The present review is aimed to compare two AV receivers - Marantz NR1508 vs Onkyo TX-NR787 that are meant to satisfy the needs of cinema and music lovers.
A significant difference between the receivers in the number of channels, Marantz NR1508 has 5.2 versus 9.2 for Onkyo TX-NR787. Regarding power, then NR1508 has such a W/Ohm ratio - 50/8 when TX-NR787 has a power of 100/8, 220/6. The THD is the same and is 0.08%.
Characteristics of digital to analog converter (DAC) are different, 192 KHz/24-bit for NR1508 and AK4458 384 KHz/32-bit for the TX-NR787. Only the TX-NR787 supports Bi-amping feature. 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 Marantz NR1508 has support for AirPlay, AirPlay 2, and its competitor in our comparison - AirPlay. Spotify can be used on each receiver. The NR1508 can work with the audio stream from Deezer, TIDAL, Pandora, and the TX-NR787 can receive a content from Deezer, TIDAL, Pandora, TuneIn Radio. Compared AV receivers retain the quality of 4K/60Hz signal when transmitting from a source to a TV or projector. HDMI signal transmission in standby mode is implemented in each of the devices. Both competitors are not able to scale the HDMI signal. The HDR standard - Dolby Vision is supported by these receivers.
The Marantz NR1508 has 6/1 HDMI inputs/outputs versus 7/2 HDMI connectors of the Onkyo TX-NR787. Only the TX-NR787 supports HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC). Unfortunately, HDMI eARC is not available on monitored devices. The Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) feature is present in most modern AV receivers and the models in our comparison are no exception. Both models support the standard HDCP 2.2. The TX-NR787 has a built-in phono stage for connecting a vinyl player. The NR1508 supports voice control via Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, Josh.AI, and the TX-NR787 - Google Assistant. An ECO mode is only available for the NR1508. Both NR1508 and TX-NR787 can be configured using the Setup assistant.
Only the TX-NR787 has a Dolby Atmos multichannel audio format support. A surround technology DTS:X is supported only by the TX-NR787.