The present review is aimed to compare two AV receivers - Pioneer SC-LX801 vs Onkyo TX-SR353 that are meant to satisfy the needs of cinema and music lovers.
A significant difference between the receivers in the number of channels, Pioneer SC-LX801 has 9.2 versus 5.1 for Onkyo TX-SR353. Regarding power, then SC-LX801 has such a W/Ohm ratio - 140/8, 200/6, 255/4 when TX-SR353 has a power of 140/6. The THD is the same and is 0.08%.
Characteristics of digital to analog converter (DAC) are different, ESS SABRE32 Ultra 192 KHz/32-bit for SC-LX801 and 192 KHz/24-bit for the TX-SR353. Only the SC-LX801 supports Bi-amping feature. The Pioneer SC-LX801 can transmit an audio signal directly to the amplifier and bypasses any DSP processing. Rivals from our review have Bluetooth support. Only the SC-LX801 supports Spotify. HDMI signal transmission in standby mode is implemented in each of the devices. The SC-LX801 can scale the input HDMI signal, unlike the TX-SR353. Dolby Vision technology found support only on the SC-LX801.
The Pioneer SC-LX801 has 8/2 HDMI inputs/outputs versus 4/1 HDMI connectors of the Onkyo TX-SR353. The HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) feature supports both devices. 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 SC-LX801 has a built-in phono stage for connecting a vinyl player. A voice control is not available. An ECO mode is not present in each of the AV receivers. The setup assistant will help you configure Pioneer SC-LX801.
Only the SC-LX801 has a Dolby Atmos multichannel audio format support. A surround technology DTS:X is supported only by the SC-LX801.