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

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?

It won't pass HDMI with the receiver off.

I did consider it until I found out the 1018 doesn't have a 12 volt trigger. I needed that because I use the 01 as a prepro for my NHT Power5 amp.

Nope. All I have at the moment is 5.1 but I can hear a the effects of the THX loudness function. It sounds like it dynamically adjusts the channels it needs to in order to be able to continue to hear the THX effects at a lower volume. It's hard to describe really. It adds a spaciousness to the sound. I might be able to hear it better once I add some back speakers which are next on my list.

Hmm. That's funny, because I use HDMI control with my KURO and unless I've completely overlooked it, which could be the case, then I don't get a signal with the reciever off. I'll check it out tonight to make sure. If I'm wrong I'll let you know.

I went back to look at the user manual and you're right, it does say on page 68,

Select the HDMI Control' setting you want.
ON - Enables the HDMI Control function. When this
receiver's power is turned off and you have a
supported source begin playback while using the
HDMI Control function, the audio and video output
from the HDMI connection are output from the flat
panel TV.

I could have sworn I had my DVR on when the receiver was off and I didn't get a picture. The DVR is connected by HDMI to the receiver and by HDMI to the KURO.

Ok here's the lowdown on the HDMI control and allowing an HDMI connected device to play even when the reciever is off.

I tried it with my HDMI connected DVR. It didn't work. Here's why. The user manual says this:

Select the HDMI Control' setting you want.
ON - Enables the HDMI Control function. When this
receiver's power is turned off and you have a
supported source begin playback while using the
HDMI Control function, the audio and video output
from the HDMI connection are output from the flat
panel TV.

The emphasis should be on supported source in that paragraph. In other words it must be a supported HDMI controllable source connected to the 01. My DVR is not a supported source, that's why I don't get a picture on my KURO even though the KURO is a supported source.

That was what I was thinking. I don't know of any other HDMI controlled source other than a Pio product. I guess that's the way Pio gets you to buy into an all Pio system. Ease of use.

No I don't, but the manual specifically says that HDMI control won't work with SR+. It's one or the other.

Page 64 says:

You can’t use the SR+ features when HDMI Control
is set to ON. Make sure to set HDMI Control to OFF
when you use the SR+ features (page 67).

No AC outlets.

I haven't seen anything listed on DCDi but if you read my first post, it appears as though (at least to my eyes) the 01 did a better job of upconverting a 480p component signal from a DVD player I have than the KURO 5010 I have. It looked like it handled the jaggies a bit better.

It does pass the HDMI signal unmolested.