Pioneer VSX-LX303 vs VSX-LX302 vs VSX-LX301 Review

The VSX-LX303 is set apart from the VSX-LX302 and VSX-LX301 mainly by the number of amplification channels. There are 9 power amp channels on the VSX-LX303 vs 7 power amp channels on the VSX-LX302 and VSX-LX301. Although all three receivers are equipped with 9 speaker terminals, only the VSX-LX303 is capable of powering all 9 channels simultaneously, thus allowing you to have a Dolby Atmos speaker setup of up to 5.2.4 or 7.2.2 channels. In contrast, the VSX-LX302 and VSX-LX301 are limited up to 5.2.2 channel Dolby Atmos speaker setup by their 7 channels of amplification. The three receivers only include dedicated Pre/line outs for Zone 2, meaning they cannot be used for expanding a Dolby Atmos setup in your main room via an external amplifier. The VSX-LX303, VSX-LX302 and VSX-LX301 all support a bi-amping connection for the front speakers. In that case, the VSX-LX302 and VSX-LX301 can drive up to 5.1 channel system whereas the VSX-LX303 has the built-in amplification to support up to 7.1 channel system (or up to 5.2.2 channel Dolby Atmos speaker setup with the bi-amping speakers being connected to the Height terminals and the height speakers being connected to the Surround back terminals). Except for the omitted rear USB port on the VSX-LX301, all three receivers have identical set of connections, including two (A/B) 12V Trigger Outs, IR in/out ports, and a RS-232C port in case of planning to use any external control device.

Another differentiation between the VSX-LX303 and VSX-LX302 on the one hand, and the VSX-LX301 on the other is the number of HDMI inputs that conform to the HDMI 2.0 specification. In case of the VSX-LX303 and VSX-LX302, all 6 rear HDMI inputs are full-bandwidth and support HDCP 2.2. When it comes to the VSX-LX301, however, only three of the six HDMI inputs at the back (HDMI IN 1 to 3) are full-bandwidth and HDCP 2.2 compatible. The remaining three, in addition to the front HDMI input on the VSX-LX301, have limited bandwidth and support only HDCP 1.4 which rules out the possibility of connecting an Ultra HD Blu-ray player on HDMI IN 4-6 or the front HDMI input on the VSX-LX301. In comparison, the VSX-LX303 and VSX-LX302's front HDMI input is HDCP 2.2 compatible but has limited bandwidth. Nevertheless, transmitting 4K signal at 24/25/30Hz with either full chroma resolution 4:4:4 and 8-bit color depth, or 12-bit color depth and 4:2:2 chroma subsampling is possible, meaning the only restriction to the VSX-LX302's front HDMI input is in terms of 4K signal at 50/60Hz which is limited to 4:2:0 chroma subsampling and 8-bit color depth. As previously mentioned, all HDMI ports on the back of the VSX-LX303 and VSX-LX302 are full-bandwidth.

The amplifier topology is identical on the three receivers and, despite the difference in the number of amp channels, when it comes to 2 channel driven into 8 ohms, the VSX-LX303, VSX-LX302 and VSX-LX301 are rated at 100 Watts per channel (20Hz-20kHz, 0.08% THD). Although all three receivers provide a wireless multi-room audio streaming solution, it should be said that the VSX-LX302 and VSX-LX301 need a firmware update in order to support FlareConnect. Furthermore, you'll need other FlareConnect compatible components that are sold separately (such as speakers or a receiver) in order to wirelessly stream music to by using the Pioneer Remote App for managing the music sources, and choosing the destination. The VSX-LX301 also requires a firmware update via USB for Dolby Vision pass-through while the VSX-LX303 and VSX-LX302 are compatible with this HDR format out of the box. All three receivers support HDR10 pass-through, though. In terms of object audio format support besides Dolby Atmos, the VSX-LX303, VSX-LX302 and VSX-LX301 are also compatible with DTS:X. However, the VSX-LX301 requires a firmware update for DTS:X.

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