Pioneer SC-LX87

9.2-Channel THX® Ultra2 Plus, AIR Studios AV Receiver Featuring Class D (Direct Energy HD) Amplifier with USB-DAC, Ultra HD (4K) Upscaling / Pass Through

Defying The Limits of Home Cinema
Sound-tuned by the legendary Air Studios, the THX ULTRA2 Plus certified SC-LX87-K brings studio quality sound to your living room. Using only high-end components – each rigorously calibrated and tuned – this receiver allows you to experience film and music exactly as the creators intended. 

The SC-LX87 integrates an ESS Technology Inc. SABRE 32bit Ultra DAC, the industry’s benchmark for audio digital-to-analogue conversion, to reproduce music with unsurpassed fidelity. With an Audio Scaler on board even regular CD quality content can be upscaled up to 192 kHz/32 bit to create a “high-resolution” experience. Unique to this receiver is an asynchronous USB-DAC, allowing direct USB connection with a Mac or PC and supporting 192 kHz/32 bit music file content. It plays back DSD files, high-resolution AIFF, Apple Lossless, WAV and FLAC files for which gapless playback is supported as well. 

A built-in ECO Mode lets you save energy without compromising on sound and video performance. Compatible (free) smartphone/tablet apps include the advanced remote control app iControlAV2013.

Audio Scaler
Pioneer’s latest Audio Scaler technology consists of Hi-bit32, Up-Sampling, and Digital Filter. The Hi-bit32 Audio Signal Processing improves resolution and density, while the Up-Sampling reduces noise. Then the Digital Filter creates soft, natural sound and improves transient response and pre-echo effect. The three features integrate to upscale all 2-channel audio content up to 176.4 kHz/192 kHz 32-bit playback, offering realistic reproduction of the content.

Direct Energy HD Amplifier
The Direct Energy HD Amplifier has further evolved as Class D Amplifier, equipped with the Direct Power FET featuring a simple structure with superior heat dissipation. This year, the digital circuit power supply has been redesigned to provide a clean electric current with reduced noise. The top two models have separated operational amp section and amplifying section with dedicated ICs for minimum interference, while the other AV receivers adopt a directly-coupled IC with precise signal transmission.

Full Band Phase Control
Phase Control / Auto Phase Control Plus
Phase Control is an innovative solution for the phase lag caused by the delayed bass in a multi-channel speaker setting. The further advanced Full Band Phase Control focuses on the group delay in the speaker network filter. Auto Phase Control Plus makes real-time analysis of the phase difference, and automatically compensates the gap.

Advanced MCACC
Advanced MCACC automatically compensates for differences in speaker size, level, and distance, and equalizes response using a 3D calibration method. The speaker polarity check feature detects misconnected cables, while the reverb measurement display shows before/after calibration results.

THX Ultra2 Plus
THX Ultra2 Plus is the highest level THX certification, designed to maintain the impact and integrity of audio content just as it was mixed in the studio, even when played at lower volume settings at home.

AIR Studios Sound Tuning
Pioneer applies its audio expertise to the creation of multi-channel sound environments by collaboration with London’s AIR Studios. Our perfect application of the world famous dubbing studio’s monitoring methods intensifies the emotion and excitement of what you see and hear. The SC-LX87 and SC-LX77 have received the AIR Studios Monitor certification.

ESS SABRE³² 192 kHz / 32-bit Audio DAC
The highly acclaimed 192 kHz/32-bit ESS SABRE³² audio DAC is newly adopted to deliver exceptional sound, with ultra-low distortion and high signal-to-noise ratio. It offers jitter-free performance for an astounding audio reproduction with rich deep bass, bringing out the full potentials of Pioneer’s Class D amplifiers.

Ultra HD (4K) Upscaling / Pass Through
Ultra HD (4K) is the next generation ultra-high resolution standard with 3,840 x 2,160 or 4,096 x 2,160 pixels, four times the current HD 1080p standard. The AV receivers can upscale standard video sources into high-resolution 4K image, as well as pass through 4K signals for viewing on a compatible display.

Native DSD Playback via USB-DAC with DoP Transmission
DSD Playback via USB and HDMI (SACD)
All models can playback DSD music files from USB memory sticks as well as SACDs via HDMI. Additionally, the SC-LX87 supports native DSD playback by DoP (DSD over PCM) transmission using USB-DAC, letting you enjoy master-quality sound by direct USB connection with your computer.

High-Resolution Audio Playback / Gapless Playback
Various music files can be played via USB, DLNA and AirPlay, with support for gapless playback*. You can enjoy up to 192 kHz/24-bit high-resolution FLAC, WAV, and AIFF audio, as well as 96 kHz/24-bit Apple Lossless compressed music files. See chart under Specifications for details.
* Gapless playback only available for DLNA 2-Box Pull and USB memory playback.

Advanced Direct Construction
Less is more in circuitry design. Advanced Direct Construction allows the shortest and simplest signal paths — from input to output, circuit block by circuit block — to reduce distortion that can be caused by transmission loss, and to improve sonic clarity.

Rigid Trans-Stabilizer
The rigid trans-stabilizer acoustically insulates the transformer and eliminates unwanted vibration, enhancing sound clarity.

Android Audio / Video Playback with MHL
The front HDMI terminal is MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) compatible, letting you connect an Android device. High definition video can be displayed on your HDTV with multi-channel sound, while also charging your device*. You can play back content from your smartphone using the AV receiver’s remote control.
* MHL cable required

USB-DAC
The AV receiver allows direct USB connection with a computer*, without having to access the home network. What’s more, signal transfer is done with USB asynchronous transfer mode, which controls the transfer process using its high-accuracy clock instead of syncing with the clock on the PC-side, ensuring high-quality sound reproduction. This eliminates jitter, reproducing master quality sound with extremely precise audio signals, even for Hi-bit32 Audio Signal Processing.
* Driver software is included in the CD-ROM (AVNavigator) that comes with the box

AVNavigator
Pioneer’s AVNavigator is a user-friendly support feature for the AV receiver’s wiring and operation, letting you easily set up the AV receiver straight out of the box on your PC/Mac/iPad. An interactive HTML manual, Wiring Navi, and MCACC application are included in the AVNavigator. It also helps the user with software/manual updates.*
* Except for iPad
AVNavigator for Mac support guide
Download AVNavigator for Mac here