Pioneer Elite has an AVR coming that aims to wipe clean all that came before it. Don't believe me? I'm going to need to post two pictures to even try to do this thing justice. This is an all-out assault on the state-of-the-art, and in reality is more like conjoined separates than an AVR. Lemme 'splain.

The Pioneer Elite SC-09TX is literally a powerhouse. It uses ICEpower class -D amplification (with MOSFET output devices) to offer a full seven channels rated at 200-watts across all channels. It has ludicrous speed DACs from Wolfson, digital processing/upsampling by Wolfson, HDMI switching, broadcast-grade video processing to 1080p, MCAAC auto calibration and room EQ, and onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding. It also has an LCD front panel screen that looks super cool, and much, much more. Trust me, I ain't scratched the surface.

But what's very unique is that the processing and source connection is literally in a separate unit, connected by a single umbilical to the amplifier section. It's basically separates sitting on top of one another. And it's prices like separates- when this baby hits stores in January, it's tipping the scales at $7K. But man, this is a serious piece of kit!