Pioneer VSX-43TX - Manuals

8 Before You Start 8 inches (20 cm) Receiver Installing the Receiver Opening the Front Panel To open the front panel push gently on the lower third of thepanel with your finger. Operating range of remote control unit The area in which you can use the remote control to operate the VSX-43TX is fairly ...

9 EASY SETUP GUIDE PREP ARA TION Easy Setup Guide Part1 PREP ARA TION Home Theater: The Basics Most consumers are used to using stereo equipment to listen to music but many people are not used to home theatersystems that give you many more options when listening to soundtracks. In fact, home theater...

10 Before making or changing the connections, switch off the power and disconnect the power cord fromthe AC outlet. Easy Setup Guide Part1 1 1 1 1 1 Hooking Up Your DVD Player & TV In order to use Dolby Digital/DTS soundtracks, which are at the heart of home theater, you need to hook up yourDVD ...

11 EASY SETUP GUIDE Easy Setup Guide Part1 2 2 2 2 2 Speaker Connections Home theater is designed to be setup with five, or seven speakers (front left & right; center; surround left &right; and, optimally, surround back left & right) and a subwoofer, but you can use this receiver with fe...

12 1 Turn on the receiver and your TV, press the RECEIVER buttonon the remote control. 2 Press the SYSTEM SETUP button. LOUDNESS MIDNIGHT TONE DNR ATT STEREO TUNED RDSHi-BIT/ MULTI-ROOM SAMPLING EON RF ATT MONO Neo :6 DIGITAL DTS ES EXMPEG AACSTEREO PRO LOGIC DSP L C R LFE AUTO SB CH ON MOVIEMUSIC O...

13 EASY SETUP GUIDE Easy Setup Guide Part2 1 1 1 1 1 QUICK setup With this QUICK setup you can quickly and easily adjust the speakers settings so that you get enjoyablesurround sound with minimum effort.You must have front and surround speakers hooked up to use this setup.You only need to do these s...

14 2 2 2 2 2 Playing a DVD with Surround Sound 1 Make sure the receiver, your TV, your subwoofer and your DVD player are switched ON. 2 Press the DVD/LD button on the remote control. You should see DVD/LD in the display on the receiver. 3 Play a DVD then adjust the MASTER VOLUME. Easy Setup Guide Pa...

15 PREP ARA TION PREP ARA TION Connecting Your Equipment Connecting your TV Before making or changing the connections, switch off the power and disconnect the power cord fromthe AC outlet. Connect your TV to the jacks as shown below. Hook up with either component video, S video, or compos-ite video ...

16 Connecting Your Equipment Connecting Video Components Before making or changing the connections, switch off the power and disconnect the power cord fromthe AC outlet. Connect your video components as shown on this and the following page. For video components (forexample, a DVD player) there are t...

17 PREP ARA TION PREP ARA TION PCM/ 2 DIGITAL / DTS OUT1 OUT2 IN R L (TV/ SAT) 1 IN 1 IN 2 IN (CD-R/ TAPE1) 2 IN 3 (DVD/LD) IN 4 (CD) PLAY PLAY CD-R/ TAPE1 IN OUT IN OUT VCR1/ DVR TV/ SAT IN DVD/ LD IN SUR- ROUND BACK (DVD/LD) (TV/SAT) FRONT CENTER SUR- ROUND SUB WOOFER PRE OUT MONITOR OUT P B P R P...

18 Connecting Satellite TV (SAT) Components Before making or changing the connections, switch off the power and disconnect the power cord fromthe AC outlet. Hook up the video signal with either component video, S video, or composite video cords, depending onhow you connected the receiver to your TV ...

19 PREP ARA TION PREP ARA TION Connecting Analog Audio Components Before making or changing the connections, switch off the power and disconnect the power cord fromthe AC outlet. Connect your audio components to the jacks as shown below. These are all analog connections and youranalog audio componen...

21 PREP ARA TION PREP ARA TION Connecting Digital Audio Components Before making or changing the connections, switch off the power and disconnect the power cord fromthe AC outlet. Connect your digital components as shown below. The VSX-43TX has two coaxial, two optical inputs for atotal of four digi...

22 Connecting Your Equipment Digital Input Default Settings Unlike analog connections, the jacks for digital connections are not dedicated to one type of component,they can be used freely. Thus you must tell the receiver what digital component is connected to whichjack so your components will be in ...

23 PREP ARA TION PREP ARA TION Connecting the Radio Antennas Before making or changing the connections, switch off the power and disconnect the power cord fromthe AC outlet. Connect the supplied FM wire antenna and the AM loop antenna to the ANTENNA terminals as shownbelow. These antennas should pro...

24 Connecting Speakers Before making or changing the connections, switch off the power and disconnect the power cord fromthe AC outlet. We recommend a full complement of seven speakers and a subwoofer as shown here but, naturally,everyone's home setup will vary. Simply connect the speakers you have ...

25 PREP ARA TION PREP ARA TION Connecting Your Equipment Speaker impedance You can change the speaker impedance for VSX-43TX but we recommend using speakers with an imped-ance of 8 Ω -16 Ω (the default setting). If you are using 6 Ω - less than 8 Ω impedance speakers, you need to change the impedanc...

26 Placing Your Speakers Proper speaker placement is essential to realize the best sound from your system. The diagram and tipsgiven here are just a rough guide, for more information see pages 91 & 92. Also, it is very important forspeaker placement to read the instructions that come with your s...

27 PREP ARA TION PREP ARA TION Displays & Controls Display All the display information is explained and/or referenced here. DIGITAL DTS ES EX MPEG AAC STEREO PRO LOGIC LOUDNESS MIDNIGHT TONE DNR ATT STEREO TUNED RDS Hi-BIT/ MULTI-ROOM SAMPLING EON RF ATT dB MONO Neo :6 L C R LFE L S S R S SIGNAL...

28 Displays & Controls Front Panel All the controls on the front panel are explained and/or referenced here. To open the front panel pushgently on the lower third of the panel. 1 MULTI JOG dial You can use this dial for many purposes. Whenyou press the SET UP button (12), you can useit to perfor...

30 Remote Control This page describes the buttons on the remote control used to operate the receiver. 1 RECEIVER (STANDBY/ON) button Press to turn power of the receiver on or tostandby (off). 2 MULTI CONTROL buttons These buttons are the basic controls thatswitch the mode of the receiver and theremo...

32 Displays & Controls Back Panel All the terminals on the back panel are explained and/or referenced here. 1 DIGITAL IN terminals (see page 21–22) Use these terminals to input the signal from aDVD, CD player or any other kind of digitalplayer. To be able to play Dolby Digital andother surround ...

34 To ensure the best possible surround sound, complete the following setup operations. Some of these are thesame (and take precedence over) the settings you made in the Easy Setup Guide, so consider if the ones youmade at that time were adequate. If you feel they were, move on to the next setting h...

35 SURROUND SET UP Setting Up for Surround Sound SURRBACK SYSTEM (Surround Back System) This setup selects how your surround back system will be used. If you want to use it for surround back speakersin your main speaker system choose NORMAL SYSTEM. In this case you won’t have any B (or secondary)spe...

36 Setting Up for Surround Sound NORMAL setup This is the manual method to setup your sound parameters for surround sound. It is more exact than the QUICKset up and should give you finer surround sound.You only need to do these settings once (unless you change the placement of your current speaker s...

37 SURROUND SET UP SPEAKER SETTING The information below shows you how to select the correct settings for the type and number of speakers youconnected. Most importantly, you need to decide how to route the sound for all the speakers you connected. Todo this select the size of the front, center, surr...

38 Follow steps 1-3 on page 34, if necessary, to get tothe starting point mentioned here. 1 Use the 5∞ buttons to select NORMAL. Press the ENTERbutton. LOUDNESS MIDNIGHT TONE DNR ATT STEREO TUNED RDSHi-BIT/ MULTI-ROOM SAMPLING EON RF ATT MONO Neo :6 DIGITAL DTS ES EXMPEG AACSTEREO PRO LOGIC DSP L C ...

39 SURROUND SET UP Follow steps 1-3 on page 34, if necessary, to getto the starting point mentioned here. 1 Use the 5∞ buttons to select NORMAL. Press the ENTER button. 2 CHANNEL LEVEL should be selected. If it isn’t use the 5∞ buttons to select and press ENTER. LOUDNESS MIDNIGHT TONE DNR ATT STEREO...

41 BASIC Stereo and Multichannel Playback The following instructions show you how to play Dolby Digital or DTS sound sources with the VSX-43TX.Before doing so be sure to complete the setup procedures described in QUICK setup in the Easy Setup GuidePt. 2 (starting on page 13) or Setting Up for Surrou...

43 BASIC Listening Modes The three listening mode types on the receiver are explained here (to select listening modes see page 41).The kind of playback you can get in the three modes depends on what kind of a source (DVD, etc.) you areusing. The basic distinction is between 2 channel sources and mul...

46 Basic Operation memo 1 Press RECEIVER. 2 Press the EFFECT/CH SEL button repeatedly until you see EFFECT in thereceiver’s display. 3 Use the +/– buttons to add or subtract the amount of effect. • The amount of effect can be adjusted ranging from 10 to 90 (the default setting value is 50) by pressi...

47 Basic Operation BASIC Reducing Noise During Playback (DIGITAL NR Function) To reduce extraneous noise switch on DIGITAL NR. This feature is effective with sources containing a lot ofbackground noise like cassette and video tape 1 Press RECEIVER. 2 Press the DNR button on the remote control. Each ...

48 Basic Operation Listening in MIDNIGHT Mode This useful feature makes it possible to get excellent surround sound effects even when listening at lowvolumes. It can be used with any surround sound source and play soundtracks so that the quieter sounds areaudible even while playing a soundtrack at l...

49 Basic Operation BASIC Adjusting Bass and Treble (TONE CONTROL) You can adjust the low (bass) and high (treble) frequencies. The TONE button can also be used to bypass thetone circuitry. memo • The TONE CONTROL can be adjusted in a range of ±6 dB. • The TONE CONTROL cannot be set on in THX CINEMA,...

50 Basic Operation memo DVD-Audio/MULTI CHANNEL IN Playback MULTI CH IN allows you to connect a DVD-Audio player or an external decoder to enjoy certain multichanneldiscs. To use MULTI CH IN playback follow the instructions below. • You can’t use any kind of sound processing to- gether with MULTI CH...

51 Basic Operation BASIC 1 SOURCE MULTI CONTROL RECEIVER MOVIE MUSIC ENTER MULTI OPERATION SURROUND MODE STEREO/ DIRECT SYSTEM OFF ACOUSTIC EQ SB CH MODE INPUT MIDNIGHT MUTE MULTI CH INPUT MASTER VOLUME DVD/LD VCR 2 TV / SAT C D VCR/DVR TV CONT TUNER RECEIVER 1 PHONES SPEAKERS SIGNALSELECT HI-BIT HI...

52 Basic Operation DUAL MONO setting and playback The dual mono setting can only be used when listening to Dolby Digital or homemade discs that have dual monosoftware encoded in them. Dual mono software usually is used to put two different mono soundtracks, that youcan listen to together or separate...

53 Basic Operation BASIC Video Select This function allows you to listen to one sound source while you watch a different video source on your TV. Thesound source is set in the normal fashion as explained on page 41. You then change the video input with theVIDEO SEL button. 1 Press RECEIVER. 2 Press ...

54 Using the Tuner Automatic and Manual Tuning The following steps show you how to tune in FM and AM radio broadcasts using the automatic (search) andmanual (step) tuning functions. If you already know the exact frequency of the station you want, see “DirectAccess Tuning“ on the following page. 1 Pr...

55 Using the Tuner BASIC 1 Press the TUNER button. This selects the tuner function on the receiver and setsthe remote to the tuner operation mode. 2 Press the BAND button to select the band (FM or AM). Each press switches the band : FM j AM 3 Press the D.ACCESS button to activate the direct access t...

56 Using the Tuner Memorizing Frequently Used Stations The following steps show you how to memorize up to 30 radio stations in 3 classes (each holding 10 stations).When memorizing FM frequencies, the receiver also memorizes the MPX mode (STEREO or MONO). 1 Tune in the station you want. See "Auto...

57 Using the Tuner BASIC Naming Memorized Stations You can input a name of up to four characters for each preset station in the receiver’s memory (see the previouspage). This name can be anything you choose. For example, you could input JAZZ for that station and when youlisten to it the name, rather...

58 Using the Tuner Recalling Memorized Stations 1 Press the TUNER button. This selects the TUNER function on the receiver andsets the remote to the TUNER operation mode. LOUDNESS MIDNIGHT TONE DNR ATT STEREO TUNED RDSHi-BIT/ MULTI-ROOM SAMPLING EON RF ATT MONO Neo :6 DIGITAL DTS ES EXMPEG AAC PRO LO...

59 BASIC Remote Control of Other Components 1 While holding down the REMOTE SETUP button press to select the preset recall setup mode. The LED begins to blink.To cancel the preset recall setup mode press REMOTESETUP. 2 Press the MULTI CONTROL button for the component you want tocontrol. The LED ligh...

60 Remote Control of Other Components Programming Signals from Other Remote Controls (LEARNING Mode) If preset codes are not available for your component(s), or the available preset codes do not operate correctly,you can use this procedure to program in signals from the remote control(s) of your oth...

61 Remote Control of Other Components BASIC Using Remote Control with Other Components CD/MD/CD-R/VCR/DVD/LD/DVD recorder/Cassette Deck operations • The following operations are available from the receiver's remote control after you program it(see “Setting Up the Remote Control to Control Other Comp...

63 Remote Control of Other Components BASIC Setting up the DIRECT FUNCTION The direct function will not be necessary for most users. It is designed in case you have an external videosource connected to your TV (a video source that is not going through the VSX-43TX). For this explanation we'llcall th...

64 Using Other Functions Recording from Audio/Video Components The following explanations show you how make a recording from one component to another connected to this receiver.Note that an analog recorder (such as a VCR) cannot record from a source that is connected using only a digitalconnection. ...

65 Using Other Functions EXPER T Stereo playback in another room (SECOND ZONE) This setup enables you to listen to a pair of stereo speakers independently of the main speaker systemhooked up to the receiver. The VSX-43TX has two possibilities for playback in another room. You canchoose SECOND ZONE, ...

66 Using Other Functions memo • What is output from the subwoofer depends on the SPEAKER SETTING and the type of source.• Depending on the settings in SPEAKER SETTING and the MULTI CH IN SELECT, output from the SURROUND BACK PRE OUT terminals may change. • When using headphones the speakers are swit...

67 Using Other Functions EXPER T PCM/ 2 DIGITAL / DTS OUT1 OUT2 IN R L (TV/ SAT) 1 IN (CD-R/ TAPE1) 2 IN 3 (DVD/LD) IN 4 (CD) PLAY PLAY CD-R/ TAPE1 IN OUT IN OUT VCR1/ DVR TV/ SAT IN DVD/ LD IN SUR- ROUND BACK FRONT CENTER SUR- ROUND SUB WOOFER PRE OUT VCR2 CD LINE DIGITAL AUDIO AUDIO VIDEO IN IN IN...

68 Using Other Functions Multi Operations Multi operations allow you to tell the receiver and your other components to do a number of things with thepush of only two buttons on the remote control (see "Performing Multi Operations" on the next page). Forexample, you can program the unit to tu...

70 Using Other Functions SYSTEM OFF The SYSTEM OFF feature allows you to tell the receiver and your other components to stop and/or turn off withthe push of only one button on the remote control. For example, you can program the unit to turn off your TVand turn off your DVD player, etc. You don't ne...

71 Using Other Functions EXPER T • You can also control PIONEER components (and those made by other manufacturers) by pointing the receiver's remote control directly at the respective component. This type of operation does not re-quire control cords. All you have to do is recall the appropriate stor...

72 Using Other Functions 1 Press and hold both the REMOTE SETUP button and for more than 3 seconds. LED lights will blink 3 times and all multi operationsettings will be erased. Resetting the Remote Control The following operations allow you to erase the settings stored in the remote control. Erasin...

73 EXPER T Using Other Functions Resetting the Main Unit The following operations allow you to reset the unit to the default settings. 1 While holding down the TONE button press the STANDBY/ONbutton for about three seconds. 2 When you see RESET? appear in the display, press the TONE –button. OK? app...

74 Fine Tuning Your System Other System Settings These settings are more advanced. Some could add depth or listenability to your sound (like the THX CINEMAsetup) and others are for your convenience (like the FUNCTION RENAME). You can decide if you want to makethese settings or not. They are not cruc...

75 Fine Tuning Your System EXPER T THX CINEMA Setup This setup lets you choose which decoding method for 2 channel sources the receiver will use for THXCINEMA. The three THX CINEMA decoding methods are; PRO LOGIC II MOVIE, PRO LOGIC and NEO:6CINEMA. For more information on the decoding (playback) fo...

76 Fine Tuning Your System 5 Use the 5∞ buttons to move through the different digital inputsettings and press the ENTERbutton. LOUDNESS MIDNIGHT TONE DNR ATT STEREO TUNED RDSHi-BIT/ MULTI-ROOM SAMPLING EON RF ATT MONO Neo :6 DIGITAL DTS ES EXMPEG AACSTEREO PRO LOGIC DSP L C R LFE AUTO SB CH ON MOVIE...

77 Fine Tuning Your System EXPER T Assigning the Component Video Inputs This receiver has two component video inputs. Their default settings are video inputs for the DVD/LD(COMPONENT VIDEO IN 1 ) and TV/SAT (COMPONENT VIDEO IN 2 ) functions, but you can reassign them if you want to use them as video...

78 Fine Tuning Your System FUNCTION RENAME Use the FUNCTION RENAME capability to rename the display on the receiver for different functions (DVD, etc.).For example, you could rename DVD/LD as DVR-7000. For this setup in particular using the controls on the frontpanel is more convenient than using th...

79 EXPER T Fine Tuning Your System Expert Setup The settings here can only be done if you've performed the more basic preliminary setups. Thus, before doingthese settings do either QUICK setup (page 13) or NORMAL setup (page 36-40).These settings are to further heighten your enjoyment of surround so...

83 EXPER T Fine Tuning Your System 5 Press ENTER to select a new channel. Repeat step 4 for everychannel. If you want to change a setting before pro-ceeding Use the 5∞ buttons to go back to the channel you want to adjust and press ENTER. Then followstep 3. 6 When done select EXIT (if it's not alread...

84 Fine Tuning Your System ACOUSTIC CAL EQ This setting is a kind of room equalizer for your speakers. This receiver let's you equalize the speakers inaccordance with the front speakers.The front left speaker will serve as the reference tone. The front left tone and the target speaker (the one youar...

86 Fine Tuning Your System Follow steps 1-5 on page 79, if necessary, to getto the starting point mentioned here. 1 BASSPEAK LEVEL should be selected, if it isn’t use the 5∞ buttons to select it. PressENTER. LOUDNESS MIDNIGHT TONE DNR ATT STEREO TUNED RDSHi-BIT/ MULTI-ROOM SAMPLING EON RF ATT MONO N...

87 EXPER T Fine Tuning Your System DYNAMIC RANGE CONTROL This feature makes it possible to enjoy full surround sound effects on Dolby Digital and DTS sources even at lowvolumes. It does this by compressing the dynamic range. Dynamic range is the difference between the loudestand the softest sounds i...

88 Dolby Pro Logic II Dolby Pro Logic II is an improved version of Dolby Pro Logic technology with extended matrix decodingtechnology that can create 5.1 channel sound from two channel sources. Dolby Pro Logic II creates basic 5channel sound by using the innovative "steering logic" circuit. ...

89 Techno Ti dbits & Problem-solving EXPER T Dolby Digital Surround EX This new recording technology is able to play 6.1 channel sound and was developed in a collaboration betweenDolby Laboratories and Lucasfilm, Ltd. for the film "Stars Wars: The First Episode", the first movie ever to ...

90 Techno Ti dbits & Problem-solving THX  THX is a Lucasfilm, Ltd. program dedicated to maximum accuracy in movie presentation. Movie sound tracks arerecorded in large movie dubbing stages using movie theater equipment. For a sound track to be presentedaccurately in your home, special technolog...

91 Techno Ti dbits & Problem-solving EXPER T Speaker Placement Information Placement of your speakers is a crucial aspect of attaining accurate and realistic surround sound.Certain pointers concerning speakers stands, direction, angle and distance of speakers will be usefulin this regard.Firstly...

92 Techno Ti dbits & Problem-solving Speaker Placement for a Complete THX Speaker System If you have a complete THX Speaker System set (LucasFilm authorized), follow the diagram below toplace your speakers.Notice the surround speakers should output at an angle parallel to the listener. Also, not...

93 Techno Ti dbits & Problem-solving EXPER T Preset Code List DVD Manufacturer Code TOSHIBA 1010 PANASONIC 1002 SONY 1009 JVC 1005 SAMSUNG 1008 RCA 1007 DENON 1004 PHILIPS 1006 TOSHIBA 1010 YAMAHA 1011, 1012 PIONEER 1001, 1002, 1003 LD Manufacturer Code SONY 2008 PHILIPS 2006, 2007 PANASONIC 200...

95 Techno Ti dbits & Problem-solving EXPER T Troubleshooting Incorrect operations are often mistaken for trouble and malfunctions. If you think that there is something wrong withthis component, check the points below. Sometimes the trouble may lie in another component. Investigate the othercompo...

100 Techno Ti dbits & Problem-solving Schemata of Setup 1 2 3 4 (4. Function Rename) S y s t e m S e t u p [ 1 . S u r ro u n d S e t u p[ 2 . T H X C I N E M A S e t u p[ 3 . I n p u t A s s i g n[ 4 . F u n c t i o n R e n a m e[ E x i t ]]]]] 1 . S u r ro u n d S e t u p [ S u r r B a ck S y ...

101 Techno Ti dbits & Problem-solving EXPER T Selecting fine audio equipment such as the unit you’ve just purchased is only the start of your musical enjoyment.Now it’s time to consider how you can maximize the funand excitement your equipment offers. This manufacturerand the Electronic Industri...

102 Techno Ti dbits & Problem-solving Specifications Continuous average power output of100 watts* per channel, min., at 8ohms, from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz with nomore than 0.09 %** total harmonicdistortion (front). Continuous Power Output Front .............. 100 W +100 W (20 Hz – 20 kHz, 0.09 %, 8 ...

Published by Pioneer Corporation.Copyright © 2002 Pioneer Corporation.All rights reserved. <ARB7261-A> PIONEER CORPORATION 4-1, Meguro 1-Chome, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8654, Japan PIONEER ELECTRONICS [USA] INC. P.O. BOX 1540, Long Beach, California 90801-1540, U.S.A. PIONEER ELECTRONICS OF CANADA...