Pioneer VSX-531
FOR Articulate sound; HDMI inputs support 4K passthrough
If capitalism has shown us anything, it’s that money is power. Try to shoehorn that into a home cinema context, though, and the correlation isn’t necessarily quite as straightforward. For example, you don’t need to spend much money to get a fair bit of muscle, as this entry-level 5.1-channel Pioneer VSX-531 amplifier ably demonstrates.
Delivering a claimed 130W per channel (into 6 ohms) for a rather thrifty (in AV amp terms) £250, the VSX-531 is a decent foundation from which to begin your inevitably life-spanning march towards cinema-rivalling surround sound.
Fortunately for complete surroundsound novices, the journey required to get the Pioneer up and running is far from long and arduous. Simply plug the supplied microphone into the front panel’s dedicated port and by using the integrated software – in this case MCACC (Multi-channel Acoustic Calibration AGAINST Spring-loaded terminals; no network features System) Auto Room Tuning – you’ll be ready in the time it takes you to put batteries into the remote control and connect your Blu-ray player.
Startling punch
We do just that and find the final heist scene in crime western Hell or High Water is ideal ammunition to show off the Pioneer’s flair for size and scale. Revving cars, more stand-offs than in a Mexican history book, and a juicy country soundtrack served up by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis fill the soundfield with a compelling presence you might not expect at this price.
Of course, power is nothing without control, and the Pioneer acknowledges this too, displaying a firm hand when it matters. With clarity and suppleness lying at the Pioneer’s sonic heart, it convincingly grasps the backing track, communicating the brooding tension of the instrumentals as Chris Pine and Ben Foster approach the bank with the intention of holding it up.
Spiky violin strokes are allowed to poke their heads above shimmering cymbals and foreboding cello plucks, and the Pioneer’s concentration never wanders when they merely meander behind the ensuing action.
Just as you’re comfortably situated in the lengthy build up, bullets bolt from gun barrels with enough punch to make you sit upright. Moments later, those bullets are ricocheting off cars, and between channels, with precision and conviction.
Majestic and grandiose
Eloquent too, the Pioneer VSX-531 is just as convincing expressing Foster’s sarcastic jibes as it is his aggressive cursing during the heist. You don’t need to look up at the screen to recognise Jeff Bridge’s southern vernacular from True Grit, nor once question the country-vibe vocal as belonging to Cave.
Despite the Pioneer’s consuming soundfield, the more majestic Yamaha RX-V381 takes grandiose one step further with a slightly bigger presentation capable of larger dynamic sweeps, while the Denon AVR-X1300W shows more solidity – most notably in the higher frequencies.
Out of the shade
Even without the aid of a direct comparison, the Pioneer feels as though it’s lacking a little in substance. While it is able to convey the outlines of cymbal hits in the backing track or breaking glass, it doesn’t quite have the wealth of texture to shade them in. That means when we switch our listening to stereo CD playback, the slicing cymbals you can hear throughout
“Rather than network functionality or Dolby Atmos decoding, the Pioneer simply offers Bluetooth and AM/FM radio, plus a handful of connections”
If These Trees Could Talk’s Earth Crawler sound fairly tenuous, even if not uncomfortably so.
Still, the Pioneer’s detail and agility in part helps make amends. The droning bass tones anchor the glacial electric riffs and snappy drumbeat, all of which work around each other with enough space to avoid sounding mashed together, and the piece tears along with a fine sense of drive.
Invariably, Bluetooth streaming loses a little cleanliness and organisation over CD playback from our Cambridge CXU Blu-ray player, but despite that it’s tolerably clear and insightful – even when we really test the Pioneer’s ability by playing low-resolution Spotify streams. Pairing is as simple as pressing the Bluetooth button on the remote, and the connection remains stable whether our source is a Macbook or smartphone.
Bare-skinned features
If the Pioneer could talk (bear with us!) it would probably be that niggling reminder in your ear to appreciate the simple things in life, even though you would really like to be able to afford that luxury car or five-star holiday. In a
similar way, although the Yamaha RX-V381 will suffice, it’s pretty bareboned where features are concerned.
Rather than boasting the fancy network functionality of the Denon AVR-X1300W, with DLNA streaming and Spotify Connect, or the ability to decode Dolby Atmos, this Pioneer simply offers Bluetooth and AM/FM radio alongside a handful of physical connections. There are four HDMIS and single coaxial, optical and USB inputs, three pairs of RCA phonos for connecting a CD or DVD player (for example), and HDMI, 6.3mm headphone and subwoofer outputs.
Limited connectivity
Aside from HDMI inputs supporting 4K passthrough, the Pioneer doesn’t have much separating it from more basic amplifiers of the early 2000s, but at this price it’s not the end of the world. However, we can’t make excuses for its centre and surround terminals having spring-loaded clips instead of banana plug terminals.
Overlook that practical gremlin and we can say for certain that Pioneer has delivered a solid amplifier that could sit comfortably at the heart of anyone’s first surround-sound system. It’s entertainingly fast and articulate, and genuinely couldn’t be easier to use.
The lack of features and limited connectivity shouldn’t be a issue – at this price we don’t expect the world. However, when just a little extra outlay brings such features into range, it is worth raising the question: is the Pioneer VSX-531 the most complete – sonically and feature-wise – entry-level AV amp out there? The answer is: no, it isn’t.