# My review of the Pioneer Elite SC-07 Receiver, questions



## fastline (May 7, 2010)

I upgraded from a Denon 2803 to this unit. I will say that I am pleasantly surprised with the ability for the receiver to drive my Klipsch towers. I listened for 2 hrs and did not have near the fatigue that I got from the Denon. I did not have all my gear hooked up and usually run a Rotel RB-1090 (380wx2) for the mains. I think my only concerns right now is that distortion seem present in some tracks and the noise floor seems a bit higher than my Denon. 

As many many know, the Klipsch horn loaded speakers will pick any flaw in equipment and noise is always a concern. I am curious of those SC series owners, has anyone done an A/B test with just the receiver driving speakers compared to using as a preamp with separate amp? I am hoping this gets me back where I want to be. I also notice that the speakers are NOT as open as they were but I am hopeful that the amp and some tuning will help this. 

I am also curious how you guys are tuning these? I ran the auto tune system and it really sucked so I started calibrating on my own. Going to take MUCH more time but wondering if this is the best way to go? I was hoping I would calibrate, then adjust those levels but it looks like once you create an "auto tune", you cannot adjust that one and have to create a custom tune of you want to adjust. My calibrations sound a LOT better than what the unit did...


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

fastline said:


> I upgraded from a Denon 2803 to this unit. I will say that I am pleasantly surprised with the ability for the receiver to drive my Klipsch towers. I listened for 2 hrs and did not have near the fatigue that I got from the Denon. I did not have all my gear hooked up and usually run a Rotel RB-1090 (380wx2) for the mains. I think my only concerns right now is that distortion seem present in some tracks and the noise floor seems a bit higher than my Denon.
> 
> As many many know, the Klipsch horn loaded speakers will pick any flaw in equipment and noise is always a concern. I am curious of those SC series owners, has anyone done an A/B test with just the receiver driving speakers compared to using as a preamp with separate amp? I am hoping this gets me back where I want to be. I also notice that the speakers are NOT as open as they were but I am hopeful that the amp and some tuning will help this.
> 
> I am also curious how you guys are tuning these? I ran the auto tune system and it really sucked so I started calibrating on my own. Going to take MUCH more time but wondering if this is the best way to go? I was hoping I would calibrate, then adjust those levels but it looks like once you create an "auto tune", you cannot adjust that one and have to create a custom tune of you want to adjust. My calibrations sound a LOT better than what the unit did...


Hello,
Really glad to read that you are happy with your SC-07. Given the huge disparity of people's Listening Rooms, it really boils down to what sounds best to you in respect to using MCACC or not using it.

I am sorry to read that you find the noise floor to be higher on the SC-07. ICEPower Modules are not for everyone. They definitely are more efficient which is definitely a plus. I cannot imagine how loud your Klipsch's go with a RB-1090 as they will play really loud with very little Amplifier power.

In truth, I prefer Audyssey MultEQ XT to MCACC. I was using a Pioneer VSX-49txi prior to switching to the Onkyo as my SSP. I have used AVR's as SSP's not using the Amplifiers in the AVR's I have used for over a decade. 

I am a big fan of Pioneer Elite's Industrial Design on their AVR's. I still think my former VSX-49 was the most attractive AVR I have ever seen. The SC-07 is a stunner as well.

Since you also have the Rotel, you are in an excellent position as far as having options. I hope you soon find a combination that yields the best results.
Cheers,
JJ


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## z06gal (Jun 6, 2010)

fastline said:


> I upgraded from a Denon 2803 to this unit. I will say that I am pleasantly surprised with the ability for the receiver to drive my Klipsch towers. I listened for 2 hrs and did not have near the fatigue that I got from the Denon. I did not have all my gear hooked up and usually run a Rotel RB-1090 (380wx2) for the mains. I think my only concerns right now is that distortion seem present in some tracks and the noise floor seems a bit higher than my Denon.
> 
> As many many know, the Klipsch horn loaded speakers will pick any flaw in equipment and noise is always a concern. I am curious of those SC series owners, has anyone done an A/B test with just the receiver driving speakers compared to using as a preamp with separate amp? I am hoping this gets me back where I want to be. I also notice that the speakers are NOT as open as they were but I am hopeful that the amp and some tuning will help this.
> 
> I am also curious how you guys are tuning these? I ran the auto tune system and it really sucked so I started calibrating on my own. Going to take MUCH more time but wondering if this is the best way to go? I was hoping I would calibrate, then adjust those levels but it looks like once you create an "auto tune", you cannot adjust that one and have to create a custom tune of you want to adjust. My calibrations sound a LOT better than what the unit did...



I've got the sc-25 and I have changed alot of the auto calibration too. I have found that it is best to go into each mode I listen to and "tune" it for that mode. There is a distortion setting you can turn on or off and it is supposed to deal with that issue accordingly. I believe that is offered in the stereo mode. Music recorded in 5.1 sounds incredible if you listen to any of that. I've had this unit for nearly 2 months and I tweak something every day it seems. :coocoo: I tried the speakers not connected to the amps but I did not like it. Right now I have polk lsi9 bookshelf speakers which sound better watching movies than listening to music. Overall I am extremely pleased with this receiver. It just does so much that you'll find yourself trying everything to see what you like. I made the leap to digital after having analog for 15 years and it really is a different world. I am grateful to have guys like jj, dwr, and ironglen to answer my many questions. Good luck with your unit. I can report that blu-ray movies are simply awesome. I'll listen to more music when I replace these polks. :T


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## fastline (May 7, 2010)

So how did your sound change going to amps? How did you setup your audio settings manually? I have software and just need to get a more trust worthy mic. I would use the one that came with the Pioneer if I knew it could be trusted.


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## z06gal (Jun 6, 2010)

fastline said:


> So how did your sound change going to amps? How did you setup your audio settings manually? I have software and just need to get a more trust worthy mic. I would use the one that came with the Pioneer if I knew it could be trusted.



I have a Proceed amp [JJ can tell you more about this amp than I can actually] that I can use for the front 3. I actually have them bi-amped to the sc-25. It sounds SO much better and more efficient but that proceed amp is the real deal. It is 15 years old and, after selling some other components I had, I could not bring myself to get rid of it. anyway, going with the external amp made it a night and day difference really. i actually just figured out today how to do the manual settings. there is the main mcacc feature which allows you to set your channel levels and then when you, say, select stereo mode, click on audio parameter on your remote and scroll through your menu there to set them as you wish. , i just realized why my bass was so bad in stereo mode = that is where you tweak your bass and treble settings. The choices for each mode, be it thx/stereo or whatever will be different as they are specific to that mode. I connected mine to the internet but there were no updates to be done. I essentially just wanted to learn how to do it. There is so much to learn about these units but once you figure out the menus, you will be well on your way. I made alot of EQ changes after doing the auto calibration as well as channel settings but it gave me a start. I would encourage you to use your external amp if you have one. I hope this makes some sense. :T


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