It's due out in September, and expected to sell for a tad under £2000. The SC-LX82 replaces the SC-LX81, and there'll be a second model beneath it, the SC-LX72, to replace the SC-LX71.
Both models are 7.1 designs and were tuned at Air Studios in London. The SC-LX82 is THX Ultra2 Plus certified, delivers 190W, handles all the high-definition audio formats and supports Deep Colour and x.v. colour.
Jitter-less HDMI transmission
It's packed with clever technology, including DLNA network capability, USB connectivity, MCACC (Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration) auto calibration, and Pioneer's proprietary PQLS, Pure Cinema and iPod Digital functionality.
PQLS is designed to offer "jitter-less" transmission via HDMI between the receiver and a Pioneer Blu-ray player such as the BDP-LX52. The aim is to overcome interference between the audio and video signals sent through the HDMI cable, which can impair sound quality.
Pure Cinema is said provide flicker-free images when upscaling standard-definition images from, say, a DVD player or set-top box through the receiver.
And for Apple iPod and iPhone users, there's a direct digital connection between the portable device and the receiver that bypasses the iPod/iPhone's internal DAC and only uses the DAC in the receiver for optimum sound quality.
What's more, the supplied USB/video cable will also enable you to output video from your iPhone/iPod directly to your display.
We'll be receiving a review sample of the SC-LX82 in time for our Awards judging. In the meantime, our verdict on the new Pioneer VSX-919 AV receiver (£500) and BDP-320 Blu-ray player (£400) will be published in the September issue of What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision, on sale from July 29th.