Pioneer VSX-516 Receiver Review

I connected my DVD player and the Olive Symphony through coax and the 2partsfusion DMS-701 media server via optical. All speakers were connected via banana plugs and the subwoofer was connected to the sub-out in a 7.1 configuration. There is a Quickstart function that I didn't immediately notice so I configured the unit manually at first. Really, as receivers go, this one isn't that bad to set up. The hardest part is figuring out the "Pioneerese" they use for their menu system. Even as familiar as I am with receiver functions, I found myself scratching my head a few times as a horribly abbreviated title popped up on the small screen. And therein lies the problem - at this price point you simply do not get an onscreen display (in the stats, they say they have one but they mean on the little LCD screen of the unit). Because of the size of the screen, text either needs to scroll or it must be abbreviated... more often the latter. this is not a problem for the most part except that the volume display is terminally small. There is absolutely no way to see it from any sort of distance. When you change the volume, the text bolds but it is not enough. From seven feet away, I couldn't tell the difference between a 1 and a 7 or a 2, 5, or 8.

• SB.System: Set your Surround Back channels to normal, zone 2, or biamp
• SP Setup:
• • SP Set - configure size (large or small, fronts, center, and surrounds, and surround back), number of back surrounds (0, 1, or 2) and whether or not you have a sub
  • Crossover - 50, 80, 100, 150, 200hz - Defaults to 100
  • CH Level - set channel levels - tones either manual or auto (cycles every 2 seconds unless you are manipulating them)
  • SP Distn. - Set speaker distance in half foot increments up to 45 feet
• In Assig. - Assign digital inputs (1 optical, 2 coax) and both component video inputs
• Other
• • DRC - Dynamic range adjustment to Dolby Digital or DTS tracks - Off, Mid, Max - Default Off
  • Dualmono - How dual mono Dolby Digital track should be handled - CH1, CH2, or CH1 CH2 - Default CH1
  • LFE Att - Limits the LFE to prevent speaker damage/sound distortion (most subs have limiters) 0, 10, ** - Default 0, ** turns off LFE

For the most part, this stuff was self explanatory. Once you've set up one receiver, you have probably acquired enough knowledge to set up this one. While some of the abbreviations were a little obtuse, for the most part I could navigate around and get the basics done (assign digital inputs, set speaker levels and distance, number and type of speakers, etc.) without having to reference the manual. Is that the case for everyone? Probably not. But that is what the Quickstart is for (see below). Some points to remember:

• The crossover is set globally - all speakers all inputs. Not exactly surprising at this price point.
• Don't even bother with the auto function on the channel level screen; the test tones switch way too fast. Stick with manual.
• The unit automatically resets your volume to -18 (which works out to be about 71dB at the sweet spot in my room) for the test tones. In my case, my front left speaker is very close to my receiver (where I was sitting at the moment). As I watched the volume increase from -50 (low, background music) to -18, I thought, "Huh, what's it doing?" Before I knew it, my right ear was ringing for the rest of the night.
• If you set Fronts to Small, everything else must be Small. If you set the Fronts to Large and the Surrounds to Small, the Back Surrounds must be Small. If you set the Surrounds to off, you can't have back surrounds (this is good). If you remember to set everything to Small as Audioholics suggests for most people and let your subwoofer take care of the low end, you won't have to worry about it. At this price point, I see a lot of satellite systems anyways.
• The unit remembers what setting (stereo, 7 channel stereo, Pro Logic, etc.) for each input.
• If you hit the Standard button during stereo playback, it will select stereo (or during Dolby Digital or DTS, it will select the appropriate). If you want to engage one of the Dolby Pro Logic II (5.1) or IIx (Movie, Music, or Game) or DTS Neo:6 (Cinema or music), continue to hit the Standard button until the desired processing algorithm appears. This setting will be remembered until you change it.
• If you have an inconsistent digital signal (say from a digital cable or satellite provider) you can hook up the both the analogue and digital outputs to the receiver. The unit defaults to digital but will pick up the analogue if necessary. While you can specify either one, the unit defaults to Auto which is probably your best bet

1. Whether or not you have a subwoofer - Y/N
2. Number of speakers you are using - 2.0 to 7.1
3. The size of your room - S/M/L
4. Your seating position - Fwd/Mid/Back.

The first two are most important as it configures your DSP and surround modes. The second two... well, I found them of limited value. One nice yet annoying aspect is that you can only control the Quickstart from the front of the unit. Nice because you don't have to worry about sitting on the remote and switching your configuration, annoying because you have to sit in front of the unit when setting it. Once I got into the unit, I decided to see just what room size and seating position did. Using the Quickstart guide, I selected individually each of the room size and seating positions then switched to the manual channel level and speaker distance to see how the receiver configured itself. Below are the results.

Table 1: Speaker Levels

Table 2: Distance in feet

As you can clearly see, the definitions of small, medium, and large interact with the seating position to configure your speaker levels and distances in ways that would only be accurate by random chance. Doing a little math, you can estimate that a small room is defined by Pioneer as approximately 12 foot square, a medium room is about 20 foot square, and a large room is about 30 foot square. Well, technically, that is how far the speakers are from you but one supposes that speakers are either on or near a wall. As you can see from my manual channel levels, nothing really comes close though the small/back configuration isn't too far off for distance. The key: buy an SPL meter. There were times when I was switching through the tests that the rear speakers became the most prominent in the room while other configurations caused them to nearly shutdown completely. I could see the casual user flipping between the different configurations and picking the one that sounded the best. I can also envision them being completely and totally wrong. Buy an SPL meter, it's like $30. It is nice that you can adjust the channel levels on the fly with the remote so it is possible to make subtle adjustments to the sound without having to go into the setup menu.

One interesting and unexpected feature available from this unit is the bi-ampability (I think I just made up a new word). Instead of wasting the back channels (if you just have a 5.1 system), you can use them to passively bi-amp your mains with just a few clicks on the remote. Of course, you need passively bi-ampable mains (which is questionable for a customer at this price point) but if you did, you could. I always like to see a manufacturer include something that only a small few of their customers would use but is easy for them to provide. It speaks to a kind of sensibility that gives me the warm fuzzies. Honestly, if their $200 receiver is bi-ampable, what extras did they put in their more expensive units?

DSP modes, love'em or hate'em, they are here to stay. Personally, after years of surround sound, I've grown fairly apathetic toward all the different DSP modes. If I were a sports guy, or an avid video game player, I might feel differently. Me, I'm all about the music and movies. And for music and movies, I'll take stereo, Pro Logic IIx, Dolby Digital, and DTS thank you very much. Add on an EX or ES for the back channels, and I'll be a happy camper. Every time I've ever accidentally engaged a DSP, I've found myself running to my receiver to see what is broken. Sometimes it takes me far too long to figure out. I remember once I was reviewing a unit and switched it into Cathedral mode. That was bad. Everyone sounded like they were in an echo chamber for the better part of a day and I couldn't figure out why. Aside from the normal Dolby and DTS DSP modes for converting a stereo signal to 5 or 7.1, Pioneer has included:

• Adv. Movie - For movies
• Adv. Music - For music
• TV Surr. - Provides surround for both stereo and mono sources
• Adv. Game - For games
• Expanded - For use with Dolby Pro Logic for a wider stereo surround effect
• 7-Stereo - Takes a stereo source and extends it on each side to all speakers
• Vir. Surr - Virtual surround using just the mains and the sub
• Phonesur - Surround through headphones.
• German Bathroom - just kidding, we made that up :)
  

Engaging these modes is as easy as pressing the Adv.Surr button on the remote multiple times to flip through them. With these (or any of the Dolby or DTS DSP modes) you can make some minor adjustments to the effects. Such adjustments include:

• Center Width - spreading the center information to the mains
• Dimension - Lowering and raising the volume of the surrounds
• Panorama - Pulls the information from the mains into the surrounds for a "wrap around" effect (or so they claim)
• Center Image - Same as Center Width but just for vocals.
• Effect - Sets the effect level for the currently selected Advanced Surround mode (This means you can have a little of the DSP mode vs. full force - kind of nice if you like an effect but it is a tad overbearing)

To add to the fun, when you are only using a 5.1 surround system, you can engage the VSB (Virtual Surround Back) mode. If you switch it to "On," it will always try to emulate a surround back with 5.1 material (don't know how or why you'd want that, but OK). Personally, I like the Auto setting. Setting the VSB to Auto recognizes any 6.1 (ES/EX) material and instead of losing that 6th channel, it matrixes it between the two surrounds. I'm all for DSP modes that let me hear things I'd normally miss out on.

Oddities and Observations