Pioneer SC-1522-K

    79
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    Highlights

    • 9.2 Channels
    • 9.1 Channel Processing
    • 130 W (8 Ω, 1 kHz, 2 channel driven)
    • THX™Select™2 Plus Certified
    • Bluetooth, Ethernet
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    Disclosure: We earn money from the affiliate links to products associated with content in this article.

    Overview

    Pioneer SC-1522-K was introduced in 2012. It is equipped with 9 channel amplifier with 130 W (8 Ω, 1 kHz, 2 channel driven) power per channel and is capable of 9.1 maximum channel processing. It passes 1080/60p and upscales up to 1080/24p (Marvell Qdeo) video signal.

    We evaluated the a/v receiver and gave 79 overall score out of 100. Our ranking system is based on the amplifier specifications, audio and video features, connectivity, multizone capabilities, radio and many other details.

    Pros and Cons

    In this section we present pros and cons of Pioneer SC-1522-K.

    PROs

    •   High Power Output - 130 W
    •   Front Wide Channel Support
    •   THX™ Certification
    •   9.1 Channel Processing
    •   DSD via HDMI
    •   Auto Speaker Calibration System with Mic.
    •   New HDCP Version
    •   Analog To HDMI Upconversion
    •   Bluetooth
    •   8 HDMI Inputs
    •   USB Input
    •   RCA Pre-Outs
    •   Composite Video Inputs
    •   Component Video Inputs
    •   Ethernet
    •   3 Zones
    •   Analog Tuner
    •   Pandora

    CONs

    •   No Dolby Atmos
    •   No Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization
    •   No DTS:X
    •   No IMAX Enhanced
    •   No Auro 3D with Auro-Matic Upmixer
    •   No HDR10
    •   No HDR10+
    •   No Dolby Vision
    •   No eARC
    •   No 8K Passthrough
    •   Does not Work with Amazon Alexa
    •   0 8K Input
    •   No Phono Input
    •   No Digital Radio
    •   No Spotify
    •   No Tidal

    And here are some specifications which fall into average criteria and are neither in PROs nor in CONs category:

    AVERAGE

    •   9.2 Channels
    •   Wi-Fi
    •   2 HDMI Outputs
    •   RCA Line Inputs

    Pioneer 2012 Lineup

    In 2012 Pioneer released 13 new receivers. Here is the lineup:

    Pioneer 2012 Lineup
    ModelChannelsPowerMax. Ch. Proc.Pre OutsRoom Corr.Video Pass.Zones Price
    SC-68 Image cannot be found 9.2140 W9.111.2 Advanced MCACC4K4
    SC-67 Image cannot be found 9.2140 W9.111.2 Advanced MCACC4K4
    SC-65 Image cannot be found 9.2130 W9.111.2 Advanced MCACC4K3
    SC-63 Image cannot be found 7.2125 W7.19.2 Advanced MCACC1080p3
    SC-61 Image cannot be found 7.2125 W7.19.2 Advanced MCACC1080p3
    VSX-60 Image cannot be found 7.290 W7.1 Advanced MCACC1080p2
    VSX-42 Image cannot be found 7.180 W7.11080p2
    SC-1522-K Image cannot be found 9.2130 W9.111.2 Advanced MCACC1080p3
    SC-1222-K Image cannot be found 7.2120 W7.19.2 Advanced MCACC1080p3
    VSX-1122-K Image cannot be found 7.290 W7.1 Advanced MCACC1080p3
    VSX-1022-K Image cannot be found 7.180 W7.1 MCACC Auto1080p1
    VSX-822-K Image cannot be found 5.180 W7.12.1 MCACC Auto1080p1
    VSX-522-K Image cannot be found 5.180 W7.12.1 MCACC Auto1080p1

    You can view their side-by-side comparison here: Pioneer SC-68 vs SC-67 vs SC-65 vs SC-63 vs SC-61 vs VSX-60.

    Successor

    In 2013 Pioneer SC-1522-K was replaced by SC-1523-K. Let us now have a look at some important differences between Pioneer SC-1522-K and its successor.

    UPGRADES SC-1523-K vs Pioneer SC-1522-K
    Higher Power Output 135 W (8 Ω, 1 kHz, 2 channel driven) vs 130 W (8 Ω, 1 kHz, 2 channel driven)
    Music Playback via USB MP3, WMA, AAC, Apple Lossless, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, DSD vs WAV, MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC
    High Resolution Audio Formats via USB Apple Lossless, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, DSD vs WAV/FLAC
    Gapless Playback vs
    Auto Phase Control Plus vs
    Video Signal Passthrough up to 4K/30p vs up to 1080p
    Video Signal Upscaling up to 4K/30p vs up to 1080/24p (Marvell Qdeo)
    More HDMI Inputs 9 (1 front) vs 8 (1 front)
    More HDMI Outputs 3 (2 for MAIN, 1 for MAIN/HDZONE) vs 2 (simultaneous)
    More Zones 4 vs 3
    Spotify vs
    Higher Power Output (8 Ω, 1 kHz, 2 channel Driven, FTC) 135 W (0.08% THD) vs 130 W (0.08% THD)
    Higher Power Output (6 Ω, 1 kHz, 2 channel driven, FTC) 175 W (1.0% THD) vs 170 W (1.0% THD)
    Higher Power Output (4 Ω, 1 kHz, 2 channel Driven) 220 W (1.0% THD) vs 210 W (1.0% THD)
    Higher Multi Channel Simultaneous Drive (8 Ω, 1 kHz, 1.0%) 760 W (8 Ω, 1 kHz, 1.0%) vs 720 W (8 Ω, 1 kHz, 1.0%)
    Higher Rated Lineout Level 390 mV/2.2 kΩ (REC OUT) vs 380 mV/2.2 kΩ (REC OUT)
    DOWNGRADES SC-1523-K vs Pioneer SC-1522-K
    More Tone Control Channels Front L/R Channels vs All Channels
    Multi-Zone On-Screen Display vs Zone 2 Text
    SiriusXM vs

    For more detailed comparison between the models please visit Pioneer SC-1522-K vs SC-1523-K.

    Audio Section

    9 channel Class D3 Amplifier

    Pioneer SC-1522-K features 9 channel power amplifier with Class D3 design. It is rated at 130 W (8 Ω, 1 kHz, 2 channel driven) and is able to drive 4 ohm speakers.

      THX Select™2 Plus certified

      Pioneer SC-1522-K is THX 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.
      AMPLIFIER
      Channels9.2
      Power Output130 W (8 Ω, 1 kHz, 2 channel driven)
      Front Wide Channel Support
      Amplifier DesignClass D3
      THX™ Certification Select™2 Plus
      Continuous 6 Ω Rated
      Certified 4 Ω Performance
      Bi-amp Capability Front Channel

      Speaker Configurations

      Pioneer SC-1522-K's 9 channel amplifier can be assigned for different speaker configurations.

      • Configurations: Available configurations are:
      • 5.2, 7.2, 9.2 with internal amplifier.
      • Front Wide Channel support: Pioneer SC-1522-K supports front wide channels. 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 - 9.2.
      • 2-ch Bi-Amp: Pioneer SC-1522-K allows you to bi-amp up to 2 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.
      Pioneer SC-1522-K
      DECODING
      Dolby Atmos
      Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization
      Dolby Atmos Music
      Dolby TrueHD
      Dolby Digital Plus
      Dolby Surround Upmixer
      Dolby Pro Logic PLIIz
      Dolby Digital EX
      Surround EX
      DTS:X
      DTS Neural:X
      DTS Virtual:X
      DTS Neo Neo:X
      DTS-HD Master Audio
      DTS-HD High Resolution Audio
      DTS 96/24
      DTS Express
      DTS-ES Discrete 6.1, Matrix 6.1
      IMAX Enhanced
      Auro 3D with Auro-Matic Upmixer

      Sound Processing

      • Advanced Sound Retriever: Compressed music enhancement in Pioneer SC-1522-K 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-1522-K comes with Advanced MCACC room correction system and includes the calibration microphone.

      • 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.

      Video Section

      HDMI

      Pioneer SC-1522-K features 8 HDMI inputs. It has 2 outputs which work parallelly and output the same signal.

      • 1080/60p Passthrough: All inputs pass up to 1080p video signal.
      • 1080p Upscaling: Pioneer SC-1522-K can upscale up to 1080/24p (Marvell Qdeo) from HDMI and analog sources.
      • Analog To HDMI Upconversion: The a/v receiver supports video upconversion, so you can connect your analog Component and Composite video sources and Pioneer SC-1522-K will output them via HDMI. This means that you will need only one HDMI cable to connect to your TV.
      • HDCP 2.2 Copy Protection: All inputs and outputs are HDCP 2.2 compliant which is a requirement for 4K/HDR copy-protected content transmission.
      • 3D Ready: Pioneer SC-1522-K is able to pass 3D video through HDMI.
      Pioneer SC-1522-K
      VIDEO FEATURES
      HDR10
      HDR10+
      Dynamic HDR
      BT.2020 color space
      Dolby Vision
      HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma)
      HDBaseT Compatible
      Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC)
      HDCP Version2.2
      QMS (Quick Media Switching)
      ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode)
      VRR (Variable Refresh Rate)
      QFT (Quick Frame transport)
      3-D Ready
      Video Signal Passthroughup to 1080p
      Video Signal Upscaling up to 1080/24p (Marvell Qdeo)

      Multi-zone Playback

      Pioneer SC-1522-K offers multi-zone playback which allows you to play different input sources in 3 different rooms.


      Zone 2

      • Powered Zone 2: You can use the unit's 2 amplifier channels by connecting Zone 2 speakers directly to the speaker terminals. The remaining 7 channels will be left for main zone amplification.
      • Audio Pre/Line Output: If you have a dedicated amplifier for Zone 2 you can connect it to the a/v receiver via pre/line outs and use "pre out" option to control volume from the a/v receiver or use "line out" option - send fixed signal and then control volume on the Zone 2 amplifier.
      • Composite Video Output: Pioneer SC-1522-K has analog Composite Video output for Zone 2. This means that it can send a different video signal to the TV.

      Zone 3

      • Powered Zone 3: You can use the unit's 2 amplifier channels by connecting Zone 3 speakers directly to the speaker terminals. The remaining 7 channels will be left for main zone amplification.
      • Audio Pre/Line Output: If you have a dedicated amplifier for Zone 2 you can connect it to the a/v receiver via pre/line outs and use "pre out" option to control volume from the a/v receiver or use "line out" option - send fixed signal and then control volume on the Zone 3 amplifier.
      ZONES
      Number of Zones3
      Powered Zones 2 and 3
      Zone 2 OutsComposite Video, RCA Pre/Line Out + Subwoofer
      Zone 3 OutsRCA Pre/Line Out
      RS-232C Interface
      +12V Trigger Output2 (Main, Zone2, Zone 3)
      Remote (IR) Input/Output2 / 1

      Check out the receivers which are frequently compared to Pioneer SC-1522-K.

      Inputs and Outputs

      Audio

      • Analog Pre-Outs: Pioneer SC-1522-K has 11.2 preamplifier outputs which allow you to connect the a/v receiver to the external power amplifier. You may want to use a high quality external amplifier for certain channels, usually for front L/R and center, and use the a/v receiver to power the rest.
      • Analog Line Inputs and Outputs: There are 5 line inputs and 1 line output for analog audio connection.
      • Digital Inputs and Outputs: 2 optical inputs, 1 optical output and 2 coaxial inputs are available for digital audio connection.
      • Headphone Output: There is a 6.3 mm (1/4") headphone output jack on the front panel.

      Video

      • HDMI:
      • Inputs: 8 (1 front)   Outputs: 2 (simultaneous)
        8K Inputs: 0
      • Composite Video: Connect you VCR, Laserdisc player and other old video equipment with composite video cables.
      • Inputs: 5   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-1522-K supports up to 1080p (1125p) resolution on Component video connectors.
      • Inputs: 2   Outputs: 1

      Front A/V Inputs

      • HDMI, USB, Composite Video
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      TERMINALS
      HDMI Inputs8 (1 front)
      HDMI Outputs2 (simultaneous)
      8K Inputs
      USB Input1 Front
      USB DC Out Port1 Rear for AS-WL300 (5 V, 0.6 A)
      Optical Inputs2
      Optical Outputs1
      Coaxial Inputs2
      RCA Line Inputs5
      RCA Line Outputs1
      XLR Line Inputs
      Phono Input
      Multi-Channel Input
      RCA Pre-Outs11.2
      XLR Pre-outs
      Composite Video Inputs5 (1 front)
      Composite Video Outputs2
      S-Video Inputs
      S-Video Outputs
      Component Video Inputs2
      Component Video Outputs1

      Pioneer SC-1522-K Evaluation

      We evaluate Pioneer SC-1522-K and give score of 79 out of 100. We also give separate scores for 6 different categories according to the available features and specifications some of which are listed below. These evaluations are relative and may change each time a new receiver is added to the database.


      OVERALL
      79

      Amplifier

      EXCELLENT
      94

      We give Pioneer SC-1522-K a score of 94 for Amplifier features.

      •   9.2 Channels
      •   High Power Output - 130 W
      •   THX™ Certification

      Audio Features

      GOOD
      76

      We give Pioneer SC-1522-K a score of 76 for Audio Features features.

      •   9.2 Channels
      •   Front Wide Channel Support
      •   9.1 Channel Processing
      •   No Dolby Atmos
      •   No Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization
      •   No DTS:X
      •   No IMAX Enhanced
      •   No Auro 3D with Auro-Matic Upmixer
      •   DSD via HDMI

      Video Features

      POOR
      54

      We give Pioneer SC-1522-K a score of 54 for Video Features features.

      •   No HDR10
      •   No HDR10+
      •   No Dolby Vision
      •   No 8K Passthrough
      •   Analog To HDMI Upconversion

      Connectivity

      GOOD
      84

      We give Pioneer SC-1522-K a score of 84 for Connectivity features.

      •   No eARC
      •   New HDCP Version
      •   Wi-Fi
      •   Bluetooth
      •   Does not Work with Amazon Alexa
      •   8 HDMI Inputs
      •   2 HDMI Outputs
      •   0 8K Input
      •   USB Input
      •   RCA Line Inputs
      •   No Phono Input
      •   RCA Pre-Outs
      •   Composite Video Inputs
      •   Component Video Inputs
      •   Ethernet

      Zones

      EXCELLENT
      88

      We give Pioneer SC-1522-K a score of 88 for Zones features.

      •   3 Zones

      Radio

      EXCELLENT
      85

      We give Pioneer SC-1522-K a score of 85 for Radio features.

      •   Analog Tuner
      •   Pandora
      •   No Spotify
      •   No Tidal


      For a full specification list please go to the specifications page:

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