Owners of Pioneer SC-37/SC-LX85

[rajivganth]

Hi All,

I just thot of starting this thread to discuss the nuances that over a period we learn from this great AVR. It can be, good or bad(?!) feature that we discover over the usage - may be due to not paying attention to the minute details given in the complex user manual.

Let me start with what I experienced to give a head start.

Never, ever, ever and ever insert iPod or USB stick on the front port when the AVR is powered on.

What happens is the you loose some configuration settings. Sometimes, I lost the Video output - coz it switched the video out from HDMI Out1 to HDMI out 2
sometimes, MCACC data were lost - I had to re-run MCACC setup again.

Basically, it is unpredictable. I asked the customer support rather reported this as a bug. But, they said that it is mentioned in the user manual that the user should attempt to insert/remove USB drive or iPod when the AVR is powered off.

I know it is ridiculous, but hey, right now this is not taken as bug. So, pls take care of it.

 

[Spidey]

Just curious where you got it and price.

 

[rajivganth]

I imported it from the USA thru borderlinx of citibank. I paid 83K inclusive of shipping, tax & duty etc.,

 

[pguy]

I have the SC LX 85, it works when the usb is inserted with the avr powered on. On the avr facia you have to just select the ipod/usb button and it loads up all the files within.

 

[rajivganth]

It does work. It recognizes the iPod/USB stick. What I am saying is that AVR looses some config settings. That's actually a good insight. If LX85 works and not the SC-37, then it has to be taken as a bug by Pioneer. I will talk to support guys one more time.

 

[pguy]

I've not plugged my AVR to the tv/blu-ray set up yet. Will do it in a week and then confirm if any settings go awol. Right now just using it for audio

It does work. It recognizes the iPod/USB stick. What I am saying is that AVR looses some config settings. That's actually a good insight. If LX85 works and not the SC-37, then it has to be taken as a bug by Pioneer. I will talk to support guys one more time.

 

[rajivganth]

Waiting for you to complete the testing..
I'll talk to support guys after your test reports

 

[pguy]

Waiting for you to complete the testing..
I'll talk to support guys after your test reports

It will take me another week to complete wiring and report back. Hoping to put in a new theater system by Christmas

 

[rajivganth]

More -ve comments on SC-37.

1. This is about video processing. You can not select the aspect ratio like 16:9, 4:3 etc., Only two options available: Through or Normal.

2. There is no TV screen size selection and no TV type selection whether LCD or Plasma - I had these features in my old HK AVR-745

3. When video gets up-scaled to 1080p/24, there is frame by frame movement - I mean little lag is there. I tried all possible methods, but, not satisfactory. May be, someone knows a technique, let me know.

 

[rajivganth]

I stand corrected about 1080p/24. It works flawless with DVD when it gets upscaled to 1080p/24. I faced the problem when I played very low .avi files which had high compression data ratio.

After doing lot of trial, I must say, I'm extremely impressed by video and audio. Except for the USB stuff I posted as a bug. But, the work around is that never, ever plug-in usb stick/ipod to the AVR when it is powered on.

this is god of all AVRs.

 

[anm]

God of all AVRs! That's one happy user
Have you heard the NAD avrs? I am amazed by their power and the dark knight movie opening heist scene on T785 gets new definition when you watch it on a nad avr. However, they do not have networking/ usb kind of features, which, I personally think, should be left to a dedicated media player. I am a nad fan now, but I have not heard many high end avrs from different brands.

Hope to listen to this pioneer.

 

[rajivganth]

I have auditioned other receivers but NAD when I was shopping for AVR. I heard good reviews NAD and yes I'm one happy user of SC-37. :E) for the same reasons. Dark Knight opening was amazing and the violin (only) background in that movie is gripping thru SC-37.

BTW, even though, this is not the topic we should be discussing here, I do use USB HDD thru my media player. I mentioned it here since, it is one of the features boasted by this AVR to connect iPod.

 

[anm]

actually, in Hindu culture, there are many Gods. So I am happy with mine, and you are happy with yours

 

[rajivganth]

here is the little comparison that I took from HT Labs:


SC - 57 HT Labs Measure
Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:*
0.1% distortion at 115.1 watts*
1% distortion at 132.0 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:*
0.1% distortion at 109.6 watts*
1% distortion at 123.7 watts

Analog frequency response in Pure Direct mode:*
0.25 dB at 10 Hz*
0.07 dB at 20 Hz*
+1.00 dB at 20 kHz*
1.21 dB at 50 kHz

Analog frequency response with stereo signal processing:*
0.95 dB at 10 Hz*
0.29 dB at 20 Hz*
1.23 dB at 20 kHz*
68.57 dB at 50 kHz



=========================================================



SC - 37 HT Labs Measure
Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:*
0.1% distortion at 135.7 watts*
1% distortion at 171.9 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:*
0.1% distortion at 125.4 watts*
1% distortion at 164.7 watts

Analog frequency response in Pure Direct mode:*
0.06 dB at 10 Hz*
0.01 dB at 20 Hz*
+0.48 dB at 20 kHz*
1.51 dB at 50 kHz

Analog frequency response with stereo signal processing:*
1.34 dB at 10 Hz*
0.39 dB at 20 Hz*
+0.46 dB at 20 kHz*
2.26 dB at 50 kHz

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even though it may not be significant to the human ears, I think the B&O's ICE power amp is better is what I think. any views fellas?

 

[Kittu]

From your experience with Pioneer , do you call it a warm sounding AVR or Bright or neutral?

Considering paradigms are slightly open (bright) sounding, how is the overall experience after pairing with Pioneer?

 

[rajivganth]

I think with the combination of Paradigm speakers, I feel it is Neutral.