Customer Ratings & Reviews

Wow! So good! I never knew a receiver made such a difference! It's a whole different experience than my 101. It's better than being at the movies on blu-ray, Love It!

For starters, this device is fairly expensive. But, you will need certain features in a device to meet the needs of a decent to high-end home theater setup. A decent, name brand 9.2 channel receiver with 100+ watts per channel will be $1500 or more. This one has all of the newest desired features including 4k video scaling, Dolby Atmos, easy setup and all of the network access needed...11 channel processing using an external amp. The only drawback is price. I finally saw it on sale at Best Buy and decided to give it a try. So, here goes the story (a good one): I bought this home theater AV receiver after having Denon products for the last 20 years. I was really concerned about changing brands, however, i was able to find a Pioneer Elite product that met all of my initial requirements and i thought it would be at least as good as the Denon was. I have some electrostatic front channel speakers that are pretty inefficient and need lots of power and i wanted to configure the loft/tv room for 7.2.2 Dolby Atmos which this device can do easily and still have lots of power for each channel. I have it working so far with all but the 2 ceiling channels installed...so 7.2 and it sounds AMAZING! Plenty of configuration options, the auto setup with microphone is pretty cool...although I still tweaked the speaker levels and EQ after it was done. I used the network enabled setup screens also. This is good for anyone who does not like the ineffective input pages most devices provide. Assignment of inputs, editing of names and most other configuration items were easily done from my laptop and saved right onto the receiver...very nice! There is also Android version of iControlAV5 that is useful. The app is cool and can be used for viewing the speaker levels, distances and many other parameters (if you care). I would suggest using the network screens for most of the setup and then the screens on the receiver are easy to use for smaller changes. The receiver is a nice looking device and it has many light blue LED lights (of course) on the front for different indicators of various statuses. There is 3 levels of dimming to turn this down or completely off, if desired. The remote that comes with the receiver is pretty much like many others lately. it does all it needs to do with many buttons that take some getting used to, but based on the great features in the receiver, the remote provides access in a very learnable fashion. Just be patient! I am happy with this purchase. Lets see if it can last as long as the Denon...20 years and still going strong!

I alternate between Yamaha and Pioneer receivers and this was my latest upgrade and this Pioneer does no disappoint! It reproduces some of the greatest sounds this far for movies. In my opinion, Pioneer has a LONG way to go in the interface/setup department (Yamaha blows them out of the water there), but for sound-you can't beat Pioneer for movies.

This receiver has plenty of power for 9 channels. It has Dolby Atmos, 4K ready, and 3D pass through. 8 HDMI inputs and 3 HDMI outputs for all your components. I don't currently have Atmos speakers, but I have Polk RTi9s, CSiA6, and RTi3s for surround and it sounds great.

I've been a fan of Pioneer stereo equipment for 30 years and always wanted an Elite series unit. This AV receiver is better than I thought. Sound quality is excellent through my Infinity IL series speakers. Set up was simple ( if your familiar with AV units). Just love it.

Bought this to replace an Onkyo nr646, wanted a receiver that would put out full Dolby Atmos & Dts x. This receiver does both with your choice on using in ceiling or atmos speakers. Easy setup and use with Pioneer's remote control app. It allows full control and adjust of receiver. I am driving Martin Logan & Bowers Wilkins speakers and could not be happier with sound.

the receiver is a great purchase. Powers my system and meets all music and home theater needs.

People complain about the setup and the remote buttons. I found no problem with them at all. If you can follow directions it sets itself up hen you can fine tune to your liking. A lot more power then my old reciever and really enjoy the pass threw so I don't have to have surround sound on for anything unless I want it on

Another fine product from Pioneer. My last receiver was a Pioneer Elite VSX-92THX which I had for 13 years trouble free, a faithful workhorse it was and still is to it's new owner. I wanted to upgrade to Dolby Atmos , so I purchased the Pioneer Elite SC-97 from my local Best Buy store, which by the way has great management and staff. The SC-97 lived up to my expectations, great sound ease of operation and set-up, of course coming from a long time non-novice of audio/video equipment. What I appreciate about Pioneer, is that they keep there set -up menu's pretty similar from model to model with a few new nice upgrades to make thing even easier. The new class D3 amps sound great, bright and crisp with plenty of low end punch. Would recommend it highly, give it a audition. Kudos Pioneer, and Thanks Best Buy for great service and product availability.

Does everything i wanted and sounds great. Easy to configure as well

I just purchased this Pioneer Elite SC-97 to replace an SC-05 that was 7 years old. I needed to get my AV system ready for a 4K TV and one that could not only pass through a 4K video signal but but one that was Dolby ATMOS ready and had Ultra HD Pass-Through with HDCP 2.2. This one was on a great sale and I installed it yesterday. The setup with the upgraded MCACC Pro as compared to my SC-05's MCACC setup was much easier and the speaker sound field is better. This receiver has all the technology I will need over the next 4-5 years (I hope) and was a great buy.

Was looking for an Atmos Receiver and decided on this one over the Marantz and Denon. I have yet to use its potential but for what I have touched so far it delivers. It has enough power to drive the Def Tech speakers that are paired with it. Seems clearer than the denon. The unit is stays cooler compared to others. No real regrets with this purchase.

Tuner works great has lots of power. No regrets. Easy to set up. Sounds fantastic!

Pioneer makes a superb receiver especially for the new Dolby ATMOS encoding

It's one of the best receivers on the market, I would buy another one.

I had purchased a SC-99 but returned it to get this SC-97 as I didn't have a need for the USB DAC. This receiver is similar to it's big brother, SC-99 in all aspects but much cheaper! I use 5.2.4 Dolby ATMOS configuration and watching movies is a whole new experience now. Like it very much! Class D amps keep the receiver very cool even after running it continuously for hours.....a significant edge over class AB amps found in the Denon receivers.

I've always wanted an Elite series receiver, this one does not disappoint.

Upgrading from an old receiver the dynamic and quality of sound was immediately noticeable. The setup was very user-friendly and easy to do and with the included microphone the receiver set itself up for optimal listening for my living room.

Excellent receiver. Fast switching of sources. Picture is awesome and audio quality is unmatched. Paired it with Bowers and wilkins speakers 9.2 and I don't need to go to movie theater anymore.

I bought this just recently from Best Buy and I found it for a low price on Amazon and they match that price saving me hundreds of dollars. It's a flawless receiver.