An affordable AV receiver is always a good option to consider, so Yamaha RX-S602 vs Pioneer VSX-1131 comparison definitely makes sense.
A significant difference between the receivers in the number of channels, Yamaha RX-S602 has 5.1 versus 7.2 for Pioneer VSX-1131. Regarding power, then RX-S602 has such a W/Ohm ratio - 80/8, 125/6 when VSX-1131 has a power of 100/8, 170/6. The THD is the same and is 0.08%.
Characteristics of digital to analog converter (DAC) are different, Burr-Brown 384 KHz/32-bit for RX-S602 and AK4458 384 KHz/32-bit for the VSX-1131. Both the RX-S602 and the VSX-1131 support Bi-amping. Each of the AV receivers can transmit an audio signal directly to the amplifier and bypasses any DSP processing.
WI-FI modules have the same characteristics: 2.4/5GHz. Rivals from our review have Bluetooth support. The Yamaha RX-S602 has support for AirPlay, AirPlay 2, and its competitor in our comparison - AirPlay. Spotify can be used on each receiver. The RX-S602 can work with the audio stream from Deezer, TIDAL, Pandora, Napster, SiriusXM, Qobuz, and the VSX-1131 can receive a content from Deezer, TIDAL, Pandora, TuneIn Radio. Compared AV receivers retain the quality of 4K/60Hz signal when transmitting from a source to a TV or projector. HDMI signal transmission in standby mode is implemented in each of the devices. The VSX-1131 can scale the input HDMI signal, unlike the RX-S602. Dolby Vision technology found support only on the VSX-1131.
The Yamaha RX-S602 has 4/1 HDMI inputs/outputs versus 7/2 HDMI connectors of the Pioneer VSX-1131. The HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) feature supports both devices. Unfortunately, HDMI eARC is not available on monitored devices. The Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) feature is present in most modern AV receivers and the models in our comparison are no exception. The RX-S602 supports the protection of digital content of the standard HDCP 2.3, versus HDCP 2.2 in the VSX-1131. The VSX-1131 has a built-in phono stage for connecting a vinyl player.
Each of the AV receivers from our review supports 2 Multi-room zones. An ECO mode is only available for the RX-S602. Both RX-S602 and VSX-1131 can be configured using the Setup assistant.
Only the VSX-1131 has a Dolby Atmos multichannel audio format support. A surround technology DTS:X is supported only by the VSX-1131.