PIONEER VSX-534 Smart AV Receiver 5.2-Ch

I’ve had this unit hooked up for about a month now. Took a month or so after receiving it to get it hooked up, but I digress… Anyway, I bought it to replace a Yamaha receiver from 2005. That receiver came out a year or two before HDMI became the standard digital hook up. In fact, remember the DVI hook ups that came out before that that didn’t even have sound transmission within the cord? Well, this old receiver could do uncompressed audio, such as DolbyTrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, but only thru the analog RCA hookups. I tried and used that early on, but it lacked punch for some reason. I read somewhere that the receiver lowers the LFE channel output whenever you run it that way. So I quit that and just ran my Blu-ray audio thru the fiber optic line. Of course you can’t get uncompressed audio thru those so for the last 14 years or so (I upgraded to Blu-ray in 2009, iirc) I have only been hearing lossy audio on my Blus. Well, wow…now that I have this new Pioneer unit, paired with a new Sony 4K player (this was the reason for the upgrade of the receiver…my old Oppo BDP-103 laser eye died on me about 2 months before this post), I am finally able to enjoy all the high end audio codecs the way they were meant to sound. I also had to buy a new powered sub as most receivers require that now. (The Yamaha’s sub was powered thru the receiver.) The new sub is a 150W total power Sony sub with additional speaker hook ups of its own. And oh man, it’s much better than my old sub. It’s crisp and it puts out precise bass in whatever it’s trying to do.

But anyway, enough about all that. How’s this Pioneer receiver Amp? Well, like the title says…so far, so good. I’ve got it hooked up to my TV with just the HDMI ARC input/output. The only things I have hooked to the receiver is the previously mentioned Sony 4K player, and a DISH Joey, which I rarely use, but just for a little bit of morning news and some History Channel shows. What I like about the receiver and the ARC channel input is that it automatically detects whatever device that’s sending AV signals. To switch to my player, all I have to do is hit Play on the remote. Automatically switches to the BD/DVD input. If I select a Smart App on my TV, if Automatically switches to the TV input via the ARC. However, for it to automatically detect the satellite receiver, it has to be on, and not in stand-by mode. And even then, I may have to manually cycle between the TV and Cable/Sat inputs on the remote for it to pick up the Sat output. Weird if ask me. Problem is that I used to have the DISH input shown as an “App” on the TV and could select it with my TV remote. Now because I’m running the ARC mode, it’s not there as everything is run thru the receiver.

Now then, about the sound quality. Well, once you figure out all the different listening modes, it’s pretty damn good. For regular DTS HD-MA tracks, you can select DTS: Neural: X and DTS Virtual: X, and it’ll give you pseudo Dolby Atmos if you have the “Virtual Speaker” setting turned on in the main menu. It will create a more expansive sound field than your standard DTS HD-MA track, especially if it’s front heavy. I think it loses a tiny bit of LFE punch when you do that, but not much. I’m currently watching the newly released “The Expanse” Complete Series blu-ray set and setting it to DTS Virtual: X sure does make a difference, as the regular DTS HD – MA track is a bit front heavy. Those extra surround bits always help to immerse you in the on screen action. Now then, the Dolby Atmos stuff…WOW… even with my standard 5.1 speaker set-up, the sound field is just incredible. Was watching the SW:TPM and the Pod Race and final Duel of Fates scenes were extremely satisfying from the 4K disc. The Duel of Fates fight still holds up today, especially with Dolby Atmos backing. The sabers sound like they’re twirling all around you. And Darth Maul never looked better in 4K. Awesome detail in his face.

Watched my standard Saving Private Ryan blu-ray with just DTS-HD MA and even it sounded great. Heard things in it that I haven’t heard since I saw it in theaters in 1998. Top Gun: Maverick and Mad Max: Fury Road with their Dolby Atmos tracks were also very incredible. So yeah, if you’re looking for a good 4K compatible receiver with all the new sound codecs, this is a good one if 100W per channel works for you.

I have a 5.1 home theater setup. This receiver is a perfect replacement for the defective receiver I had. It has just enough features for most applications. I especially like the dialog button on the remote. You can turn up the volume when people are not speaking loudly.

Surround sound, at a reasonable price.
Everything I need, it turns on and off with the telly, auto detects the signal it is receiving Atmos, 5.1 Dolby, and plays the best. Easy to set up.

Fácil de integrar com outros equipamentos. Pede caixas de boa qualidade. Vale o investimento. Impressiona com streamer chromecast conectado na entrada ótica. Sugiro instalação com proteção de surto ou um condicionador de energia.