Pioneer SC-99 vs Pioneer SC-89

Here we are comparing Pioneer SC-99 to Pioneer SC-89 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-99 over Pioneer SC-89.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pioneer SC-89 over Pioneer SC-99.

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

Speaker Configurations

Pioneer SC-99's and Pioneer SC-89's amplifiers can be assigned for different speaker configurations.

• Dolby Atmos Configurations: The following speaker configurations are supported for Dolby Atmos:
Pioneer SC-99: 5.2.2, 5.2.4, 7.2.2 with internal amplifier and 7.2.4, 9.2.2 with addition of external 2 channel amplifier.
Pioneer SC-89: 5.2.2, 5.2.4, 7.2.2 with internal amplifier.
• DTS:X Configurations: The following speaker configurations are supported for DTS:X:
Pioneer SC-99: The speaker configurations for DTS:X are the same as for Dolby Atmos - 5.2.2, 5.2.4, 7.2.2 with internal amplifier and 7.2.4, 9.2.2 with addition of external 2 channel amplifier.
Pioneer SC-89: Not supported.
• Configurations without height channels: There are also other speaker configurations available which do not include height channels:
Pioneer SC-99: 5.2, 7.2, 9.2 with internal amplifier.
Pioneer SC-89: 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-99: 9.2, 9.2.2.
Pioneer SC-89: 9.2.
• 4-ch Bi-Amp: Both models are 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-99 and Pioneer SC-89 support 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.

• Dolby Surround Upmixer: Pioneer SC-99 supports Dolby Surround Upmixer. If the content is not mixed in Dolby Atmos then the Dolby surround upmixer will expand the audio to all channels including ceiling speakers. The upmixer has replaced the Dolby Pro Logic II family with improved upmixing algorithms.

DTS:X

Pioneer SC-99 supports DTS:X. A technique used in DTS:X is similar to the one used in Dolby Atmos. Instead of a fixed number of channels, DTS:X defines object locations from the listener in polar coordinates. An a/v receiver then dynamically renders sound according to the current speaker configuration. The speaker layout employed by DTS:X is the sum of Dolby Atmos and Auro-3D. It has standard 7.1 channel base layer, a 5 channel height layer above the base layer on the front and side walls, and 3 rows of speakers on the ceiling.

• DTS Neural:X: Pioneer SC-99 supports DTS Neural:X which is an advanced upmixer that can take non DTS:X content and upmix it to the DTS:X speaker layout. It has replaced the DTS Neo family with improved flexibility.
• DTS Dialog Control: Pioneer SC-99 supports DTS Dialog Control. This function adjusts the dialog levels during playback of the DTS:X stream. It allows you to separately increase the dialog levels in contrast with the background sound and hear dialog easily even under noisy circumstances.

Sound Processing

• Compressed Music Enhancer: Pioneer SC-99 and Pioneer SC-89 feature Compressed Music Enhancer which enhances the quality of the music files with lossy compression.
Advanced Sound Retriever: Compressed music enhancement in Pioneer SC-99 and Pioneer SC-89 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-99 and Pioneer SC-89 come 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-99 and Pioneer SC-89 come with 8 HDMI inputs. It has 3 outputs - 2 for MAIN and 1 for MAIN/HDZONE.

• 4K/60Hz Passthrough: On both receivers all inputs pass up to 4K/60p (4:4:4) video signal.
• 4K Upscaling: Both receivers can upscale up to 4K/60p (4:4:4) 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-99 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.

HDR (High Dynamic Range)

Pioneer SC-99 supports HDR10

Pioneer SC-89 does not support HDR.

High dynamic range video has greater dynamic range than standard dynamic range (SDR) video with brighter whites and deeper blacks. The result is greater contrast and more details in dark and bright areas, better color and depth.

• HDR10: HDR10 uses the wide-gamut Rec. 2020 color space. It sends static metadata via video stream to the TV which calibrates its screen brightness and color according to that. HDR10 supports 10-bit color which corresponds to 1024 shades of the primary RGB colors. It is technically limited to a maximum of 10,000 nits peak brightness, however common HDR10 contents are mastered with peak brightness from 1,000 to 4,000 nits.

Audio

• Phono Input: There is an MM phono input on Pioneer SC-99 and Pioneer SC-89 with built-in phono stage for connecting the moving magnet cartridge output of the turntable directly to the receiver.
• 7.1 Multichannel Input: In case you have a high quality Blu-Ray or a DVD player with multichannel analog outputs you may connect it to a 7.1 multichannel analog inputs of Pioneer SC-99 and use high quality DACs of the player instead of the ones in the receiver.
• Analog Pre-Outs: Pioneer SC-99 has 13.2 and Pioneer SC-89 has 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, Pioneer SC-99 has 11 channel processing but has only 9 channel amplifier, so it needs external amplifier connected to the analog pre-outs in order to reach its maximum speaker configuration.
• Analog Line Inputs and Outputs: There are 3 pair of line inputs on both receivers 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-99
Inputs: 8 (1 front)   Outputs: 3 (2 for MAIN, 1 for MAIN/HDZONE)
8K Inputs: 0.
Pioneer SC-89
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-99
Inputs: 2   Outputs: 2.
Pioneer SC-89
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.
• Pioneer SC-99 supports up to 1080i (1125i) resolution on Component video connectors.
• Pioneer SC-89 supports up to 1080p (1125p) resolution on Component video connectors.
Pioneer SC-99
Inputs: 2   Outputs: 1.
Pioneer SC-89
Inputs: 2   Outputs: 1.

Front A/V Inputs

• Pioneer SC-99: HDMI, USB
• Pioneer SC-89: HDMI, USB

Pioneer SC-99

Pioneer SC-89