The present review is aimed to compare two AV receivers - Yamaha RX-S602 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, Yamaha RX-S602 has 5.1 versus 9.2 for Onkyo TX-NR787. Regarding power, then RX-S602 has such a W/Ohm ratio - 80/8, 125/6 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, Burr-Brown 384 KHz/32-bit for RX-S602 and AK4458 384 KHz/32-bit for the TX-NR787. Both the RX-S602 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 Yamaha RX-S602 has support for AirPlay, AirPlay 2, and its competitor in our comparison - AirPlay. Spotify can be used on each receiver. The RX-S602 can work with the audio stream from Deezer, TIDAL, Pandora, Napster, SiriusXM, Qobuz, and the TX-NR787 can receive a content from Deezer, TIDAL, Pandora, TuneIn Radio.
Both AV receivers support HDR10 technology (High dynamic range). 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. Dolby Vision technology found support only on the TX-NR787.
The Yamaha RX-S602 has 4/1 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. The RX-S602 supports the protection of digital content of the standard HDCP 2.3, versus HDCP 2.2 in the TX-NR787. The TX-NR787 has a built-in phono stage for connecting a vinyl player.
The RX-S602 supports 2 Multi-room zones, versus 3 for the TX-NR787. The RX-S602 supports voice control via Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and the TX-NR787 - Google Assistant. An ECO mode is only available for the RX-S602. Both RX-S602 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.