Pioneer SC-75 vs Pioneer SC-85

Here we are comparing Pioneer SC-75 to Pioneer SC-85 to reveal their common strengths and weaknesses as well as the differences between them which will help you in making a correct decision before the purchase. Both receivers have 9 channel and equally powerful amplifiers.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these receivers, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pioneer SC-75 over Pioneer SC-85.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pioneer SC-85 over Pioneer SC-75.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Amplifier

THX™ Select™2 Plus certification

Pioneer SC-75 is thxtradecertification Select™2 Plus certified. This means that it is ideally suited for a room where the screen-to-seat viewing distance is approximately 3 to 4 meters, and the room size is approximately 56 cubic meters.

• THX™ Certification: THX™ Certification offers optimal performance, superior quality and seamless integration. THX works with partners from the ground up, so that certified products deliver professional quality audio-visual experiences right out of the box. They only certify the very best products with uncompromised quality, performance and consistency. They ensure that THX certified devices play well with lower performing devices and components. THX listening modes make the receiver to have one speaker set up for movies, music and games. They are tested for power output, bass management, signal-to-noise ratio and feature THX Loudness Plus, Boundary Gain Compensation, Timbre Matching and RE-EQ.
• Power Output: Power output is tested to ensure the receiver accurately plays source material at THX Reference Level in every input and mode and at every sampling rate for all possible playback combinations selected by the listener.
• Frequency Response: THX has strict requirements for frequency response to ensure that you hear all the details in high-resolution tracks, ensures dialog in movies, and vocals in music are clear while maintaining deep, impactful bass output that doesn’t overpower the listening experience.
• Signal-to-Noise Ratio: THX tests the signal-to-noise ratio to ensure the unit is designed to have low noise performance with very little to no audible hiss from the speakers.
• Bass Management: THX requires an 80Hz crossover point in the setup menu to ensure proper bass management in every THX Certified AVR. This setting confirms that the subwoofer handles low frequencies, freeing up the loudspeakers to handle mids and highs.
• THX Loudness Plus™: THX Loudness Plus™ is a volume control technology featured in THX Certified Dominus, THX Certified Ultra and THX Certified Select AV Receivers, and preamplifiers that automatically adjusts the front-to-back speaker level relationship as you turn the volume down. With THX Loudness Plus, home theater audiences can now experience the rich details of surround sound at any volume level.
• Boundary Gain Compensation: Sitting near a wall may result in increased acoustic levels at the lower frequencies. BGC corrects the way low frequency sound is perceived when seated near a wall. This results in a more accurate bass response.
• Timbre Matching: Your ears hear different tonal qualities in sounds coming from different directions. Timbre Matching restores the frequency balance between your front and surround speakers ensuring seamless and smooth panning between the front to back of the room.
• RE-EQ: Many movie soundtracks are mixed in studios for playback in large cinema auditoriums with an array of speakers. When played on home systems, they may appear abrasive and edgy. Re-EQ establishes a more accurate tonal balance when enjoying movies in your home.

Speaker Configurations

Pioneer SC-75's and Pioneer SC-85's amplifiers can be assigned for different speaker configurations.

• Dolby Atmos Configurations: The following speaker configurations are supported for Dolby Atmos:
Pioneer SC-75: Not supported.
Pioneer SC-85: 5.2.2, 5.2.4, 7.2.2 with internal amplifier.
• Configurations without height channels: There are also other speaker configurations available which do not include height channels:
Pioneer SC-75: 5.2, 7.2, 9.2 with internal amplifier.
Pioneer SC-85: 5.2, 7.2, 9.2 with internal amplifier.
• Front Wide Channel support: With the presence of two front wide speakers you can enhance the front surround stage. The following speaker configurations are available for front wide channels:
Pioneer SC-75: 9.2.
Pioneer SC-85: 9.2.
• Bi-Amp: Pioneer SC-75 is able to bi-amp up to 2 and Pioneer SC-85 is able to bi-amp up to 4 main channels simultaneously. During bi-amplification two amplifiers are used for one speaker. One amplifier powers the midrange and tweeter section of the speaker and another amplifier powers the low frequency woofers. Each amplifier is less loaded and performs better. In order to use this feature speakers must have 2 pairs of connectors.



Dolby Atmos

Pioneer SC-85 supports Dolby Atmos. It is a cinematic audio format in which sounds exist as individual entities, called audio objects. In Dolby Atmos, any sound can exist as an independent audio object, free of channel restrictions. They can be precisely placed and moved anywhere in your room, including overhead, to flow above and around you in three-dimensional space. Through the use of audio objects, overhead sound, and all the richness, clarity, and power of Dolby sound, Dolby Atmos turns your room into an amazing place for entertainment. The format supports up to 128 simultaneous independent audio objects in a mix for rich, realistic, and breathtaking sound. It recreates the director's original concept through descriptive metadata to provide customized playback for home theater and delivers sounds above you through overhead speakers, special upward-firing Dolby Atmos speakers, or a Dolby Atmos enabled sound bar.

Sound Processing

• Compressed Music Enhancer: Pioneer SC-75 and Pioneer SC-85 feature Compressed Music Enhancer which enhances the quality of the music files with lossy compression.
Advanced Sound Retriever: Compressed music enhancement in Pioneer SC-75 and Pioneer SC-85 is done by Pioneer’s Advanced Sound Retriever. Hear the detail, warmth and clarity, the way the artist intended it, from all of your highly compressed MP3 and WMA files stored on USB, Smartphone and portable media players. By restoring data that tend to get lost in the digital compression process, Pioneers Advanced Sound Retriever Technology enhances audio reproduction all the way upto 20 Khz frequencies.

Room Calibration

Pioneer SC-75 comes with Advanced MCACC and Pioneer SC-85 comes with MCACC Pro room correction system.

• MCACC: Pioneer’s exclusive Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration System (MCACC) delivers an easy-to-use, automatic sound adjustment system to precision-tune your Pioneer and Pioneer Elite receivers with minimal effort. Every MCACC system comes with a microphone to measure and analyze reverb characteristics. The equalizer optimally adjusts sound parameters to fit the size and shape of your home environment while maintaining the integrity of high-resolution playback without any degradation to the quality of your music.

HDMI

Pioneer SC-75 comes with 9 HDMI inputs. It has 3 outputs - 2 for MAIN and 1 for MAIN/HDZONE.

Pioneer SC-85 comes with 8 HDMI inputs. It has 3 outputs - 2 for MAIN and 1 for MAIN/HDZONE.

• 4K/30Hz Passthrough on Pioneer SC-75: All inputs pass up to 4K/30p video signal.
  4K/60Hz Passthrough on Pioneer SC-85: All inputs pass up to 4K/60p (4:4:4 24-bit)
  4K/60p (4:2:2 36-bit)
  4K/24p (4:4:4 36-bit) video signal.
• 4K Upscaling on Pioneer SC-75: It can upscale up to 4K/30p from HDMI and analog sources.
  4K Upscaling on Pioneer SC-85: It can upscale up to 4K/60p (Marvell Qdeo) from HDMI and analog sources.
• Analog To HDMI Upconversion: Both receivers support analog to HDMI Upconversion, so you can input your analog video sources and output them digitally via HDMI. This means that you will need only one HDMI cable to connect to your TV.
• HDCP 2.2.0 Copy Protection: Pioneer SC-75 is HDCP 2.2.0 compliant which is a requirement for 4K/HDR copy-protected content transmission.
• 3D Ready: Both receivers are able to pass 3D video through HDMI.

Audio

• Analog Pre-Outs: Pioneer SC-75 and Pioneer SC-85 have 11.2 preamplifier outputs which allow you to connect the receivers to the external power amplifiers. You may want to use a high quality external amplifier for certain channels, usually for front L/R and center, and use the receiver to power the rest. Also, both receivers have 9 channel processing but have only 9 channel amplifiers, so they need external amplifiers connected to the analog pre-outs in order to reach their maximum speaker configurations.
• Analog Line Inputs and Outputs: There are 5 pair of line inputs on Pioneer SC-75 and 3 pair of line inputs on Pioneer SC-85 for connecting sources with analog outputs. There are also 1 pair of line outputs on the receivers.
• Digital Inputs and Outputs: 2 optical inputs, 1 optical output and 2 coaxial inputs are available for digital audio connections on both receivers.
• Headphone Output: There is a 6.3 mm (1/4") headphone output jack on the front panel of each receiver.

Video

• HDMI:
Pioneer SC-75
Inputs: 9 (1 front)   Outputs: 3 (2 for MAIN, 1 for MAIN/HDZONE)
8K Inputs: 0.
Pioneer SC-85
Inputs: 8 (1 front)   Outputs: 3 (2 for MAIN, 1 for MAIN/HDZONE)
8K Inputs: 0.
• Composite Video: Connect you VCR, Laserdisc player and other old video equipment with composite video cables.
Pioneer SC-75
Inputs: 5   Outputs: 2.
Pioneer SC-85
Inputs: 2   Outputs: 2.
• Component Video: Component video connection gives you the higher quality video compared to the composite video connection. So in case your old DVD player and other equipment do not have an HDMI output but have Component video output use this connection over the composite one. Both receivers support up to 1080p (1125p) resolution on Component video connectors.
Pioneer SC-75
Inputs: 2   Outputs: 1.
Pioneer SC-85
Inputs: 2   Outputs: 1.

Front A/V Inputs

• Pioneer SC-75: HDMI, USB, Composite Video
• Pioneer SC-85: HDMI, USB

Pioneer SC-75

Pioneer SC-85