At
Pioneer, there's Elite and there's "flagship" Elite. The SC-09TX is Pioneer's first flagship receiver in almost three years, and they've pulled out all the stops. You know the laundry list of goodies is drool-worthy:
1080p upscaling,
HDMI 1.3, MCACC auto calibration,
DTS-HD and
Dolby TrueHD, for example.
THX Loudness Plus is also onboard, so you can hear all the details in the soundtrack without having to crank it up to THX reference levels. Not that you couldn't get to those volume levels, though -- all seven channels can be driven continuously at 200 Watts via a custom
ICEPower (an offshoot of
Bang & Olufson) Class-D amplifier. To make sure the signal being fed to the amp section is up to snuff, Pioneer has put their Sampling Rate Converter inside -- think of it as a 192kHz audio scaler. If you want one of these receivers like we do, you've got a few months to save up -- the SC-09TX drops this winter at $7000.
posted Sep 8th 2007 4:07PM
Holy Crap that's nice! $700 would be out of reach, but $7000! Yikes.
It's tough to justify buying high-end anything these days...with specs like HDMI still quirky and not fully fleshed out, this thing could be obsolete with the next revision.
We need pics of the back of the thing... for me, oogling the connections is much more interesting then looking at the front.
.. and the same comment holds for just about every other pic you have been putting up from CEDIA
I could not justify spending $7k for a receiver, I would have to go separates instead with dedicated amps and a pre/pro.
That's what I'm thinking.. I like what I've read about that new Sony 5300ES.. I think that'll hold me over for a bit but I want to see more from the upcoming Rotel amps.
having seperates is great because you can customize it in pretty much any fashion you want, but it doesn't necessarily make it better. i mean, comparing the amps in this to something you would have in seperates...well, there's a good reason why receivers like this and the 5805 weight in @ 100+ lbs. Also, there's a lot of things that integrated systems can do, that you would never find in a seperates system. say...two simultaneous 5.1 systems running @ the same time(avr5805) and lots of neat things
Being the huge Elite fan that I am, this beast just about made me wet my pants. MMMMM... the 200 watt Class-D amplifier alone sets this in a class by itself.
I was a bit shocked by the $7K pricetag however my first thought was wondering how much of this technology will be "de-tuned" down into the next gen Elite and Pioneer receivers at a more attractive price point. After all, that's what Pioneer does each model year when it releases its more mainstream product. Every Elite feature has eventually made its way into the top two or three receivers in the Pioneer line (even if the build quality and boards inside aren't up to Elite's high spec levels).
Personally, I'd never pay the $7K for precisely the reasons listed here: obsolescence being the main culprit. However should Pioneer decide to upgrade their traditional Elite line, I could see may way into spending up to $2K for a similar next gen model. Time will tell.
And Simba, I completely agree with you. I've done both components and integrated and while it appears on the surface that there is more flexibility with separates, that also becomes their downfall. There is no way I can possibly match the integration I would get from something like this unit by choosing two separate components myself. There is definitely something to be said about the way two pieces of equipment "talk" to each other and that's precisely what happens when you build a system. The fewer pieces where the sound can be changed or colored the better IMHO. I prefer transparency and clarity and the engineers who design and tweak these top end pieces can do it much better in their labs than I can in a showroom. Again, just my opinion...
How stupid a product and even more stupid of a consumer to purchase this garbage. $7000 and you get a cheap IC chip amplifier? Consumers should always remember to buy QUALITY, not TECHNOLOGY. Boasting HDMI 1.3, THX Loudness Plus, Auto Calibration, and 1080p scaling is on par with an automotive company advertising the an auto parking system, 4 zone climate control, and Bose sound system, for a sports car. All sizzle, no steak.
@kcjones -- I agree with you on buying quality, not tech. But just because the amp in IC-based does not mean it's low quality. ICEPower amps are seeing duty in some good sounding gear, like Jeff Rowland, Martin Logan and B&W.
@Simba -- Great points about the flexibility of separates versus the integration. That integration is worth different prices to different people. But, it is good to see Pioneer update their own flagship -- trickle down to the rest of the product line will come.
kcjones - just because this brief quip about this Elite receiver doesn't include any mention of specs and basically focuses only on the "sizzle" doesn't mean the beast won't perform right up there with the best of the rest in its class. Pioneer Elite has ALWAYS stood for extremely tight specs and products in this line are usually underrated rather than overrated. It sounds as if you have little or no experience with Elite or any super-premium products. If you would have bothered to research just a teeny tiny bit, you would know that this is NOT a "cheap IC chip amplifier". The new ICEPower based amplifier (google it if you want more info, there's a picture of the amp section on the webpage) is itself being featured at CEDIA and it is NOT an IC amp as the name might indicate. Instead, it is a new bridgeable amp section that produces high, clean power with low heat. Heat is always always always WASTED POWER in an amp and anything that can be done to channel that power to actual output is a good thing. These ICEPower amps will put out a rated .09% THD at 250 watts. In my book, less than one tenth of one percent distortion at 250 watts is some clean ass power. If nothing else, those specs put this amp in (dare I say it???) Elite company.
"Consumers should always remember to buy QUALITY, not TECHNOLOGY." Actually, if you shop well, you can have both. There is a reason that cutting edge technology sets the pace for everything else that follows. I remember when Carver first came out with their small amps that used revolutionary design to achieve their unbelievable power output. It was very difficult for most audiophiles to get their heads around what John Carver had managed to do but it didn't negate that these amps were in a class by themselves. Premium quality is always partnered with new technology. Don't poo poo something just because YOU wouldn't ever buy it. Even worse, don't be so quick to jump to conclusions without doing your research first.
Here's a link to Pioneer's official press release with a more balanced look at the QUALITY and the TECHNOLOGY that goes into the Elite SC-09TX:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/press/release/detail/0,,2076_310069593_487450982,00.html
And another to the ICEPower webpage:
http://www.icepower.bang-olufsen.com/
How much better could this be then the VSX-94TXH?
Anyone have a difference comparison?
It is pretty expensive even for a flagship piece, but it does sport some truly impressive specs. Most impressively, Pioneer engineers spent three years teaming with the Bang & Olufsen group in developing a completely custom ICE amplifier module for this receiver. 1400watts of it that is flexible enough to be bridged to 7x200 or run multiple zones. So, this is not an off the shelf module.
With a price tag as high as this it is an easy conclusion to go out and buy separates, especially considering this level of consumer (or installer), but buying the same quality in separates would be much more expensive than $7,000. Take a second and do a search for amplifiers using ICE technology and I think everyone would be surprised! Not only that, but Pioneer used the "separates" philosophy when designing this receiver. Basically, the pre-amp and amplifier are on separate chassis with only a ribbon cable connecting them internally. Not only that, but everything within the pre-amp has its own dedicated board. For those that know DACs, I think Wolfson is among the chipsets inside if my memory serves me correctly?
Oh, and that cool little screen on the front is an LCD which allows one to preview video and access menus without using an external display!
Great receiver. I really like Pioneer, though their remotes leave something to be desired. However, why spend money on upscaling? My DVD's are already upscaled and in less than two years, everything on TV should be HD. Right now, almost all of the TV I watch is HD. I don't need the connections and switching. I connect an HD DVD player and DirecTV DVR directly to the plasma. Everything else I run through a truly great top-of-the-line JVC receiver from four years ago. I love its sound. The next time I spend that much money, it will be to upgrade my Def Tech 7.1's. But, since I'm still in love with them, it'll be awhile!