Here's a common problem that plagues many mass market home theater electronics, especially AV receivers: With so many products all offering similar features, all at similar price points - which product should one choose? What if within a company's own product lineup two pieces, on the surface, seemed identical? What is one supposed to do then? Case in point - the Pioneer Elite SC-35, reviewed here. At the outset the SC-35 appears to be an exact clone of its larger brother the SC-37. Seemingly the only item that separates the two is their asking price, with the SC-35 retailing for $1,600 compared to the larger, SC-37's $2,200 retail price.

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• Read more AV receivers by HomeTheaterReview.com's staff.
• Find a Blu-ray player to connect to the Pioneer Elite SC-35.

Beyond price and a change in model number, both the SC-35 and SC-37 appear identical, both utilize the exact same chassis, both feature the same 140 Watt power output across all seven of their channels, both have the same number of HDMI inputs (six in / two out) and both are 3D ready. I had to consult with Pioneer's own website in order to tell the two apart. The SC-35 lacks some of the SC-37's Internet music capabilities, mainly Rhapsody and Sirius Radio. The SC-35 is not DLNA 1.5 certified nor does it have an extensive list of preferred network formats. In terms of audio capability, the SC-35 utilizes a slightly less sophisticated DSP engine as well as lesser internal DACs and is THX Select 2 Plus certified versus Ultra 2 Plus with the SC-37. The SC-35's MCACC auto room correction is only marginally different from the SC-37 and it has one less listening mode. Lastly, the two have different remotes. Outside of those minor changes, the SC-35 and costlier SC-37 are virtually identical.

Where it counts, sound and image performance, the SC-35 is impossible to tell apart from the costlier SC-37. I had both on hand to do head-to-head comparisons and despite the SC-37 using slightly higher-end DACs and other internal components, I couldn't distinguish the two. Both possessed the same forward, lively sound with a smooth but not wholly organic top end grounded with a taut, texture-rich bottom end that doesn't plunge as deep as some but is still very respectable. The SC-35 is a dynamic powerhouse and has a very nicely defined soundstage for a receiver, though it favors width over depth. The SC-35, like the costlier SC-37, does no harm to the video signal when in the chain and passes 3D signals with flying colors. Overall the SC-35 is a capable AV receiver, one whose superb day-to-day livability matches its performance, all for a price most home theater enthusiasts can afford.