Pioneer VSX-AX2AV-S About THX, Additional information, THX Cinema processing, Re-Equalization

Additional information

WMA9 Pro can support up to 5.1/7.1 channel playback with sampling rates up to 24-bit/96kHz. Using the unique WMA compression techniques, WMA9 Pro can deliver multichannel music and soundtracks over high-speed internet networks at low bit rates with minimal audio degradation. Playback may be enjoyed with the Windows

Media® Player 9 Series (or above) and other third-party media players on a personal computer, or with an AV amplifier with on-board WMA9 Pro decoding.

Windows Media® and the Windows logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

About THX

The THX technologies are explained below. See www.thx.com for more detailed information.

•THX Cinema processing

THX is an exclusive set of standards and technologies established by the world-renowned film production company, Lucasfilm Ltd. THX grew from George Lucas' personal desire to make your experience of the film soundtrack, in both movie theatres and in your home theatre, as faithful as possible to what the director intended. Movie soundtracks are mixed in special movie theatres called dubbing stages and are designed to be played back in movie theatres with similar equipment and conditions. This same soundtrack is then transferred directly onto Laserdisc, VHS tape, DVD, etc., and is not changed for playback in a small home theatre environment. THX engineers developed patented technologies to accurately translate the sound from the movie theatre environment into the home, correcting the tonal and spatial errors that occur. On this product, when the THX indicator is on, THX features are automatically added in Cinema modes (e.g. THX Cinema, THX Surround EX).

•Re-Equalization

The tonal balance of a film soundtrack will be excessively bright and harsh when played back over audio equipment in the home because film soundtracks were designed to be played back in large movie theaters using very different professional equipment. Re-Equalization restores the correct tonal balance for watching a movie soundtrack in a small home environment.

•Timbre Matching

The human ear changes our perception of a sound depending on the direction from which the sound is coming. In a movie theatre, there is an array of surround speakers so that the surround information is all around you. In a home theatre, you use only two speakers located to the side of your head. The Timbre Matching feature filters the information going to the surround speakers so that they more closely match the tonal characteristics of the sound coming from the front speakers. This ensures seamless panning between the front and surround speakers.

•Adaptive Decorrelation

In a movie theatre, a large number of surround speakers help create an enveloping surround sound experience, but in a home theatre there are usually only two speakers. This can make the surround speakers sound like headphones that lack spaciousness and envelopment. The surround sounds will also collapse into the closest speaker as you move away from the middle seating position. Adaptive

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Decorrelation slightly changes one surround channel's time and phase relationship with respect to the other surround channel. This expands the listening position and creates—with only two speakers— the same spacious surround experience as in a movie theatre.

•THX Select2

Before any home theatre component can be THX Select2 certified, it must incorporate all the features above and also pass a rigorous series of quality and performance tests. Only then can a product feature the THX Select2 logo, which is your guarantee that the Home Theatre products you purchase will give you superb performance for many years to come. THX Select2 requirements cover every aspect of the product including pre-amplifier and power amplifier performance and operation, and hundreds of other parameters in both the digital and analog domain.

•THX Surround EX

THX Surround EX - Dolby Digital Surround EX is a joint development of Dolby Laboratories and the THX Ltd. In a movie theater, film soundtracks that have been encoded with Dolby Digital Surround EX technology are able to reproduce an extra channel which has been added during the mixing of the program. This channel, called Surround Back, places sounds behind the listener in addition to the currently available front left, front center, front right, surround right, surround left and subwoofer channels. This additional channel provides the opportunity for more detailed imaging behind the listener and brings more depth, spacious ambience and sound localization than ever before. Movies that were created using the Dolby Digital Surround EX technology, when released into the home consumer market may exhibit wording to that effect on the packaging. A list of movies created using this technology can be found on the Dolby web site at www.dolby.com.

Only receiver and controller products bearing the THX Surround EX logo, when in the THX Surround EX mode, faithfully reproduce this new technology in the home.

This product may also engage the “THX Surround EX” mode during the playback of 5.1 channel material that is not Dolby Digital Surround EX encoded. In such case the information delivered to the Surround Back channel will be program dependent and may or may not be very pleasing depending on the particular soundtrack and the tastes of the individual listener.

•Advanced Speaker Array (ASA)

ASA is a proprietary THX technology which processes the sound fed to 2 side and 2 back surround speakers to provide the optimal surround sound experience. When you set up your home theater system using all eight speaker outputs (Left, Center, Right, Surround Right, Surround Back Right, Surround Back Left, Surround Left and Subwoofer) placing the two Surround Back speakers close together facing the front of the room as shown in the diagram will provide the largest sweet spot. If for practical reasons you have to place the Surround Back speakers apart, you will need to go THX Audio Set-up screen and choose the setting that most closely corresponds to the speaker spacing, which will re-optimize the surround sound-field. ASA is used in three new modes; THX Select2 Cinema, THX MusicMode and THX Games Mode.

•THX Select2 Cinema mode

THX Select2 Cinema mode plays 5.1 movies using all 8 speakers giving you the best possible movie watching experience. In this mode, ASA processing blends the side surround speakers and back surround speakers providing the optimal mix of ambient and directional surround sounds.

DTS-ES (Matrix and 6.1 Discrete) and Dolby Digital Surround EX encoded soundtracks will be automatically detected in Select2 Cinema mode if the appropriate flag has been encoded.

Some Dolby Digital Surround EX soundtracks are missing the digital flag that allows automatic switching. If you know that the movie that you are watching is encoded in Surround EX, you can manually select

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