Pioneer UDP-LX500 UHD Blu-ray has Dolby Vision, premium price tag

30 Aug 2018 | Rasmus Larsen |

The company has announced full details for its first UHD Blu-ray player, the UDP-LX500. It has a low-resonance design, twin HDMI outputs, Dolby Vision support – and a premium price tag.

Pioneer UDP-LX500

In June 2018, Pioneer started teasing its entry into the UHD Blu-ray segment. The company has now officially announced the player along with technical details.

- "Pioneer has many years of experience in producing reference-level optical disc players, and has proven its expertise with legendary models such as BDP-LX91 (2008) and BDP-LX88 (2014). The new UDP-LX500 Universal Disc Player fits seamlessly into this line of outstanding products," said Jürgen Timm, Product Manager, Pioneer & Onkyo Europe.

The press release is full of promises and the company is clearly aiming to set a new bar for UHD Blu-ray players. UDP-LX500 has been developed in collaboration with Onkyo and builds on ”decades of accumulated expertise in optical disc technology”. One of the goals has been to create an ”incredibly low resonance” design that can deliver great video as well as audio, including music, the company said.

- ”With the arrival of UHD Blu-ray Disc, players now need to be able to handle high-speed rotation speeds of up to 5,000 rpm. The UDP-LX500 delivers supremely stable high-speed rotation of discs by virtue of its remarkably rigid construction, as well as a lower centre of gravity. Both of these attributes help suppress vibration transmission occurring inside the player, minimising any potential resonances generated and so improving disc playback.”

Universal disc playback - no apps

As for the technical capabilities, LX500 conforms to the UHD Blu-ray standard and naturally supports 4K resolution and HDR10. In addition, it supports Dolby Vision HDR (including the DV profile used on Sony TVs).

It handles the latest audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. There are two HDMI outputs as well as 2-channel analog audio outputs for music playback. It supports Hi-Res audio, too.

In addition to UHD Blu-ray discs, it will spin HD Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, SACD, DVD-Audio, and CDs. On the other hand, Pioneer has decided to forego streaming apps such as Amazon and Netflix.

It is a high-end player that enters a segment that Oppo recently abandoned. It will compete head-to-head with Panasonic’s upcoming UB9000 model.

Pioneer UDP-LX500 has been confirmed for Europe where it will be available in September/October 2018 for 1000 Euro / 1000 UK pounds. It will be on display during IFA 2018 in Berlin later this week.

Pioneer UDP-LX500 - specifications

Enjoy the full potential of 4K Content With 4K video, there’s a huge increase in the amount of image information which, in turn, also requires the use of ever more effective noise reduction techniques. The UDP-LX500 achieves further video quality improvements by applying a low noise design ethos throughout the player, minimizing noise loops in the circuitry to guarantee high-quality signal transmission. Designed to faithfully reproduce the incredible sound quality of UHD BD To deliver the full potential of the sound quality contained in UHD Blu-ray Discs, the UDP-LX500 employs audio boards designed with a focus on preserving signal purity, S/N, and tonal subtlety. It also features a host of advanced sound enhancing facilities, such as a direct function for analogue connection and Pioneer’s PQLS (Precision Quartz Lock System) for HDMI connection. An audio board that also excels at high-quality analogue 2ch playback As well as delivering superlative movie sound, the UDP-LX500 has also been engineered to be a superb audio-only player. With analogue 2ch playback, spurious noise around the power supply and GND have been suppressed as much as possible, and the circuit tuned to give a rich, fulsome tone of sound. Direct Function for Pure Analogue Audio Output The UDP-LX500 is equipped with a "Direct function" which turns off the digital audio and video circuits. This allows listeners to enjoy high resolution sound sources and CDs with enhanced purity. Video and Audio separated output via 2 HDMI Outputs The UDP-LX500 supports three HDMI output modes: "Separate" mode which enables high-quality transmission by separating video and audio via the main/sub HDMI outputs, "Single" mode routes both video and audio output via the main HDMI output, and "Pure Audio" mode which delivers an audio-only output from the sub HDMI terminal. Jitter-free Sound Transmission with Pioneer AV receivers The UDP-LX500 achieves incredibly high-purity, jitter-free transmission when connected (via HDMI) with an PQLS-equipped AV receiver＊. By improving the precision of signal information, the player delivers a very high standard of multi-channel sound quality.（＊SC-LX701, SC-LX801, SC-LX901） Zero Signal Terminal for audio/video tuning The Zero Signal Terminal is an original Pioneer-developed feature that is designed to optimise audio and video quality. By connecting the Zero Signal Terminal to a suitable audio/video input terminal on an AV receiver etc., the reference ground level (GND) of audio/video signals between the two devices is matched and aligned, with any potential differences suppressed, allowing owners to enjoy audio and video with an even further improved S/N and performance level. Other features SDR/HDR Preset Mode for optimal performance for the display Media/HDR Information On-Screen Display Dolby Vision (Low Latency Compatible) Self-Illuminating Remote Control