Better Sound Using Phase Control; Using Surround Back Channel Processing; Setting The Up Mix Function - Pioneer VSX-521-K Operating Instructions Manual

Listening to your system

Better sound using Phase Control

This receiver's Phase Control feature uses phase correction
measures to make sure your sound source arrives at the listening
position in phase, preventing unwanted distortion and/or coloring
of the sound.
Phase Control technology provides coherent sound reproduction
through the use of phase matching for an optimal sound image at
your listening position. The default setting is on and we
recommend leaving Phase Control switched on for all sound
sources.
HDD
1
TV
RECEIVER
CONTROL
SLEEP SOURCE
4
RECEIVER INPUT SELECT DTV/TV
MIDNIGHT
7
INPUT
 Press
RECEIVER , then press PHASE to switch the P.CTL
(Phase Control) ON or OFF.
Note
• Phase matching is a very important factor in achieving proper
sound reproduction. If two waveforms are 'in phase', they crest
and trough together, resulting in increased amplitude, clarity
and presence of the sound signal. If a crest of a wave meets a
trough, then the sound will be 'out of phase' and an unreliable
sound image will be produced.
• If your subwoofer has a phase control switch, set it to the plus
(+) sign (or 0°). However, the effect you can actually feel when
Phase Control is set to ON on this receiver depends on the type
of your subwoofer. Set your subwoofer to maximize the effect.
It is also recommended you try changing the orientation or the
place of your subwoofer.
• Set the built-in lowpass filter switch of your subwoofer to OFF.
If this cannot be done on your subwoofer, set the cutoff
frequency to a higher value.
• If the speaker distance is not properly set, you may not have a
maximized Phase Control effect.
• The Phase Control mode cannot be set to ON in the following
cases:
When the PURE DIRECT mode is switched on.
-
When the headphones are connected.
-

Using surround back channel processing

You can have the receiver automatically use 6.1 or 7.1 decoding for
6.1 encoded sources (for example, Dolby Digital EX or DTS-ES), or
you can choose to always use 6.1 or 7.1 decoding (for example,
with 5.1 encoded material). With 5.1 encoded sources, a surround
back channel will be generated, but the material may sound better
in the 5.1 format for which it was originally encoded (in which
case, you can simply switch surround back channel processing
off).
• With a 7.1-channel surround system, audio signals that have
undergone matrix decoding processing through surround
back channel processing to which the Up Mix function is
DVD VCR
2 3
DISP
added are output from the surround back speakers.
SB CH CH SELECT EQ
5 6
CH
SPEAKERS LEV PHASE
8 9
CH
RECEIVER
SLEEP
RECEIVER
INPUT SELECT
 Press
RECEIVER
surround back channel options.
Each press cycles through the options as follows:
• SB ON – Matrix decoding processing for generating the
surround back component from the surround component is
turned on.
• SB AUTO – Matrix decoding processing for generating the
surround back component from the surround component is
switched automatically. Matrix decoding processing is only
performed when surround back channel signals are detected
in the input signals.
• SB OFF – Matrix decoding processing for generating the
surround back component from the surround component is
turned off.
HDD DVD VCR
1 2 3
DISP
TV
SOURCE CONTROL
SB CH CH SELECT EQ
4 5 6
CH
DTV/TV
MIDNIGHT SPEAKERS LEV PHASE
7 8 9
INPUT CH
, then press SB CH repeatedly to cycle the

Setting the Up Mix function

In a 7.1-channel surround system with surround speakers placed
directly at the sides of the listening position, the surround sound
of 5.1-channel sources is heard from the side. The Up Mix function
mixes the sound of the surround speakers with the surround back
speakers so that the surround sound is heard from diagonally to
the rear as it should be.
• Using the Up Mix function is effective when the speakers in the
7.1-channel surround system are set up as recommended in
the example on page 10.
• Depending on the positions of the speakers and the sound
source, in some cases it may not be possible to achieve good
results. In this case, set the setting to OFF.
UP MIX OFF UP MIX ON
SW C SW
L R L
SL SR SL
SBL SBR SBL
1
Switch the receiver into standby.
While holding down PRESET  on the front panel, and
2
hold the  STANDBY/ON for about two seconds.
UP MIX: OFF appears and the Up Mix function turns off. If you
want to turn this function on, perform steps 1 and 2 again.
• When set to ON, the (Up Mix) indicator on the front panel
lights.
Note
• Set to ON regardless of this setting when playing DTS-HD
signals.
• May automatically be set to OFF even when set to ON,
depending on the input signal and listening mode.
05
05
C
R
SR
SBR
27
En