The Denon AVR-S960H vs Pioneer SC-LX801 comparison proves that these receivers have many common features.
A significant difference between the receivers in the number of channels, Denon AVR-S960H has 7.2 versus 9.2 for Pioneer SC-LX801. Regarding power, then AVR-S960H has such a W/Ohm ratio - 90/8, 125/6 when SC-LX801 has a power of 140/8, 200/6, 255/4. The THD is the same and is 0.08%. Only the SC-LX801 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 Denon AVR-S960H has support for AirPlay, AirPlay 2, and its competitor in our comparison - AirPlay. Spotify can be used on each receiver. The AVR-S960H can work with the audio stream from Deezer, TIDAL, Pandora, SiriusXM, Qobuz, TuneIn Radio, and the SC-LX801 can receive a content from Deezer, TIDAL, Pandora.
Both AV receivers support HDR10 technology (High dynamic range). 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-S960H has 6/2 HDMI inputs/outputs versus 8/2 HDMI connectors of the Pioneer SC-LX801. The HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) feature supports both devices. The HDMI eARC is available only on the AVR-S960H. The Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) feature is present in most modern AV receivers and the models in our comparison are no exception. The AVR-S960H supports the protection of digital content of the standard HDCP 2.3, versus HDCP 2.2 in the SC-LX801. These compared receivers have a built-in phono stage for connecting a vinyl player.
The AVR-S960H supports 2 Multi-room zones, versus 3 for the SC-LX801. An ECO mode is only available for the AVR-S960H. Both AVR-S960H and SC-LX801 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.