Pioneer' s 2010 receivers are the best looking on the market, and that applies even to the bottom-end of the range, represented in our roundup by the VSX-520. The build quality is up to Pioneer' s usual impeccable standards, too.

Cleverly, most of the front panel buttons are tucked into the cracks and crevices, which makes this AVR look clean and uncluttered despite its fairly high button count. Sadly, there are no AV connections on the front, just a headphone jack and a port for the setup mic.

The Pioneer' s budget credentials are further confirmed by the disappointing presence of springclip terminals for the surround and centre channels, which means only the front ones are connected to binding posts. Otherwise, the feature list is pretty solid.

Aside from a healthy amount of audio and video inputs ( including three HDMI v1.4 inputs ) , there' s an adaptor
Cleverly, most of the front panel buttons are tucked into the cracks and crevices, which makes this AVR look clean and uncluttered despite its fairly high button count. Sadly, there are no AV connections on the front, just a headphone jack and a port for the setup mic.

port for a Pioneer Bluetooth wireless adapter that lets you stream music from mobile phones, laptops and so forth ( although there' s no iPod support via USB) , and Dolby Pro-Logic IIz processing, which uses dedicated pre-outs.

Colour Black
Dimensions 420( w) x 158( h) x 348( d) mm
Weight ( kg) 8.9
Audio Decoding : Dolby Digital 5.1 , DTS-HD, Dolby Pro Logic II , Dolby TrueHD
Analogue Audio Inputs : 6 , Component Inputs : 2 , Component Outputs : 1 , Composite Inputs : 4 , Digital Coaxial Inputs : 1 , Digital Optical Audio Inputs : 2 , HDMI Inputs : 3 , HDMI Outputs : 1
Power Consumption ( Operational) : 50w
Power Consumption ( Standby) 40w
Signal-To-Noise Ratio -74
Speaker Channels 5.1
Total Harmonic Distortion Detail 5 x 65W 8ohms ( 0.5% THD)
Watts Per Channel : 130w