AV-receiver Pioneer VSX-C301

"Pioneer" is hard to suspect that he is - pretty powerful receiver. In the apparatus slim, at least on the front panel buttons, and almost the entire central part of the display is the indicator. Behind the VSX-C301 also bears little resemblance to the receiver: there is only aerial terminal, fan, four SCART'a and... no usual audio jacks RCA! Only a small "matrix" color clips for acoustics 5.1 shows the true purpose of this unit.

Availability of traditional audio only on the front (for a pair of RCA analog audio plus optics) is compensated by switching capability video components . SCART connectors provide connections as the standard composite video channel and on the S-Video and RGB. Another feature of the VSX-C301 - mode AV-Direct, as part of the reinforcement is disabled, but the switch continues to operate.

Manage VSX-C301 is simplified to the limit: choose a source handle smaller, more a handle set the desired volume. That's it. The other features are available with remote control, which can also be commanded TV, DVD- player, VCR, satellite receiver or another brand.

The receiver is programmed sound installation for the rooms and the speakers of various sizes, a night view mode, limiting function and boost the high and low frequencies , dynamic range compression and selection dialogs. In the VSX-C301 is almost nothing else to set up - in it for this, and there are no special features (even TONE). Enough to go through the setup menu and unpretentious "to answer the questions", receiver.

Let's start with the disadvantages. Soundstage VSX-301 stereo is neither depth nor any special localization accuracy. In addition, when playing signals with a complex spectrum and a high level of intelligibility slightly worse. All this suggests that the VSX-C301 bit lacking dynamics.

Not everything is perfect, and the linearity of - you have to put up with a small deficit of low frequencies. Our test AudioPro Evidence for VSX-C301, to put it simply, were too "dry" column for this receiver . Yes, perhaps, too "transparent", as manifested in the upper range of color, which certainly did not appear in the source and not in the columns.

But in the mid-range is and detailing, and a good harmonic study - Voice obtained vibrant and natural. That is why the receiver is good at playing a multi-channel mode! A lot depends on how picky dialogues, how to place and naturally reproduced the sounds of the surrounding space - with all of this at the VSX-C301 is no problem. Accuracy of the scene, linearity, dynamic quality - all this is not so important for the 5.1. For an adequate perception of tricks blockbusters does not really matter how true to the music and the sound of the crash or hit a fire extinguisher in the face of the protagonist. In multichannel mode, VSX-C301 guards only one - the aforementioned coloring in the upper range, for example, which sometimes makes less recognizable sound of rain in the movies.

And a few more observations. The tuner will provide clean quiet stereo reception only with good FM-antenna. In the DTS receiver sounds softer, richer and more harmonious than the Dolby Digital - the ability to show the difference between the formats suggests that the audio channel VSX-C301 has all the same good sound resolution. And we note another interesting feature, which is available to the user VSX-S301. Advanced Surround Music, in contrast to all known " uluchshayzerov" emphasizes not only the spatial effects, it also makes sound really dynamic and expressive on bass.

Output power at 8 ohms (limited harmonic distortion of 1 %) 5 x 50 watts. The resistance of 47 ohms line inputs. Sensitivity FM-tuner mode Mono/Stereo 2,0/27 uV (50 dB attenuation) .