Block Éléments 5.1 black

Block Elements 5.1 silver

Multichannel sound in the living room usually calls for a wide, tall and heavy unit that is difficult to fit beneath the TV. German manufacturer Block has taken the opposite approach: 25 centimetres wide, 8 high, yet with five amplifiers, a subwoofer output, two HDMI inputs, digital radio and streaming. A diamond silver finish covers the enclosure, matching that of the Elements Blu-ray player.

A home cinema amplifier just 25 centimetres wide

Audioblock, a company based in Hude in Lower Saxony, sells its equipment under the Block name. The Elements 5.1 was released in late 2025 alongside the Elements Blu-ray player, and its dimensions of 250 × 80 × 260.5 mm and weight of 3.5 kg allow it to fit on a shelf where a conventional AV receiver would not. The front panel features a colour display, with adjustable normal brightness, dimmed brightness and dimming delay, and two rotary controls. The left one selects the source, scrolls through stations and starts or pauses playback with a single press, while the right one adjusts the volume and opens the menu. An infrared remote control completes the package. Around ten centimetres of space must be left behind the unit, and its ventilation slots must not be covered. In standby, the screen displays the time and date while consuming less than 2 W, and the rear mains switch turns everything off.

Five 50-watt channels for living room speakers

The Class D amplification delivers 5 × 50 W into 4 ohms, with a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz, a signal-to-noise ratio above 80 dB, channel separation above 60 dB and distortion of 0.007%. This power rating is specified into 4 ohms: with the more common 8-ohm speakers, the available power is lower, making speakers with decent sensitivity the best choice for a medium-sized living room. The five pairs of gold-plated binding posts accept both bare wire and banana plugs, and the RCA subwoofer output feeds an active subwoofer, using a mono cable or a Y-cable depending on the model. For the rear speakers, Block recommends an angle of 10 to 30 degrees relative to the listening position.

The SUR button on the remote control provides access to two modes. The 5.1 CH Auto mode follows the incoming signal: a stereo source plays through only the two front speakers, while a 5.1 film uses the entire system. Virtual 5.1 CH mode, on the other hand, distributes any source across all the speakers, producing a more enveloping “multistereo” sound for background music. There are also bass and treble controls, eight sound presets (Normal, Live, Jazz, Rock, Hall, Classic, Pop, Stadion), balance and level adjustment for each pair of channels over ±10 steps. There is no automatic microphone calibration or distance adjustment: the balance is set by ear, which works well in a living room where the speakers are at similar distances from the listening position.

A TV and two sources connected via HDMI

The two HDMI inputs accommodate a console, player or TV box, and the HDMI ARC output sends the picture to the TV while receiving audio from its apps through the same cable, provided an HDMI 1.4 cable or higher is used. This is standard ARC, not eARC: audio from the TV’s apps arrives in the compressed formats that ARC can carry. On the HDMI inputs, the display indicates the incoming channel mode (for example Multi 5.1) and sampling rate, a useful reference for checking that a source is indeed sending multichannel audio. HDMI CEC control, added through a software update, allows the volume to be adjusted using the TV remote. For other devices, the Elements 5.1 has an optical input, a coaxial input and an analogue RCA input. The internal software automatically checks for updates online.

Digital radio, streaming and control from your phone

The tuner covers FM with RDS and DAB+, with ten presets each and a supplied wire antenna, while Internet radio provides access to more than 40,000 stations and 100,000 podcasts, with space to store 40 favourites. Spotify Connect (with a Premium subscription) and Deezer are built in, with the Deezer account connected via the display or the app. Bluetooth receives music from a phone or tablet, and the USB port plays MP3 files at up to 320 kbit/s from a FAT32-formatted flash drive. Network connectivity is via 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi, with an antenna that screws onto the rear, or an Ethernet cable. The Oktiv app, free on iOS and Android, selects the source, browses stations and services, displays the current track with its cover art and provides access to sound settings. A sleep timer completes the package for evening listening.

A matching duo with the Elements Blu-ray player

The Elements Blu-ray player shares the width and design of the Elements 5.1. The two devices connect via a 3.5 mm jack cable through their CD Control sockets: the DISC button on the remote then switches between controlling the player and the amplifier, so a single remote is enough for the entire system. The player plays Blu-rays, DVDs and CDs in Full HD and sends Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD tracks to the Elements 5.1 via HDMI. It is sold separately.

Technical specifications

Overview

• Elements 5.1 AV receiver
• Compact enclosure integrating technology into minimal space
• Modern, minimalist design
• Large front display
• Two rotary knobs for intuitive operation

Amplification and audio features

• Integrated 5.1 surround sound
• Output power: 5 × 50 W into 4 Ω, across 5 channels
• Frequency response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
• Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR): > 80 dB
• Channel separation: > 60 dB
• Music streaming via Bluetooth
• Built-in Internet radio
• Compatibility: Spotify Connect, Dezeer

Radio reception

• FM frequency range: 87.5 to 108 MHz
• DAB frequency range: 174.928 to 239.200 MHz
• Tuner antenna connection available

Network

• Wi-Fi: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands
• 1 RJ-45 Ethernet LAN port

Audio and video inputs and outputs

• 1 RCA stereo input: AUX, 400 mV
• 1 Toslink optical input
• 1 coaxial digital input
• 1 TV ARC input / output
• 2 TV inputs
• 1 RCA subwoofer output
• 1 USB port

Power supply

• Operating voltage: 100–240 V ~ AC
• Frequency: 50 / 60 Hz
• Maximum power consumption: 110 W

Dimensions

• Dimensions (width × height × depth): 250 × 80 × 260.5 mm