUDIO	SUBTITLE	HDD	DVD
				DISP		CH	CH
				STATUS	SIGNAL SEL	SBch	STEREO
CD	TV	VIDEO 2		MULTI OPE	THX	STANDARD	ADV. SURR
DVD	SAT	VIDEO1	TVCONT
DVR2	CD-R	MULTI IN	ROOM2/3	SHIFT	PHASE	MCACC	S.DIRECT
DVR1	iPod	TUNER	RECEIVER

1 Switch on your system components and receiver.

Start by switching on the playback component (for

example a DVD player), your TV1 and subwoofer (if you have one), then the receiver (press RECEIVER).

• Make sure the setup mic is disconnected.

2 Select the input source you want to play.

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

SELECTOR dial.2

3 Press S. DIRECT (STREAM DIRECT) to select ‘AUTO

SURROUND’ and start playback of the source.3

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 26 for information on different ways of listening to sources.

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.

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 (see illustration below).

P		Front speaker	Listening
H			position
A
S
E			?
C
O
N
T
O	Sound
F		Subwoofer
F	source
P		Front speaker	Listening
			position
H
A
S
E
C
O
N
T	Sound
O		Subwoofer
N	source

Phase Control technology provides coherent sound

reproduction through the use of phase matching4 for an optimal sound image at your listening position. The default setting is on and we recommend leaving Phase Control switched on for all sound sources.

STATUS	SIGNAL SEL	SBch	STEREO
MULTI OPE	THX	STANDARD	ADV. SURR
SHIFT	PHASE	MCACC	S.DIRECT

• Press PHASE (PHASE CONTROL) to switch on phase correction.

The PHASE CONTROL indicator on the front panel lights.

Note

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

2If you need to manually switch the input signal type press SIGNAL SEL (page 28).

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 88.2/96kHz 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 Listening in surround sound on page 26 if you need to do this) if you want multichannel surround sound.

4Phase 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 crest of a wave meets a trough (as shown in the upper section of the diagram above) then the sound will be 'out of phase' and an unreliable sound image will be produced.

9

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03 Connecting your equipment

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.

Rear panel

This illustration shows the VSX-AX4AVi, however connections for the VSX-AX2AV are the same except where noted.

	IN2	IN
		SAT
		IN
		VIDEO1/
		GAME1
		IN
		OUT
		DVR/
		VCR 1
		IN
		OUT
		DVR/
		VCR 2
		IN
		VIDEO
DIG	IDEO

AC IN

FRONT

CENTER

SUR-

ROUND

SUR-		21	AC OUTLET
ROUND
BACK
L	CENTER	R SURROUND L

Caution

•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.

1 Optical digital audio output(s)

Use the OUT1 and (VSX-AX4AVi only) OUT2 jack for recording to a CD or MiniDisc recorder.

Connecting digital audio sources on page 15.

The OUT1 jack is also used for multi-room connections.

Multi-room listening on page 54.

2 USB audio input (VSX-AX4AVi only)

Use to connect your PC as an audio source.

Using the USB interface on page 51.

3Optical and coaxial digital audio inputs (x6)

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

See also The Input Setup menu on page 60 to assign the inputs.

4S-400 i.LINK connectors (x2) (VSX-AX4AVi only)

Use to connect other i.LINK audio devices for highresolution, multichannel digital audio input/output.

Using the i.LINK interface on page 48.

5 HDMI connectors (x3)

Two inputs and one output for high-quality audio/video connection to compatible HDMI devices.

Connecting using HDMI on page 47.

6 Remote input (multi-room and source)

Use for connection to an external remote control sensor for use in a multi-room setup, for example.

Connecting an IR receiver on page 56.

7 12V trigger jacks (total 50 mA max.) (x2)

Use to switch components in your system on and off according to the input function of the receiver.

Switching components on and off using the 12 volt trigger on page 57.

8 Multi-room and source outputs

Use to connect a second amplifier in a separate room.

Multi-room listening on page 54.

9 Component video connections (x4)

Use the inputs to connect any video source that has component video output, such as a DVD recorder. Use the output for connection to a monitor or TV.

Using the component video jacks on page 14.

10 AM and FM antenna terminals

Use to connect indoor or outdoor antennas for radio broadcasts.

Connecting antennas on page 19.

10

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Connecting your equipment

11Composite and S-video monitor outputs

Use to connect monitors and TVs.

Connecting your TV and DVD player on page 12.

12Audio/video source inputs/(outputs) (x6)

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

for composite video, S-video1 and stereo analog audio.

Connecting a DVD/HDD recorder, VCR and other video sources on page 13.

13Stereo analog audio source inputs/(outputs) (x3)

Use for connection to audio sources such as CD players, tape decks, turntables, etc.

Connecting analog audio sources on page 16.

14Multichannel analog audio inputs

7.1 channel inputs for connection to a DVD player with multichannel analog outputs.

Connecting the multichannel analog inputs on page 51.

15 Control input/output

Use to connect other Pioneer components so that you can control all your equipment from a single IR remote sensor.

Operating other Pioneer components with this unit’s sensor on page 72.

16 Multichannel pre-amplifier outputs

Use to connect separate amplifiers for center, surround, surround back and subwoofer channels.

Connecting additional amplifiers on page 54 (see also Installing your speaker system on page 17 for powered subwoofer connection).

17 iPod input terminal

Use to connect your Apple iPod as an audio source.

Connecting an iPod on page 46.

18 RS-232C connector

Use for connection to a PC for graphical output when using Advanced MCACC.

Connecting a PC for Advanced MCACC output on page 59.

19 Speaker terminals

Use for connection to the main front, center, surround and surround back speakers.

Installing your speaker system on page 17.

20 AC IN inlet

Connect the supplied power cord here.

21 Switched AC power outlet (100W/0.4A max.)

Use to power another component in the system. Power to the outlet switches on and off with the receiver.

AC outlet on page 20.

03

When making cable connections

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

•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.

About the video converter

The video converter ensures that all video sources are output through all of the MONITOR VIDEO OUT jacks. The only exception is HDMI and high-definition component video: since these resolutions cannot be downsampled, you must connect your monitor/TV to the receiver’s HDMI/component video outputs when

connecting these video sources.2

If several video components are assigned to the same input function (see The Input Setup menu on page 60), 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 AV options on page 63) OFF.

Note

1You must assign the input source to the S-video input to which you’ve connected your video component (see The Input Setup menu on page 60).

2If the video signal does not appear on your TV or plasma display, 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) S-video or composite connection.

11

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03 Connecting your equipment

Connecting your TV and DVD player

component video jacks on page 14 if your TV and/or DVD player has component video inputs/outputs. If your DVD player offers multichannel analog audio outputs, see

Connecting the multichannel analog inputs on page 51.

										1 Connect the MONITOR OUT video jack to a video
										input on your TV.
										Use a standard RCA/phono jack video cable to connect to
										the composite video jack, or for higher quality video, use
	TV									an S-video cable to connect to the S-video jack.
										2 Connect a composite or S-video output on your DVD
										player to the DVD/LD VIDEO or DVD/LD S-VIDEO input.
			VIDEO	S-VIDEO						Connect using a standard video cable or an S-video
			IN	IN
			1							cable.
										3 Connect a coaxial-type1 digital audio output on
										your DVD player to the DIGITAL 1 (DVD/LD) input.
										Use a coaxial cable designed for digital audio.
										4 Connect the stereo audio outputs on your DVD
MULTI-ROOM						ANTENNA		AUDIO		player to the DVD/LD AUDIO inputs.
&SOURCE										Connect using a stereo RCA/phono jack cable.
ROOM3(ZONE3)								PHONO
/REC SEL
OUT1				FM UNBAL 75Ω		AM LOOP
		MULTI-ROOM & SOURCE		MONITOR		MULTI-ROOM & SOURCE		IN
OUT2	S400	IN	ROOM2(ZONE2) OUT	OUT		R ROOM2(ZONE2) L		IN		• If your DVD player has multichannel analog outputs,
		IR				OUT
								CD
USB	(AUDIO)					DVD/				you can connect these instead. See also Connecting
AUDIO			12 V TRIGGER
IN
		1	2	IN1		LD				the multichannel analog inputs on page 51.
IN1	S400	ROOM2	MULTI-ROOM			IN		OUT
		(DCOUT12VTOTAL50mAMAX)
(SAT)
			& SOURCE			TV
IN2		(ZONE2)	MONITOR	IN2		IN
			OUT					CD-R/
(DVR/
	HDMI IN1		OUT					TAPE
VCR 1)				IN1(DVD/LD)		SAT
	IN1	Y	Y	IN2(TV)				IN
IN3						IN
				1–2				R
(DVR/				ASSIGNABLE				FR		FL
VCR 2)						VIDEO1/
IN4		PB	PB			GAME1
(CD-R)						IN
1–4	IN2							SUB W.
ASSIGNA-
BLE		PR	PR			OUT
IN1 1–2						DVR/		SUR-
(DVD/		IN2	IN3			VCR 1		ROUND
LD)
	OUT	Y	Y			IN
IN2
								R
(CD)
		PB	PB			OUT
						DVR/		R	SURROU
						VCR 2
										B
		PR	PR			IN				M
				S -VIDEO	VIDEO	R	L		OUT	IN
		ASSIGNABLE 1–3						CONTROL
DIGITAL		COMPONENT VIDEO		VIDEO		AUDIO
VSX-AX4AVi

OPTICAL	COAXIAL	S-VIDEO	R AUDIO L
DIGITAL OUT		VIDEO OUT	ANALOG OUT
3		2	4

DVD player

The diagram shows a basic setup of this receiver together with a TV and DVD player, with S-video or composite video connections. Different TVs and DVD players may offer alternative connections. See also Using the

Note

1 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 The Input Setup menu on page 60).

12

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Connecting your equipment

03

Connecting a satellite/cable receiver	Connecting a DVD/HDD recorder, VCR
or other set-top box	and other video sources

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

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

VSX-AX4AVi

VSX-AX4AVi

MULTI-ROOM

ANTENNA

AUDIO

&SOURCE

/REC SEL

PHONO

OUT1

FM UNBAL 75Ω

AM LOOP

MULTI-ROOM

ROOM3(ZONE3)

IN

ANTENNA

AUDIO

MULTI-ROOM & SOURCE

MONITOR

MULTI-ROOM & SOURCE

&SOURCE

ROOM2(ZONE2) OUT

/REC SEL

PHONO

OUT2

IN

OUT

R ROOM2(ZONE2) L

CD

OUT1

FM UNBAL 75Ω

AM LOOP

ROOM3(ZONE3)

MULTI-ROOM & SOURCE

IN

S400

IR

OUT

IN

MONITOR

MULTI-ROOM & SOURCE

USB

OUT2

IN

ROOM2(ZONE2) OUT

OUT

R ROOM2(ZONE2) L

AUDIO

12 V TRIGGER

CD

IN

(AUDIO)

DVD/

S400

IR

OUT

IN

1

2

IN1

LD

USB

IN1

(DCOUT12VTOTAL50mAMAX)

IN

AUDIO

12 V TRIGGER

(SAT)

ROOM2

MULTI-ROOM

OUT

IN

DVD/

S400

(AUDIO)

1

2

& SOURCE

TV

IN1

LD

IN2

MONITOR

IN2

IN

IN1

(DCOUT12VTOTAL50mAMAX)

IN

(ZONE2)

OUT

CD-R/

(SAT)

ROOM2

MULTI-ROOM

OUT

(DVR/

S400

VCR 1)

HDMI

IN1

OUT

IN1(DVD/LD)

SAT

TAPE

& SOURCE

IN2

TV

IN1

Y

Y

IN2(TV)

IN

IN2

MONITOR

IN

IN3

IN

(ZONE2)

OUT

CD-R/

1–2

R

(DVR/

(DVR/

ASSIGNABLE

FR

FL

VCR 1)

HDMI

IN1

OUT

IN1(DVD/LD)

SAT

TAPE

VCR 2)

VIDEO1/

IN1

Y

Y

IN

IN4

PB

PB

IN3

IN2(TV)

IN

GAME1

1–2

R

L

(CD-R)

IN

(DVR/

ASSIGNABLE

FR

FL

1–4

IN2

SUB W.

CE

VCR 2)

VIDEO1/

ASSIGNA-

IN4

PB

PB

GAME1

BLE

PR

PR

OUT

(CD-R)

IN

IN1 1–2

IN2

IN3

DVR/

SUR-

1–4

IN2

SUB W.

CENTER

(DVD/

VCR 1

ROUND

ASSIGNA-

LD)

Y

Y

IN

BLE

PR

PR

OUT

OUT

IN1 1–2

DVR/

SUR-

IN

2

R

(DVD/

IN2

IN3

VCR 1

ROUND

(CD)

LD)

PB

PB

OUT

OUT

Y

Y

IN

IN2

R

L

DVR/

R

SURROUND

(CD)

VCR 2

BACK

PB

PB

OUT

PR

PR

IN

MULT

DVR/

R

L

IN

SURROUND

S -VIDEO

VIDEO

R

L

OUT

BACK

ASSIGNABLE 1–3

CONTROL

PR

PR

IN

MULTI CH

DIGITAL

COMPONENT VIDEO

VIDEO

AUDIO

S -VIDEO

VIDEO

R

L

OUT

IN

ASSIGNABLE 1–3

CONTROL

DIGITAL

COMPONENT VIDEO

VIDEO

AUDIO

DIGITAL OUT

R AUDIO L

VIDEO S-VIDEO

AV OUT

OPTICAL	COAXIAL
	R AUDIO L	VIDEO	S-VIDEO	R AUDIO L	VIDEO	S-VIDEO
DIGITAL OUT		AV OUT			AV IN
3					1	2

STB

1 Connect the audio/video outputs on the set-top box to the SAT AUDIO and VIDEO inputs.

Connect using a stereo RCA/phono jack cable and a video or S-video1 cable.

2 Connect an optical-type2 digital audio output from

your set-top box to the DIGITAL 1 (SAT) input.3

Use an optical cable for the connection.

DVR, VCR, etc.

1 Connect the audio/video outputs of the video player/recorder to the DVR/VCR1 AUDIO and VIDEO inputs.

Use a stereo RCA/phono jack audio cable for the audio

connection and a video or S-video4 cable for the video connection.

• For a second recorder, use the DVR/VCR2 IN inputs.

2 If the device can record, connect the DVR/VCR1 AUDIO and VIDEO outputs to the recorder’s audio/ video inputs.

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

Note

1See The Input Setup menu on page 60 to assign the S-VIDEO 2 input to the SAT input function if you make this connection.

2If 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 The Input Setup menu on page 60).

3If your satellite/cable receiver doesn’t have a digital audio output, you can skip this step.

4See The Input Setup menu on page 60 to assign the S-VIDEO 2 input to the DVR/VCR1 input function if you make this connection.

13

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03 Connecting your equipment

• For a second recorder, use the DVR/VCR2 outputs.

3 If the device can output digital audio, connect an

optical-type1 digital audio output from the recorder to the DIGITAL 2 (DVR/VCR1) input.

Use an optical cable for the connection.2

•For a second recorder, use the DIGITAL 3 (DVR/ VCR2) inputs.

Using the component video jacks

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.

1Connect the component video outputs of your source to a set of ASSIGNABLE COMPONENT VIDEO inputs.

Connect using a three-way component video cable.

•Since they are assignable, it doesn’t matter which component video inputs you use for which source. After connecting everything, you’ll need to assign the component video inputs—see The Input Setup menu on page 60.

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

Use a three-way component video cable.

VSX-AX4AVi

MULTI-ROOM

ANTENNA

AUDIO

&SOURCE

/REC SEL

PHONO

OUT1

FM UNBAL 75Ω

AM LOOP

ROOM3(ZONE3)

IN

MULTI-ROOM & SOURCE

MONITOR

MULTI-ROOM & SOURCE

OUT2

IN

ROOM2(ZONE2) OUT

OUT

R ROOM2(ZONE2) L

CD

S400

IR

OUT

IN

USB

AUDIO

12 V TRIGGER

IN

DVD/

(AUDIO)

1

2

IN1

LD

IN1

(DCOUT12VTOTAL50mAMAX)

IN

(SAT)

ROOM2

MULTI-ROOM

OUT

S400

& SOURCE

TV

IN2

(ZONE2)

MONITOR

IN2

IN

OUT

CD-R/

(DVR/

HDMI

IN1

OUT

TAPE

VCR 1)

IN1(DVD/LD)

SAT

IN1

Y

Y

IN2(TV)

IN

IN3

IN

1–2

R

L

(DVR/

ASSIGNABLE

FR

FL

VCR 2)

VIDEO1/

IN4

PB

PB

GAME1

(CD-R)

IN

1–4

IN2

SUB W.

CENTER

ASSIGNA-

BLE

PR

PR

OUT

IN1 1–2

DVR/

SUR-

(DVD/

IN2

IN3

VCR 1

ROUND

LD)

OUT

Y

Y

IN

IN2

R

L

(CD)

PB

PB

OUT

DVR/

R

SURROUND

L

VCR 2

BACK

PR

PR

IN

MULTI CH

S -VIDEO

VIDEO

R

L

OUT

IN

ASSIGNABLE 1–3

CONTROL

DIGITAL

COMPONENT VIDEO

VIDEO

AUDIO

Y

PB

PR

2

COMPONENT

VIDEO

TV

Y

PB

PR

1

COMPONENT

DVD player

VIDEO

Note

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

•If your video component doesn’t have a digital audio output, you can skip this step.

2If 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 The Input Setup menu on page 60).

14

En

Connecting your equipment

Connecting digital audio sources

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

Most digital components also have analog connections. See Connecting analog audio sources on the following page if you want to connect these too.

03

1Connect an optical-type1 digital audio output on your digital component to the DIGITAL 4 (CD-R) input.

Use an optical cable for the connection.

2For recording equipment, connect one of the optical-type DIGITAL outputs to a digital input on the recorder.

Use an optical cable to connect to the DIGITAL OUT1 or (VSX-AX4AVi only) OUT2 (OUT1 is shown in the

illustration).2

VSX-AX4AVi

About the WMA9 Pro decoder

MULTI-ROOM

FMUNBAL75Ω

AMLOOP

AUDIO

This unit has an on-board Windows Media

®

Audio 9

OUT1

&SOURCE

ANTENNA

/RECSEL

PHONO

ROOM3(ZONE3)

IN

Professional

3

(WMA9 Pro) decoder, so it is possible to

MULTI-ROOM&SOURCE

MONITOR

MULTI-ROOM & SOURCE

OUT2

IN

ROOM2(ZONE2) OUT

OUT

R ROOM2(ZONE2) L

CD

USB

S400

IR

12 V TRIGGER

OUT

IN

playback WMA9 Pro-encoded audio using a coaxial or

AUDIO

IN

(AUDIO)

DVD/

optical digital connection when connected to a WMA9

1

2

IN1

LD

IN1

(DCOUT12VTOTAL50mAMAX)

IN

(SAT)

S400

ROOM2

MULTI-ROOM

OUT

Pro-compatible player. However, the connected PC, DVD

IN2

(ZONE2)

OUT

IN

TV

& SOURCE

MONITOR

2

IN

(DVR/

CD-R/

player, set-top box, etc. must be able to output WMA9 Pro

VCR 1)

HDMI IN1

OUT

IN1(DVD/LD)

IN

TAPE

IN1

Y

Y

IN2(TV)

IN

SAT

IN3

1–2

R

format audio signals through a coaxial or optical digital

(DVR/

PB

PB

ASSIGNABLE

GAME1

FR

FL

IN4

VCR 2)

VIDEO1/

(CD-R)

IN

SUB W.

output.

ASSIGNA-

IN2

1–4

BLE

PR

PR

OUT

IN1 1–2

DVR/

SUR-

(DVD/

IN2

IN3

VCR1

ROUND

LD)

OUT

Y

Y

IN

IN2

(CD)

R

PB

PB

OUT

DVR/

R

SURROU

VCR2

B

PR

PR

IN

M

S-VIDEO

VIDEO

R

L

OUT

IN

ASSIGNABLE 1–3

CONTROL

DIGITAL

COMPONENT VIDEO

VIDEO

AUDIO

1	OPTICAL	COAXIAL	OPTICAL	2
	DIGITAL OUT		DIGITAL IN

CD-R, MD, DAT, etc.

Note

1• 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 The Input Setup menu on page 60).

•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 The Input Setup menu on page 60).

2• You must switch ROOM 3 ON in Using the multi-room controls on page 56 to hear audio from the DIGITAL OUT1.

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

3• Microsoft, 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 96kHz sources will be downsampled to 48kHz.

15

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03 Connecting your equipment

Connecting analog audio sources

This receiver features three 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.

2

Turntable

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

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

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

Connecting a component to the front panel inputs

The front panel inputs comprise 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, video games and portable audio/video equipment.

VSX-AX4AVi

SPEAKERS

(TUNE +)

BAND

MULTI – ROOM &

VIDEO

SIGNAL

SBch

SOURCE/REC SEL

STEREO

CONTROL

ON/OFF

SELECT

SELECT

PROCESSING

AV

TUNER

PARAMETER

EDIT

AUDIO

PREOUT

VIDEO/GAME 2 INPUT

ANTENNA

PHONES

(ST –)

ENTER

(ST +)

MCACC

FM UNBAL 75Ω

AM LOOP

PHONO

R

L

FRONT

SETUP MIC

SETUP

RETURN

IN

M & SOURCE

MONITOR

MULTI-ROOM & SOURCE

ONE2)

OUT

OUT

R ROOM2(ZONE2) L

CD

SUBW.

CENTER

(TUNE –)

DIGITAL IN

S-VIDEO

VIDEO

L AUDIO

R

OUT

IN

GGER	SUR-
	ROUND

2		DVD/
	IN1	LD
AL50mAMAX)		IN			SUR-
			OUT		ROUND
ULTI-ROOM					BACK
& SOURCE		TV
MONITOR	IN2	IN
OUT			CD-R/		(Single)
OUT	IN1(DVD/LD)	SAT	TAPE	R	L
Y	IN2(TV)		IN
		IN		L
	1–2		R

	ASSIGNABLE	VIDEO1/	FR		FL		iPod	SPEAKERS
PB
		GAME1						IN
		IN	SUB W.		CENTER			A R FRONT L CENTER
PR		OUT
		DVR/	SUR-
IN3		VCR 1	ROUND
Y		IN
			R			L		DIGITAL OUT	VIDEO OUTPUT
PB		OUT						TV game, video camera, etc.
		DVR/	R			L
				SURROUND				RS-232C
		VCR 2
					BACK
PR		IN			MULTI CH			• Select these inputs using INPUT SELECT (remote) or
E 1–3	S -VIDEO VIDEO	R	L	OUT	IN		IN
T VIDEO	VIDEO	AUDIO	CONTROL					the INPUT SELECTOR dial (front panel) to select

VIDEO/GAME 2.

1

OUT
PLAY
IN
REC
R	L

AUDIO IN/OUT

Tape deck, etc.

1 Connect the analog audio outputs of the source component to one of the AUDIO inputs.

Connect using a stereo RCA/phono jack audio cable.

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

16

En

Connecting your equipment

03

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

Subwoofer	Front
	left

Center

LINE LEVEL

INPUT

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 6–16Ω (please see

Switching the speaker impedance on page 65 if you plan to use speakers with an impedance of less than 8Ω).

Front

right

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.

MULTI-ROOM

AC IN

ANTENNA

AUDIO

PREOUT

&SOURCE

/RECSEL

PHONO

R

L

FRONT

OUT1

FMUNBAL75Ω

AMLOOP

ROOM3(ZONE3)

MULTI-ROOM&SOURCE

IN

MONITOR

MULTI-ROOM & SOURCE

OUT2

IN

ROOM2(ZONE2) OUT

OUT

R ROOM2(ZONE2) L

CD

SUBW.

CENTER

USB

S400

IR

OUT

IN

AUDIO

12 V TRIGGER

SUR-

IN

(AUDIO)

DVD/

ROUND

1

2

IN1

LD

AC OUTLET

IN1

(DCOUT12VTOTAL50mAMAX)

IN

SUR-

(SAT)

ROOM2

MULTI-ROOM

OUT

ROUND

S400

BACK

& SOURCE

TV

IN2

MONITOR

IN2

IN

(ZONE2)

OUT

CD-R/

(Single)

(DVR/

R

L

VCR 1)

HDMI

IN1

OUT

IN1(DVD/LD)

SAT

TAPE

IN1

Y

Y

IN2(TV)

IN

IN3

IN

1–2

R

L

(DVR/

ASSIGNABLE

FR

FL

iPod

SPEAKERS

VCR 2)

PB

PB

VIDEO1/

IN4

GAME1

IN

SURROUND BACK / B

(CD-R)

IN

A

R

FRONT

L

CENTER

R

SURROUND

L

1–4

IN2

SUBW.

CENTER

R

L(Single)

ASSIGNA-

BLE

PR

PR

OUT

IN1 1–2

DVR/

SUR-

(DVD/

IN2

IN3

VCR1

ROUND

LD)

OUT

Y

Y

IN

IN2

(CD)

R

L

PB

PB

OUT

DVR/

R

SURROUND

L

RS-232C

VCR2

BACK

PR

PR

IN

MULTI CH

S-VIDEO

VIDEO

R

L

OUT

IN

IN

SELECTABLE

ASSIGNABLE 1–3

CONTROL

DIGITAL

COMPONENT VIDEO

VIDEO

AUDIO

VSX-AX4AVi

Surround left

Surround back left

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.

Surround

right

Surround back right

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.

17

En

03 Connecting your equipment

Bare wire connections

Make sure that the speaker cable you’re going to use is properly prepared with about 10 mm of insulator stripped from each wire, and the exposed wire strands twisted together (fig. A).

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

fig. A	fig. B	fig. C
10mm

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.

•Other connections on page 46 provides greater detail on alternate speaker setups, such as using speaker system B (page 52), bi-amping (page 53) and biwiring (page 53).

•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.

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.

•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 2–3m apart, at equal distance from the TV.

•When placing speakers near the TV, we recommend using 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 you're using a center speaker, place the front speakers at a wider angle. If not, place them at a narrower angle.

•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–90 cm higher than your ears and titled slight downward. Make sure the speakers don't face each other. For DVD-Audio, the speakers should be more directly behind the listener than for home theater playback.

•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.

•To achieve the best possible surround sound, install your speakers as shown below. Be sure all speakers are installed securely to prevent accidents and improve sound quality.

Front	Center	Front
left		right
		Subwoofer
Surround		Surround
left		right
Listening position
Surround back left		Surround back right

Single surround back speaker

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.

18

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Connecting your equipment

The diagrams below show suggested surround and surround back speaker orientation. The first diagram (fig. A) shows orientation with one surround back speaker (or none) connected. The second (fig. B) shows orientation with two surround back speakers connected.

90~120

SL	SR	SL	SR
		0~60
SL	SR
SB		SBL SBL SBR	SBR
fig. A		fig. B

•If you have two surround back speakers THX recommends placing them together and the same distance from your listening position (see below).

THX speaker system setup

If you have a complete THX speaker system, follow the diagram below to place your speakers. Note that the surround speakers ( indicates bi-polar radiating speakers) should output at an angle parallel to the listener.

L C R

SL	SR
Surround	Surround

SBL SBR

Surround back

•If you have two surround back speakers THX recommends placing them together and the same distance from your listening position for the following THX modes: THX Select2 CINEMA, THX MUSICMODE and THX GAMES MODE.

See also THX Audio Setting on page 45 to make the settings that will give you the best sound experience when using the Home THX modes (on page 27).

03

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.

MULTI-ROOM

ANTENNA

AUDIO

PREOUT

&SOURCE

/RECSEL

PHONO

R

L

FRONT

OUT1

FMUNBAL 75Ω

AM LOOP

ROOM3(ZONE3)

MULTI-ROOM& SOURCE

IN

MONITOR

MULTI-ROOM & SOURCE

OUT2

IN

ROOM2(ZONE2) OUT

OUT

R ROOM2(ZONE2) L

CD

SUBW.

CENTER

S400

IR

OUT

IN

USB

SUR-

AUDIO

12 V TRIGGER

IN

DVD/

ROUND

(AUDIO)

1

2

IN1

LD

IN1

(DCOUT12VTOTAL50mAMAX)

IN

SUR-

(SAT)

ROOM2

MULTI-ROOM

OUT

ROUND

S400

BACK

& SOURCE

TV

IN2

MONITOR

IN2

IN

(ZONE2)

OUT

CD-R/

(Single)

(DVR/

R

L

VCR 1)

HDMI

IN1

OUT

IN1(DVD/LD)

SAT

TAPE

IN1

Y

Y

IN2(TV)

IN

IN3

IN

1–2

R

L

(DVR/

ASSIGNABLE

FR

FL

iPod

SPEAKERS

VCR 2)

PB

PB

VIDEO1/

IN4

GAME1

IN

(CD-R)

IN

A

R

FRONT

L

1–4

IN2

SUB W.

CENTER

ASSIGNA-

BLE

PR

PR

OUT

IN1 1–2

DVR/

SUR-

(DVD/

IN2

IN3

VCR 1

ROUND

LD)

IN

OUT

Y

Y

IN2

R

L

(CD)

PB

PB

OUT

DVR/

R

SURROUND

L

RS-232C

VCR 2

BACK

PR

PR

IN

MULTI CH

S-VIDEO

VIDEO

R

L

OUT

IN

IN

ASSIGNABLE 1–3

CONTROL

DIGITAL

COMPONENT VIDEO

VIDEO

AUDIO

VSX-AX4AVi

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.

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

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

4Release the tabs to secure the AM antenna wires.

5Place 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.

19

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03 Connecting your equipment

Important

•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

To improve AM reception, connect a 5–6m length of vinylcoated 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)

5–6 meters

Plugging in the receiver

Only plug in after you have connected all your components to this receiver, 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 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 cord 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.

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

2Plug the other end into a power outlet.

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 (0.4 A).

Caution

•Do not connect a TV set, monitor, 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.

•Since a subwoofer or power amplifier can exceed the 100W maximum when playing sources at a high volume, this type of equipment should not be connected to the AC outlet.

20

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Controls and displays

04

Chapter 4:

Controls and displays

Front panel

Illustration shows the VSX-AX4AVi front panel

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
									AUDIO/VIDEO MULTI-CHANNEL RECEIVER		VSX-AX4AVi
	STANDBY/ON
					PHASE
					CONTROL
							DIGITAL PRECISION
							PROCESSING
	PHASE	MCACC	AUTO SURR/						HOME	STANDARD	ADVANCED
	CONTROL	POSITION	STREAM DIRECT						THX	SURROUND	SURROUND
	INPUT										MASTER
	SELECTOR										VOLUME

13	14	15		16	17	18	19	20	21		22
	SPEAKERS		(TUNE +)		BAND	MULTI – ROOM &	VIDEO	SIGNAL	SBch
						SOURCE/REC SEL				STEREO
						CONTROL ON/OFF	SELECT	SELECT PROCESSING
		AV		TUNER
		PARAMETER		EDIT
							VIDEO/GAME 2 INPUT
	PHONES	(ST –)	ENTER	(ST +)	MCACC
					SETUP MIC
		SETUP		RETURN
			(TUNE –)			DIGITAL IN	S-VIDEO	VIDEO	L AUDIO	R

23

24

25

26

1INPUT SELECTOR dial

Use to select an input source.

2STANDBY/ON

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

3PHASE CONTROL – Press to switch on/off phase correction (page 9).

MCACC POSITION – Press to switch between MCACC presets (page 28).

AUTO SURR / STREAM DIRECT – Press to select Auto Surround (page 26) or Stream Direct (page 28) listening.

4PHASE CONTROL indicator

Lights when Phase Control is switched on (page 9).

27

28

5 Remote sensor

Receives the signals from the remote control (see

Operating range of remote control unit on page 22).

6 MCACC indicator

Lights when one of the MCACC presets (page 28) is selected.

7 Digital Precision Processing indicator

Lights to indicate digital processing (for example, it disappears when Pure Direct (page 28) is on, or when listening through the multichannel analog inputs).

8 Character display

See Display on page 23.

21

En

04 Controls and displays

9 HDMI indicator

Blinks when connecting an HDMI-equipped component; lights when the component is connected (page 47).

10i.LINK indicator (VSX-AX4AVi only)

Lights when an i.LINK-Audio-equipped component is selected (page 48).

DIGITAL VIDEO CONVERSION indicator (VSX-AX2AV only)

Lights when digital video conversion is enabled (page 63).

11Listening mode buttons

HOME THX – Press to select a Home THX listening mode (page 27).

STANDARD SURROUND – Press for Standard decoding and to switch between the various 2Pro Logic IIx and Neo:6 options (page 26).

ADVANCED SURROUND – Use to switch between the various surround modes (page 27).

12MASTER VOLUME dial

13Front panel controls

To access the front panel controls, push gently on the lower third portion of the panel with your finger.

14 SPEAKERS

Use to change the speaker system (page 52).

15 AV PARAMETER

Use to access the AV options (page 63).

16 TUNER EDIT

Use with /to memorize and name stations for recall (page 30).

17 BAND

Switches between AM and FM radio bands (page 30).

18 MULTI ROOM & SOURCE / REC SEL controls

If you’ve made multi-room connections (see Multi-room listening on page 54) use these controls to control the sub room from the main room (see Using the multi-room controls on page 56).

You will also need to use the REC SEL controls when recording a source (see Making an audio or a video recording on page 64).

19 VIDEO SELECT

Press repeatedly to select the video source (page 65).

22

20 SIGNAL SELECT

Use to select an input signal (page 28).

21 SBch PROCESSING

Selects the surround back channel mode (page 29) or virtual surround back mode (page 29).

22 STEREO

Switches to stereo playback (page 28).

23 PHONES jack

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

24 SETUP

Press to access the System Setup menu (see page 33).

25 (TUNE/ST +/–) /ENTER

Use the arrow buttons when setting up your surround sound system (see page 33). Use the TUNE +/– buttons to find radio frequencies and use ST +/– to find preset stations (page 30).

26 RETURN

Press to confirm and exit the current menu screen.

27 MCACC SETUP MIC jack

Use to connect the supplied microphone.

28 VIDEO/GAME 2 INPUT

See Connecting a component to the front panel inputs on page 16.

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.

30

30

7m

En

Controls and displays

04

Display

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

SIGNAL

L

C

R

2DIGITAL

DTS

VIDEO CONV. V.SB DNR

MIDNIGHT

TUNED

RDS

AUTO

SL

S

SR

WMA9 Pro 96/24

MULTI-ROOM DIALOGUE LOUDNESS STEREO EON

HDMI

DSD

PCM

OVER

ATT Hi-bit/sampling TONE

MONO

dB

SBL

SB

SBR

DIGITAL

LFE

CD

TUNER MULTI IN

DVD

SAT VIDEO HDMI

USB

ANALOG

CD-R

PHONO

iPod

TV

DVR

[ 1 ]

[ 2 ]

SR+

STREAM DIRECT

2PRO LOGIC Neo :6

THX ADV.SURROUND

STEREO

STANDARD

SP AB

SLEEP

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

1 SIGNAL indicators

Light to indicate the currently selected input signal. AUTO lights when the receiver is set to select the input signal automatically (page 28).

2 Program format indicators

These change according to which channels are active in digital sources.

L – Left front channel C – Center channel

R – Right front channel

SL – Left surround channel

S – Surround channel (mono) SR – Right surround channel

SBL – Left surround back channel SB – Surround back channel (mono) SBR – Right surround back channel

LFE – Low frequency effects channel (the ((( ))) indicators light when an LFE signal is being input)

3 Digital format indicators

Light when a signal encoded in the corresponding format is detected (DSD PCM lights during DSD (Digital Stream Direct) to PCM conversion with SACDs).

4 OVER / ATT

OVER lights to indicate that the level of an analog source is too high. ATT lights when you use the attenuator (ANALOG ATT) to reduce it.

5 MULTI-ROOM

Lights when the multi-room feature is active (page 54).

6 VIDEO CONV.

Lights when digital video conversion is enabled(page 63).

7 V.SB

Lights during Virtual surround back processing (page 29).

8 Sound processing indicators

Light according to the active AV parameter(s) (page 63).

9TUNER indicators

TUNED – Lights when a broadcast is being received. STEREO – Lights when a stereo FM broadcast is being received in auto stereo mode.

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

10EON / RDS indicators

EON – Lights when the EON mode is set (flashes

during EON reception). The indicator lights when the current station carries the EON service (page 32).

RDS – Lights when an RDS broadcast is received (page 31).

11Master volume level

Shows the overall volume level. –80dB indicates the minimum level, and +12dB indicates the maximum level.

12 Input source indicators

Light to indicate the input source you have selected.

13 STREAM DIRECT

Lights when Direct / Pure Direct is selected (page 28).

14 Speaker indicators

Indicate the current speaker system, A and/or B (page 52).

15Listening mode indicators

THX – Lights when a Home THX mode is selected.

ADV. SURROUND – Lights when an Advanced Surround mode has been selected.

STEREO – Lights when stereo listening is switched on (see Listening in stereo on page 28).

STANDARD – Lights when a Standard Surround mode is switched on (see Listening in surround sound on page 26).

16SLEEP

Lights when the receiver is in sleep mode (page 65).

17Matrix decoding format indicators

2PRO LOGIC IIx – This lights to indicate 2Pro Logic II / 2Pro Logic IIx decoding (page 26).

Neo:6 – When one of the Neo:6 modes of the receiver is on, this lights to indicate Neo:6 processing

(page 26).

18Character display

Displays various system information.

19 SR+

Lights when the SR+ mode is switched on (page 58).

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04 Controls and displays

Remote control

		INPUT			SYSTEM OFF
	RECEIVER				SOURCE
1		SELECT				12
2
						13
	CD		TV	VIDEO 2
3	DVD		SAT	VIDEO 1	TV CONT
	DVR2		CD-R	MULTI IN	ROOM2/3	14
	DVR1		i Pod	TUNER	RECEIVER
	SLEEP			VIDEO	ANALOG
				SEL	ATT
	SR+			DIMMER
4
	D.ACCESS				CLASS
	+10				DISC
					ENTER
	AV PARAMETER				CH LEVEL
5	TOP MENU				MENU
			TUNE
6	ST			ST	T.EDIT
	SETUP		ENTER		RETURN
	PTY SEARCH		TUNE	BAND
	GUIDE		TV CONTROL
7		SELECT				15
	TV VOL		INPUT	TV CH	VOL
	A		REC		MUTE	16
	MPX		EON	REC STOP
8
	B		C	D	E
	AUDIO	SUBTITLE		HDD	DVD
	DISP			CH	CH
9	STATUS	SIGNAL SEL		SBch	STEREO
						17
10	MULTI OPE		THX	STANDARD	ADV. SURR
11	SHIFT		PHASE	MCACC	S.DIRECT	18

RECEIVER

The remote has been conveniently color-coded according to component control using the following system (press the corresponding input source button to access):

•Green – Receiver controls (see below)

•Red – DVD controls (page 71)

•Blue – Tuner controls (page 30)

•Yellow – iPod controls (page 46)

•White – Other controls (page 71)

1 RECEIVER

This switches between standby and on for this receiver.

2 INPUT SELECT

Use to select the input source (use SHIFT for INPUT SELECT ).

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3 Input source buttons

Press to select control of other components (see

Controlling the rest of your system on page 67).

4 Number buttons and other receiver/component controls

Use the number buttons to directly select a radio frequency (page 30) or the tracks on a CD, DVD, etc.

DISC (ENTER) can be used to enter commands for TV or DTV, and also to select a disc in a multi-CD player.

Press RECEIVER first to access:

SLEEP – Use to put the receiver in sleep mode and select the amount of time before sleep (page 65).

VIDEO SEL – Press repeatedly to select the video source (page 65).

ANALOG ATT – Attenuates (lowers) the level of an analog input signal to prevent distortion (page 65).

SR+ – Switches the SR+ mode on/off (page 58).

DIMMER – Dims or brightens the display (page 65).

Press TUNER first to access:

D.ACCESS – After pressing, you can access a radio station directly using the number buttons (page 30).

CLASS – Switches between the three banks (classes) of radio station presets (page 30).

5 Tuner/component control buttons/SETUP

These button controls can be accessed after you have selected the corresponding input source button (DVD,

DVR1, TV, SAT etc.). The BAND, T.EDIT and PTY SEARCH tuner controls are explained from page 30. Press RECEIVER first to access the following controls:

AV PARAMETER – Use to access the AV options (page 63).

SETUP – Use to access the System Setup menu (page 33).

CH LEVEL – Press repeatedly to select a channel, then use / to adjust the level (page 44).

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).

6 (TUNE/ST) /ENTER

Use the arrow buttons when setting up your surround sound system (see page 33) and the AV options

(page 63). Also used to control DVD menus/options and for deck 1 of a double cassette deck player. Use the TUNE /buttons to find radio frequencies and use ST / to find preset stations (page 30).

7 TV CONTROL buttons

These buttons are dedicated to control the TV assigned to the TV CONT button. Thus if you only have one TV to hook up to this system assign it to the TV CONT input source button. If you have two TVs, assign the main TV to the TV CONT button (see page 67 for more on this).

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Controls and displays

04

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

TV VOL +/– – Use to adjust the volume on your TV.

INPUT SELECT – Use to select the TV input signal.

TV CH +/– – Use to select channels.

8 Component control buttons

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

The controls above these buttons can be accessed after you have selected the corresponding input source button (for example DVD, DVR1, TV or SAT). The following controls can be accessed when listening to the built-in tuner:

MPX – Switches between stereo and mono reception of FM broadcasts. If the signal is weak then switching to mono will improve the sound quality (page 30).

DISP – Switches between named station presets and radio frequencies (page 31).

EON – Use to search for programs that are broadcasting traffic or news information (page 32).

9 STATUS

Press to check selected receiver settings (page 65).

10 MULTIOPE

Use this button to perform multi operations (page 69).

11 SHIFT

Press to access the controls outlined in white boxes (for

example, INPUT SELECT		), or to display the currently

selected input source in the remote control LCD.

12 SOURCE

Press to turn on/off other components connected to the receiver (see page 67 for more on this).

13 Character display (LCD)

This display shows information when transmitting control signals.

The following commands are shown when you’re setting the remote to control other components (see Controlling the rest of your system on page 67):

SETUP – Indicates the setup mode, from which you choose the options below.

PRESET – See Selecting preset codes directly on page 67.

LEARNING – See Programming signals from other remote controls on page 67.

MULTI OP – See Multi Operation and System Off on page 69.

SYS OFF – See Multi Operation and System Off on page 69.

DIRECT F – See Direct function on page 69.

RENAME – See Renaming input source names on page 69.

ERASE – See Erasing one of the remote control button settings on page 68.

RESET – See Resetting the remote control presets on page 68.

READ ID – See Confirming preset codes on page 68.

14 RECEIVER

Switches the remote to control the receiver (used to select the green commands above the number buttons (ANALOG ATT, etc). Also use this button to set up surround sound (page 7, page 33). With SHIFT, this selects the multi-room control (page 54), shown in the display as RCV/RM2, RCV/RM3.

15 VOL +/–

Use to set the listening volume.

16 MUTE

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

17Receiver controls

SIGNAL SEL – Use to select an input signal (page 28).

SBch – Use to select the surround/virtual back channel mode (page 29).

STEREO – Switches between direct and stereo playback. Direct playback bypasses the tone controls and any other signal processing for the most accurate reproduction of a source (page 28).

THX – Press to select a Home THX listening mode (page 27).

STANDARD – Press for Standard decoding and to switch between the various Pro Logic IIx and Neo:6 options (page 26).

ADV.SURR – Use to switch between the various surround modes (page 27).

18PHASE – Press to switch on/off phase correction (page 9).

MCACC – Press to switch between MCACC presets (page 28).

S.DIRECT – Press to select Auto Surround (page 26) or Stream Direct (page 28) listening.

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05 Listening to your system

Chapter 5:

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.

See Listening modes with different input signal formats on page 82 for more on this.

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.1

STATUS	SIGNAL SEL	SBch	STEREO
MULTI OPE	THX	STANDARD	ADV. SURR
SHIFT	PHASE	MCACC	S.DIRECT

•While listening to a source, press S.DIRECT (AUTO

SURR/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.

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 29.

Standard surround sound

The following modes provide basic surround sound for stereo and multichannel sources.3

• While listening to a source, 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.4

With two channel sources, you can select from:

•2 Pro Logic IIx MOVIE – Up to 7.1 channel sound, especially suited to movie sources

•2 Pro Logic IIx MUSIC – Up to 7.1 channel sound, especially suited to music sources5

•2 Pro Logic IIx GAME– Up to 7.1 channel sound, especially suited to video games

•2PRO LOGIC – 4.1 channel surround sound (sound from the surround speakers is mono)

•Neo:6 CINEMA – 6.1 channel sound, especially suited to movie sources

•Neo:6 MUSIC – 6.1 channel sound, especially suited to music sources6

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

STATUS	SIGNAL SEL	SBch	STEREO
MULTI OPE	THX	STANDARD	ADV. SURR
SHIFT	PHASE	MCACC	S.DIRECT

Note

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 or select the multichannel analog inputs.

2For more options using this button, see Using Stream Direct on page 28.

3In modes that give 6.1 channel sound, the same signal is heard from both surround back speakers.

4If surround back channel processing (page 29) is switched OFF, or the surround back speakers are set to NO (this happens automatically if the Surround back speaker setting on page 35 is set to anything but Normal (SB)), 2 Pro Logic IIx becomes 2 Pro Logic II (5.1 channel sound).

5When listening to 2-channel sources in Dolby Pro Logic IIx Music mode, there are three further parameters you can adjust: Center Width, Dimension, and Panorama. See Setting the AV options on page 63 to adjust them.

6When listening to 2-channel sources in Neo:6 Music mode, you can also adjust the center image effect (see Setting the AV options on page 63).

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Listening to your system

05

Using the Home THX modes

Using the Advanced surround effects

THX and Home THX are technical standards created by Lucasfilm 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 29 for more on this).

STATUS	SIGNAL SEL	SBch	STEREO
MULTI OPE	THX	STANDARD	ADV. SURR
SHIFT	PHASE	MCACC	S.DIRECT

• Press THX (HOME THX) to select a listening mode.1

With two channel sources, press THX (HOME THX) repeatedly to select a matrix-decoding process for the

THX CINEMA mode (see Listening in surround sound above for an explanation of each process):

•2 Pro Logic IIx MOVIE+THX

•2 PRO LOGIC+THX

•Neo:6 CINEMA+THX

•THX GAMES MODE

With multichannel sources, press THX (HOME THX) repeatedly to select from:

•THX CINEMA – Gives you cinema-quality sound from your home theatre system using all the speakers in your setup

•2 Pro Logic IIx MOVIE+THX – Especially suited to movie sources, this allows you to hear 7.1 channel playback with 5.1 channel sources

•THX Surround EX – Allows you to hear 6.1 or 7.1 channel playback with 5.1 channel sources

•THX Select2 CINEMA – Allows you to hear 7.1 channel playback with 5.1 channel sources

•THX MUSICMODE – Allows you to hear 7.1 channel playback with 5.1 channel sources

•THX GAMES MODE – Allows you to hear 7.1 channel playback from the output of a video game console

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.

STATUS	SIGNAL SEL	SBch	STEREO
MULTI OPE	THX	STANDARD	ADV. SURR
SHIFT	PHASE	MCACC	S.DIRECT

•Press ADV.SURR (ADVANCED SURROUND)

repeatedly to select a listening mode.2

•ACTION – Designed for action movies with dynamic soundtracks

•SCI-FI – Designed for science fiction with lots of special effects

•DRAMA – Designed for movies with lots of dialog

•MUSICAL – Creates a concert hall-type sound for musicals

•MONOFILM – Creates surround sound from mono soundtracks

•7-D THEATER – Creates an extra wide stereo field

•CLASSICAL – Gives a large concert hall-type sound

•CHAMBER – Creates a space with alot of reverb

•JAZZ – Creates the sound of a small jazz club

•ROCK – Creates a live concert sound for rock music

•DANCE – Designed for music with lots of bass

•7ch STEREO – Allows you to hear stereo sources from all the speakers in your setup

•PhonesSurround – When listening through headphones, you can still get the effect of overall surround.

Tip

•When an Advanced Surround listening mode is selected, the effect level can be adjusted using the

EFFECT parameter in Setting the AV options on page 63.

Note

1• If you only have one surround back speaker connected, 2 Pro Logic IIx MOVIE+THX, THX Select2 CINEMA, THX MUSICMODE and THX GAMES MODE are not available.

•You can’t use the THX modes when headphones are connected.

2• 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 29.

•If you press ADV. SURR when the headphones are connected, the PhonesSurround mode will automatically be selected.

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