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Pioneer adds Anchor Bay VRS scaling to VSX-23TXH, VSX-21TXH and VSX-1019AH-K receivers
Video scaling has been a longtime knock held against Pioneer's AV receivers, but Pioneer is addressing those concerns with the inclusion of Anchor Bay VRS processing in its Elite VSX-23TXH ($899) and VSX-21TXH ($699) models, and also the VSX-1019AH-K ($499). Of course, Pioneer's home market in Japan isn't getting the short shrift -- the VSA-LX52 and VSA-1019AH are getting the same treatment. These models will be getting an ABT1015 to ratchet input signals all the way up to the magical 1080p figure; hopefully an indication that Pioneer will take a page from Denon's playbook and include ABT scaling in all of its AVRs from here on out. Full details after the break. UPDATE: We have sent questions to Pioneer about whether this is a mid-production spec bump, or ABT VRS has been in these models all along. We'll report back with any answers we get. UPDATE: We got official word back from Pioneer -- the VSX-1019, 21, 23, 25, and 27 models have all had Anchor Bay VRS scaling from the initial production, so there's no need to go throwing your AVR out. We can't imagine why both Pioneer and Anchor Bay haven't touted this feature from day one, but if your eyes told you the new Pioneer receivers had great scaling, give yourself a point.
Pioneer refreshes, lowers prices on its Elite receivers
If you love the good stuff -- and who doesn't -- then the four new receivers Pioneer has dropped into its Elite lineup might be your cup of tea. Slotted in at the high end of the range are the SC-27 (pictured) and SC-25; and the prices of $2,000 and $1,700 respectively even manage to shave a few dollars off the outgoing SC-07 and SC-05. The SC-25 and SC-27 both hold up the ICEPower tradition, and the SC-27 wears a THX Ultra2 Plus badge -- the first class D amplifier to earn the distinction. Add in the Burr-Brown DACsADCs and Wolfson DACs on these two and you've got the makings of top-end gear. Lower on the totem pole but continuing the trend of shaving a few bucks off the older models (VSX-01TXH and VSX-03TXH) are the VSX-21TXH ($700) and VSX-23TXH ($900). As you'd expect, all the Elites get loaded up with a heap of Pioneer's best wizardry, including MCACC room correction, network connectivity and (of course) compatibility with iPods and iPhones. There's plenty of other good info in the press release, so hit the link for the full details.
