What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
26 SEP 2008
Pioneer SC-LX81
If you've the money, this is an excellent receiver - it's sure to scare off the established opposition in this class
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We've already reviewed Pioneer's cracking new Blu-ray player, the BDP-LX71A. Now meet its natural surround receiver partner, the SC-LX81, a £1500 stunner that we reckon is Pioneer's most competitive in many a year.
As with many of its contemporaries in the 2008 Pioneer line-up, it's another great looker: in a class dominated by lantern-jawed, button-festooned behemoths, the SC-LX81's spare fascia and chic piano-lacquer finish is a breath of fresh air.
It's innovatively engineered too, using seven Bang & Olufsen's ICEpower Class D digital amp modules. This so-called "Direct Energy HD amplification" system is designed to deliver exceptionally fast response to the dynamic demands of modern surround soundtracks, plus plenty of power to cope with big volumes and demanding speakers.
Naturally, the Pioneer is packed with inputs: you'd expect nothing less at the price, although the presence of two HDMI outputs (for two separate screens) is a welcome, useful feature.
Support for all the HD audio formats
You'd also expect plenty of processing and decoding for your money, and the SC-LX81 doesn't disappoint on that front, either.
THX-certified, the Pioneer includes support for all the latest surround high-def audio codecs (Dolby TrueHD et al), and as with many others from the company stable in the last few years, it's been sonically fine-tuned with the help of Britain's own Air Studios.
It also features Network support, plus a dedicated Precision Quartz Locking System (PQLS) designed to optimise sonic performance when used with the BDP-LX71A by reducing jitter over HDMI.
So far so promising: the eagle-eyed will note the SC-LX81's technical commonalities with the mighty SC-LX90 'Susano', and we were thrilled by that mighty amp's delivery.
And in action, the SC-LX81 is almost as impressive, which is high praise indeed given how much cheaper it is than its sibling. It's incredibly fast and exciting to listen to, so agile and expressive even in the teeth of the surround sound storm.
Powerful, but subtle and expressive too
A forceful, punchy soundtrack like the DTS-HD score to the Master and Commander Blu-ray is an extraordinary listen through this receiver: cannon shots, in particular, have an almost physical presence, each pulsating discharge shattering the air around your sofa. You can't fail to flinch – which is, of course, exactly the director's intention.
Gratifyingly, the Pioneer has more to its locker than simple adrenaline-fuelled frenzy: it's as subtle and expressive as it needs to be, capturing the crackling tension of I Am Legend as eloquently as it relays the mania in Daniel Day-Lewis' voice during the explosive finale to There Will Be Blood.
Even music fares well, the SC-LX81 showing a far firmer grip of complex rhythms than many class rivals, as well as admirable insight.
Couple this capability to its obvious flexibility, style and quality, and you've a winning receiver. Pioneer is on a charge at the moment – the SC-LX81 will do its cause no harm at all.