Pioneer Elite VSX-LX304 Review and Specs

The Japanese company Pioneer presents the VSX-LX304 AV receiver, the main differences from the previous VSX-LX303 model are: they removed component and composite video inputs (they are outdated and no one has been using them for a long time), they reduced the number of optical inputs from 2 to 1, and added new IMAX Enhanced technology. See other Pioneer Elite VSX-LX304 specs in our Pioneer Elite VSX-LX304 review.

Pioneer Elite VSX-LX304 review

Features

As for the power of the built-in amplifiers, for the LX304 it is 185 W per channel with a speaker impedance of 6 Ohms. Power can also be redirected to Zone 2 and Zone 3 outputs for scoring adjacent rooms. The outputs of the Zone 2 preamplifier can be reconfigured as Zone B line outputs, which allows you to transfer the signal played in Zone A (main zone) to another location or, for example, to a set of wireless headphones (via a transmitter). Also, this model received the Dialogue Enhancement function, which allows you to configure increased intelligibility of dialogs and vocals.

Design and build

Using a specific version of the DTS: X codec and precise settings modeled on the IMAX theater sound system. And there is also a bi-amp for the front speaker pair. In combination with the tremendous ability to play music from a USB flash drive (up to 384 kHz FLAC and 5.6 MHz DSD) or via a wired / wireless local area network (almost all formats are supported, except the most high-bitrate), as well as a very good built-in digital analog converter Ti BurrBrown PCM 5101 on the front channels (in multi-channel mode, the AKM4458 DAC helps him), we get an unexpectedly decent basis for a stereo system.

Connectivity

There are 6 HDMI2.0 inputs on the rear panel, 1 front input. The receiver understands any video streams up to 4KUHD with support for HDR10. The signal can be output through either of the two HDMI 2.0 outputs, one of which is equipped with an ARC return channel.

Setup

On board of the model there is an advanced multi-channel acoustic calibration system (MCACC). This technology is designed to correct the audio parameters of a room using a special receiver microphone. The MCACC improved the results by measuring background noise, standing wave compensation, and phase matching LFE (low-frequency effects) between the channels.

Pros and Cons