It’s no understatement that the VSA-AX10Ai-S is completely up-to-the-minute with the latest surround formats. This
amplifier is the first in the world to incorporate a WMA9 Pro decoder, the first digital surround sound coding
technology for the Web — developed by Microsoft. When connected to a multi-channel-equipped PC, you are able
to enjoy high resolution stereo (96 kHz/24-bit) or 5.1-channel surround audio at 128 k – 768 Kbps compression
rates. At any given bit rate, 5-channel WMA9 Pro will bring you higher fidelity than other sound compression algorithms thanks to the latest
audio codec technology.
Windows Media™ Audio 9 Professional
Advanced processing in the digital domain
* The i.LINK interface is also known as IEEE1394 or FireWire. FireWire is a trademark. ‘i.LINK’ and the ‘i.LINK’ logo are trademarks.
** When connected to a source player (DVD player, CD/SACD player) with compatible feature such as PQLS.
Clearly high resolution sounds (multi-channel and 2-channel) from DVD-Audio and SACD have enhanced the realism of listening to music
at home. But some of the fine details are lost in the digital-to-analogue conversion and subsequent analogue transfer from the player to
the amplifier, where possibly an additional analogue-to-digital conversion is performed for extended digital signal processing. To
preserve the finer details during digital signal processing, the VSA-AX10Ai-S features the i.LINK* Advanced Resolution Digital Audio
Interface. i.LINK supports device-to-device digital audio data transfers of all major compressed and uncompressed formats including
operational commands. This advanced digital audio interface uses only one digital cable instead of multiple analogue cables, in order to
easily connect the VSA-AX10Ai-S with any i.LINK-equipped audio source component — for example a DVD-Audio/Video/SACD/CD player
— to handle multi-channel DVD-Audio and SACD discs, not to mention digital audio from DVD-Video and CD. Pioneer’s PQLS (Precision
Quartz Lock System) enables the amplifier to conform the speed of the DVD player’s signal transfer to its own clock speed. Hence, jitter
resulting from the signal transmission is reduced to an absolute minimum**.
i.LINK (Advanced Resolution Digital Audio Interface) and PQLS for digital-to-digital transmission
The VSA-AX10Ai-S uses a sampling frequency of 176.4 kHz/32-bit in order to make the conversion from
2-channel DSD to PCM. The resulting signal is virtually indistinguishable from the original. For multi-
channel SACD, the sampling frequency is 88.2 kHz. SACD reproduction now also benefits from the new
alternative SACD gain setting. The gain in the digital domain (for SACD) is increased by 6 dB, resulting
in a higher dynamic range. Both of these features ensure that SACD source sound reproduction is as
true to the original as possible.
Enhanced SACD sound quality
The VSA-AX10Ai-S uses twin 32-bit SHARC Melody Ultra floating-point
processors and 48-bit processing Motorola DSP engines, such as those
widely used in pro audio equipment. Pioneer engineers created the most
advanced digital processing module, the Ultra Digital Core Engine,
optimised for the DSPs. It features a short signal path thanks to the latest
6-layered circuitry board design and an exclusive processing algorithm. The
Ultra Digital Core Engine processes the data with extreme precision, and
delivers more powerful multi-channel sound decoding and processing than
ever before. This engine can handle all the latest surround formats, and
makes high-definition-quality 96 kHz/24-bit processing possible for Dolby
Pro Logic IIx, THX and DTS Neo:6, for the first time in the industry.
New Ultra Digital Core Engine for more powerful signal processing
For pure digital-to-digital audio signal transfers, connect the VSA-AX10Ai-S with an i.LINK-equipped
DVD-Audio/Video/SACD/CD player, such as the DV-868AVi-S or DV-757Ai.
Exclusive for Pioneer, specially selected top-of-the-line Burr-Brown 192 kHz/24-bit digital-to-analogue converters
drive each of the eight channels independently. Sound is accurately reproduced, true to the original signal, with a
remarkable signal-to-noise ratio. These are the best multi-bit type D/A converters for high resolution, strong and
stable sound, with a perfect signal from input to output.
Dolby Pro Logic IIx expands upon the popular
Dolby Pro Logic II technology. With Dolby Pro
Logic IIx, this amplifier has the ability to
process 2- or 5-channel sources into 5.1-, 6.1- or 7.1-channel output
according to the speaker configuration. Dolby Pro Logic IIx creates a
highly immersive, natural sound field and gives added depth and
dimension to music and movies. Use the Movie and Music modes to
match the sound experience even more closely to the source. Three
additional Music parameters are also available: Dolby Center Width
(focuses the vocal balance to the centre and front), Dolby Panorama
(creates a seamless surround effect) and Dolby Dimension (creates a
deeper or shallower surround field).
Pioneer has mounted highly accurate 192 kHz/24-bit A/D converters on all eight channels individually
to precisely reproduce DVD-Audio and SACD sound sources when using players with 6-channel
analogue outputs. For two-channel analogue sources, four A/D converters are used for each channel
for further precise conversion. This ensures truly superb 2-channel stereo reproduction. Of course,
bypassing all A/D, DSP and subsequent D/A conversion by directly routeing the analogue input to the
power amplifier is equally possible.
192 kHz/24-bit A/D converters for precision analogue source reproduction
Jitterless Data Transfer thanks to i.LINK’s PQLS (Precision Quartz Lock System) Function
Ultra Digital Core Engine
i.LINK
IN/OUT
Clocking
crystal
i.LINK
IN/OUT
DAC
AV decoder
Data memory
Data output
Servo
circuit
Control data transfer*
* DVD player clock
frequency controlled by
amplifier
Data transfer
DVD player
A/V multi-channel amplifier
DV-868AVi-S
DV-757Ai
High-end 192 kHz/24-bit D/A converters for solid sound
Dolby Pro Logic IIx
Burr-Brown
PCM1704 DAC
Less spacious surround image
Smooth and spacious surround and
natural centre image
Stereo Surround Back
Mono Suround Back
i.LINK circuit board
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