Pioneer LX01BD review

Launched late last year for a staggering £2,000, the Pioneer LX01BD is certainly not the cheapest Blu-ray player with speakers we've ever seen. Fortunately, the price has fallen since its introduction, and, while still far from cheap, you can now snap the system up for around £1,600.

With the LX01BD, Pioneer is clearly trying to match the stylish look of its TVs and provide something that fits in with your current set-up. We think the company's done a terrific job -- at least on the surface. The question is: how does this system perform?

Design
If nothing else, we have to say the LX01BD is beautiful. The diminutive speakers are stylish and cleverly designed, and the gloss black finish will fit in with virtually all modern AV equipment.

Because it does so much, the subwoofer is very chunky. You'll want to make sure you've got room for it before you part with your cash

Design-wise, Pioneer has put considerable thought into how people might use the LX01BD. Essentially the system has three elements -- a Blu-ray player, a subwoofer and amplifier, and four speakers that produce the surround sound.

Pioneer has taken an unusual step by not including a dedicated centre speaker in this package. To save clutter, the centre channel is produced from speakers attached to the left and right speakers. These are totally separate from the stereo channels, and have dedicated inputs and cables to feed them.

At the back of the Blu-ray player are all the usual outputs, including HDMI, component video, 7.1 analogue audio RCA jacks and an optical digital audio connection. To use the Blu-ray player with the audio components, you simply connect it to the subwoofer with an HDMI cable.

The subwoofer contains all the audio-decoding hardware and amplifiers. You get two HDMI inputs -- one for the Blu-ray player, and one for another source. You also get an HDMI output to connect to your TV. At the side, underneath a removable panel, you get a pair of optical audio inputs, stereo audio in and some speaker jacks. The speaker terminals are a proprietary type, and they clip in, unlike the more traditional spring-loaded type.

The front speakers, which are for the left and right channels, as well as the centre channel, are tiny. Each has three distinct speakers mounted on the surface – one fires up, one fires towards your wall and one fires forward, towards where you're sat. The rear speakers are similar, but only have two distinct drivers.

Because the subwoofer contains so much, it's pretty damn big. You'll certainly want to make sure you can accommodate it before you rush out and buy one of these systems.

Features
Like many audio systems these days, the LX01BD comes with a cable to connect your iPod. This is done via a separate display unit for the audio system -- a clever idea that makes more sense than sticking it on the subwoofer or amp.

The sleek speakers offers superb sound quality

It's rare to encounter a system like this that has such comprehensive support for the wide range of audio codecs. The LX01BD can decode pretty much any audio you throw at it. CDs and DVDs containing MP3 and WMA files for music are fine. Movie soundtracks are also well catered for -- DTS-HD MA and Dolby True HD are both supported, as are DTS, Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic II.