Pioneer Elite VSX-94TXH, finally the Epinions review, & THIS HAS IT ALL!
Written: Jun 23 '08
Product Rating:
Sound:
Ease of Use:
Durability:
Pros: All the bells and whistles
Cons: Hard to learn how to operate, boring grey and white on-screen menus
The Bottom Line: This Receiver is the Top of the Line!
Pioneer had thrown everything and the kitchen sink inside, in order to make it as future proof as they possible can
scapp70's Full Review: Pioneer VSX-94TXH 7.1 Channels Receiver
VSX-94TXH - the review
I had wanted to write this review for as long as I had had my wonderful receiver. I've had this for about a year now, and until very recently I could not write about it because there was no way that I could experience all that it had to offer. Actually I still can't experience all of the fire power that this baby has, who knows if I ever will.
You see, once Blu-Ray had come out into the mainstream and into our homes, the home theater receivers we've had for a number of years were good enough. Now with all of this high definition availability whether it was through your cable or satellite service or your new blu-ray player - that great receiver we've had for so long now looked archaic.
The Connections
The first thing we needed now was a receiver with an HDMI connection, and not just any HDMI connection, we need one with an HDMI 1.3a connection. This Pioneer model has four of them; my guess is that this will be plenty for a long long time to come. Right now I have my Dish Network satellite HD receiver hooked up to the first HDMI input, and my Samsung BD-P1500 blu-ray player in the second one. The third one I only use occasionally in case someone brings over their PS3 to my house, and the fourth I haven't used yet.
In case you haven't made the leap to HDMI cable connections yet, there are three component video inputs. These are the next best thing. To go along with these, there are 4 digital optical inputs as well. There are also numerous S-video and composite connections as well. If you have other things hooked up to your receiver like I do, you'll be glad to know that this model is equipped with TBC Digital Video. This feature upgrades all video connections (composite, S-Video & Component) to HDMI, so that there is no fuss as far as switching any audio and video because the signals will still be carried on the HDMI connection from your receiver to your monitor.
But isn't this enough about how to hook up your TV, what about other things you'd want to hook up to your receiver?
I'm glad I asked, because there are connections for your SIRIUS and/or XM satellite radio if you're a subscriber. What about if you have an IPod? Well you can hook this up too and listen to your millions of songs and/or watch your uploaded videos. So far I haven't used these two features as I have neither, but it's there for the future.
The Audio & Video
One of the main reasons why I couldn't tell you about my receiver until now is because there was no way for me to listen to my blu-rays to their full capacity. I'm talking about the newest codecs in home theater - Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio. Now that I hear what HD audio sounds like, I can tell you that the difference is audible. It's not as groundbreaking as SD Video to HD Video, but the difference is there. So, yes - this receiver has onboard decoders for these new audio options, as well as the ones that most of us are familiar with, DTS and Dolby Digital. The difference between the older audio and the newer is that the HD audio is uncompressed. The only place you'll hear these audio codecs are from your blu-ray players, and unless your player has onboard decoders as well you won't be able to hear them. That is unless you have a machine that allows the signal to pass through to the receiver, (which I now have), and then you can hear it in all of its HD 7.1 splendor.
So what about the video? Well, this is a top of the line receiver, and the way you could tell is that this comes with Faroudja DCDi. Faroudja DCDi stands for Directional Correlation Deinterlacing; this is a technology that upscales your video to HD by removing jagged pixels which results in a smoother picture. While we wait for our satellite and cable companies to add more and more HD channels, Faroudja DCDi is going to upconvert your SD signals to the best that they can possibly look. This doesn't mean that it will take your standard square picture and make it 16x9 HD sexy, this will just take the existing picture and upgrade it to the best it can look. This also means your 1080i HD signals that you are receiving from your satellite companies will be upconverted to 1080p. It does make a difference, and you won't know how you've lived without it. There are other upcoverting video scalers out there, but Faroudja DCDi is arguably the best.
For more on this technology - http://www.av-outlet.com/en-us/dept_335.html
What else? - the Home Theater Gallery is what else!
One of my favorite features has to do with another connection. When you plug a high speed network cable into your receiver, it connects to your computer. What happens when it connects to the computer is that the VSX-94TXH will find your Windows Media Player software (WMP 11 only) and take your library of MP3s that are probably already on your computer and catalog them in your receiver, ready to play with upgraded audio. You can find them in the Home Theater Gallery on your receiver. I make playlists all the time and just let my receiver play the music. Like during the winter holiday season, I make a long, long playlist on my computer of a zillion Christmas songs, and let them play all day.
What if you want to listen to the radio? You can listen to all of the AM/FM stations in your area, but what about radio stations from around the world? Remember that high speed network cable you plugged in? Well this finds hundreds of radio stations from all around the world for your listening pleasure. I'm talking Africa, if that's your pleasure. I've listened to podcasts, HD (hybrid digital) radio stations, and anything that I thought would be appealing to me, yet I don't even think I've scratced the surface.
what is MCACC?
This receiver features the MCACC option - this stands for Multi Channel Acoustic Calibration Circuit. Pioneer Electronics supplies you with a microphone that you would position in your listening position, then you choose the automatic calibration, and let the MCACC adjust the levels of your speakers according to distance, volume, response, your room's acoustics and whatever else it does. It guarantees that your reciever is going to give you the optimum audio experience possible. I've done this to my system a bunch of times already. Whenever I move something in my home theater room, I will adjust the levels of my speakers with the MCACC system to make sure it's correct.
If this isn't enough for you, you can set up this process to your PC for an Acoustic Calibration Professional EQ. You just need an RS-232C cable to connect your computer to your receiver. I haven't done this yet, but as soon as I remember to buy one of these cables the next time I'm in Best Buy - I'll update this review.
The Remote
The remote is a Universal Remote, yet I am too dumb to set this thing up to control my other components, such as my satellite TV, blu-ray player or my tv monitor. It certainly is not easy in the way my old Yamaha remote was. So for now, I'm still using three or four different remotes. It's a shame too, because this remote is color coded for three different compnents. Green for the receiver, Red for the DVD, Blue for tuner, XM and SIRIUS, Yellow is for IPOD controls and White is for other features.
The remote is the ideal size and weight. Thinner at the bottom and a bit wider at the top. The LCD is boring though, there's no blue glow or pictures to make it easy
It Can't all Be Great, can it?
Well as you can see from the remote control, it's not very user friendly. I consider myself a bit of a techie, but there are certain things I cannot get a handle on. Aside from the remote control, there are other features I cannot fully understand. Inside the Home Media Gallery area, I cannot figure out how to store my favorite stations, so every time I go back to the Internet radio/HD radio I have to search for something I like every time. I did save a station preset once, but it was an accident and I don't want or like it. Now I can't figure out how to get it out of there.
The on-screen menus could have been much better. I would have liked some pictures to click on because that would have made it so much easier. It's not even attractive, if the letters were green it would look like a computer screen out of the early 80s. Here, the letters are white against a grey background, it's boring, monotonous and they all look so similar that it's easy to loose your place or get lost.
I'm sure that there are many more features I'm liable to screw up or features that I hadn't even stumbled upon. This machine is a monster, and I feel like it could do anything. I just have to plan on studying more to figure out how to work this receiver. Right now I have the manual on my night stand and I try to read it a lot to get better at this.
Boring
General
Width 16.5
Depth 18.1
Height 7.4
Weight 37.5 lbs
Enclosure Color Black
AUDIO SYSYTEM
Built-in Decoders:
DTS 96/24, DTS Neo:6, DTS decoder, Dolby TrueHD, THX Select 2, Dolby Digital, DTS-ES decoder, DTS-HD decoder, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, Dolby Digital Surround EX
Audio D/A Converter - 24bit/192kHz
THX certified - Yes
Surround Sound Effects - Neural
Surround Equalizer - Yes
Digital Sound Processor (DSP) - Yes
DSP Preset Qty - 16
DSP Presets - Drama, Action, Sci-Fi, Sports, Classic, Expanded, Pop/Rock, Mono Film, Unplugged, TV Surround, Advanced Game, Entertainment
Surround System Class - 7.1 channel
Signal-To-Noise Ratio - 103 dB
Output Channel Qty - 7
Output Power / Total - 980 Watt
Input Impedance - 47 KOhm
Input Sensitivity - 335 mV
Total Harmonic Distortion - 0.05 %
Amplifier Output Details - 140 Watt - 8 Ohm - THD 0.09 % - 7 channel(s) ( Surround ), 180 Watt - 6 Ohm - THD 1.0 % - 7 channel(s) ( Surround ), 130 Watt - 8 Ohm - THD 0.05 % - 7 channel(s) ( Surround )
Timer Sleep Bass Control - Yes
Treble Control - Yes
Tone Control - Yes
Built-in Display - Fluorescent
Display Dimmer - Yes
Additional Features - Bi-Wiring, IPod ready, Bi-Amplifying, Midnight Mode, HD radio ready, WMA compatible, On-screen display, USB host function, Multi-jog operation, Dual-zone capability, Digital noise reduction, XM satellite radio ready, Sirius satellite radio ready, Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration Circuit (MCACC)
CONNECTIONS / CABLES / SlLOTS
HD connectors - HDMI connection(s) on this receiver make it a great choice for your High-Def home theater. One cable carries digital audio and video data directly to your display.
Connectors
Headphone Jack - Yes
Coaxial Digital Input - Yes
Coaxial Digital Output - 2
Optical Digital Input - Yes
Optical Digital Output - Yes
Equalizer
Equalizer type - Digital
Equalizer band qty - 9 bands
Radio
Type Radio tuner - AM/FM
Digital Digital Tuner Band - XM
Tuner Frequency Range AM: 530 - 1700 kHz, FM: 87.5 - 108 MHz
Tuning Display - Fluorescent display
Antenna Form Factor - Loop AM / wire FM
Response Bandwidth - 30 - 15000 Hz
Signal-To-Noise Ratio - 70 dB
Total Harmonic Distortion - Stereo: 0.5%
Additional Features - XM HD Surround Sound, Sirius satellite radio ready
Network Player
Network player type - Network audio player
Network player functionality - Digital audio playback, Internet radio playback
Supported digital audio standards - AAC, MP3, PCM, WAV, WMA, FLAC
Connectivity -Wired
Connectivity protocols - IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet), IEEE 802.3u (Fast Ethernet)
Network protocols supported - DHCP
Digital Player (Recorder)
Type - Digital player
Supported Digital Audio Standards -AAC, MP3, PCM, WAV, WMA, FLAC
Headphones
Headphones Type -None
Microphone
Type - None
Remote Control
Remote Control - Universal remote control - Infrared
Features - Learning, LCD display
Remote Control (2nd)
Type - None
Connections
Connector Type 1 x HDMI output ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) - Rear, 4 x HDMI input ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) - Rear, 2 x Digital audio output (optical) - Rear, 4 x Digital audio input (optical) - Rear, 2 x Digital audio input (coaxial) ( RCA phono ) - Rear, 1 x XM antenna - Rear, 5 x Remote control ( Mini-phone 3.5 mm ) - Rear, 3 x Component video input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Rear, 1 x Component video output ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Rear, 1 x FM antenna - Rear, 1 x AM antenna ( Click-fit x 2 ) - Rear, 1 x Monitor output ( 4 pin mini-DIN ) - Rear, 1 x Monitor output ( RCA phono ) - Rear, 6 x Composite video/audio input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Rear, 3 x Composite video/audio output ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Rear, 4 x S-Video input ( 4 pin mini-DIN ) - Rear, 2 x S-Video output ( 4 pin mini-DIN ) - Rear, 2 x Audio line-in ( RCA phono x 2 ) - Rear, 1 x Audio line-out ( RCA phono x 2 ) - Rear, 1 x Phono input ( RCA phono x 2 ) - Rear, 1 x Trigger - Rear, 8 x 7.1 channel audio line-in ( RCA phono ) - Rear, 8 x 7.1 channel audio line-out ( RCA phono ) - Rear, 1 x Serial ( 9 pin D-Sub ) - Rear, 1 x IPod docking - Rear, 1 x Sirius satellite antenna - Rear, 1 x Headphones ( Phone stereo 6.25 mm ) - Front, 1 x Digital audio input (optical) - Front, 1 x S-Video input ( 4 pin mini-DIN ) - Front, 1 x Composite video/audio input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Front, 1 x Microphone ( Mini-phone 3.5 mm ) - Front, 1 x Network ( RJ-45 ) - Rear, 1 x USB ( 4 pin USB Type A ) - Front, 7 x Speakers output ( Banana x 2 ) - Rear
Miscellaneous
AV Furniture - None
Included Accessories - AM antenna, FM antenna, Auto calibration microphone
Cables Included - 1 day(s) x Audio cable
Power
Power Device - Power supply - Internal
Power - AC 120 V ( 60 Hz )
Power Consumption Operational - 530 Watt
Power Consumption Stand by / Sleep - 0.55 Watt
Power Outlets - 1 AC outlet
Manufacturer Warranty
Service & Support - 2 years warranty
Service & Support Details - Limited warranty - 2 years
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