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Official VSX-01TXH and VSX-03TXH Owners Thread

364K views 3K replies 472 participants last post by  Dfisch28 
#1 ·
Ok folks, be gentle with me. I've never started an "official" thread before. I figured I would start this thread as it seems I may be one of the first to get my hands on one.


I've already given a Reader's Digest rundown in the Pioneer Elite SC-07, SC-05, VSX-03TXH, VSX01TXH thread but I wanted to separate this unit out from the rest as there are some subtle differences.


I would imagine more people will be able to snap these units up as July comes to a close.


Bear in mind there may be some tests I don't currently have the capability to perform but I'll do my best to help. I still don't have a BD player to test yet as I'm waiting for the shakeout of the newer players. I'm eyeballing the Pio 51 right now but I need to read more from owners. I'm still waiting to hear that wonderful sound of DTS-HD and True HD but that still gives me something to look forward to.


For the most part, this unit is like the 1018AH-K but also has, THX Select2 and a 12volt trigger so a lot of answers to questions can be found in the Official VSX-1018AH-K Owners Thread.


Things I don't like.


GUI

Can't save individual input settings

No HDMI upscaling

No 720p or 1080i analog conversion


Too many things to list I do like but here are some neat things not really discussed much that I discovered.


Sound Retriever. Livens up my MP3s.

Neural THX. Pretty cool technology for 2 channel sound.


There are so many possible sound settings it's almost impossible to go through them all considering they can change depending on the signal input.


Some early surprises.


It seems the SD DVD analog conversion from the 01 is slightly better than my KURO PDP-5010FD, at least to my eyes. I never would have thought that. Your mileage may vary.


Overall this unit is a tweaker's dream. Don't we all like to tweak?
 
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#630 ·
I posed this question on the HDMI jitter reduction feature to customer support at Pioneer Electronics:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inquiry:I have a question regarding the Elite VSX-03TXH and the HDMI Jitter Reduction feature. What is the purpose of this feature? Does it apply to both CD audio and DVD video playback? I notice this is one of the features that distiguishes the 03TXH from the VSX-01TXH and want to find out more information on it.



Here is Pioneer's response:

Thank you for contacting Pioneer Electronics, Inc.


The crystal oscillator produces extremely stable, low-jitter pulses, to serve as a precision master clock. The minimal time-axis errors lead to the most accurate reproduction of sound imagery. The additional high accuracy master clock synchronizes with the D/A converter to deliver master sound quality.


This technology will help with HDMI and Digital Inputs.



Thank You,


Xxxxx

Customer Service Representative


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't know if this helps or brings more confusion, but I thought I would share it with you all.
 
#632 ·
I have HDMI control set up between my Kuro Plasma and the VSX-03TXH. I like that when I power on the plasma that the VSX-03TXH powers on too. The problem is that it won't land on the HDMI 1 input which I have connected to my cable box. It cycles through several others, but never lands on the HDMI 1 input. Doesn't look like there's a way to make this happen - has anyone had any luck? It's annoying to have to reach for the receiver remote and press the HDMI 1 button when everything up to that point was automatic.
 
#633 ·
FYI, I never did get my 3rd generation ipod mini working with my 01. Error I3 consistently. My ipod has the latest software, and I restored it to 'factory condition'.


ah, well.
 
#634 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yung /forum/post/15325429


I posed this question on the HDMI jitter reduction feature to customer support at Pioneer Electronics:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inquiry:I have a question regarding the Elite VSX-03TXH and the HDMI Jitter Reduction feature. What is the purpose of this feature? Does it apply to both CD audio and DVD video playback? I notice this is one of the features that distiguishes the 03TXH from the VSX-01TXH and want to find out more information on it.



Here is Pioneer's response:

Thank you for contacting Pioneer Electronics, Inc.


The crystal oscillator produces extremely stable, low-jitter pulses, to serve as a precision master clock. The minimal time-axis errors lead to the most accurate reproduction of sound imagery. The additional high accuracy master clock synchronizes with the D/A converter to deliver master sound quality.


This technology will help with HDMI and Digital Inputs.



Thank You,


Xxxxx

Customer Service Representative


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't know if this helps or brings more confusion, but I thought I would share it with you all.

Thanks for sharing that.


Best explanation I've seen, although it is essentially what I would have guessed if pressed on the matter. I wouldn't have bet on it working with digital inputs, though.
 
#635 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by rukus29 /forum/post/15312638


ive got the harmony one setup for some of my other AV equip and was wondering if anyone has tried it with the pio elite 01. is it a pain to cycle through the screens or does it do a nice job of assigning the pio's functions to the remote's buttons and menus? will i miss any crucial receiver functions by using the harmony one?

I have the Harmony One and the 03, works great. You can completely customize it to use whatever functions you desire with the remote. It's all entirely up to you. In short you will lose no functions whatsoever unless you choose not to map them to the Harmony.


That being said it will take a while for you to figure out which functions you use more then others and then to decide in what order to have them appear on the remote and under which activities/devices.
 
#636 ·
I'm looking to use REW to do some measurements in my room in January. When I do this, the PC will output it's test signal on a single channel, and I'll measure using the mic in my Radio Shack SPL.


To measure just my subwoofers I can put the test signal into my 'MULTI CH IN' subwoofer input.


However, ideally what I would like to do is drive the test signal to all three front speakers, with bass management sending the low freqency component to the sub. This seems a more realistic test of the system with crossovers in place.


Is there a way to get a mono input and have the 01 play it on LCR (or LR) with bass management? What would you do if you had some old mono source and wanted to hear it on both left and right speakers?


My fallback is to put another Y on the source cable and feed it into both the Left and Right channels of one of the inputs.
 
#637 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by hdspringer98 /forum/post/15329872


I have the Harmony One and the 03, works great. You can completely customize it to use whatever functions you desire with the remote. It's all entirely up to you. In short you will lose no functions whatsoever unless you choose not to map them to the Harmony.


That being said it will take a while for you to figure out which functions you use more then others and then to decide in what order to have them appear on the remote and under which activities/devices.

perfect, thanks!
 
#638 ·
Just bought the 01, won't be opening it for a few days. Got it from BB from $599.99. Bought my entire home theatre from them so they gave me a big deal. I'll be hooking up a Comcast DVR, Playstation 3, and Samsung BD-P2550 Blu Ray to my 01. The entire system is going to have HDMI everything. Isn't this the best way to set up a system? Also, here are my questions.


1. To confirm, if I set up my system this way, I will always have to keep the vsx on in order to get speakers out of my television? ( Samsung LN52A750. ) I will usually use the surround system for movies and games, but just watching television I will want just the tv speakers on, how will I set this up?


2. In order to perform the above, do I need alter the "HDMI control"


3. How will I be able to turn on my tv with the VSX, where both receivers turn on at the same time?


4. Is there any setting I need to change so that the receiver will decode the high def codecs? Or by bitstreaming the movies out of my blu ray and making sure I selected the high def audio on the disc itself, will the receiver automatically recognize it and display tru hd and DTS-HD MSTR?



THANKS ALL!
 
#639 ·
Hey Guys - long time lurker on this site. It has the best info on the net! what a great resource.


I purchased a 01 a few weeks ago and have a set up question and looking for assistance:


Here is my set-up:

Cable PVR to 01 - HDMI

HD DVD player to 01 - HDMI

Media Center PC to 01 - HDMI

I have a 7.1 speaker set up as well.


My question relates to my PC. I have a blu ray optical drive in my PC. My sound card permits 7.1 sound output to the receiver. Only when I hook up the Y-adapters to the sound card do I have the option of outputting 7.1. For some reason the HDMI won't give me 7.1 only output PCM in stereo.


If I use the Y adapters and connect them to the "Multi Ch In" on the 01 I have to select the multi ch in button on the front of the unit in order to receive the sound via that method.


Here are my questions:

1) When playing a HD audio track from my blu ray drive through the multi ch in am I getting the lossless audio? The display on the 01 only says "analog" and I am unable to change anything.

2) Would you recommend using the y-adapters for the sound or just running the sound (along with video) through HDMI?

3) When using multi ch in I find I have to really crank the 01 up (like to -7) to have a decent sound level - is this normal? Other sources play comfortably at -25 or so.


Thanks in advance for your help and sorry for the noob questions! Happy Holidays
 
#640 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mcdon283 /forum/post/15333446


Just bought the 01, won't be opening it for a few days. Got it from BB from $599.99. Bought my entire home theatre from them so they gave me a big deal. I'll be hooking up a Comcast DVR, Playstation 3, and Samsung BD-P2550 Blu Ray to my 01. The entire system is going to have HDMI everything. Isn't this the best way to set up a system? Also, here are my questions.


1. To confirm, if I set up my system this way, I will always have to keep the vsx on in order to get speakers out of my television? ( Samsung LN52A750. ) I will usually use the surround system for movies and games, but just watching television I will want just the tv speakers on, how will I set this up?


2. In order to perform the above, do I need alter the "HDMI control"


3. How will I be able to turn on my tv with the VSX, where both receivers turn on at the same time?


4. Is there any setting I need to change so that the receiver will decode the high def codecs? Or by bitstreaming the movies out of my blu ray and making sure I selected the high def audio on the disc itself, will the receiver automatically recognize it and display tru hd and DTS-HD MSTR?



THANKS ALL!

Nice buy on the 01. I got mine a few weeks ago. Can't understands how you can wait a few days to open it, but....

1. - You can hook up everything via HDMI and still use your TV speakers. That's what I do. I have an optical from my cable box (no HDMI on box) to the 01 but I also have RCA jacks going from the cable box directly to the TV. So this way I can still use the TV speakers ONLY when I want.


2. - NO


3. - Not sure I am reading you correctly, but you can program the 01 remote to a learning remote.


4. - YES. It will do all automatically. Like you said, just make sure you go into the disc's setup and choose MA, Ture HD, etc.


Good luck. Its a great receiver. Don't forget to try the headphone input. It is pretty good at 5.1 movies.
 
#641 ·
I must admit that originally, I wasn't imprressed with the THX portion of the 01. It left a lot to be desired.


But the other day, I watched Terminator 2 Special Edition because I wanted to listen to the Dolby Headphone that is encoded on the disk. I first watched it over my speaker system since it was a THX certified movie. The THX was really great. I was very surprised.

I put the 01 on THX cinema and switched back and forth between that and "Auto surround" and the THX was definately better. The only thing I am not sure of is was the regular surround just bad , or was THX actually better?


The video upscaling was one of the best I've seen also.
 
#642 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Buddyjay /forum/post/15333700


I must admit that originally, I wasn't imprressed with the THX portion of the 01. It left a lot to be desired.


But the other day, I watched Terminator 2 Special Edition because I wanted to listen to the Dolby Headphone that is encoded on the disk. I first watched it over my speaker system since it was a THX certified movie. The THX was really great. I was very surprised.

I put the 01 on THX cinema and switched back and forth between that and "Auto surround" and the THX was definately better. The only thing I am not sure of is was the regular surround just bad , or was THX actually better?


The video upscaling was one of the best I've seen also.

I don't believe you're supposed to use the THX post processing with a THX certified movie. The post processing is designed to take away some of the excessive high frequencies found in sound tracks. However, THX DVD/Blurays, along with New Line Cinema films(any others?) have already had the excessive high frequencies adjusted for home theater and so if you use the THX post processing you're just over correcting and at least in my case, it seriously dampens the high frequencies if you over correct.

I could be wrong. But that is my understanding of the technology.
 
#643 ·
thanks for the reply buddy jay. So If I decide not to use an optical, ( i have an hd-comcast dvr that has an HDMI input ), will sound still come out of my tv speakers also or only surround sound? And is there a way to hear sound out of my tv speakers without my surround sound with just HDMI?


Headphone input? Do you mean plugging in headphones and listening that way? Can I ask why anyone would want to do that or am I not comprehending that right? thanks!



P.S. Obviously PS3 is a Blu Ray Player. I just bought one of these for gaming, since I have the Samsung BDP-2550, which bitstreams the high def codecs unlike the PS3. However, are the video games that are out on the market for PS3 in 1080p or are they 720p? While I have a 1080p tv, obviously the reason why Blu Ray movies look so great is that the disc itself is a 1080p source, so connecting to a 1080p tv is a pure passthrough, so I'm curious whether or not they have emulated PS3 games like Blu ray discs.
 
#644 ·
What's the verdict on the Phase Control Feature in all the Elite receivers?
 
#645 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mcdon283 /forum/post/15334493


thanks for the reply buddy jay. So If I decide not to use an optical, ( i have an hd-comcast dvr that has an HDMI input ), will sound still come out of my tv speakers also or only surround sound? And is there a way to hear sound out of my tv speakers without my surround sound with just HDMI?


Headphone input? Do you mean plugging in headphones and listening that way? Can I ask why anyone would want to do that or am I not comprehending that right? thanks!



P.S. Obviously PS3 is a Blu Ray Player. I just bought one of these for gaming, since I have the Samsung BDP-2550, which bitstreams the high def codecs unlike the PS3. However, are the video games that are out on the market for PS3 in 1080p or are they 720p? While I have a 1080p tv, obviously the reason why Blu Ray movies look so great is that the disc itself is a 1080p source, so connecting to a 1080p tv is a pure passthrough, so I'm curious whether or not they have emulated PS3 games like Blu ray discs.

If I am understanding you correctly, if you go straight to the 01 from your DVR via hdmi, the only way to hear your tv would be via the 01. I still believe you have to somehow hook your DVR directly to your TV in order to just use the TV speakers. I am not 100% on this however as there may be a way to "pass-through" from the 01 to the TV.


As far as the headphone. The 01 has a "Surround" mode for headphone use and it is quite good. I had to use it a few times late at night (neighbors) and was surprised at how well the soundstage was... and I was only using a set of Grado 60 headphones. In fact, I liked the headphone mode so much that I ordered a new set of Sennheisers. Not that my loudspeakers are bad; they are new Def Tech 7004's, it's just that I have little kids living next door that go to bed early.


As far as the PS3, I only have about 5 games for that but one game, Call of Duty 4, is 1080p.
 
#647 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Buddyjay /forum/post/15340946


If I am understanding you correctly, if you go straight to the 01 from your DVR via hdmi, the only way to hear your tv would be via the 01. I still believe you have to somehow hook your DVR directly to your TV in order to just use the TV speakers. I am not 100% on this however as there may be a way to "pass-through" from the 01 to the TV.


As far as the headphone. The 01 has a "Surround" mode for headphone use and it is quite good. I had to use it a few times late at night (neighbors) and was surprised at how well the soundstage was... and I was only using a set of Grado 60 headphones. In fact, I liked the headphone mode so much that I ordered a new set of Sennheisers. Not that my loudspeakers are bad; they are new Def Tech 7004's, it's just that I have little kids living next door that go to bed early.


As far as the PS3, I only have about 5 games for that but one game, Call of Duty 4, is 1080p.

just setting my 01 up, but i believe there is an option to pass audio through to the tv as opposed to stopping it at the receiver.
 
#649 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mcdon283 /forum/post/15343591


Can you find this out for me? Also, if not, audio will still be coming out of the tv and not just the speakers correct?

If you press the Audio Parameter button on the remote then scroll down to "HDMI " you can change it to "HDMI " and it will run the audio through the TV's speakers and not through the receiver's speakers.
 
#651 ·
Although there has been discussion and speculation in this thread with regards to the DACs used in these receivers, I haven't seen mentioned anywhere here in this Official Owners Thread the actual DACs used. The Pioneer website now list in the specifications section that both the VSX-01TXH and the VSX-03TXH utilize the 192 kHz / 24-bit Wolfson WM8728 DAC in both of these receivers. In comparison, the higher end SC-05 and SC-07 units both use the Wolfson WM8740 DAC while the flagship SC-09 utilizes the Wolfson WM8741 DAC.


The Wolfson DAC product page is here
 
#652 ·
can anyone tell me what the differences between the vsx-03txh and the 01 are. looking to upgrade and according to pioneer's website the only thing i can tell is the "jitter control". what else is there besides the price. which would be the better unit to go along with my pioneer 151?


thanks
 
#653 ·
I've had my 01 since October and currently have a 5.1 hook up. Who out there is using a 7.1 array? I'm thinking about buying two matching JBL speakers to round out the set but I don't want to go through the trouble if there isn't much difference in the overall affect. So far, I've only come across one Blu-ray with 7.1 DTS-HD MA anyway, so...


Also, is anyone powering a second Zone? Are you using the Surround Back channels or the stereo analog out to a separate amp? Anyone using a fancy remote such as a Logitec Harmony>
 
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