AV RECEIVER Pioneer VSX-930

Pioneer’s VSX-930 home theatre receiver is its entry point into the wonders of Dolby Atmos and Dolby Surround processing. But it does rather more than that — as attested to by the twin antennas popping up from the rear, showing that this is not only a network receiver, it’s a Wi-Fi one.

EQUIPMENT

The Pioneer VSX-930 is a seven-channel receiver with support for, well, precisely seven channels. Since you can’t configure it to deliver an 11-channel Atmos system (e.g. 7.1.4), you need to make choices.

Five of the channels are fixed in application: two front, one centre, and two surrounds. Then the last two amps can be switched between two sets of output terminals. One set supports either surround back, or a ‘Zone B’, or bi-amping the front speakers, depending on the settings you choose in the receiver’s menus. The other can be set to drive a separate pair of front stereo speakers, or the ‘height’ speakers for