Pioneer VSX-56TXi - Manual (Page 3)

equipment Review
Widescreen Review • Issue 97 • June 2005 3 Page 3/5
Video Transcoding
A positive trend on the latest generation
of receivers is the desire to simplify the
vastly complicated connections that con-
nect up to high-definition displays. You will
see this marketed as upconversion in some
products. Video Technical Editor Greg
Rogers and I both agree that the term
upconversion should only be used in cases
where the product in question changes the
resolution of the input signal. Most receivers
are using the “U” word incorrectly and
should be referring to this feature as
transcoding. The VSX-56TXi has a handy
video transcoding function, which definitely
helps in simplifying the connections to a
high-definition display. The transcoding
matrix has the following results: The com-
posite input can be output as composite, S-
video, or component video. The S-video
input can be output as composite, S-video,
or component video. Component video
inputs are passed through untouched. In
testing the transcoding function, using vari-
ous test patterns such as the
Video
Essentials sharpness and resolution pat-
terns, I found no degradation of the signal.
Conclusively determining the bandwidth
performance of the receiver was not possi-
ble. HDTV at 1080i also passed successful-
ly via the component input on the VSX-
56TXi, although I didn’t get a chance to
check the HD-NET test patterns for band-
width, sharpness, accuracy, etc.
One negative to be reported is that I
expected that the On Screen Display output
for system configuration, (which is nearly
mandatory) would be passed through the
transcoding circuitry so that it can be dis-
played via the single display connection. I
couldn’t get the OSD to synch via compo-
nent video at 480i, so I still needed two
cables connected, one component and one
composite or S-video for configuration.
Power To The People
(And The
Loudspeakers)
The power amplifier stage on the VSX-
56TXi is rated at 110 watts per channel
across the seven available channels while
driving an 8-ohm load. The amplifier stage
specifications are not clearly stated as to
output for all channels driven, nor are they
given for lower impedance loudspeakers. In
system setup, the amplifier channels can be
assigned to drive either a 7.1 system or a
5.1 system, with bi-amplified front left and
right loudspeakers, or as a 5.1 Zone 1 sys-
tem and a stereo system as Zone 2. All of
my testing was in the context of a 5.1 system.
In an effort to test the output capacity of
the VSX-56TXi, I did output testing in my
primary reference room. A quick test
showed that the -20 dB FS test tone on the
AVIA Guide To Home Theater disc requires
1 watt of output from the amplifier to hit the
target of 85 dB at my listening position for
the front left and right loudspeakers (about
3 meters). Knowing that reference level is
going to take just about all of the amplifier
capability, I went off in search of appropri-
ate material to test the output capability.
Granite Audio’s Extreme System Workout
CD was used to deliver a 1 kHz tone @ 0
dB FS, and I found that with stereo signals
the SPL meter was reading at 106 dB with
no audible distortion from the front Left and
Right loudspeakers. When switching over to
five-channel stereo to reproduce the same
signal across all five loudspeakers, I found
some audible distortion. By backing down
the volume control by 2 dB, I was able to
remove the distortion.
This result indicates that (like many other
receivers) the VSX-56TXi can’t quite deliver
rated power to all channels simultaneously.
This result is also consistent with the maxi-
mum power consumption rating of 600 watts.
Driving five channels at 110 watts leaves
only 50 watts available to run all of the digi-
tal processing, drive the analog preamplifier
stage, and radiate away amplifier inefficien-
cy as waste heat. In fairness to Pioneer, no
claim is made to drive all channels simulta-
neously, rather the specification is in chan-
nel groupings of Left + Right, Center,
Surround Left + Right, and Back Left + Right.
Remote Control, Set
Up, And User
Interface
The VSX-56TXi ships with a rather hefty
and clunky remote. It definitely does the job
and provides some degree of flexibility, but
I found that its use was a bit unwieldy.
Fortunately, I also had access to a Harmony
676 programmable remote, and my wife
and stepdaughter both found the svelte
Harmony remote much more to their liking.
That said, the 676 is a great remote for day-
to-day use and a bit less than ideal for con-
figuration and set up.
I’m fairly particular about system setup,
as I believe that every product should be
able to perform basic setup (channel dis-
tance, channel trim, bass management)
without a display by the end user. The limit-
ed prompts on the VSX-56TXi makes this
possibility nearly impossible, and I would
end up connecting a composite video cable
to the secondary systems display for con-
figuration. Once the display was
connected;, I found basic set up for the
VSX-56TXi to be relatively straightforward.
Analog inputs are pre-assigned, so if you
have a CD player with analog output that
you're particularly fond of, plugging it in to
the CD analog inputs is all that’s necessary.
The Input Assign menu is used to assign
the limited digital audio and component
video inputs to the appropriate inputs on
the VSX-56TXi. To make life easier, I
assigned TOSLink input 1 and Component
Video input 1 to the Dish 6000 HDTV receiv-
er, and Input 2 for both TOSLink and
Component Video to my DVD player. The
i.Link input is set up in its own dedicated
menu, and I assigned the DV-59AVi to the
CD input via the i.Link connector.
Multichannel Acoustic
Calibration And
Correction
MCACC is Pioneer’s proprietary solution
for system calibration and basic room cor-
rection. MCACC was introduced a few
years ago with the Elite VSX-49TX. Since its
introduction, MCACC has gone through a
few iterations and is now being trickled
down into their mainstream products. It
should be noted that there are four levels of
MCACC.
For Pioneer’s entry level products in the
standard line, a MCACC Manual is includ-
ed. Calibration tones are emitted, and the
end user must then match the SPL level with
the front left loudspeaker with guidance from
the user interface. With the MCACC Manual,
no equalization functions are available.
Automatic MCACC 1 provides a micro-
phone, which is used to calibrate individual
channel levels, set channel delays (dis-
tances), and determine whether loudspeak-
ers should be defined as large or small.
Automatic MCACC 2 adds a nine-band
equalizer function, which can be applied to
all loudspeakers to improve frequency
response to help correct for the room and
its effect on the sonics of the loudspeakers.
A “front align” option leaves the front left
and right loudspeakers alone, equalizing
the center channel and surround loud-
speakers to better match the acoustic per-
formance of the main loudspeakers.
Advanced MCACC, which is included on
the VSX-56TXi, adds a few very powerful
enhancements on top of the feature set of
Automatic MCACC 2. The new enhance-
ments are categorized as the “Professional
Acoustic Calibration” features. The first is
that the measurements take into account
your room specific reverberation and con-
siders human hearing characteristics to
help determine the optimum filters to be
applied to your system. As if that weren’t
enough, multiple curves can be stored and
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