At the heart of the home theater experience, the main receiver will determine all of the sound features within your setup. Aside from your speakers, it is arguably the most important component that you will purchase. Recently, with the advent of object based codecs such as Dolby Atmos and DTS: X, new receivers are much more equip to handle a wide range of different audio and video sources. Thus, enter the VSX-LX303, one of three new models within Pioneer's prestigious Elite line of receivers. With support up to 9.2 channels as well as Dolby Atmos and 4K support , the VSX-LX303 is sure to attract audiophiles looking for a new receiver. As such, I was quite excited to see how the VSX-LX303 performs within an Atmos enabled environment.
Upon opening the unit, the quality of VSX-LX303 is quite stunning. The brushed black appearance is elegant and it has a nice smooth texture. In addition, the overall unit has a strong construction and clocks in at roughly 24 pounds. Owners of past Pioneer receivers should feel right at home. Internally, the VSX-LX303 is powered by two DSPs: one quad core 32 Bit processor supplied by Cirrus Logic and an Aureus floating point processor handled by Texas Instruments. In addition, Pioneer lists two DACs: an AK4458 supplied by AKM and a PCM5101 supplied by Texas Instruments. On the back of the VSX-LX303, you will note a plethora of connections, starting with two HDMI outputs (one being ARC compatible). Moving on, you will also notice six HDMI inputs. All connections support 4K and are fully HDCP 2.2 compatible. In addition, they all support both Dolby Vision as well as HDR. All ports are based on the HDMI 1.4 specification. The HDMI on the front also adheres to the 1.4 revision and HDCP 2.2, but it does not support all of the color outputs that the back ones do. Specifically, it is limited to 8 Bit RGB/YCbCr 4:4:4 at 4K. In addition, the VSX-LX303 fully supports 3D at 1080p so you can still enjoy your 3D movies. Underneath the HDMI ports, you will note the nine speaker terminals each corresponding to your speakers. The VSX-LX303 supports standard configurations up to 9.2 channels. For Dolby Atmos, the VSX-LX303 supports only 5.2.4 and 7.2.2 configurations. Furthermore, if you are looking to Bi-Amp your front speakers, you will only be able to do this in standard 5.1 and 7.1 configurations or 5.2.2 for Dolby Atmos as it reduces the available terminals. I strongly recommend to plan accordingly! Below the terminals, you will see two pre-out jacks for your subwoofers. In addition, you will also notice several standard analog connections on the VSX-LX303. There are two composite inputs as well as one component input. There are also two digital optical inputs as well as one digital coaxial audio in. Lastly, there are four analog audio in ports. There is also a phono input for record players that lack one built in. These ports are all assignable within the receiver settings. In addition, you will also notice the antenna jack for radio connectivity. To the left of the HDMI inputs, you will also note an Ethernet jack. Additionally, the VSX-LX303 also supports internet connectivity through Wi-Fi (802.11n). There are also two USB 2.0 ports (one on the front and back) and a headphone jack. Lastly, the VSX-LSX303 supports audio playback through Bluetooth as well as over home network.
For codec support, most should be quite familiar with most of them. Popular lossless codecs such as Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD-Master Audio, and Multi-Channel PCM are all supported. In addition, audiophiles will be pleased that audio formats such as WAV, FLAC, AIFF, Apple Lossless, and DSD are supported though there are some limitations. For USB playback, all of the aforementioned formats are supported, with most supporting up to 192 KHz/24 Bit (ALAC is capped at 96KHz). However, remote playback of FLAC and DSD are not supported. For DSD digital file playback, Pioneer has listed both 5.6 MHz and 2.8 MHz (.DSF/DFF containers) in their instruction manual. However, the specifications on their website mentions that only 2 channels can go up to 5.6 MHz and multichannel is capped at 2.8 MHz via SACD over HDMI (as long as your player can support this). Overall, the VSX-LX303 should support everything most people will need, though I strongly recommend you double check the specifications!
In addition to the technical aspects, there are several features of the VSX-LX303 that I would like to highlight. The first is the Zone feature that will allow you to enjoy 2 channel audio in two different rooms while the room with the receiver can listen to a 5.1 channel sound source separately. You will notice on the back of the unit, the height and surround terminals are marked Zone 2 and 3 respectively for this feature. Another feature is the MCACC Auto Room Tuning. The receiver is bundled with a special microphone that will allow you to setup the acoustics of the room by detecting speaker sizes and distance from each other. The VSX-LX303 also supports various smart features such as Sonos Connect and Google Chromecast with Google assistant. It also supports various applications such as DTS Play-Fi, Flare Connect, and the Pioneer Remote application. Lastly, it also supports various audio subscription services. Personally, these features do not interest me nor do I stream anything so I cannot comment on how they work, but nonetheless they are there.
Aside from the features, I would like to discuss the graphical interface. Overall, everything is straightforward and organized quite well. The first screen is organized into three categories: System Settings, MCACC, and Network/Bluetooth. Once you click on system settings, you will see familiar categories such as speaker configuration, where you can set the number of channels, the size of your speaker, and speaker impedance. For impedance, you can only set either 4 ohms or 6 ohms. My speakers were rated for 8 ohms so the setting was set to 6. Moving on, the crossover option will allow you to set the crossover frequency for the subwoofer. Moving on, the channel level setting will be used quite a bit as this will allow you to boost individual channels. For each speaker, you can reduce the output to -12.0 dB or increase to a max of +12.0 dB in 0.5 dB increments. Also, corresponding tones will be heard from each speaker that you highlight on screen so you can adjust accordingly. Under the input/output assign menu, you can customize your devices and assign the analog connections as well as the HDMI ports. Contrastingly, on the TV Out/OSD option, you will also be able to upscale 1080P content to 4K as well as control which HDMI will output Dolby Vision. Personally, the menu was quite easy to navigate.
As for setup, the VSX-LX303 should be straightforward for most people. Personally, I did not encounter any issue with my new speakers. For my audio test, I wanted to see how the VSX-LX303 performed using a standard 5.1.2 Atmos configuration. For my speakers, I used two Klipsch RP-8000 as the front channels. For my Dolby Atmos speakers, I used two Klipsch RP-500SA speakers placed on top of the front speakers. I connected these to the height terminals on the back of the VSX-LX303. For my surround sound speakers, I used a pair of Klipsch RP-600M and for my subwoofer I used the Klipsch R-115SW. All speakers were connected to the receiver using Audioquest 14 AWG X2 speaker wire that was manually cut from a 100ft spool. The VSX-LX303 receiver was also plugged up to the wall using an Audioquest NRG-Y3 AC cable. Additionally, my R-115SW subwoofer was connected via an Audioquest Irish Red subwoofer cable. For movie playback, I used my Sony Ultra Bluray UBP-X800 player, with audio set to bit-stream directly to the receiver. Lastly, I set my speaker configuration to 5.1.2 and also set the height speakers to Dolby Front. I also tested each one in the channel level menu to make sure they were all working. Surprisingly, the VSX-LX303 immediately recognized all the speakers!
Upon loading my first Atmos encoded title, John Wick 2, the VSX-LX303 immediately clicked and registered Dolby Atmos across its display. I was actually surprised it worked so flawlessly, as typically there is always some issue that arises. As for the sound, the VSX-LX303 powered everything without any issue. As for the movie, there are a couple of great examples that caught my attention, particularly at the 24:38 mark where explosions are heard with loud ferocity. In addition, the broken glass was isolated on the right speaker to correspond where Wick was propelled on screen. At 58:21, gunshots ring with accurate precision. In the glass exhibit, at 1:38:50, there is a loud barrage of breaking glass on the right speaker to match its placement on screen! Overall, I believe the VSX-LX303 performed exceptionally well and met expectations. Most people should be quite pleased with the sound quality.
In conclusion, the Pioneer VSX-LX303 is an exceptional audio receiver that performed flawlessly and exceeded expectations. It was easy to setup and immediately powered my 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos setup with great finesse. In addition, with HDR and Dolby Vision 4K support through HDMI, the VSX-LX303 is ready to tackle the demands of high definition content. Furthermore, by adding Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support to existing codecs, Pioneer has solidified the new Elite models for the future. In addition, the VSX-LX303 can also support standard configurations up to 9.2 channels if you are not interested in the object based setups. For audiophiles, I believe most will be quite pleased with the features the VSX-LX303 has to offer. With a large selection of features and an attractive design, the Pioneer VSX-LX303 comes highly recommended.