Dolby Laboratories has been enhancing music listening and movie watching for decades. Dolby B, C and S noise-reduction formats were deployed on cassette decks to reduce tape hiss. More recently, movie watching and gaming experiences have been heightened through soundtracks being encoded in Dolby Pro-Logic, Dolby Digital and Dolby TrueHD formats. Dolby Atmos is the latest surround-sound format and is one of many features included on the new Pioneer VSX-930 AV receiver.
Dolby Atmos utilises speakers that are either in the ceiling or fire upwards to bounce sounds off the ceiling. Why? Imagine how effective it would be to hear a thunderclap come from above instead of from the side. Or hear a helicopter hovering overhead. Or hear the floorboards of the room above creaking.
Regardless of how many speakers are used, the Pioneer VSX-930 pumps out 150 watts per channel (at 6 ohms, 105 watts at 8 ohms).
As well as delivering the goods on the surround-sound front, the VSX-930 can also be used as a networked, streaming hub for listening to music from different sources. It shares a lot of the features of Pioneer's own streaming star - the identically priced N-50A. But, as well as having support for high-resolution files and including AirPlay, the VSX-930 also has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in, making the receiver a fantastic-value product.
As one would expect, a remote control is included, as is a microphone for automatically configuring each speaker's output. Free apps are also available for setting up and controlling the receiver.
The VSX-930 has 7 HDMI inputs, 2 HDMI outputs, 4K upscaling and compatibility with Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. It also supports MHL for playing high-definition movies from Android phones. A USB socket is also present.
The Pioneer VSX-930 is a mid-priced receiver that is set up for the future. Enhance yours by purchasing one from Hi-Fi Stereo. |