The Pioneer SC-LX701 has a lot to live up to. It follows an auspicious line of Award-winning amplifiers at this price.

From 2010’s SC-LX53 onwards, every incarnation of this amplifier has gone on to win an Award, including last year’s SC-LX59 – which we have used as part of our reference system in the What Hi-Fi? listening rooms ever since.

The new SC-LX701 is a replacement for the LX59, and comes packed with all the latest technology a 2016 amplifier should have. But can it live up to such formidable forebears?