Pioneer Elite 59Txi Owners Thread - Page 3

I'm *very* interested since I have one on the way!

Go Mosfets


bob

Guys

I do have a question on the EQ Pro, etc.

Is this run after the Auto MCACC is run?

Is it stacked on top of it or does it re-do the Auto setup with new parameters?

I've read the manual and the secondary Advanced PC setup manual but I'm still not clear.

I think my vsx-82 included it in auto setup, right?

thx

bob

spongebob - how much did you pay if you don't mind me asking ?

I've been looking at 2nd hand ones @ 750 dollars ish

or a NEW one for 1400 !

pity new ones only have 1 yr warranty

Let me just say that mine was a gift from a very generous peson. The unit has video issues which I don't use.

The prices you list are about what I have seen, also.
Good luck!


bob

I'e had the 59 for about a week and all I can say is "WOW".

My B&W 805's never sounded better. Smooth, powerful, punchy, warm, etc, etc.

Do you guys know what DACs were used in this beauty?

thx

bob

custom made Burr Brown PCM 1704. This is $24.10 per piece even today

Thanks,

Is it fair to say that 5 years later, these are still considered excellent compared to however the technology has evolved, etc?

What does the new sc-09 use?


thx

bob

^^
Bob,
Even today the 1704 is still used in a few pieces, like external DAC's. It's still a great DAC with an excellent S/N ratio & low THD. It was also used in a number of hi-end players.

If you'd like to read up on some of this, there's a website by Alex Striganov who used to post a lot here as "Gordon Macgregor". He used to post lots of links to technical papers, specs, etc. His site hasn't been updated in 3-4 yrs, but here's the link:

http://www.alexhardware.com/
Go to the IC Database tab and there's a list of what's in what at that time
Alex was a big 59TXI fan & used to offer a mod. The details of his mod are still on his site.

The 1704 was also used in the 49TXi, 2 yrs before the 59TXi. What the 1704 lacks is direct SACD support, so Pioneer had to put in an external Sony chip for SACD decoding.

Here's a review of the 1704 at the time it was released:

http://stereophile.com/news/10221/

And a DAC manuf. using it:

http://www.lessloss.com/page.html?id=29

About the time the 59TXi came out, the Burr Brown PCM1738 was catching on as it had direct SACD decoding. The 1738 is the DAC in the 59AVI and 79AVI players & also is still used today in a number of players.

And to answer your question about the SC-09, it has Wolfson's top-of-the-line DAC, the WM8741. Pioneer continues to use state-of-the-art DAC's in its flagships.

ss9001

The SC series uses Wolfson DACs. The Burr Brown in the 59 I believe were the 1700 series, IIRC.

I haven't seen much about Burr Brown recently. At one time, some of their top chips were regarded highly. Now, it seems Wolfson has replaced them as the top DACs.

Thanks, Guys!

Good stuff


bob

Bob.....Steve must have posted while I was at the same time. He's got much more detail than I do regarding DACs.

I do agree with him....Pioneer (at least the Elite series) has always used some of the best DACs available in their AVRs.

I think it's believed that the Wolfson DACs are the current state-of-the-art....the SC 09 using the best DACs they make. With the SC 05/07 using the models just beneath.

Still, the SC is using the best available right now.

5 years ago, those Burr Brown DACs were the best available at the time.

Hi Guys''I'm luvin the new 59

I do have a question on the Night mode. It is *very* subtle unlike my 74 and 82 Elites.

The 74 and 82 acted like a good compressor/limiter should; squashing the peaks.

The wife hates "big sound" and I would use it all the time when watching with her.

On the 59, I thought it wasn't even working but occasionally it makes a *slight* difference so I have to "run" the volume all the time now.

Any thoughts?

thx

bob

why sure, heck, i "downgraded", if thats what you wanna call it, from the 94thx to the 49txi. I use it with my 51fd using multichannel analog out of course, and to me it sounds far superior.

I agree. I went from an 82 to a 59 and couldn't be happier


bob

Guys

I'm looking at the BDP-51FD player (~$300/shipped) to go with the 59.

Can I enjoy the latest HD audio using the 59's multi in?

Can the 51 send multi audio and hdmi or component video simutaneously (split)?

Thx,

bob

Nice to see you keeping this thread alive

- You definitely can use the multichannel inputs on the 59TXi for BD.

Choices are:
Set up the player to do channel levels, speaker distances & bass management & use Stream Direct 3 for the 59's multichannel in's, turning off MCACC's settings.

Send the player's audio outs without the player doing bass management, use Stream Direct 1 IIRC, keep MCACC on, and use the receiver's MCACC settings for channel levels & bass management. The only "downside" is an extra analog-digital conversion in the receiver. As long as you keep Hi-bit/Hi-sampling in the receiver turned on it will sample the analog at 192Khz/24 bit during the conversion.

I used the multichannel ins for an old Sansui quad receiver, and could not tell the difference between straight analog or the A/D conversion.

- The player should send both at same time. In the menu you have the option of turning HDMI audio off. But the video will be output as long as you tell the player to use HDMI for video output. Component is limited to 1080i. I don't remember if HDMI video & component video are output at same time, but you can check the manual.

Hope this helps.

ss9001

Thanks, Steve.

I love this Receiver!

Someone on the 51 thread said something about the 05 being able to send audio oly through hdmi where the 51 couldn't? Thought this might affect what I want t do (Split audio video)

I don't need hdmi & component at the same time. I normally try both and see which looks best on my 720P plasma.



What about my audio CD DAC question? Would the 51's Wolfson sound better than the 59's BB's?


Thx,

bob

Guys

I'm only running 5.1 and would like to bi-amp my B&W 805 fronts.

I already ran MCCAC and am happy. Will assigining the other 2 amps to the front use the current front MCCAC settings? Can I use my RS SPL meter before and after to keep the front levels the same?


You may get tired of me saying this but this baby is world class. I smile every day and I had B&K separates for a while


thx

bob

new owner of one of these and very impressed indeed (will put up a little review soon)

but one quick question for other users please.

why can you only have with D.Digital sources - DD+ PLII Music and not DD+PLII Movie ?

my only "standard" options are DD+SX, DD+PLII Music or DD EX

DD+PLII Movies becomes an option if you set the system to think it has 2 SB channels - but you should be able to use DD+PLII with just one ? I thought for 5 channel content that PLII was the best at creating the rear back channel - so odd it can't be choosen.

cheers, Mark.

Welcome to the club! Truly a world class rcvr!

You should get PlII w/ DD. I do with a 5.1 setup.

What is your config, and did you run MCaCC?

bob

config is 6.1 - and have run MCaaC

thanks for reply

looked in manual earlier (already had looked but re-read section) and it states that DD +PLIIx Movie is for 7.1 only, but DD + PLIIx Music can be used on a 6.1 setup

Mark.

had a BRAINWAVE today ....

fancied trying out some of the new HD formats on a decent amp like the 59TXi - so was thinking analogue - but thats a right pain ...

suddenly I thought how about USB !

so carried my PC over into the lounge, plugged it into the 59TXi via USB - and voila 7.1 lossless sound from Bluray ! I was quite surprised it worked but worked it did. Limited to 48KHz (down-samples anything 96KHz or above) - but still lossless if the Bluray is anyway.

hadn't thought much of HD sound vs D.Digital/DTS on previous receivers (why I went to the 59TXi) -but on this receiver - RAW PCM and DTS Master Audio sounded sublime ..

even 2 channel CD sounded better oddly (whats Jitter like on USB vs Optical digital ?)

only disadvantage to using USB is that you can't apply D.PLII etc onto the signal, but as far as I could tell - bass management was working (well sub was on in 2 channel from the PC which implies it was) - and the speaker levels seemed to be working fine.

can anyone confirm that using USB input the amp is applying the speaker distance correction/delays ?

interestingly the HDMI output from the PC seemed to give a lot sharper (not bad sharp) PQ to my 11UK Plasma too - so that requires further investigation

anyway in summary was very impressed - anyone who still has a 59TXi its worth playing with the USB input - reason I hadn't consdidered it before was the 45TX I had previously was limited to 2 channel via USB - no so with the 59.



Mark.

Mark

did you get your PL II working yet?

did you check stream direct setting? If I run stream direct and the dtv signal is non-DD, then it plays in 2.0 or 2.1 only.

bob

spongebob - yes for 2 channel sources

it was for 5.1 channel sources that DPLIIx decoding for the rear centre isn't used unless you have 7.1 (doesn't work for 6.1)

pity as in reviews for my previous Arcam AVR350 - if you had a 5.1 source, the rear centre info simulated via DPLIIx decoding sounded better than it being simulated via EX decoding.

not a major problem though

I'm just costing up a HTPC now to use the USB output !

Would the Virtual (?) rear channel setting work (6.1)?

bob

Does everyone here leave the hi bit sampling on? Does it help the multichannels?

hi have hi-bit and hi-sampling both on

found I either have both on - or both off

anyone else using the USB feature from a HTPC for full 8 channel lossless ?

When would these settings apply?

thx

bob

(love my 59

Another surprise today to find this thread still has some life in it!

If there are any VSX-59TXi owners still around, what BD player are you using with it?

I've got the BDP-09FD player and besides the great performance, it has the scalloped sides just like the 59TXi does! If my 59TXi could fit in my audio rack I would probably have it right above the 09FD. They look like a perfectly crafted pair...

I still use my DV-59AVi for music. I really haven't found anything that can compete with iLink as a connection for passing through music and there's no better receiver to decode it besides the 59TXi.... (Unless you count the $7000 SC-09)

As it's not hard to figure, I too love my 59!

hey all,

I unfort broke my remote to my 59 txi the other day. After moving the remote touch screen decided to stop working. So I tried to take it apart and cracked the screen. Looking on line i can order a replace to the cost of 400ish.(i can buy an new cheap receiver for that much)

So I have 2 questions, anyone have one they like to sell cheap? and other question anyone fully controlling their receiver using a universal remote? -if yes to remote did you have to manual do learn function or did it know all the functions via download,etc.