Pioneer Elite SC-67 (1 Viewer)

I finally have my receiver set-up and calibrated. In case anyone else is considering this unit I thought I would post some impressions/observations.

There are some things that disappoint me. I’ll start off with what I don't like about this receiver:

- The remote is very inadequate. The buttons are very small and it's hard to read the functions. Hands down this is probably the worse remote I've ever used. I'll be happy when I get my smart remote programmed.

- The receiver didn't come with a printed copy of an operating manual. The PDF on the supplied CD is adequate but a paper copy would have been nice. Additionally, the instructions are open to a lot on interpretation. Making connections is simple enough to figure out but the functionality of the features could have been simplified and explained better.

- None of the connectors are gold plated like they were on my B&K, the volume and function knobs feel somewhat cheap.

Now for what I really like about this AVR.

1. Sound quality is very good with music and movies. I'm bi-amping my Paradigm studio fronts. The dynamic range is very good and I would describe the sound as "crisp" with-out being thin. Even right out of the box I thought it sounded really good. I may even prefer the sound to that of my B&K, but it’s hard to say with-out being able to do a side by side comparison.

2. Picture quality is superb! I have my Satellite/DVR/BD player connected via HDMI through the receiver and the picture is stellar on my Panny 1080P Plasma. Pass through works great, although it took me a little bit to figure out how to get the signal to “pass through” with the unit turned off.

3. MCACC- I did use the advanced MCACC for my speaker calibration and was pleased with the results. I still used my SPL meter and calibration disk to "tweak". Doing it the old fashion way was more fun but I'm not so sure I gained any improvement over the MCACC settings.

4. COOL- This thing runs surprisingly cool, after about 4 hours of continous use this morning the top barely felt warm. You could fry an egg on my old B&K if you needed to.

In the two most important areas for an AVR to excel (Sound and Video), this Pioneer definitely does just that. I haven't used the DLNA yet and I have yet to connect the receiver to my LAN, but will when I get more time. I'll provide updates as I utilize more features.


So far I’m very happy with my purchase!

R/Greg

1) I actually like Pioneer remotes but I'm definently in the minority. In a short while my fingers "learned' where the buttons I used most were and we now get along quite nicely. The new marantz remotes are really nice though.

2) This is an industry trend. I just download a copy to my computer and call it up when I need it. New receivers have a lot of features and options and the manuals are written by people who already know how to use them. After a while things will seem much clearer.

3) The VSX-59txi is probably the best built receiver Pioneer has ever made. It had a copper-clad chassis and aluminum faceplate as well as gold plated jacks and weighed 68 lbs!

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_12_3/pioneer-vsx-59txi-receiver-8-2005.html

It's all been down-hill since then, as it has been for most every receiver brand. More features + lower prices = no gold plating and cheap knobs.

I've always thought Pioneer receivers had a clear-as-glass sound to them. Video processors have come a long way in the last couple of years. As I said before, I really like the 6 MCACC presets that also remember speaker and subwoofer volume levels. And yes, Pioneers have always run very cool. Do your cooking in the kitchen from now on.

Glad you're happy with yours. I've always liked mine, even if I sold most of them.

Gene,

None of the things I mentioned were show stoppers and I know that it makes sense for the industry to cut costs by not printing owners manuals. I just think that after spending over 1K for a new AVR that a better quality remote and a printed owners manual would be included. The remote is functional but it feels cheap and isn't layed out very well. I'll be happy once I get my MX950 programmmed.

Now for more good:

I went through the MCACC again just to see if the results would be the same and now for some reason my sub doesn't play with music or dolby digital sources. Subwoofer is set to "yes". It also set my speakers to large and the crossover at 80HZ, seems high as my speakers are good down to 30 so I'm wondering this is a default crossover setting? Does the MCACC also adjust your crossoiver setting and frequency roll off? Gene since you are so familiar witht he Pioneer I'm hoping you'll chime in.

R/Greg

** Edit: I figured out the sub issue. By setting the suboowfer to "plus" it now comes on. Strange thouigh the with "yes" selected it didn't work. Maybe the sub only works with "yes" selected if the speakers are set small?

In single crossover AVR...big=not included in bass management.

If listening to 2.0 and "big" front speakers the subwoofer is left to snooze.

Speakers have to be set to Small for the sub to work. Large and Plus also activates the subwoofer. You can change the crossover setting after running MCACC if you want to. And if you select Auto MCACC instead of Full MCACC you can keep the Speaker System settings you selected before-hand if you want to.

I had a 59txi for a while and most everything I've had afterwards has been a bit disappointing in construction and materials used so i certainly know what you mean. But it was a $4500 receiver 8 years ago. I'd like to se an SC-09 in person. It's msrp is $7000.

schan1269 said:

In single crossover AVR...big=not included in bass management.

If listening to 2.0 and "big" front speakers the subwoofer is left to snooze.

Click to expand...

Thanks that makes sense. With the subwoofer set to "plus" it's always on which I like since my speakers dont give you that extra"thump" I like when listening to music. When I went through the set-up the first time I had the speakers set to small and was using my sub for all the bass management which I certainly prefer while watching movies. When listening to music though I like 2 Channel, Mains set to large with the sub integrated. I lowered the cross over setting to 50hz and the speakers have really come alive. The more I listen to this AVR the more I like it.

R/Greg

gene c said:

Speakers have to be set to Small for the sub to work. Large and Plus also activates the subwoofer. You can change the crossover setting after running MCACC if you want to. And if you select Auto MCACC instead of Full MCACC you can keep the Speaker System settings you selected before-hand if you want to.

I had a 59txi for a while and most everything I've had afterwards has been a bit disappointing in construction and materials used so i certainly know what you mean. But it was a $4500 receiver 8 years ago. I'd like to se an SC-09 in person. It's msrp is $7000.

Click to expand...

I guess I was spoiled by with build quality of my B&K. Not quite as heavy as your 59 TXi but it was powerful at 150 watts per channel and it weighed 55 pounds. Everything was gold plated and you could feel the power while listening to music or watching movies. Although much less expensive I still consider my SC-67 to be a very good quality product and it's certainly adequate for my needs. I may end up adding another amp just for music listening but for movies this is very impressive.. I'm happy with how I have everything dialed in now. Thanks for your input.
R/Greg

BTW, I listen to all 2 channel music in analog (yes, the old-fashioned red/white cables). I can change from hdmi to analog by hitting the Signal Select button on the remote. I then hit the Auto/ACL/Direct button to select either Pure Analog or Direct. Pure Analog sets the Fronts to full range with no subwoofer and Direct allows the subwoofer and Bass management. Analog just sounds better to me for music.

Your results sound similar to mine. I replaced a B&K Ref 20 with a Pioneer Elite acting as a processor and powering the rear speakers. Can;t compare build quality, the B&K is several steps up, AV use, movie sound and video quality is excellent, while I think I preferred the B&K for 2 channel music.

I just needed to deal with HDMI and the latest audio formats from BluRay over HDMI sound great

I have an SC57, which is very similar.

Remote: Agree, it's terrible. The most ridiculous part is that the light lights up the buttons, but not the labels. What's the point if you can't read the labels?

User's Guide: I don't care that they didn't send a printed copy. Most people never read it anyway and they'd have to produce it in several languages. This saves a lot of trees. When I used to produce User's Guides, I'd print on the cover, "When all else fails, read the instructions."

But I agree that it's written poorly. It doesn't sound like it was poorly translated from Japanese, but I think they purposely don't fully describe what certain things do because either they don't really know (like the sound modes that they licensed) or the explanations are so complicated that it would befuddle the average person.

I'm an ex-recording engineer and I couldn't figure out half of what they were trying to explain.

One thing I think they really blew is that there's no diagram to hook up plain old stereo speakers and I think even the 5.1 isn't very clear.

Sound: I have never been thrilled with the sound of this receiver. It's okay for movies via HDMI, but it's completely lifeless for analog and even CD playback doesn't sound as good as my old Apt-Holman preamp and Crown poweramp using the same front speakers. (Sorry if you've heard me complain about that before.)

Interesting, I also ended up adjusting the sub cross over to 50 hz and setting to plus so the sub picks up a little of the low end from my Vandersteen 2CE fronts. The Vandy' s seem very happy playing down low and sound much better not being cut off around 80 hz