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For sale is my Pioneer SC-LX81 7.1 Channel 190 Watt Receiver.
I used this with my KEF Reference TDM THX 5.1 speaker setup and the system sounded absolutely sublime, very fast, authoritative and powerful – like being in a cinema but in the comfort of your own sitting room.Also excellent for music lovers.
What Hifi five star award winner.
Produces a massive 190w rms in each of its seven channels, all of which boast an ICE power digital amp module by Bang & Olufsen.
Owned from new, 1895 when purchased.
A true power house of an AV amplifier.
Lightly used and in immaculate condition from a smoke and pet free home, it looks brand new.
Perfect working order.
Comes in the original box with remote control, calibration mic, power lead and user manual.
Only selling as I have upgraded to a full in house Boothroyd Stuart Meridian Audio Digital Media / Theatre system.
A lovely Christmas present for someone.
Double boxed with lots of bubble wrap to give ultimate protection for courier postage.
Please take the time to read the following if you would like a true understanding of the capabilities of this beast –
Pioneer’s SC-LX81 is the coolest AV receiver on the market, with two HDMI outputs, Dolby True HD, THX certification, DTS-HD, 1080p upscaling, MCACC calibration, oh, and did we mention its gorgeous?Not only does its gloss black finery give it a sub-zero rating in the style stakes, its array of Bang & Olufsen ICEpower digital amplifier modules ensures it runs only marginally warmer than a clock-radio.Adding a frost-bite level of coolness is an awesome GUI onscreen display, stylish remote control with automatic blue backlight and sound tuning by London’s acclaimed AIR Studios. But what really makes the LX81 fresher than a polar bear’s dangly bits in the middle of winter is its sound. This is the best-sounding receiver around 2,000 bar none.Pioneer took a bold step by introducing ICEpower modules into the performance-driven end of the AV market. Early incarnations of the ICEpower all-digital amplifiers were not everyone’s cup of tea sonically, but they do offer a lot of well-controlled power for very little electricity expenditure, and are hence about green as amplifiers get. Recent versions of the module, with power claimed to be a staggering 190W into 8 Ohms for each channel in the LX81’s case, are staggering.Supported by Pioneer’s own substantial power supply, the sound is clean, potent and wonderfully crisp without harshness. Bass digs deep without any bloom or excess, and low-bass to the main channels leaps positively gazelle-like out of the speakers.ICEpower performanceThe electrifying battle scene in the dock in Matrix Revolutions (Blu-ray) explodes into the room in a huge cornucopia of effects. The rush of the Squidies and the APU’s heavy machine guns have stunning transient power. From the cycling of the gun’s reloading mechanism, to the percussive blast of each shot strung together in a torrent of sonic violence, the effect is wholly believable and totally engrossing. Push the volume knob deep into ASBO territory and the sound grows into a huge, room-filling, dynamically astonishing soundstage that remains poised right up until your speakers beg for mercy. Man, what a ride!The ensuing silence after the Hammer crashes into the dock and fires the EMP blast is just as impressive. The LX81 does quiet scenes well; dialogue projects out with all the emotion and inflection that the actors can muster. Lawrence Fishburne’s baritone voice is perhaps not quite as deep or fulsome as it is on some of rival AVRs, but it is remarkably precise and accurate.In fact, that dichotomy sums up the sound of the LX81. While it doesn’t have the warmth or sheer mid-bass body of some of its competitors, this perceived lack of ‘richness’ lets the rest of the sound breathe like never before.Automatic excellence Some of this lack of mid-bass bloom is down to the LX81’s MCCAC auto set-up and EQ system doing its thing and relieving the sound of room-induced problems. As I’m so familiar with my room’s inherent sound, the MCACC adjusted set-up (which did some quite heavy filtering around 125Hz in my room) is invariably going to sound a bit light to my professional lugholes.Suspecting this might be the case, I set up a mic and RTA (real time analysis) freeware on the lap-top and measured the room response. The resulting plot was, by a country mile, the flattest I have ever seen a 20Hz to 20kHz sweep in my room!No wonder Pioneer dedicates half the LX81’s brochure and several chapters of the manual to the MCACC system because here it is simply brilliant. Conversely there is a very small mention, somewhere around page 96, of the analogue video up-conversion to 1080p. Funnily enough this is mediocre at best, although chances are you will have a decent scaler in your source or display anyway, so no major bother.No major bother also describes the beautiful LX81 GUI and its day-to-day operation. The interface makes an incredibly complex and well-featured receiver supremely easy to set up, tweak and use. There is access to just about every facet of the MCACC filtering (allowing me to bring back some mid-bass bloom hey, I like it) and the easiest network set-up of any Ethernet-enabled receiver I have tested to date. I simply plugged the cable in, pressed ‘OK’ a few times and hey-presto! full internet radio and access to the THX Neural network of surround sound audio streams. Bring it on Pioneer, bring it on…Dual HDMI Having simultaneous output HDMIs is a gift for multi-room, or those of us with both a TV and projector, and needless to say the rear panel of the LX81 lacks nothing. Badge-hunters and serious big-room bruisers will salivate over the THX Ultra2 Plus post processing, too.But nuts to all that spec-talk and feature trumps, because this receiver’s real unadulterated magic is what it makes your speakers do. The sheer dynamic impact, the huge uncluttered soundstage, the clarity and fine detail, and the subtle textural information it ekes out of any movie, adds up to a sound that is more addictive that crack cocaine. Probably.Even with sonic masterpieces like John Stevenson’s Kung Fu Panda (no relation John or the panda) the LX81 continues to impress. Dialogue is clean and voices with heavy accent or overt character like Jack Black’s Po are rendered with incredible intelligibility. As the pace picks up in those heady Zhang Yimou-inspired martial arts moments, the LX81 is so blisteringly fast it keeps the movie pace at warp velocity and never lets up.This Pioneer is no slouch if you like a bit of retro two-channel, non-video entertainment either. CDs are rendered equally crisp and articulate even if the mere thought of RoomEQ sends your average hi-fi aficionado apoplectic.The same high-speed dynamic that works so well with all-action movie sequences does wonders for rock and pop music, while the attention to fine detail and tone-perfect dialogue works equally well with complex music and subtle vocals. If you happen to have a current-range Pioneer Blu-ray player, CD sound is likely to be even better, as Pioneer implements a clocklocking system (PQLS) to reduce jitter in the HDMI audio data stream.Choose your weapons So, what’s the downside to the LX81? Well, because it fights well above its price point you are really going to need a suitably serious speaker package to make the most of it. Hook up your old speakers or sub-sat package and the LX81’s unbridled potential will have you reaching for the plastic quicker that you can say ‘credit crunch’.AdvertisementOf course, the awesome EQ system and ICEpower amps will elicit the very best from any speaker array you care to hook up, but this is a receiver that begs for a suite of floorstanding speakers and a top-flight sub. Looking at it another way, buying this receiver now will see you through several major loudspeaker upgrades into the future.Pioneer’s SC-LX81 sets the current AVR standard at the 1,500-2,000 price point by a comfortable margin. It’s stunningly well-equipped, has fabulous sound and is damn near future-proof as well. How cool is that?
-PIONEER SCLX81 AMPLIFIER
Pioneer introduces its new A/V receivers the SC LX81 is capable of delivering a high-definition audiovisual experience that transcends the ordinary. The new A/V receivers work seamlessly with Pioneer’s 2008 KURO TVs and Blu-ray Disc players to deliver the ultimate picture and sound performance.
In the slipstream of Pioneer’s recently announced flagship A/V amplifier, “Susano SC-LX90,” the SC-LX81 and SC-LX71, continue to incorporate ICEpower direct energy HD amplification and the company’s legacy sound-tuning in collaboration with AIR Studios in London to produce a sound quality that is truly unique.
Pioneer’s Susano A/V amplifier represents the pinnacle of high-end design and engineering in home theatre equipment. Building upon the Susano’s success, our new line of LX A/V receivers provides the full impact of new uncompressed, multi-channel audio soundtracks available on Blu-ray Discs,” says Jim Catcheside, Product Manager at Pioneer GB. “Listeners can get the impression of being at the front row of their favourite concert.”
The Pioneer SC-LX81 delivers robust, realistic sound quality as a result of the exclusive Direct Energy HD Amplifier with ICEpower technology. Pioneer combines its industry-leading sound tuning technology and digital signal processing (DSP) to produce HD surround sound at unprecedented efficiency levels. Entertainment enthusiasts can take advantage of internal decoding of advanced audio formats – DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus – to finally enjoy a full HD viewing experience with rich sound that complements on-screen imagery. Both A/V receivers feature Advanced MCACC tuning to ensure accurate, studio-quality surround sound regardless of the room configuration, while Full Band Phase Control eliminates bass ‘phase lag’ often caused by low-frequency levels in 5.1 surround sound systems. The A/V receivers include Neural-THX allowing for content produced in two-channel stereo formats to be dispersed among 7.1 channel surround sound, as well as a sampling rate converter (SC-LX81), guaranteeing that full body of sound and picture arrives as intended by the sound engineer/director.
In this new range of A/V receivers Pioneer brings HDMI 1.3a with support of 12-Bit Deep Colour to deliver a stellar picture from connected sources with a wide variety of hues and shades. The A/V receivers are engineered for 1080p video processing and feature a Faroudja video scaler chip that ensures full 1080p 24 Hz performance. An incorporated audio enhancement feature with anti-jitter technology converts the HDMI signal to maintain the integrity of the sound conversion.
Pioneer created jitter-free playback and dynamic sound quality for music CDs. When connected to a new Blu-ray Disc player via HDMI, the Pioneer SC-LX81 receivers perfect CD playback with the proprietary Precision Quartz Locking System (PQLS). The advanced feature synchronizes data coming from the Blu-ray Disc player to the receiver, providing listeners with a very accurate and faithful reproduction of their favourite music.
The Pioneer SC-LX71 and SC-LX81 enhance the home theatre experience with the exclusive Home Media Gallery. Through the receiver, users can easily access and stream digital media files directly from a connected home PC or laptop computer with media server IP networking capability. The function is compliant with Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), Windows Vista or Windows Media Connect, as well as Microsoft audio DRM technology. Users can freely navigate and select content from their iPods thanks to Advanced iPod Connectivity, the receiver’s remote control and on-screen display. Pioneer further implements its proprietary Sound Retriever DSP technology, which works by “filling in” and compensating for the audio data removed from the compressed files (WMA, MP3, MPEG-4 AAC) for music playback that is near CD quality
Multi-Zone, Multi-Source Capabilities allow Pioneer’s LX A/V Receivers to serve as the entertainment centrepiece of multiple roomsThe SC-LX81 has dual HDMI video output and second zone component video output for zone 2 HD video capabilitiesDecodes DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital PlusSC-LX81 A/V receiver features Advanced MCACCHDMI 1.3a with support of 12-Bit Deep ColourFull Band Phase Control eliminates bass ‘phase lag’Faroudja video scaler chip that ensures full 1080p 24 Hz performanceRS-232C Port for PC and Control ConnectivityNew product cosmetics compliment and harmonise with the design of the KURO displays and Blu-ray Disc players
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Category: Sound and Vision:Home Audio and HiFi Separates:Receivers
Location: Gateshead