The present review is aimed to compare two AV receivers - Denon AVR-X8500HSP vs Marantz SR6015 that are meant to satisfy the needs of cinema and music lovers.
A significant difference between the receivers in the number of channels, Denon AVR-X8500HSP has 13.2 versus 9.2 for Marantz SR6015. Regarding power, then AVR-X8500HSP has such a W/Ohm ratio - 150/8, 190/6 when SR6015 has a power of 110/8, 150/6. The THD is 0.05% for the AVR-X8500HSP but 0.08% for the SR6015. Both the AVR-X8500HSP and the SR6015 support Bi-amping. Each of the AV receivers can transmit an audio signal directly to the amplifier and bypasses any DSP processing.
WI-FI modules have the same characteristics: 2.4/5GHz. Rivals from our review have Bluetooth support. The Apple Music service is implemented on considered devices: AirPlay, AirPlay 2. Spotify can be used on each receiver. The AVR-X8500HSP can work with the audio stream from Deezer, TIDAL, Pandora, Napster, SiriusXM, TuneIn Radio, iHeart Radio, Sound Cloud, and the SR6015 can receive a content from Deezer, TIDAL, Pandora, SiriusXM, Napster, SoundCloud. HDMI signal transmission in standby mode is implemented in each of the devices. Both rivals can scale the resolution of the incoming HDMI signal. The HDR standard - Dolby Vision is supported by these receivers.
The Denon AVR-X8500HSP has 8/3 HDMI inputs/outputs versus 7/3 HDMI connectors of the Marantz SR6015. The HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) feature supports both devices. HDMI eARC is available in each model. The Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) feature is present in most modern AV receivers and the models in our comparison are no exception. The AVR-X8500HSP supports the protection of digital content of the standard HDCP 2.2, versus HDCP 2.3 in the SR6015. These compared receivers have a built-in phono stage for connecting a vinyl player.
The AVR-X8500HSP supports 3 Multi-room zones, versus 2 for the SR6015. Supported voice control technologies are identical - Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, Josh.AI. It is also worth noting that the ECO mode is presented in each of the receivers. Both AVR-X8500HSP and SR6015 can be configured using the Setup assistant.
Both devices have support for Dolby Atmos multichannel audio format. The surround sound technology DTS:X is supported by devices under review.