And, of course, the real proof in the sonic pudding came with the revelation of new elements in the sound mix. Did you know that as poor Remy's family goes down the waterfall underground (12mins 27secs) that you can hear their cries beneath the roaring sounds of the water itself? Give it a listen.

As for the old lady's shotgun shells, the impact is seriously huge. The edges of the tinkles and crashes of breaking glass and cracking plaster are incredible. Pleasure doesn't just come from the power the EX system can muster, it's the incredible levels of tiny detail and sheer clarity of separate items in the midst of chaos.

From Pixar I migrated to Legends of Jazz (also Blu-ray, Dolby TrueHD) and Jane Monheit singing They Can't Take That Away From Me… I fell hopelessly in love with her voice the first time I heard it in the Pioneer demonstration suite at the 2008 Bristol Show, and again here. Such was the clarity, she sounded like she was right there with me. It was incredibly intimate.

All of which serves to show that when speakers are good enough and backed up by reference grade electronics, the quality of the experience is more about an emotional response, rather than how a system makes your trousers flap.

Pioneer's audio history is a fascinating one, and while I thought I had some handle on how it does things, I really didn't expect its original S1-EX speaker to have been more than a brief statement of capability. It turns out it was a far more real-world precursor to producing a speaker system of improbable performance, with filtered-down technology developed for far higher-ticket devices.

As such, I'd wager the EX Series matches any of its high-end rivals. And even given the necessary currency-and-crunch price rises of such things, it represents good value for your high-end pound. The caveat, though, is that your chances of hearing this system for yourself are limited.

Pioneer is reputedly struggling to get dealers to stock them. A shame, as they deserve to be heard. Indeed, I'd rate them as a Reference-grade bargain.

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