AUDIO/VIDEO MULTI-CHANNEL
RECEIVER
VSX-918V
VSX-818V
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Operating Instructions
Register your product at
www.pioneerelectronics.com (US)
www.pioneerelectronics.ca (Canada)
VSX_918_818_KU.book 1
If the AC plug of this unit does not match the AC
outlet you want to use, the plug must be removed
and appropriate one fitted. Replacement and
mounting of an AC plug on the power supply cord of
this unit should be performed only by qualified
service personnel. If connected to an AC outlet, the
cut-off plug can cause severe electrical shock. Make
sure it is properly disposed of after removal.
The equipment should be disconnected by removing
the mains plug from the wall socket when left
unused for a long period of time (for example, when
on vacation).
D3-4-2-2-1a_A_En
IMPORTANT NOTICE THE SERIAL NUMBER FOR THIS EQUIPMENT IS LOCATED IN THE REAR.
PLEASE WRITE THIS SERIAL NUMBER ON YOUR ENCLOSED WARRANTY CARD AND
KEEP IN A SECURE AREA. THIS IS FOR YOUR SECURITY.
D1-4-2-6-1_En
NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to
Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in
a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does
cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off
and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
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.
D8-10-1-2_En
This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
Cet appareil numérique de la Classe B est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.
D8-10-1-3_EF
Information to User
Alteration or modifications carried out without appropriate authorization may invalidate the user's right to operate
the equipment.
D8-10-2_En
CAUTION: This product satisfies FCC regulations when shielded cables and connectors are used to connect the
unit to other equipment. To prevent electromagnetic interference with electric appliances such as radios and
televisions, use shielded cables and connectors for connections.
D8-10-3a_En
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This
device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including
interference that may cause undesired operation.
Product Name:
AUDIO/VIDEO MULTI-CHANNEL RECEIVER
Model Number:
VSX-918V-K, VSX-918V-S, VSX-818V-K, VSX-818V-S
Responsible Party Name:
PIONEER ELECTRONICS SERVICE INC.
Address:
1925 E. DOMINGUEZ ST. LONG BEACH, CA 90801-1760, USA
Phone:
1-800-421-1404
This product contains mercury. Disposal of this
material may be regulated due to environmental
considerations. For disposal or recycling information,
please contact your local authorities or the Electronics
Industries Alliance : www.eiae.org.
K057_En
WARNING: Handling the cord on this product or
cords associated with accessories sold with the
product will expose you to chemicals listed on
proposition 65 known to the State of California and
other governmental entities to cause cancer and
birth defect or other reproductive harm.
D36-P4_A_En
Wash hands after handling
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_B_En
WARNING
The voltage of the available power supply differs
according to country or region. Be sure that the
power supply voltage of the area where this unit
will be used meets the required voltage (e.g., 230 V
or 120 V) written on the rear panel.
D3-4-2-1-4_A_En
Before plugging in for the first time, read the following
section carefully.
VSX_918_818_KU.book 2
Read these instructions.
Keep these instructions.
Heed all warnings.
Follow all instructions.
Do not use this apparatus near water.
Clean only with dry cloth.
Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in
accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
Do not install near any heat sources such as
radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus
(including amplifiers) that produce heat.
Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or
grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two
blades with one wider than the other. A grounding
type plug has two blades and a third grounding
prong. The wide blade or the third prong are
provided for your safety. If the provided plug does
not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for
replacement of the obsolete outlet.
Protect the power cord from being walked on or
pinched
particularly
at
plugs,
convenience
receptacles, and the point where they exit from the
apparatus.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
Only use attachments/accessories specified by the
manufacturer.
Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or
table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with the
apparatus. When a cart is used, use caution when
moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid
injury from tip-over.
Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or
when unused for long periods of time.
Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel.
Servicing is required when the apparatus has been
damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or
plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects
have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has
been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate
normally, or has been dropped.
11)
12)
13)
14)
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 symbol,
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.
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.
CAUTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
IMPORTANT
D3-4-2-1-1_En-A
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_A_En
VENTILATION CAUTION
When installing this unit, make sure to leave space
around the unit for ventilation to improve heat
radiation (at least 20 cm at top, 10 cm at rear, and
30 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_A_En
Operating Environment
Operating environment temperature and humidity:
+5 ºC to +35 ºC (+41 ºF to +95 ºF); 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_A_En
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_A_En
Important information about this unit`s AC outlets
Switched total 100 W, 0.8 A MAX
Power supplied through these outlets is turned on and off by this unit's STANDBY/ON switch. Total electrical power
consumption of connected equipment should not exceed 100 W, 0.8 A.
CAUTION
· Do not connect a TV set, monitor, heater or similar appliance to this unit's AC outlet.
· Do not connect appliances with high power consumption to the AC outlet in order to avoid overheating and fire
risk. This can cause this unit to malfunction.
D3-4-2-2-1b_B_En
P1-4-2-2_En
VSX_918_818_KU.book 3
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
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Listening to Surround Sound
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Automatically setting up for surround
sound (MCACC)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Other problems when using
the Auto MCACC Setup
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Better sound using Phase Control
. . . . . . . . 10
03 Connecting up
Making cable connections
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Analog audio cables
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Digital audio cables
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Video cables
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Connecting a DVD player and TV
. . . . . . . . . 12
Connecting the multichannel analog
outputs
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Connecting a satellite receiver or
other digital set-top box
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Connecting other audio components
. . . . . . 14
About the WMA9 Pro decoder
. . . . . . . . . . 14
Connecting an HDD/DVD recorder,
VCR and other video sources
. . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Using the component video jacks
. . . . . . . . . 16
Connecting using HDMI
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
About HDMI
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Connecting to the front panel audio
mini jack
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Connecting to the front panel video
terminal
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
AC outlet
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Connecting antennas
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Using external antennas
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Connecting the speakers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Hints on speaker placement
. . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Speaker placement diagrams
. . . . . . . . . . . 22
Switching the speaker system
. . . . . . . . . . 22
04 Controls and displays
Front panel
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Display
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Remote control
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Operating range of remote control
. . . . . . . 29
05 Listening to your system
Auto playback
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Listening in surround sound
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using the Advanced surround effects
. . . . . 31
Listening in stereo
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Using Front Stage Surround Advance
. . . . . . 32
Using Stream Direct
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Using the Sound Retriever
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Listening with Acoustic Calibration EQ
. . . . . 33
Using Virtual Surround Back (VSB)
. . . . . . . . 33
Setting the AV options
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Playing other sources
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Choosing the input signal
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Selecting the multichannel analog inputs
. . . 36
Selecting the front audio inputs
. . . . . . . . . . 36
06 The System Setup menu
Using the System Setup menu
. . . . . . . . . . . 37
Manual MCACC speaker setup
. . . . . . . . . . . 37
Fine Channel Level
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Fine Speaker Distance
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Acoustic Calibration EQ
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Manual speaker setup
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Speaker Setting
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Crossover Network
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Channel Level
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Speaker Distance
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
07 Using the tuner
Listening to the radio
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Improving FM stereo sound
. . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Tuning directly to a station
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Saving station presets
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Naming station presets
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Listening to station presets
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
08 Making recordings
Making an audio or a video recording
. . . . . . 48
Thank you for buying this Pioneer product. Please read through these operating instructions so you will know how to operate
your model properly. After you have finished reading the instructions, put them away in a safe place for future reference.
VSX_918_818_KU.book 4
English
Italiano
Français
Nederlands
Español
Deutsch
09 Controlling the rest of your
system
Operating other Pioneer components
. . . . . . 49
Setting the remote to control other
components
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Selecting preset codes directly
. . . . . . . . . . . 50
Direct function
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Clearing all the remote control settings
. . . . . 50
Controls for TVs
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Controls for other components
. . . . . . . . . . . 52
Preset Code List
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
10 Other connections
Connecting an iPod
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Connecting your iPod to the receiver
. . . . . 55
iPod playback
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Using XM Radio
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Connecting your XM Radio receiver
. . . . . . 57
Listening to XM Radio
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Using XM HD Surround
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Saving channel presets
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Using the XM Menu
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
About Neural SurroundTM
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
About XM
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Using SIRIUS Radio
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Connecting your SIRIUS Connect Tuner
. . . 60
Listening to SIRIUS Radio
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Saving channel presets
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Using the SIRIUS Menu
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Using this receiver with a Pioneer
plasma display
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Using the SR+ mode with a Pioneer
plasma display
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
11 Other Settings
The Input Assign menu
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
The Other Setup menu
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
SR+ Setup for Pioneer plasma displays
. . . 66
12 Additional information
Troubleshooting
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
HDMI
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Important information regarding
the HDMI connection
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
iPod messages
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
XM radio messages
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
SIRIUS radio messages
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Resetting the main unit
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Switching the speaker impedance
. . . . . . . . . 72
Specifications
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Power cord caution
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Cleaning the unit
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Manufactured under license from Dolby
Laboratories. "Dolby", "Pro Logic" and the
double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby
Laboratories.
"DTS" is a registered trademark of DTS, Inc.
and "DTS 96/24" is a trademark of DTS, Inc.
For U.S. and Australia Model
C67-7-3_En
VSX_918_818_KU.book 5