The present review is aimed to compare two AV receivers - Marantz SR5012 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 SR5012 has 7.2 versus 9.2 for Onkyo TX-NR787. Regarding power, then SR5012 has such a W/Ohm ratio - 100/8 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 SR5012 and AK4458 384 KHz/32-bit for the TX-NR787. Both the SR5012 and the TX-NR787 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 Marantz SR5012 has support for AirPlay, AirPlay 2, and its competitor in our comparison - AirPlay. Spotify can be used on each receiver. The SR5012 can work with the audio stream from Deezer, TIDAL, Pandora, Napster, SiriusXM, TuneIn Radio, iHeart Radio, Sound Cloud, 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. The SR5012 can scale the input HDMI signal, unlike the TX-NR787. The HDR standard - Dolby Vision is supported by these receivers.
The Marantz SR5012 has 8/2 HDMI inputs/outputs versus 7/2 HDMI connectors of the Onkyo TX-NR787. 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 TX-NR787 has a built-in phono stage for connecting a vinyl player.
The SR5012 supports 2 Multi-room zones, versus 3 for the TX-NR787. The SR5012 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 SR5012. Both SR5012 and TX-NR787 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.