Buy Pioneer Elite SC-35 A/V ReceiverPioneer Elite SC-35 A/V Receiver Product Description:
Product Description
Pioneer Elite SC 35 71 Channel 330 Watt Home Theater Receiver
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful.
Among the best audio receivers out there
By I. Bilynsky
I've been using the SC-35 for several months and I am loving every minute of it. Whether its audio from a TV program, a movie or music the SC-35 is to audio as high def is to video. My previous receiver was an old $300 Onkyo unit which was not by any means bad, but compared to the SC-35 it just doesn't hold a candle.Sound Quality--------------------------The main benefit of the SC-35 is its ICE amp, a full range Class D amplifier which provides high power levels to multiple channels without generating a lot of heat. My older receiver would heat up and radiate this heat even while playing at modest sound levels, while the SC-35 can play louder (with no distortion) and only get warm to the touch. Channel separation is a big indicator of quality when talking about multi-channel amps and the SC-35 does not fail. You get crisp, distinct channels so there is no "blurring" between any of them. This translates to a much more dynamic "sound field" when listening to multi-channel soundtracks such as those found in movies. You really feel immersed, with sounds coming at you from all angles, even top down which was a new one for me.Auto Setup really works--------------------------My old unit had an "auto setup" and calibration feature. I put the mic in the position where my head would be and let it do its thing. I didn't think the Onkyo did a good job of setting things up because the sound was not really much different than the default settings...however the SC-35 surprised me once again. After running the auto setup on the SC-35, everything sounded BETTER. I was amazed at how well it compensated for speaker distances and room acoustics. I guess I'm jaded so I often write-off auto setup anything as a sales gimmick but on the SC-35 it works great.Fully Customizable Inputs--------------------------Instead of taking the "one size fits all" approach, the SC-35 lets you decide how to configure your a/v inputs. I am using all HDMI connections except for my XBOX360, which is component video. I was able to set up all the relevant inputs using the on-screen menu, label them so that the receiver shows the name of the device rather than some generic "aux 1, aux 2" text and I disabled all of the inputs I was not using so I don't need to tab through them when selecting the one I want. Another nice thing about the SC-35 is its excellent video conversion quality. I can connect just about any type of video source to this receiver, but have it output to my TV in 1080P via an HDMI cable. It not only reduces cable clutter, but it also has very high quality upscaling so lower resolution sources will look their best on your modern HDTV screen.Excellent Auto Select Output--------------------------There is an option to let the receiver decide the best way to output audio based on the input signal - and I love the way it just works. You don't need to change to "stereo mode" for music, it will automatically detect that the signal is stereo and output it only to the L & R channels (which is the best way to listen to stereo sound). It also knows when to kick over to Dolby PLII mode during certain TV shows, but most of the TV shows I watch are on HD channels and therefore have a 5.1 DD soundtrack. The auto select feature is the most useful when using my HTPC, as content on the HTPC can vary from 1 to 6 channels...and it's always on the ball playing it back correctly, so I never need to manually choose a playback mode.As far as negatives go, it's really heavy and it's very big. Not really negatives for me, but functionally and from a design standpoint there are no drawbacks to the SC-35. Its sound performance will match or surpass many pre-amp/amp setups at a fraction of the cost...and while it is more expensive than the average A/V receiver, it's well worth the premium. I only paid $970 for mine including shipping, but if the lowest price was $1,500 I'd still consider it a great deal. I've owned receivers from Kenwood, Yamaha, Onkyo and even Denon...none of them were bad but they all had caveats. The SC-35 is the most expensive receiver I have owned but it is also by far the best.Whether you are an audio elitist or just someone who wants excellent sound for watching movies, playing video games and listening to music it is highly improbable that you would be disappointed with the SC-35. Just like Pioneer's Kuro Plasma TVs, the SC-35 is a receiver in a class of its own and it will probably be the best receiver of its kind for a long time to come.Setup Note:I'd like to mention that when you are setting up the speakers on this unit, if you set the front speakers to something other than "small", you will disable the subwoofer when playing back stereo music. Set them to small to have all low frequency sound sent to your subwoofer.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful.
This thing rocks!!!!
By J. Swanson
5star on the reciever itself and 2 star for the remote. The remote is a non issue to me since using a Harmony remote in it's place. The remote works as should but nothing spectacular.Came from a NAD T762 that had a great sound and this Pioneer to my ears has met and maybe even exceeded it in sound quality. I am exclusively using digital inputs such as digital coax, optical and HDMI. So I have no experience with it's analog inputs. HTPC connected digital coax, Dtv box HDMI, Pan BD100 3D player HDMI, 360 and PS3 both HDMI. HDMI experiences.The HDMI passes 3D video to the TV as it should. When using the video enhancement it does lag the sound and require some tuning. Most of what I pass is already improved accept the standard def tv from DTV which when in enhanced mode it does improve the video a tad. No difference noted in HD content enhance on or off. So I just have the enhance turned off on all inputs. With video gaming lag can be a problem. I have a Panasonic VT20 3D plasma that when gaming has to my experience 0 lag or damn near 0 when hooked directly to tv HDMI. I was worried I would gain lag through the pioneer. If it adds lag it is not noticed by me, of course with any enhancement turned off on the reciever and tv on game mode. All HDMI inputs can be relabled accept the BD HDMI it can not be changed. Also if you run a HTPC as I do with HDMI video but sound via digital coax/optical it doesn't seem to work with both. It almost works but everytime I leave the OSD the sound goes away, the settings are saved cause once back into OSD the sound comes back. I think it is a HDMI copy right deal not pioneers fault. So I have the HTPC directly to TV and digital coax to reciever till I upgrade to a video card that carries sound via the HDMI also. Self tune experience.What can I say it is a breeze to run. Will it be perfect after running maybe maybe not for you. I am very pleased with the difference it made. I do like a bit more sub then it ended with but it allows tuning after the fact. It picked up my speakers and knew they where full range speakers.I have Paradigm studio's center and rear speakers with James LF and RF all very efficient speakers. At first they where very bright but after the self tune it was much improved and on par or even better to me then my NAD before. I am very pleased with this reciever and highly recomend it. I was debating between this and the new Yamaha Aventage RXA2000. I can not comment on the RXA2000 for I have yet to see/hear one, but from the reviews it sounds like I couldn't go wrong with either the Pioneer I chose or the RXA2000. I am also a poor refrence for the added sounds etc since I always tend to preffer a non altered sound. I keep audio set to play what it was recorded as IE if in stereo it stays stereo and if 5.1 DTS it stays as such. I also do not use the sound altering settings either for hallway, concert hall etc. So to wrap this up this reciever delivers a great sound and performs digital switching flawlessly so far and I am very pleased with it.Have a good one,
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Amazing
By W. Cruz
If your looking at this reciever then you are probably already familiar with its connections and ICE amps. I compared a Denon 3311 and 4311 with this guy and for the price the Pioneer was the best. The only thing Denon had over the Pioneer was online firmware updates. The Denons had great sound but the Pioneer in my opinion seemed to offer slightly more punch. The Pioneer also had a cleaner looking face than the Denon's. Honestly either way you can't really go wrong... both Denon and Pioneer's products were amazing. The Pioneer has a very solid build and the ICE amps stay very cool. My old Onkyo was a space heater so the SC-35 is a huge upgrade in that area.I purchased this mainly for movies, games and some music. My setup includes the following. Definitive Technology BP7004 L/R, Definitive Technology CLR 2500, Klipsch Surrounds, Epic Empire Sub, PS3, XBox 360, Panasonic g20 plasma. The system setup could not be easier. The manual needs work but if you turn it on and play with it a little, you should have no problem figuring it out in 5-10 minutes. Another reason I went with this is because of the ICE amps... basically, I was lazy and didnt feel like running a pre-amped setup. Also, 140 watts of power is PLENTY. You only need more if your powering some ridiculious 4ohm speakers but if you are then i'm sure your paying in excess of 10k for your speaker system alone and probably not even looking into an amped receiver. At full power, the sc-35 with my speaker setup, the sound was VERY loud but still very clear.Anyway, one of the big selling points for me was the following test: I have music stored on my PS3 and it is pushing out to the receiver and to the DT speakers. When I plugged in the Denon's the MP3's sounded great, no complaints at all. When I tried the Pioneer with the same setup, I noticed that I could hear individual instruments within the music where as the Denon's were not quite as clear. On the flip side, when I played a crappy downloaded mp3 it sounded a little better on the Denon but when the Pioneer played it the flaws were evident. I went with the pioneer because of the detail aspect. Crap in, crap out.The only negitive I found with the Pioneer was that the receiver is slightly longer than the traditional sized receiver. This means that if you are putting the Pioneer in a media stand your going to have to go with the good stuff and not the crap at walmart or best buy. BDI and Stand Out Designs make great AV stands that will work with the large size and weight of this receiver. Make sure you measure it well and add an inch for the wires in the back. The remote is ok but I have a harmony so I never really use it unless I am tweeking the system itself.In short, you cant really go wrong with the SC-35... great receiver, solid build and competitive price point from online retailers.
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