Pioneer SC-LX85

Pioneer SC-LX85

The Pioneer SC-LX83 is the Colin Firth of AV receivers. Lauded on a global scale over the past 12 months, people break out into spontaneous applause whenever it makes an appearance. So imagine our excitement when its replacement, the incoming SC-LX85, broke cover at the IFA trade show. We copped an earful of this £2,000 AV receiver, which will go on sale in September.As with its forebear, build quality is impressive. The SC-LX85 is reassuringly heavy, with a solid, unyielding chassis. Power users will be impressed by the wide range of inputs and outputs available. All HDMI ports are 3D-compatible and support audio-return-channel hardware. New is an HDMI standby-through feature. This routes any sound and vision from connected set-top boxes and sources through the AV receiver to a TV, without the need to power the SC-LX85 up. The SC-LX85 is built like Vin Diesel, but it's twice as clever. Pioneer seems increasingly keen to woo Apple users. Making its debut on the SC-LX85 is AirPlay. With very little effort you can stream your iTunes music collection from a Mac or PC, or directly from any iOS device, such as the iPhone or iPad. Tablet users should note that the front-panel's digital iPod connection also has the ability to charge an iPad.