Pioneer VSX-816 manual

AUDIO/VIDEO MULTI-CHANNEL RECEIVER VSX-816 • Protect y our new in vestment The details of your purchase will be on file for reference in the event of an insurance claim such as loss or theft. • Impro ve product de velopment Y our input helps us continue to design products that meet your needs. • Receive a free Pioneer newsletter Registered cu[...]

W ARNING – TO PREVENT FIRE OR SHOCK HAZARD, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE. D1-4-2-1_En IMPORT ANT NOTICE – THE SERIAL NUMBER FOR THIS EQUIPMENT IS LOCA TED IN THE REAR. PLEASE WRITE THIS SERIAL NUMBER ON YOUR ENCL OSED WARRANTY CARD AND KEEP IN A SECURE AREA. THIS IS FOR YOUR SECURITY . D1-4-2-6-1_En NOTE: This equipment has [...]

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the appliance. The lightning flash with arrowhead, within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated "danger[...]

Contents 01 Before you start Checking what’s in the box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Loading the batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Installing the receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Ventilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 02 5 minute guide Introduction to home theater . . . . . . . . .[...]

English Italiano Français Nederlands Español Deutsch Confirming preset codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Controls for TVs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Controls for other components . . . . . . . . . . . 50 11 Other connections Using XM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Connecting your XM Radio receive[...]

Before you start 01 6 En Chapter 1: Before you start Checking what’s in the box Please check that you've received the following supplied accessories: • Setup microphone • Remote control unit • Dry cell batteries (AA size IEC R6) x2 • AM loop antenna • FM wire antenna • These operating instructions Loading the batteries Caution In[...]

5 minute guide 02 7 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Chapter 2: 5 minute guide Introduction to home theater Home theater refers to the use of multiple audio tracks to create a surround sound effect, making you feel like you're in the middle of the action or concert. The surround sound you get from a home theater system[...]

5 minute guide 02 8 En Using the Quick Setup You can use the Quick Setup to get your system up and running with just a few button presses. The receiver automatically makes the necessary settings after you have selected your speaker setup, room size and listening position. Use the front panel controls for the steps below. • If you want a more comp[...]

Quick surround sound setup 03 9 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Chapter 3: Quick surround sound setup Automatically setting up for surround sound (MCACC) The Auto Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration (MCACC) setup measures the acoustic characteristics of your listening area, taking into account ambient noise, speaker size an[...]

Quick surround sound setup 03 10 En 6 Follow the instructions on-screen. • Make sure the microphone is connected. • If you’re using a subwoofer, it is automatically detected every time you switch on the system. Make sure it is on and the volume is turned up. • See below for notes regarding background noise and other possible interference. 7[...]

Quick surround sound setup 03 11 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español • 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 thi[...]

Connecting up 04 12 En Chapter 4: Connecting up Making cable connections Important • Before making or changing connections, switch off the power and disconnect the power cord from the AC outlet. • Make sure not to bend the cables over the top of this unit. If this happens, the magnetic field produced by the transformers in this unit may cause a[...]

Connecting up 04 13 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Connecting a DVD player and TV This page shows you how to connect your DVD player and TV to the receiver. 1 Connect a coaxial digital audio output on your DVD player to the DIGITAL COAX 1 (DVD/LD) input on this receiver. Use a coaxial digital audio cable for the connectio[...]

Connecting up 04 14 En Connecting the multichannel analog outputs For DVD Audio and SACD playback, your DVD player may have 5.1 channel analog outputs.In this case, you can connect the multichannel analog outputs to the multichannel inputs of this receiver as shown below. 1 Connecting a satellite receiver or other digital set-top box Satellite and [...]

Connecting up 04 15 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Connecting other audio components The number and kind of connections depends on the kind of component you’re connecting. 1 Follow the steps below to connect a CD-R, MD, DAT, tape recorder or other audio component. 1 If your component has a digital output, connect this t[...]

Connecting up 04 16 En However, the connected DVD player, set-top box, etc. must be able to output WMA9 Pro format audio signals through a coaxial or optical digital output. Microsoft, Windows Media ® , and the Windows logo are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Connecting oth[...]

Connecting up 04 17 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Using the component video jacks Component video should deliver superior picture quality when compared to composite video. A further advantage (if your source and TV are both compatible) is progressive-scan video, which delivers a very stable, flicker-free picture. See the[...]

Connecting up 04 18 En 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). 1 Pull off the protective shields of both AM antenna wires. 2 Push open the tabs, then insert one wire fully into each terminal, then re[...]

Connecting up 04 19 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Connecting the speakers A complete setup of eight speakers (including the subwoofer) is shown here but everyone’s home setup will vary. Simply connect the speakers you have in the manner shown below. 1 The receiver will work with just two stereo speakers (the front spea[...]

Connecting up 04 20 En Make sure that the speaker cable you’re using is properly prepared with about 3 / 8 in. (10 mm) of insulator stripped from each wire, with the exposed wire strands twisted together ( fig. A ). Unscrew the terminal a few turns until there is enough space to insert the exposed wire ( fig. B ). Once the wire is in position, ti[...]

Connecting up 04 21 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Overhead view of speaker setup You can also refer to the 3-D speaker setup illustration on page 7. . The diagrams below show suggested surround and surround back speaker orientation. The first diagram ( fig. A ) shows orientation with one surround back speaker (or none) c[...]

Controls and displays 05 22 En Chapter 5: Controls and displays Front panel 1 Input select buttons Press to select an input source. 2 Digital Precision Processing indicator Lights to indicate digital processing. 3 Character display See Display on page 23. 4 MCACC indicator Lights when Acoustic Calibration EQ (page 30) is on (Acoustic Calibration EQ[...]

Controls and displays 05 23 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español 8 PHONES jack Use to connect headphones (when connected, there is no sound output from the speakers). 9  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[...]

Controls and displays 05 24 En DIGITAL – Lights when a digital audio signal is detected. 2 DIGITAL – Lights when a Dolby Digital encoded signal is detected. ANALOG – Lights when an analog signal is detected. DTS – Lights when a source with DTS encoded audio signals is detected. 2 When the STANDARD mode is on, this lights to indicate decodin[...]

Controls and displays 05 25 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Remote control 1 RECEIVER  This switches between standby and on for this receiver. 2 MULTI CONTROL buttons Press to select control of other components (see Controlling the rest of your system on page 46). 3 Number buttons and other receiver/ component controls [...]

Controls and displays 05 26 En MENU – Displays the disc menu of DVD- 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 TV. RETURN – Press to conf[...]

Controls and displays 05 27 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español AUTO SURR – Selects Auto Surround ( Auto playback on page 28) and XM Surround (page 53). DIALOG E – Use to make dialog stand out when watching TV or a movie (page 32). S. RETRIEVER – Press to restore CD quality sound to compressed audio sources (page 32). AC[...]

Listening to your system 06 28 En Chapter 6: Listening to your system Important • Certain features explained in this section will not be possible depending on the source (for example, PCM 88.2 / 96 kHz, DTS 96 kHz (24 bit) or WMA 9 Pro sources). Auto playback The simplest, most direct listening option is the Auto Surround feature. With this, the [...]

Listening to your system 06 29 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español • Neo:6 MUSIC – 6.1 channel sound, especially suited to music sources With multichannel sources, if you have connected surround back speaker(s) and have selected SB ON , you can select (according to format): • 2 Pro Logic IIx MOVIE – See above • 2 Pro[...]

Listening to your system 06 30 En Listening in stereo When you select STEREO or DIRECT , you will hear the source through just the front left and right speakers (and possibly your subwoofer depending on your speaker settings). Dolby Digital and DTS multichannel sources are downmixed to stereo. • While listening to a source, press STEREO for stere[...]

Listening to your system 06 31 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español 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 enc[...]

Listening to your system 06 32 En Using Midnight and Loudness The Midnight listening feature allows you to hear effective surround sound of movies at low volume levels. The effect automatically adjusts according to the volume at which you’re listening. The Loudness listening feature can be used to get good bass and treble from music sources at lo[...]

Listening to your system 06 33 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Playing other sources 1 Turn on the power of the playback component. 2 Turn on the power of the receiver. 3 Select the source you want to playback. Use the input select buttons. 1 4 Start playback of the component you selected in step 1. Choosing the input sign[...]

The System Setup menu 07 34 En Chapter 7: The System Setup menu Making receiver settings from the 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[...]

The System Setup menu 07 35 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español 1 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. 2 Select the surround back speaker setting. • Normal (SB) – Select for normal home theater use wit[...]

The System Setup menu 07 36 En • 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[...]

The System Setup menu 07 37 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español 3 Select each channel in turn and adjust the distance as necessary. Use / to adjust the delay of the speaker you selected to match the reference speaker. The delay is measured in terms of speaker distance from 0.5 to 45.0 feet. Listen to the reference speake[...]

The System Setup menu 07 38 En • 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). You return to the Acousti[...]

The System Setup menu 07 39 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español 3 Select the channel(s) you want and adjust to your liking. Use / to select the channel. Use / to select the frequency and / to boost or cut the EQ. When you’re finished, go back to the top of the screen and use / to select the next chann[...]

The System Setup menu 07 40 En 1 Select ‘Manual SP Setup’ then press ENTER. 2 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: • Speaker Setting – Specify the size and number of speakers you’ve connected (page 40). • Crossover Network – Specify which frequ[...]

The System Setup menu 07 41 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español • 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. If you didn’t connec[...]

The System Setup menu 07 42 En 1 Select ‘Channel Level’ from the Manual SP Setup menu. 2 Select a setup option. • Manual – Move the test tone manually from speaker to speaker and adjust individual channel levels. • Auto – Adjust channel levels as the test tone moves from speaker to speaker automatically. 3 Confirm your selected setup op[...]

Using the tuner 08 43 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Chapter 8: Using the tuner Listening to the radio The following steps show you how to tune in to FM and AM radio broadcasts using the automatic (search) and manual (step) tuning functions. If you already know the frequency of the station you want, see Tuning directly to[...]

Using the tuner 08 44 En memorize up to 30 stations, stored in three banks, or classes, (A, B and C) of 10 stations each. When saving an FM frequency, the MPX setting (see previous page) is also stored. 1 1 Tune to a station you want to memorize. See Listening to the radio on the previous page for more on this. 2 Press T.EDIT (TUNER EDIT). The disp[...]

Making recordings 09 45 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Chapter 9: Making recordings Making an audio or a video recording You can make an audio or a video recording from the built-in tuner, or from an audio or video source connected to the receiver (such as a CD player or TV). Keep in mind you can’t make a digital record[...]

Controlling the rest of your system 10 46 En Chapter 10: Controlling the rest of your system Operating other Pioneer components Many Pioneer components have SR CONTROL jacks which can be used to link components together so that you can use just the remote sensor of one component. When you use a remote control, the control signal is passed along the[...]

Controlling the rest of your system 10 47 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Selecting preset codes directly 1 While pressing the RECEIVER button, press and hold the SETUP button. The remote LCD display shows SETUP . 2 Use / to select PRESET then press ENTER . 3 Press the MULTI CONTROL button for the component you want [...]

Controlling the rest of your system 10 48 En 3 Press and hold ENTER for about two seconds . The LCD shows OK to confirm the remote presets have been erased. Direct function • Default setting: ON You can use the direct function feature to control one component using the remote control while at the same time, using your receiver to playback a diffe[...]

Controlling the rest of your system 10 49 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español 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 compon[...]

Controlling the rest of your system 10 50 En 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. MENU Select different menus fro[...]

Controlling the rest of your system 10 51 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español JUKEBOX ( SHIFT+  ) Switches to the Jukebox feature. DVR player Number buttons Directly access tracks on a program source. CD/MD/CD-R/VCR/LD player Use the number buttons to navigate the on-screen display . DVD/DVR player +10 button Selects tracks[...]

Other connections 11 52 En Chapter 11: Other connections Caution • Before making or changing the connections , switch off the power and disconnect the power cord from the power outlet. Plugging in components should be the last connection you make with your system. • Do not allow any contact between speaker wires from different terminals. • Yo[...]

Other connections 11 53 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Listening to XM Radio After connecting, you will be able to use this receiver to select channels and navigate categories using the on-screen display. 1 The information displayed is as follows: Selecting channels and browsing by genre From the XM Channel Guide, you can[...]

Other connections 11 54 En 3 Press CLASS to select one of the three classes then press / to select the channel preset you want. You can also use the number buttons to select a preset. • The default for all presets is XM001 . 4 Press ENTER . After pressing ENTER , the preset class and number stop blinking and the receiver stores the XM chann[...]

Other connections 11 55 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español • SP  AB – Sound is output from speaker system A (up to 5 channels, depending on the source), the two speakers in speaker system B, and the subwoofer. Multichannel sources (heard through speaker system A) are downmixed for stereo output from speaker system B. B[...]

Other connections 11 56 En Caution • Make sure you use a parallel (not series, which are fairly uncommon) connection when bi-wiring your speakers. • Don't connect different speakers from the same terminal in this way. Connecting additional amplifiers This receiver has more than enough power for any home use, but it’s possible to add addi[...]

Other connections 11 57 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español • Use a 3-ringed miniplug SR+ cable 1 to connect the CONTROL IN jack of this receiver with the CONTROL OUT of your plasma display. Before you can use the extra SR+ features, you need to make a few settings in the receiver. See SR+ Setup for Pioneer plasma displays o[...]

Other Settings 12 58 En Chapter 12: Other Settings The Input Assign menu You only need to make settings in the Input Assign menu if you didn’t hook up your digital equipment according to the default settings for the digital inputs, or if you have connected equipment using component video cables. 1 Press RECEIVER on the remote control, then press [...]

Other Settings 12 59 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español 2 Select the number of the component video input to which you’ve connected your video component. The numbers correspond with the numbers beside the inputs on the back of the receiver. 3 Select the component that corresponds with the one you connected to that input. Sel[...]

Other Settings 12 60 En Dual Mono Setup • Default setting: CH1 You can specify how dual mono encoded Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks should be played. Dual mono is not widely used, but is sometimes necessary when two languages need to be sent to separate channels. 1 Select ‘Dual Mono Setup’ from the Other Setup menu. 2 Choose the setting th[...]

Additional information 13 61 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español Chapter 13: Additional information Troubleshooting Incorrect operations are often mistaken for trouble and malfunctions. If you think that there is something wrong with this component, check the points below. Take a look at the other components and electrical app[...]

Additional information 13 62 En Considerable noise in radio broadcasts. • Connect the antenna (page 18) and adjust the position for best reception. • Route any loose cables away from the antenna terminals and wires. • F ully extend the FM wire antenna, position for best reception, and secure to a wall (or connect an outdoor FM antenna). • C[...]

Additional information 13 63 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español 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. 1 Switch the receiver into standby. 2 While holding down the TONE button, press and hold the  S[...]

Additional information 13 64 En Specifications Amplifier section • Continuous power output (stereo) Front . . 110 W (20 to 20 000 Hz, THD 0.7 %, 8 Ω ) 1 • Continuous power output (surround) Front . . . . . 110 W per channel (1 kHz, 1.0 %, 8 Ω ) Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110 W (1 kHz, 1.0 %, 8 Ω ) Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . .[...]

Additional information 13 65 En English Français Deutsch Nederlands Italiano Español AM Tuner Section Frequency Range . . . . . . . . . . 530 kHz to 1700 kHz Sensitivity (IHF, Loop antenna). . . . . . . . 350 µV/m Signal-to-Noise Ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 dB Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loop antenna Mis[...]

Additional information 13 66 En[...]

LIMITED WARRANTY WARRANTY VALID ONLY IN COUNTRY OF PRODUCT PURCHASE WARRANTY Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. (PUSA), and Pioneer Electronics Of Canada, Inc. (POC), warrant that products distributed by PUSA in the U.S.A., and by POC in Canada that fail to function properly under normal use due to a manufacturing defect when installed and operated acc[...]

Published by Pioneer Corporation Copyright©2005 Pioneer Corporation All rights reserved <05L00001> Printed in <XRB3056-A> 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 manu[...]