Official VSX-01TXH and VSX-03TXH Owners Thread - Page 105

- the commands you need should be somewhere in the harmony database...

- is the sound problem from all sources, or just specific ones?

- no, you don't need a new remote, but a microphone to run mcacc with would be strongly suggested...

My AVR doesn't play DVD's. Do you have a custom model?

I am trying to hook up a Carver C-9 "Sonic Hologram Generator" to my VSX-01THX. Back in the day, this would have been done via the tape monitor in order to loop the signal through the receiver. Since this is a modern unit with no such connection, is there any alternative?

(Since I am using an external amp, I can simply wire it in-line, however, I'd rather use a tape-loop type method if there is one.)

Thanks!

new VSX-01TXH owner here. This was my first high end receiver purchase. Im super happy with the sound of this thing. It even makes my set of FREE bose ACM 10's sound great.

Wow 100 pages here to read! good thing im out of work on medical. haha

hey guys. i had an issue last night.

01TXH only powers the 2 sides. xpa-3 for the fronts.

we were watching UNSTOPPABLE . volume was kinda loud, but nothing unusual.
when the one guy was trying to connect the his loco to the runaway. the reciever shut off . this has never happened before, and i have played it louder and with the 01 running all speakers.

after messing with it a little = just trying to get it to turn back on. it finally turned back on.
we finished the movie and watched another.
i was/am thinking its a overload situation. but running only the sides

wutcha think ?

how's your ventilation? That new amp isn't above or below your AVR is it? I would say increase ventilation, the shutdown was probably a thermal.

it could be better. but the thing is, it has never done this before. even when driving 7 speakers, louder.

nothing new. all gear nearly 2 years old, and in the same place/rack.
the 01 and xpa-3 are next to each other.

yeah, i'm going to do that. as it probably was.

oh, just remembered. it did it 2 times. at basicly the same place in the movie.
also. i added another ep2500 to my 2 subs. but they are on a different circuit.

Also get a compressed air can and maybe blow some dust off?

I can confirm the DTS-HD 2.0 issue. Has it been fixed for any of you? It probably is not complained about more often (though it's hard to do an accurate search on "DTS-HD MA 2.0" here, so if it has then that's that), because besides the fact that few movies offer this format (which mostly are coming out relatively recently from Criterion), it apparently only happens when there's a flag for the mono surround channel (so the lights for "L", "R" and "S" in section 2 of the attached pic are on). I have tried with Delicatessen, and the issue happens in the movie itself, but not in the commercial logo intro, which is a DTS-HD MA 2.0 proper stereo, and only lights up the L and R lights.

Good news is that I contacted Pioneer about this issue and there's a firmware update, though the guy didn't say explicitly if it fixes this issue. I got the details from the service center guy:

Main: 1.007
HDMI: 1.004
DSP Flush: 1.007

My VSX-01 has an older one:

M1 007 E1 002
H1 002
F1 003
01TXH/KU/CA

I presume the "1" is simply not displayed by the receiver. I think E1 and H1 are the same (HDMI). He didn't have the date it was released.

I'm interested in the firmware upgrade. Is this user upgradeable or do I have to take it in? I have the 03.

You have to take it in, but as far as I can tell, it's free. The Pioneer rep didn't even say anything about warranty or such. You have to email them asking for it, and then they'll email you back (took a few days). The guy called me, and sent me a letter that then you take to a local service center for a free FW update. Without the letter it's not free.

One thing to note, maybe you can give the guy both the model and the serial number, cause the guy called just to ask the SN from me, and they will send you the letter right away without calling you first.

BTW, might depend on the service center, but the service guy told me I had to leave it overnight, and it would be ready late the next day.

Also, judging from reports about other Pioneer receivers, the DTS-HD MA 2.0 issue is very likely fixed.

It's a shame in this day & age we can't be trusted to upgrade via USB device. There is no way I'm going to crawl behind my rack, unhook all my wires & be out of service for a few days.
Thanks for the info.

Maybe you can call the authorized service centers around your area and see if one of them does it while you wait, and then ask Pioneer to write the letter to that specific center. It should take no more than a few minutes, the firmware is done via USB. If you have the file, I'm pretty sure you should be able to do it yourself. The latest firmware for the VSX-21 was leaked, and people have updated theirs with it. Of course the standard "at your own risk" rules apply.

That said, the new receivers (1021 for instance) can be user updated.

Finally upgraded from 5.1 to 7.1
Seems like I have a lot of new modes to choose from. Auto defaults to DTS master which is fine. Has anyone preferred the THX modes? I'm watching toy story 3 & so far don't like the THX. Maybe its my speakers.

Geezer,
Did you do the update yourself or take it to a service center? What all did it update?

Sorry for the confusion but my upgrade was the addition of 2 rear surround speakers, no firmware.

Oops! I just misunderstood your post. My bad.

The update for the VSX-01 and 03 AFAIK is not available online. The one for the VSX-21 was leaked, but it's not available by official means.

Geezer, the THX modes require a different 7.1 speaker arrangement, you need to put the rear surrounds next to each other. I don't know how exactly this affects sound, cause I haven't used the THX modes at all. I don't like them either.

Thanks Andy o. Where he got the update was going to be my next question.

Well, moving in wall speakers is not an option
I think I will stick to the default modes as they sound pretty damn good so far.
I did get an email from Pioneer confirming your statement on the FW upgrade.
If this ever gets leaked, someone please post it as we should be competent enough to do this at home.

The guy at the service center told me they don't really need the letter though. He said I could have just brought it in, and that it should be the same for other centers. If you're gonna do it, just try making a call first to your service center (the list is at Pioneer's site) to see if they need the letter to do it for free.

BTW, this did fix the DTS-HD MA issue (I think it's a special 3.0 L-R-Surround mono format, not a 2.0). Should have fixed the DD+ dropout issue as well, but I never tested for that.

Problem with RS-232 control...

I have my VSX-01 controlled through RS-232... as well as a VSX-21. They are bothe controlled by the same device.

The problem I am having is that the VSX-01 will randomly turn itself on. If I turn it back off it will turn back on within several hours.. my 21 does not do this. I read somewhere that they changd the way the commands work on later models so that it needs to receive a command and then the power on command..is this the problem with the 01?

Thanks in advance!

After 3 fine years of service, my TSX-01 has blown its right surround amp. I switched speakers and reconnected the wires - nothing. The speakers are M & K K-4 tripoles, 4 ohm. rated at 25 watts minimum RMS input, with 50 - 150 RMS recommended. Would a seperate amp rated at 150+ watts mono bridged (2 x 61w stereo @ 4 ohms) be enough? I can get an Audiosource 100 amp at Amazon fairly cheap inc. shipping and it isn't too big (3" high)???

^^^

no, because if you bridge that amp and present it with a nominal 4 ohm load, it will "see" a nominal 2 ohm load and melt down into a smoking, twisted hunk of metal...

note that they don't give you ratings for bridged into a 4 ohm load...

however, it would likely give you MORE than enough power even without being bridged (even though the specs don't indicate a very robust power supply)... it's unlikely that the vsx in question would deliver more than 60 wpc in any type of acd test...

Thanks for the help but I am confused - what do you suggest I do?

^^^

you can use that amp if you want... just don't bridge it... just use a single channel... that will be plenty...

there's a gazillion choices for decent cheap amplification...

to be completely honest though, i wouldn't bother doing it the way you are trying... i'd either get the avr fixed, or get something new... but that's me...

Thanks - I was initially thinking I would just use a single channel of the amp's output but I wasn't sure if that would create some uneven power flow between the Right Surround and the Left (still being powered by the 01's amp.) I'll connect a single output of the amp to the RS input on the Pioneer and nothing else.

Fixing the AVR would require disconnecting everything, shipping, etc, plus it's out of warranty. This is a faster, cheaper, easier solution. I'll upgrade the AVR once I upgrade the display in a year or 2.

Why not use the Audiosource amp for both surround channels, just for the sake of symmetry?

That was my initial issue, though I expressed it poorly. Is it better to use the external amp just for the right surround or for both the right and left? I do have a single rear surround, which the 01 would continue to power regardless.