Pioneer demos X-Z9 stereo, SC-09TX receiver

Another company at CEDIA is Pioneer, which has opened the curtains on a new stereo system and an AV receiver (neither pictured). The former is the Elite X-Z9, a two-speaker setup with a self-contained amplifier, and a CD player that accepts the Super Audio (SACD) format. More crucially, the stereo can stream files from a PC via LAN, or iPods, flash drives and other devices via USB. AAC, FLAC, MP3 and WMA files are supported. Each channel produces 50W of power, and the speaker terminals are gold-plated for full fidelity. The X-Z9 should ship in October for $1,799.

The Elite SC-09-TX is intended to be Pioneer's flagship AV receiver, centered around the Direct Energy HD amplifier, which delivers 200W per channel to seven speakers. The receiver is also said to be the first with home networking, allowing audio, video and images to be streamed to any location in a house. Codecs such as DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus are supported, as is a new technology called THX Loudness Plus, which maintains intended sound mixes when listening below reference volumes. Unlike the X-Z9 however, accepted music files are limited to MP3, WMA and those played directly from iPods. The SC-09TX will ship sometime in the winter for $7,000.