The present review is aimed to compare two AV receivers - Marantz AV7703 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, Marantz AV7703 has 11.2 versus 5.1 for Onkyo TX-SR353. The THD is the same and is 0.08%.
Characteristics of digital to analog converter (DAC) are different, 192 KHz/32-bit for AV7703 and 192 KHz/24-bit for the TX-SR353. Only the AV7703 supports Bi-amping feature. The Marantz AV7703 can transmit an audio signal directly to the amplifier and bypasses any DSP processing. Rivals from our review have Bluetooth support. Only the AV7703 supports Spotify.
Only the Marantz AV7703 has support for High dynamic range (HDR). HDMI signal transmission in standby mode is implemented in each of the devices. The AV7703 can scale the input HDMI signal, unlike the TX-SR353. Dolby Vision technology found support only on the AV7703.
The Marantz AV7703 has 8/3 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 AV7703 has a built-in phono stage for connecting a vinyl player. An ECO mode is only available for the AV7703. The setup assistant will help you configure Marantz AV7703.
Only the AV7703 has a Dolby Atmos multichannel audio format support. A surround technology DTS:X is supported only by the AV7703.