AV Receiver Reviews

Two channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 127.7 watts
1% distortion at 146.2 watts

Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 87.0 watts
1% distortion at 95.7 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 59.6 watts
1% distortion at 71.5 watts

Analog frequency response in Pure Direct mode:
–0.15 dB at 10 Hz
–0.04 dB at 20 Hz
–0.06 dB at 20 kHz
–3.35 dB at 50 kHz

Analog frequency response with signal processing:
–0.89 dB at 10 Hz
–0.28 dB at 20 Hz
–0.05 dB at 20 kHz
–16.79 dB at 50 kHz

This graph shows that the VSX-1123’s left channel, from CD input to speaker output with two channels driving 8-ohm loads, reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 127.7 watts and 1 percent distortion at 146.2 watts. Into 4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 129.1 watts and 1 percent distortion at 165.7 watts.

There was no multichannel input to measure. THD+N from the CD input to the speaker output was less than 0.075 percent at 1 kilohertz when driving 2.83 volts into an 8-ohm load. Crosstalk at 1 kHz driving 2.83 volts into an 8-ohm load was –84.25 decibels left to right and –85.48 dB right to left. The signal-to-noise ratio with an 8-ohm load from 10 hertz to 24 kHz with “A” weighting was –108.43 dBrA.

From the Dolby Digital input to the loudspeaker output, the left channel measures –0.10 dB at 20 Hz and –0.11 dB at 20 kHz. The center channel measures –0.03 dB at 20 Hz and –0.15 dB at 20 kHz, and the left surround channel measures –0.02 dB at 20 Hz and –0.17 dB at 20 kHz. From the Dolby Digital input to the line-level output, the LFE channel is –0.00 dB at 20 Hz when referenced to the level at 40 Hz and reaches the upper 3-dB down point at 108 Hz and the upper 6-dB down point at 115 Hz.—MJP

Video Test Bench
The Pioneer passed all of our standard video processing tests except for the highest burst of our Chroma Resolution pattern. A failure on this test is not unusual; some designers, in fact, roll off the chroma resolution early to optimize other aspects of video performance; the eye is much less sensitive to chroma (color) resolution than to luma (black and white) resolution.—TJN