1. Manuals
  2. Brands
  3. Pioneer Manuals
  4. Receiver
  5. VSX-816-K
  6. Operating instructions manual

Pioneer VSX-816-K Operating Instructions Manual

Audio/video multi-channel receiver
Hide thumbs Also See for VSX-816-K:
Table of Contents

Advertisement

Quick Links

See also: Service Manual
AUDIO/VIDEO MULTI-CHANNEL
RECEIVER
VSX-816
Register your product at
www.pioneerelectronics.com (US)
www.pioneerelectronics.ca (Canada)
• Protect your new investment
The details of your purchase will be on file for reference in the event of an
insurance claim such as loss or theft.
• Receive free tips, updates and service bulletins on
your new product
• Improve product development
Your input helps us continue to design products that meet your needs.
• Receive a free Pioneer newsletter
Registered customers can opt in to receive a monthly newsletter.

Operating Instructions

Advertisement

Table of Contents
loading

Related Manuals for Pioneer VSX-816-K

Summary of Contents for Pioneer VSX-816-K

  • Page 1: Operating Instructions

    • Receive free tips, updates and service bulletins on your new product • Improve product development Your input helps us continue to design products that meet your needs. • Receive a free Pioneer newsletter Registered customers can opt in to receive a monthly newsletter. Operating Instructions...
  • Page 2 – Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. – Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver. – Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. – Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
  • Page 3 The lightning flash with arrowhead, within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated "dangerous voltage" within the product's enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons. READ INSTRUCTIONS —...

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    Loading the batteries ....6 Installing the receiver ....6 Ventilation.
  • Page 5 Dual Mono Setup ....60 LFE Attenuator Setup ....60 SR+ Setup for Pioneer plasma displays . . . 60 13 Additional information Troubleshooting.

  • Page 6: Before You Start

    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: –...

  • Page 7: 02 5 Minute Guide

    With the following quick setup guide, you should have your system hooked up for surround sound in no time at all. In most cases, you can simply leave the receiver in the default settings. • Be sure to complete all connections before connecting to an AC power source.

  • Page 8: Using The Quick Setup

    2.0ch – 3.0ch – 4.0ch – 5.0ch – 6.0ch – 7.0ch Note 1 See also Making receiver settings from the System Setup menu on page 34 for more setup options. • Check the table below to find the speaker setup that corresponds with your system.

  • Page 9: Quick Surround Sound Setup

    1 The screensaver automatically starts after three minutes of inactivity. If you cancel the Auto MCACC Setup at any time, the receiver automatically exits and no settings will be made. 2 If you are planning on bi-amping your front speakers, or setting up a separate speaker system in another room, read through Surround back speaker setting on page 34 and make sure to connect your speakers as necessary before continuing.
  • Page 10 Wait for the test tones to finish. A progress report is displayed on-screen while the receiver outputs test tones to determine the speakers present in your setup. Try to be as quiet as possible while it’s doing this.

  • Page 11: Other Problems When Using The Auto Mcacc Setup

    Quick surround sound setup • Channel Level – The overall balance of your speaker system (see page 41 for more on this) • Acoustic Cal EQ – Adjustments to the frequency balance of your speaker system based on the acoustic characteristics of your room (see page 37 for more on this) Press RETURN after you have finished checking each screen.

  • Page 12: Connecting Up

    Digital audio cables Commercially available coaxial digital audio cables or optical cables should be used to connect digital components to this receiver. Coaxial digital audio cable Note 1 • When connecting optical cables, be careful when inserting the plug not to damage the shutter protecting the optical socket.

  • Page 13: Connecting A Dvd Player And Tv

    Note 1 If your DVD player only has an optical digital output, you can connect it to the optical input on this receiver using an optical cable. When you set up the receiver you'll need to tell the receiver which input you connected the player to (see The Input Assign menu on page 58).

  • Page 14: Connecting The Multichannel Analog

    See Using the component video jacks on page 17 for more on this. 4 If your satellite/cable receiver doesn’t have a digital audio output, omit this step. If it only has a coaxial digital output, you can connect it to one of the coaxial inputs on this receiver using a coaxial digital audio cable.

  • Page 15: Connecting Other Audio Components

    Follow the steps below to connect a CD-R, MD, DAT, tape recorder or other audio component. If your component has a digital output, connect this to a digital input on the receiver as shown. The example shows a coaxial connection to the CD digital input jack using a coaxial digital audio cable.

  • Page 16: Connecting Other Video Components

    2 For better quality, you can also connect with S-video using the S-VIDEO DVR/VCR OUT jack. 3 If your video component only has an optical digital output, you can connect it to the optical input on this receiver using an optical cable.

  • Page 17: Using The Component Video Jacks

    • COMP 3 – DVR See Assigning the component video inputs on page 58 for more on this. Connect the COMPONENT VIDEO MONITOR OUT jacks on this receiver to the component video inputs on your TV or monitor. Use a three-way component video cable.

  • Page 18: Connecting Antennas

    Connecting up Connecting antennas Connect the AM loop antenna and the FM wire antenna as shown below. To improve reception and sound quality, connect external antennas (see Using external antennas below). fig. a fig. b FM UNBAL Ω Pull off the protective shields of both AM antenna wires.

  • Page 19: Connecting The Speakers

    Make sure you connect the speaker on the right to the right terminal and the speaker on the left to the left terminal. Also make sure the positive and negative (+/–) terminals on the receiver match those on the speakers.

  • Page 20: Hints On Speaker Placement

    TV in the event of external shocks such as earthquakes. • Make sure no exposed speaker wire is touching the rear panel, this may cause the receiver to turn off automatically.

  • Page 21: Ac Outlet

    B 3-D view of 7.1 channel speaker setup AC outlet Power supplied through this outlet is turned on and off by the receiver's power switch. Total Front electrical power consumption of connected right equipment should not exceed 100 W (0.8 A).

  • Page 22: Controls And Displays

    (page 29). ST/DIRECT/AUTO SURR Selects stereo/direct playback (page 30). Also selects Auto Surround (Auto playback on page 28) and XM Surround (page 53). VSX - 816 AUDIO/VIDEO MULTI-CHANNEL RECEIVER MULTI JOG ENTER SIGNAL SB ch ACOUSTIC...

  • Page 23: Display

    PHONES jack Use to connect headphones (when connected, there is no sound output from the speakers). STANDBY/ON Switches the receiver between on and standby. 10 VIDEO INPUT See Connecting to the front panel video terminal on page 17. 11 MCACC SETUP MIC jack Use to connect the supplied microphone.
  • Page 24 2 PRO LOGIC II x When the (STANDARD) Pro Logic II mode of the receiver is on, 2 PRO LOGIC II lights to indicate Pro Logic II decoding. 2 PRO LOGIC II x lights to indicate Pro Logic IIx decoding (see Listening in surround sound on page 28).

  • Page 25: Remote Control

    The following are accessed by pressing the RECEIVER button first: SLEEP – Press to change the amount of time before the receiver switches into standby (90 min – 60 min – 30 min – Off). ANALOG You can check the remaining sleep time at any time by pressing SLEEP once.
  • Page 26 Video discs. It also displays TV and DTV menus. T.EDIT – Press to memorize and name a station for recall (page 43). SETUP (Press RECEIVER first to access) Use to access the System Setup menu (see page 34). GUIDE – Displays the guides on a digital RETURN –...

  • Page 27: Operating Range Of Remote Control

    • Direct sunlight or fluorescent light is shining onto the remote sensor. • The receiver is located near a device that is emitting infrared rays. • The receiver is operated simultaneously with another infrared remote control unit.

  • Page 28: Listening To Your System

    • When listening to XM Radio, AUTO SURR selects the XM Surround feature (page 53). Listening in surround sound Using this receiver, you can listen to any source in surround sound. However, the options available will depend on your speaker setup and the type of source you’re listening to.

  • Page 29: Using The Advanced Surround Effects

    Press EFFECT/CH SEL repeatedly to select the setting you want to adjust. Depending on the current status / mode of the receiver, certain options may not appear. Check the table below for notes on this. Use the +/– buttons to set it as necessary.

  • Page 30: Listening In Stereo

    2 • You can’t use Acoustic Calibration EQ with DVD 5.1ch, WMA9 Pro or XM Surround, and it has no effect with headphones. • If you switch on Acoustic Calibration EQ when DIRECT is selected, the receiver automatically switches to STEREO.

  • Page 31: Using Surround Back Channel Processing

    Using surround back channel processing • Default setting: SB ON You can have the receiver automatically use 6.1 decoding for 6.1 encoded sources (for example, Dolby Digital EX or DTS-ES), or you can choose to always use 6.1 decoding (for example, with 5.1 encoded material).

  • Page 32: Using Midnight And Loudness

    Listening to your system Processing / Type of source Analog 2-channel (stereo) sources a Excluding WMA9 Pro format b Only applicable when using the Virtual Surround Back mode. c Not applicable when using the Virtual Surround Back mode. Using Midnight and Loudness The Midnight listening feature allows you to hear effective surround sound of movies at low volume levels.

  • Page 33: Playing Other Sources

    1 If your source is the TV’s built-in tuner, switch to the channel you want to watch, otherwise make sure that the TV’s video input is set to this receiver (For example, if you connected this receiver to the VIDEO jacks on your TV, make sure that the VIDEO input is selected).

  • Page 34: The System Setup Menu

    System Setup menu The following section shows you how to make detailed settings to specify how you’re using the receiver (for example, if you want to set up two speaker systems in separate rooms), and also explains how to fine-tune individual speaker system settings to your liking.

  • Page 35: Manual Mcacc Speaker Setup

    The System Setup menu Select ‘Surr Back System’ from the System Setup menu. See Making receiver settings from the System Setup menu above if you’re not already at this screen. System Setup 1.Surround Back System 1.Surr Back System Surr Back System 2.Auto MCACC...

  • Page 36: Fine Channel Level

    The System Setup menu • EQ CUSTOM1/2 Adjust – Make detailed manual adjustments to your custom Acoustic Calibration EQ settings (see Setting the Acoustic Calibration EQ manually on page 38). • EQ Data Check – Check the ALL CH ADJUST, FRONT ALIGN and custom settings using the on-screen display (see Checking your Acoustic Calibration EQ settings on page 39).

  • Page 37: Acoustic Calibration Eq

    3c.EQ AUTO Setting Now Analyzing Environment Check Ambient Noise Microphone Speaker YES/NO As the receiver outputs test tones, the frequency balance is adjusted automatically for the following settings: 3c.EQ AUTO Setting Set microphone. Turn on Subwoofar. :Cancel :Return 3c.EQ AUTO Setting...
  • Page 38 The System Setup menu • ALL CH ADJUST – A ‘flat’ setting where all the speakers are set individually so no special weighting is given to any one channel. • FRONT ALIGN – All speakers are set in accordance with the front speaker settings (no equalization is applied to the front left and right channels).

  • Page 39: Manual Speaker Setup

    When you're finished, press RETURN. You return to the Manual MCACC setup menu. Manual speaker setup This receiver allows you to make detailed settings to optimize the surround sound performance. You only need to make these settings once (unless you change the placement of your current speaker system or add new speakers.).

  • Page 40: Speaker Setting

    The System Setup menu Select ‘Manual SP Setup’ then press ENTER. System Setup 1.Surr Back System 2.Auto MCACC 3.Manual MCACC 4.Manual SP Setup 5.Input Assign 6.Other Setup : Exit Select the setting you want to adjust. If you are doing this for the first time, you may want to adjust these settings in order: •...

  • Page 41: Crossover Network

    The System Setup menu • SB – Select the number of surround back speakers you have (one, two or none). Select LARGE if your surround back speakers reproduce bass frequencies effectively. Select SMALL to send bass frequencies to the other speakers or subwoofer.

  • Page 42: Speaker Distance

    For good sound depth and separation from your system, you need to specify the distance of your speakers from the listening position. The receiver can then add the proper delay needed for effective surround sound. Select ‘Speaker Distance’ from the Manual SP Setup menu.

  • Page 43: Using The Tuner

    Automatic tuning To search for stations in the currently selected band, press and hold TUNE for about a second. The receiver will start searching for the next station, stopping when it has found one. Repeat to search for other stations.

  • Page 44: Naming Station Presets

    Note 1 If the receiver is left disconnected from the AC power outlet for over a month, the station memories will be lost and will have to be reprogrammed. • The name is stored when ENTER is pressed after choosing the fourth character.

  • Page 45: Making Recordings

    SELECT). Note 1 • The receiver's volume, balance, tone (bass, treble, loudness), and surround effects have no effect on the recorded signal. • Some digital sources are copy-protected, and can only be recorded in analog. • Some video sources are copy-protected. These cannot be recorded.

  • Page 46: Controlling The Rest Of Your System

    2 • TV codes (for example, codes for TV, CATV, Satellite TV or DTV) can only be assigned to the TV/SAT or TV CTRL button. • If you assign the FM or AM function to another component, you will have to reassign it to the Pioneer preset code to use this receiver’s built-in tuner.

  • Page 47: Selecting Preset Codes Directly

    ENTER . This should be the manufacturer’s name (for example, P for Pioneer). to select the manufacturer’s name from the list then press ENTER . to select the proper code from the list, then try using this remote control with your component.

  • Page 48: Direct Function

    This could let you, for example, use the remote control to set up and listen to a CD on the receiver and then use the remote control to rewind a tape in your VCR while you continue to listen to your CD player.

  • Page 49: Controls For Tvs

    Controls for TVs This remote control can control components after entering the proper codes or teaching the receiver the commands (see Operating other Pioneer components on page 46 for more on this). Use the MULTI CONTROL buttons to select the component •...

  • Page 50: Controls For Other Components

    Controls for other components This remote control can control these components after entering the proper codes or teaching the receiver the commands (see Operating other Pioneer components on page 46 for more on this). Use the MULTI CONTROL buttons to select the component.
  • Page 51 Controlling the rest of your system Button (s) Function JUKEBOX Switches to the Jukebox feature. (SHIFT+ Number Directly access tracks on a program source. buttons Use the number buttons to navigate the on-screen display. DVD/DVR player +10 button Selects tracks higher than 10. (For example, press +10 then 3 to select track 13.) ENTER Chooses the disc.

  • Page 52: Other Connections

    Visit www.xmradio.com for more details on this service. Connecting your XM Radio receiver After purchasing a Connect-and-Play™ antenna (sold separately), you will also need to activate the XM Radio digital radio service to receive broadcasts.

  • Page 53: Listening To Xm Radio

    Neural Surround™ is trademark owned by Neural Audio Corporation. Saving channel presets to select a This receiver can memorize up to 30 channels, stored in three banks, or classes, (A, B and C) of 10 stations each. Select the channel you want to memorize.

  • Page 54: Second Zone Speaker B Setup

    • The default for all presets is XM001. Press ENTER . After pressing ENTER, the preset class and number stop blinking and the receiver stores the XM channel. Listening to channel presets You will need to have some presets stored to do this.

  • Page 55: Bi-Amping Your Front Speakers

    Normal (SB) or Second Zone in Surround back speaker setting on page 34. • To bi-wire a speaker, connect two speaker cords to the speaker terminal on the receiver. Using a banana plug for the second connection is recommended.

  • Page 56: Connecting Additional Amplifiers

    • The sound you hear from the surround back terminals depends on the Surround back speaker setting on page 34. • To hear sound only from the pre-outs, simply disconnect any speakers that are connected directly to the receiver. • If you’re not using a subwoofer, change the front speaker setting (see Speaker Setting on page 40) to large.

  • Page 57: Using The Sr+ Mode With A Pioneer Plasma Display

    • If you connect to a Pioneer plasma display using an SR+ cable, you will need to point the remote control at the plasma dis- play remote sensor to control the receiver. In this case, you won’t be able to control the receiver using the remote control if you switch the plasma display off.

  • Page 58: Other Settings

    Select the number of the digital input to which you’ve connected the digital component. The numbers correspond with the numbers beside the inputs on the back of the receiver. Select the component that corresponds with the one you connected to that input.

  • Page 59: The Other Setup Menu

    LFE channel (LFE Attenuator Setup on page 60). • SR+ Setup – Specify how you want to control your Pioneer plasma display (SR+ Setup for Pioneer plasma displays on page 60). Make the adjustments necessary for each setting, pressing RETURN to confirm after each screen.

  • Page 60: Dual Mono Setup

    SR+ cable. Note that the number of settings available will depend on the plasma display you’ve connected. See also Using this receiver with a Pioneer plasma display on page 56. 6b.Dual Mono Setup Select ‘SR+ Setup’ from the Other Setup menu.

  • Page 61: Additional Information

    Take a look at the other components and electrical appliances being used, because sometimes the problem may lie there. If the trouble isn’t sorted out even after going through the checks below, ask your nearest Pioneer authorized independent service company to carry out repair work.
  • Page 62 (or connect an outdoor FM antenna). • Connect an additional internal or external AM antenna (page 18). • Turn off equipment causing interference or move it away from the receiver (or move antennas farther away from equipment causing noise). • Connect an outdoor antenna (refer to page 18).

  • Page 63: Xm Radio Messages

    Resetting the main unit Use this procedure to reset all the receiver’s settings to the factory default. Use the front panel controls to do this. Switch the receiver into standby.

  • Page 64: Specifications

    Additional information Specifications Amplifier section • Continuous power output (stereo) Front. . 110 W (20 to 20 000 Hz, THD 0.7 %, 8 • Continuous power output (surround) Front..110 W per channel (1 kHz, 1.0 %, 8 Center .

  • Page 65: Power Cord Caution

    A damaged power cord can cause a fire or give you an electrical shock. Check the power cord once in a while. When you find it damaged, ask your nearest Pioneer authorized service center or your dealer for a replacement. Cleaning the unit •...
  • Page 66 Additional information 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 fun and excitement your equipment offers. This manufacturer and the Electronic Industries Association’s Consumer Electronics Group want you to get the most out of your equipment by playing it at a safe level.
  • Page 67 Within 40 days of receiving your complaint, Pioneer will investigate the dispute and will either: (1) respond to your complaint in writing informing you what action Pioneer will take, and in what time period, to resolve the dispute; or (2) respond to your complaint in writing informing you why it will not take any action.
  • Page 68 Should this product require service in the U.S.A. and you wish to locate the nearest Pioneer Authorized Independent Service Company, or if you wish to purchase replacement parts, operating instructions, service manuals, or accessories, please call the number shown below.

This manual is also suitable for:

Vsx-816

Table of Contents