Pioneer SC-37 7.1-Channel 3D Ready A/V Receiver Review

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(More customer reviews)The Elite series from Pioneer has developed a reputation for providing high quality at an affordable price. This is the third Elite receiver I have owned, and it definitely lives up to what it should be. Don't worry, I got the second one to move from 5.1 to 7.1, and I just got this one because the second one got zapped in an electrical storm. (I now have an APC J15 UPS protecting my equipment.)
The SC-37 has all the power you could want in any normal sized environment, and it provides crystal clear sound all the way up to its limit. Of course, I don't listen to anything that loud, which only means that it has plenty of power and headroom for any of my movies and audio.
Right out of the box, it sounded very nice - a bit on the bright side, though. Running the fully automatic MCACC made a very noticeable difference - not quite huge, but almost. Suddenly, the sound was full and rich, without any bright spots, and the spaciality was excellent. It was fun to listen to classical music and close my eyes and be able to pick out where each instrument in the orchestra was positioned. Someday I may go in and make manual adjustments to the setup, but for now I don't feel that I need to; the MCACC did a great job on its own.
Hooking up the receiver could not have been easier. With today's equipment, one HDMI cable provides both digital video and audio to the component. Digital (both coax and optical) and analog audio connections are provided, as are composite and component video connections, but no S-Video. I don't have any HDMI 1.4 components, so I can't report on the return feature it provides.
In addition to the normal (for these days) 7.1 connections (your subwoofer must be powered, as the SC-37 does not provide a subwoofer amplifier), the receiver also provides another pair of speaker outputs that can be used either as front high or front wide auxiliary speakers. (Alternatively, they can be configured as a B stereo pair.) I bought another set of satellite speakers and set them up in the front high configuration (about 4 ft above the front left and right speakers) and it really does make a noticeable difference in the sound. It adds another dimension, helps the spaciality and tends to fill in otherwise empty spots in the spacial field. One caution, though: nine sets of speaker wires is a lot of wires!
The SC-37 has a lot of features, many of which I don't believe I'll ever use, but I will eventually connect it to the Internet and my PC and will someday plug in a USB stick to listen to recordings. For now, though, I've been having fun playing with the various advanced surround effects and was surprised at how nice the Classical effect is. When you switch it on, suddently you are in a concert hall, with just the right amount of ambience and reverb to make it come alive.
This top-of-the-line receiver is not cheap, but compared to other receivers in its class, it is a real bargain. Once again, Pioneer has done right by me, and I'm very happy with this purchase.

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