The
two-tiered THX certification system for A/V components reminds me of canned
black olives: the smallest ones you can buy are labeled “large,” and they range
upward from there to “jumbo,” “colossal,” and, I suppose, “gargantuan.” Similarly,
the lowest THX rating, THX Select, is awarded to very good midprice gear, while
THX Ultra2 (an upgrade of plain old THX Ultra) is reserved for high-performance,
premium-price gear with state-of-the-art features.
THX Ultra2 differs from its predecessor by mandating full 7.1-channel playback capabilities for Dolby Digital Surround EX and DTS-ES soundtracks, which add a back surround channel for one or two speakers centered behind the listening position. To be certified as THX Ultra2, a receiver has to provide not only decoding for 7.1 channels and processing to derive 6.1- or 7.1-channel playback from 5.1-channel sources, but also seven discrete amplifier channels as well as “boundary gain compensation” to help match a subwoofer’s output to the room acoustics regardless of its placement. And THX Ultra2 requires a receiver to have wideband component-video switching to handle signals from a progressive-scan DVD player or a high-definition TV (HDTV) tuner without picture degradation.
Pioneer has long been an enthusiastic supporter of the THX program, so it’s not surprising that the VSX-49TX, the latest flagship of its premium Elite line, is one of the first THX Ultra2-certified receivers on the market (the other is the Pioneer VSX-47TX). On the face of things, it’s a fairly conventional big high-end receiver with all the goodies we’d expect of such a beast, including lots of power — 130 watts each for all seven channels. Besides Dolby Digital Surround EX and DTS-ES Discrete 6.1/ 7.1-channel surround decoding, there’s also Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS Neo:6 processing to play stereo and four-channel Dolby Surround-encoded recordings and broadcast sources as if they had 5.1 channels, plus extensive proprietary digital signal processing (DSP) ambience modes. There are gobs of input/output options, including three wideband component-video inputs, a phono input, and a Dolby Digital RF input for a laserdisc player.
| Fast Facts |
| RATED POWER 130 watts x 7 into 8 ohms from 20 Hz to 20 kHz with less than 0.09% THD DIMENSIONS 17 3/8 inches wide, 7 3/4 inches high, 16 7/8 inches deep WEIGHT 64 pounds PRICE $4,200 MANUFACTURER Pioneer Electronics USA, P.O. Box 1540, Long Beach, CA 90801; 800-746-6337 www.pioneerelectronics.com |
Beyond the usual or expected features, the VSX-49TX has a handful of unusual ones, two of which demand mention right off the bat. First, it provides full bass management for the multichannel analog input you’d use for a DVD-Audio or SACD player — woo-hoo! Second, it can send its onscreen displays through a component-video output — woo-hoo, too! (This only works with TVs whose component inputs automatically switch between wideband and conventional signals, as most do; alas, my Princeton AF3.0HD does not, so I had to use an S-video output to see the menus — boo-hoo.) This is the first time I’ve used a receiver with either of these desirable features.
The VSX-49TX’s front panel is carefully finished and handsomely restrained, not flashy or overly imposing despite its size. Besides the three large, user-friendly knobs for volume, tuning, and source selection, most controls and the A/V convenience input (including optical digital audio) are hidden behind a flip-down door. The rear panel has all the inputs and outputs you’re likely to need, including multiroom facilities with both composite- and S-video outputs and an input for a remote infrared or wall-panel controller. The RS-232 serial port for future operating-system upgrades can also be used for external control by a custom whole-house system.
Setup was straightforward, thanks not only to the receiver’s clear onscreen menus but mostly to its fully automated calibration routine — the best I’ve seen yet. Appropriately, among the VSX-49TX’s supplied accessories is a small, paperweight-like microphone. The manual directs you to place it at the listening position (it has a threaded insert for a tripod) and to select Auto Surround Setup from the main menu.
The ensuing automated setup routine lasts 6 minutes or so. It not only selects the correct “size,” level, and time delay automatically for all your main-channel speakers, but it also performs something Pioneer dubs “digital-domain Acoustic Calibration Equalization,” or ACE, which is intended to make any speaker system’s response match a “target curve” as closely as possible. Pioneer’s target curve is said to derive from Beatles producer George Martin’s famous A.I.R. Studio.
During
the calibration routine, the receiver emits a series of noise bursts and clicks
from each channel in several sequences — some at reference level, which is quite
loud (the manual advises sending small children and pets out of the room!) —
and then displays the optimized levels and delay distances. Lo and behold, all
of these quite closely matched the settings I’d experimentally arrived at for
my studio’s 6.1-channel speaker setup using a handheld sound-level meter: the
level offsets were all within a half decibel, and the delay distances were spot
on.
The ACE curves yielded by the Pioneer’s four independent nine-band equalizers (front left/right, center, side surround, and back surround channels) were about what I’d expect — with a couple of exceptions I’ll get to. Most of the EQ action took place at the bass frequencies dominated by room modes; all channels showed 2 dB or less adjustment anywhere above those frequencies. The full calibration process stores two sets of data: All Channels Adjust attempts to equalize all speakers to the idealized response, while Front Channels Adjust aims to equalize the center and surround speakers to match the room response of the front left/right pair. At any time, you can switch from one EQ mode to the other or defeat the equalization entirely.
This receiver has many more uncommon setup features, but the real question is how it all sounds. The VSX-49TX was an ace performer even without ACE or other DSP “extras.” The DVD of Courage Under Fire revealed (besides the ability of skilled actors like Denzel Washington and Scott Glenn to make almost any drivel watchable) the Pioneer’s impeccable 5.1-channel performance. Both the Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks yielded their full impact on the ’copter/tank shoot ’em ups as well as all the background nuances in quieter scenes. Using a repeat-loop of one of the many downed-copter, firefight flashbacks, I compared the “straight” DTS decoding with the receiver’s principal alternatives. Unsurprisingly, I preferred the THX Cinema mode. The whizzing bullets seemed less artificially “hot,” and explosions carried less of the fizzy “hair” that always lets me identify them as artificial.
The advantage gained by switching in the ACE feature, however, was less clear-cut in my setup. The All Channels Adjust mode yielded a somewhat brighter overall response, especially in scenes with a lot of action in the surround channels. The Front Channels Adjust mode sounded better to me: it heightened clarity and articulation, though still with a mild brightening of overall tonality.
I got the same results with multichannel DVD-Audio discs. Orchestral passages sounded quite beguiling but were noticeably bright. Brightly recorded studio pop, like the DVD-Audio remaster of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, struck me as excessively “hot” in either ACE mode. Of course, you can manually tune the equalizers (or modify a previously stored ACE setting), so even if you’re not satisfied with the automatic settings you still have a very powerful, potentially useful system to customize room response.
Speaking of DVD-Audio recordings, the VSX-49TX had the playback quality — and ample power all around — to do justice to even the most demanding disc. Listening to excellent multichannel music recordings, like the Dvorak Ninth Symphony on Teldec, with proper bass-management filtering was revealing. With my subwoofer finally able to provide the needed bass reinforcement to all of the other speakers in my system that require it, the full sweep and roll of the “New World” Symphony’s many full-orchestra climaxes were faithfully conveyed.
On
the ergonomics front, my marks are mixed. The VSX-49TX comes with Pioneer’s
AXD7295 preprogrammed/learning remote control. This handset has hard-wired keys
for cursor and volume control as well as basic TV commands, but “soft” keys
on a 5 x 7-inch backlit LCD touchscreen for the rest. Columns of fixed soft
keys along each edge of the screen let you select the receiver input and the
component to be controlled by the soft keys in the middle, which change depending
on what you’ve selected.
The remote is customizable in all kinds of useful ways, but I’m of two minds about it. On one hand, it’s clear, self-prompting, and easy to use with the supplied stylus. On the other, you have to select among multiple LCD “pages” to find the one for the component you want to control, which is an irritation when, say, all you want to do is quickly pause a DVD and tune in Car Talk on the radio. Still, its macro capabilities can cover many of your routine control needs, and you can rearrange the soft keys and relabel them with helpful names (up to 12 characters) to keep track of which does what.
Though several of the VSX-49TX’s proprietary DSP modes, dubbed Advanced Cinema/Concert, were serviceable, none of them exactly rocked my world. Long-term, I believe I would end up using Dolby Pro Logic II’s Music or Cinema mode for most or all non-5.1 programs, usually with the THX enhancements engaged. The receiver also incorporates Pioneer’s multichannel Digital Noise Reduction, which might occasionally be useful with truly noisy sources, and a reduced-dynamics Midnight mode for low-volume listening that works on all sources, in all surround modes, not just Dolby Digital.
In sum, Pioneer’s latest no-holds-barred digital surround receiver is fully able to compete with the multikilobuck, cost-be-damned designs from the other big-name brands. In fact, as the first flagship receiver to be certified as THX Ultra2, it has a bit of an edge (though it could be said that Ultra2 follows high-end trends more than it sets them). Either way, this is one hell of a receiver. If you have four grand or so to spend on a home theater control center, your choice just got harder.