Pioneer VSX-C501

A digi-amp that's also a hub for your scarts

Considering the main purpose of a home cinema amp is to produce heaps of booming noise, it might seem odd that they often come bristling with video inputs. The idea behind this is that you plug all your gear - DVD player, VCR, games console, digital TV box - into the amp, which then connects to the TV or projector via a single video cable.

While a video switching function on an amp might sound practical, most people won't use it. Decent TVs now come with a shedload of inputs, so there's simply no real need to go through an amp. Just as importantly, many people use a lot of Scarts for their video gear, and you don't get AV amps with Scart sockets... Do you?

Well, now you do, thanks to Pioneer. This slim 6.1-channel digital amp boasts no less than four Scart sockets, enabling you to hook up three devices to the back. The fourth Scart then outputs to your telly, and you can switch between them all using the remote or a dial on the amp's fascia.

The main three Scart inputs are able to accept composite, S-Video or RGB signals, which the Scart output then feeds to your TV. This means there's no need for image downgrading, so any degradation in picture quality should be negligible.

Perhaps the main drawback of these sockets is that there isn't much space for more conventional inputs. Most AV amps have plenty of extra terminals for hooking up hi-fi gear, but there aren't any alternatives here, unless you include the inputs on the front.

If it's just audio-visual equipment you're looking to hook up, though, you can't really go far wrong. Set-up is easy (there's even a mini mic to help you calibrate your speakers) and the sound quality is very impressive. Although some might prefer the warmth afforded by an analogue amp, Pioneer's digital version produces an extremely engaging output, especially in multichannel mode. The level of noise and power created by such a small piece of kit is quite surprising, and for some will be worth the loss of a "proper" AV amp's flexibility.
Sam Kieldsen

KEY FEATURES:
Supports DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES Discrete and Matrix, DTS 96/24, DTS Neo:6, Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Pro Logic II, 11 DSP modes, power output: 6 x 100W, RMS, 6 x 75W constant, connections: 2 x Scart in, 2 x Scart in/ out, 1 x 5.1 analogue audio in, 3 x optical digital audio in, 1 x coaxial digital audio in, 1 x composite video in, 1 x stereo audio in, 1 x subwoofer out, 1 x headphones out, FM tuner, dimensions: 420 x 70 x 383mm, weight: 6.8kg