BLU-RAY PLAYERS
SYSTEM PRICE £10,388
Pioneer UDP-LX500
It has to be said that soundbars and bases do a very good job of improving the sound of a modern wafer-thin television set. But, let’s be honest: however good they are, they’re not a patch on a fully specified separates system. Invest in a dedicated home cinema amplifier, one that directs a movie’s soundtrack around your room with pinpoint precision, via a surroundsound speaker package, and you’ll enjoy as close to the full cinema experience as you can get outside the multiplex.
So, if you’ve got a room large enough to house it (and, of course, the money to fund it), we would urge you to invest in a system such as the one you see here. The boost a proper sound system brings to the overall movie-watching experience has to be heard to be believed. And, once heard, it’s hard to go back.
First things first, though. We need something to watch. While a projector will provide a bigger picture, naturally, the abilities of today’s larger-screen TVS are astonishing, so here we’ve gone for a 65in Samsung QLED – after all, that’s a screen comfortably large enough for most UK living rooms. As we said in our original review, this is a QLED that does things only an OLED previously could – it really is an exceptional telly.
Realistic colours
Having watched umpteen films and TV shows, we’ve really been struck by the authenticity of its colours. Where the previous-generation Q9FN is a little warm in its approach to colour, the Q90R strikes a slightly cooler, more neutral balance, with no loss of punch or vibrancy – you get all of the dynamism of the picture and a greater sense of realism. The new Quantum Processor 4K shares many of the attributes of the Quantum Processor 8K introduced with the Q900R range, including its Ai-based approach to upscaling, which uses a vast and increasing database of images used to create a more accurate algorithm. In the Q90R, it results in cleaner and sharper images from non-4k content.
Samsung’s TV operating system is already one of the best around – fast, fluid and intuitive – and the app selection is second-to-none. Netflix and Amazon are present in their full 4K HDR forms (the latter in HDR10+), as is Rakuten. BBC iplayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and Demand 5 are all on board, too, as are Now TV and Google Play Movies & TV.
The Q90 is a backlit TV that goes almost as black as an OLED and has Oled-like viewing angles, while retaining its own advantage of greater brightness. It also boasts brilliantly judged colours and excellent dark detail, not to mention an intuitive operating system packed with apps.
So now we need to come up with sound to match the stunning quality of the images. For that, we turn to Denon and ATC, for a surround-sound combination that’s really tough to beat.
The AVC-X6500H amplifier is our current Award winner at this price. It’s an 11-channel AV amplifier with all the nuts and bolts required for a serious home cinema system. There are eight HDMI 2.2 inputs with EARC and 4K HDR support, compatibility with Dolby Atmos (7.1.4) and DTS:X and the ability to play hi-res music files and share them around the house via HEOS.
The quest for greater power, especially in a product already holding its own in terms of muscle, can sometimes tip the balance towards becoming a fatiguing listen. However, Denon nimbly avoids any such trap. Instead the AVC-X6500H’S extra muscle makes it feel simply more authoritative than its predecessor, and it relinquishes none of its subtlety when required to tone down its enthusiasm. It offers the same impressive levels of detail throughout the frequency range. Denon’s amps have become renowned for their full-bodied presentations, but the AVC-X6500H appears to offer further solidity to dialogue without straying into it becoming unnaturally bass-heavy.
ATCS are AOK
And the amp marries beautifully with ATC’S lovely speaker package, which comprises four SCM7 standmounters, the C1C centre speaker and the C1 subwoofer.
Immediately we’re drawn to the way in which this package integrates its speakers – thunder and flying arrows crack and sail behind us with exceptional detail, while not dominating the main action or dialogue.
Given that we have relatively modestly sized standmount speakers rather than big floorstanders here, you might expect the sound to be lacking in weight. It's not. We’re pleasantly surprised by how rich the surround effects are.
ATC says the C1C centre is designed to complement the SCM7S we have in the corners of our room, and it certainly shares their solid, balanced tone. Even in the heat of battle, with a busy score and even busier list of sound effects, their edges are neither sharp nor smoothed: it’s a balance that has us almost forgetting to listen critically and just becoming lost in the film. We suppose the highest praise we can offer ATC here is that the C1 5.1 gives our far-pricier PMC reference system a run for its money.
Don’t ditch the disc
To round this home cinema system off, we need a great 4K Blu-ray player. Streaming is an amazing way to access UHD content, but the best, most consistent medium via which to watch 4K remains the humble disc.
The one major downside to Pioneer’s UDP-LX500 4K Blu-ray player is that it has only a few Smart features. But the TV in this set-up takes care of all of that, so it’s really not an issue. This player’s highlights are what matters. And it will provide you with a crisp, insightful picture, and dynamic, expressive sound with truly impressive timing through the amp and speaker package.
Pioneer designed this player to be just as accomplished with audio as it is with video – and it shows. There’s weight and power here, but the Pioneer also keeps a tight grip, drawing crisply defined lines around rumblings as they ripple out and around your head. Switch to CD playback and the Pioneer sounds equally natural and effortless in its delivery.
The high praise doesn’t stop with the player’s sound quality. The UDP-LX500 does, of course, deliver a fantastic picture too, edging its rival Panasonic DPUB9000 for outright detail and clarity, with a subtle, neutral tone. You’re able to enjoy the picture’s vibrancy without any straining of the eyes. The Pioneer is also a confident upscaler for those Blu-rays and DVDS in your collection.
This is one of the most expensive 4K machines we’ve reviewed so far, but marry it to a system such as the one we suggest here – one that can make the most of its abilities – and you’ll want every night to be movie night.
“The boost a proper sound system brings to the overall movie-watching experience has to be heard to be believed. And, once heard, it’s hard to go back”