Pioneer Electronics has announced new additions to its Pioneer Elite AV receiver line, expanding on the systems’ ability to interact with other digital entertainment sources in the home (as well as on the Internet) while still serving as a high-quality hub for in-home audio and video. Most of the new receivers will support Apple AirPlay and DLNA so users can push media from their computers and favorite mobile devices to their home entertainment systems; those receivers can also be controlled from iOS devices, tap into streaming Internet services, and (at the high end) sport Marvell Qdeo processor for high-quality video processing.
“By expanding on networked features such as AirPlay and DLNA, and combining them with exclusive control functions such as iControlAV2 and Air Jam, Pioneer’s new line of Elite receivers is making it easy for consumers to integrate their portable devices while still providing them with superior audio and video performance they expect from our brand,” said Pioneer Electronic USA’s director of AV marketing Chris Walker, in a statement.
Each of the new receivers—the VSX-40, VSX-50, VSX-51, VSX-52, and VSX-53—sports a “Made for iPad, iPhone, and iPod” badge, supports 7-channel audio, and comes with a USB/video cable so users can pop their iOS devices right into their systems from the get-go. All the receivers support HDMI 1.4a input and output with 3D and ARC support. Starting with the VSX-50, they start to pick up networking and mobile features: the VSX-5x models can all be controlled from an iPad or iPhone using custom apps, support wireless access to users’ iTunes library via AirPlay, along with DLNA/vTuner technology to pull in media from other devices on a home network. (At the top end, the VSX-52 and VX-53 also do Pandora, Rhapsody, and Sirius—they also pack the Marvell QDEO video processors). All the units support two or three zones of audio (at the low end, the VSX-40 actually supports three); an optional ($99) Bluetooth adapter enables users to stream audio content from any A2DP Bluetooth device.
The new Elite AV receivers should be available this summer, with suggested prices ranging from $450 for the VSX-40 all the way up to $1,100 for the VSX-53.
