CE Week is in full swing, right in the middle of New York City. Pioneer Electronics is showing up to the event with a trio of powerhouse AV receivers for its Elite SC line.
The company just announced the SC-75, SC-77 and SC-79 THX-certified 9.2-channel audio/video receivers. All three have Class D3 amplification technology for driving each channel, as well as high-res audio playback, multi-room and multi-source options, 4K Ultra HD upscaling, nine SABRE32 Ultra DACs (digital-to-analog converters), and a 192 kHz/32-bit audio scaler. Dizzy yet? Wait until you feast your eyes (and ears) on each of these models.
Those multi-zone perks are pretty interesting, since Pioneer says that each one has options for 11 different setups (12 with the SC-77 and SC-79!). There's no need to worry about control options either; each zone can be controlled using Pioneer's iControlAV2013 App for iOS and Android devices.
The flagship model is the SC-79, which is the first receiver to include the HDBaseT standard for a one-wire multi-zone connection. That basically means that it can do uncompressed HD video and audio, all via one Cat 5e or Cat6 cable. It also has a USB 32-Bit Asynchronous Audio DAC, for a direct connection to both Windows and MAC computers. That feature also supports DSD Native playback (DSD over PCM transfer) via MAC and Windows computers.
The SC-77 and the SC-79 are also Air Studios Monitor Certified. That means that in addition to THX bragging rights, these components have been through the ringer at the Air Studios Recording facility in London.
Other features on each receiver include Crestron and Control4 support, two-way RS-232-over-IP control, Windows 8 certification, and MHL 2.0 connectivity. There are also several streaming media options, via Pandora and vTuner, as well as Apple AirPlay. Since these receivers work with the iControlAV2013 app, each one can also tap into the new Push Player feature, whch adds stored music from devices for wireless streaming. The actual receivers can be networked via Ethetnet or you can opt for wireless with the add-on AS-WL300 adapter.
"We're continuing to integrate the newest and most advanced technologies available into our products, including being the first manufacturer to incorporate the new HDBaseT high definition multi-zone standard," said Chris Walker, director of AV marketing and product planning for Pioneer's home electronics division. "Through our Class D3 technology, each one of these receivers is built to produce an enormous amount of power efficiently without sacrificing performance, whether it's powering an advanced 9.2-channel home theater set up or spreading the task to various rooms of the house."
Pioneer will start selling the Elite SC-75, SC-77 and SC-79 receivers this July. The company has priced the trio at $1600, $2000 and $3000, respectively.
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