Pioneer VSX-424-K User manual

AV Receiver
Operating Instructions
Discover the benefits of registering your product online at http://www.pioneer.co.uk (or http://www.pioneer.eu).
VSX-424-K
VSX-329-K

2
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CAUTION
TO PREVENT THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT
REMOVE COVER (OR BACK). NO USER-SERVICEABLE
PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED
SERVICE PERSONNEL. D3-4-2-1-1_B1_En
WARNING
This equipment is not waterproof. To prevent a fire or
shock hazard, do not place any container filled with
liquid near this equipment (such as a vase or flower
pot) or expose it to dripping, splashing, rain or
moisture.
D3-4-2-1-3_A1_En
WARNING
To prevent a fire hazard, do not place any naked flame
sources (such as a lighted candle) on the equipment.
D3-4-2-1-7a_A1_En
This product is for general household purposes. Any
failure due to use for other than household purposes
(such as long-term use for business purposes in a
restaurant or use in a car or ship) and which requires
repair will be charged for even during the warranty
period.
K041_A1_En
VENTILATION CAUTION
When installing this unit, make sure to leave space
around the unit for ventilation to improve heat radiation
(at least 40 cm at top, 20 cm at rear, and 20 cm at each
side).
WARNING
Slots and openings in the cabinet are provided for
ventilation to ensure reliable operation of the product,
and to protect it from overheating. To prevent fire
hazard, the openings should never be blocked or
covered with items (such as newspapers, table-cloths,
curtains) or by operating the equipment on thick carpet
or a bed.
D3-4-2-1-7b*_A1_En
Operating Environment
Operating environment temperature and humidity:
+5 °C to +35 °C (+41 °F to +95 °F); less than 85 %RH
(cooling vents not blocked)
Do not install this unit in a poorly ventilated area, or in
locations exposed to high humidity or direct sunlight (or
strong artificial light) D3-4-2-1-7c*_A1_En
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3
Information for users on collection and disposal of old equipment and used batteries
These symbols on the products, packaging, and/or accompanying documents mean
that used electrical and electronic products and batteries should not be mixed with
general household waste.
For proper treatment, recovery and recycling of old products and used batteries,
please take them to applicable collection points in accordance with your national
legislation.
By disposing of these products and batteries correctly, you will help to save valuable
resources and prevent any potential negative effects on human health and the
environment which could otherwise arise from inappropriate waste handling.
For more information about collection and recycling of old products and batteries,
please contact your local municipality, your waste disposal service or the point of sale
where you purchased the items.
These symbols are only valid in the European Union.
For countries outside the European Union:
If you wish to discard these items, please contact your local authorities or dealer and
ask for the correct method of disposal.
K058a_A1_En
Symbol examples
for batteries
Symbol for
equipment
Pb
CAUTION
The STANDBY/ON switch on this unit will not
completely shut off all power from the AC outlet.
Since the power cord serves as the main disconnect
device for the unit, you will need to unplug it from the
AC outlet to shut down all power. Therefore, make
sure the unit has been installed so that the power
cord can be easily unplugged from the AC outlet in
case of an accident. To avoid fire hazard, the power
cord should also be unplugged from the AC outlet
when left unused for a long period of time (for
example, when on vacation).
D3-4-2-2-2a*_A1_En
WARNING
Store small parts out of the reach of children and
infants. If accidentally swallowed, contact a doctor
immediately.
D41-6-4_A1_En

4
Thank you for buying this Pioneer product. Please read
through these operating instructions so you will know how to
operate your model properly.
Before you start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Checking what’s in the box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Installing the receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Flow of settings on the receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
01 Controls and displays
Front panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Remote control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Loading the batteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Operating range of remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
02 Connecting your equipment
Placing the speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Hints on the speaker placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Connecting the speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Making cable connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
HDMI cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
About HDMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Analog audio cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Digital audio cables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Standard RCA video cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
About video outputs connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Connecting a TV and playback components . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Connecting using HDMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Connecting your component with no HDMI
terminal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Connecting antennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Using external antennas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Connecting an iPod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Connecting a USB device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Plugging in the receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
03 Basic Setup (VSX-424 only)
Before setting up (For Australia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Changing the TV format setting (For Australia) . . . . . . . 19
Canceling the Auto Power Down (For Europe, Russia and
U.K.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Automatically setting up for surround sound
(MCACC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Other problems when using the Auto MCACC
setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
04 Basic playback
Playing a source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Selecting the audio input signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Playing an iPod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Playing back files stored on an iPod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Basic playback controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Switches between the iPod controls and the receiver
controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Playing a USB device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Basic playback controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Compressed audio compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Listening to the radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Improving FM sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Saving station presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Listening to station presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Naming preset stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Changing the radio frequency step (For Australia). . . . . 27
An introduction to RDS (For Europe) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Searching for RDS programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Displaying RDS information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
05 Listening to your system
Choosing the listening mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Auto playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Listening in surround sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Using the Advanced surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using Stream Direct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using the Sound Retriever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Listening with Acoustic Calibration EQ
(VSX-424 only). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Better sound using Phase Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Setting the Audio options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
06 Home Menu
Using the Home Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Manual speaker setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Speaker Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
X.Over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Channel Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Speaker Distance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The Input Assign menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The Auto Power Down menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The HDMI Setup menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
07 Additional information
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
HDMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Important information regarding the HDMI
connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
iPod messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
USB messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
About iPod/iPhone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Resetting the main unit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Cleaning the unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Specifications (VSX-424) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Specifications (VSX-329) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Contents

5
Before you start
Checking what’s in the box
Please check that you’ve received the following supplied
accessories:
• Setup microphone (VSX-424 only)
• Remote control
• AAA size IEC R03 dry cell batteries (to confirm system
operation) x2
• AM loop antenna
• FM wire antenna
• Power cord
• Warranty card
• Quick start guide
• Safety Brochure
• SPEAKER CAUTION Sheet (English only)
• These operating instructions (CD-ROM)
Installing the receiver
• When installing this unit, make sure to put it on a level and
stable surface.
Don’t install it on the following places:
– on a color TV (the screen may distort)
– near a cassette deck (or close to a device that gives off a
magnetic field). This may interfere with the sound.
– in direct sunlight
– in damp or wet areas
– in extremely hot or cold areas
– in places where there is vibration or other movement
– in places that are very dusty
– in places that have hot fumes or oils (such as a kitchen)
Flow of settings on the receiver
The unit is a full-fledged AV receiver equipped with an
abundance of functions and terminals. It can be used easily
after following the procedure below to make the connections
and settings.
The colors of the steps indicate the following:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Required setting item
Setting to be made as necessary
1
Connecting the speakers
Where you place the speakers will have a big effect on
the sound.
• Placing the speakers (page 10)
• Connecting the speakers (page 11)

2
Connecting the components
For surround sound, you’ll want to hook up using a
digital connection from the Blu-ray Disc/DVD player to
the receiver.
• About video outputs connection (page 13)
• Connecting a TV and playback components
(page 14)
• Connecting antennas (page 16)
• Plugging in the receiver (page 18)

3
Power On
Make sure you’ve set the video input on your TV to this
receiver. Check the manual that came with the TV if you
don’t know how to do this.

4
The Input Assign menu (page 35)
(When using connections other than the recommended
connections.)
The HDMI Setup menu (page 36)
(When the connected TV supports the HDMI Audio
Return Channel function.)

5
Use the on-screen automatic MCACC setup to set up
your system (VSX-424 only)
• Automatically setting up for surround sound
(MCACC) (page 19)

6
Basic playback (page 22)
• Selecting the audio input signal (page 22)
• Playing an iPod (page 24)
• Playing a USB device (page 25)
• Choosing the listening mode (page 29)

7
Adjusting the sound as desired
• Using the Sound Retriever (page 30)
• Better sound using Phase Control (page 31)
• Listening with Acoustic Calibration EQ (VSX-424
only) (page 30)
• Setting the Audio options (page 31)
• Manual speaker setup (page 33)