The present review is aimed to compare two AV receivers - Pioneer Elite SC-LX904 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 Elite SC-LX904 has 11.2 versus 5.1 for Onkyo TX-SR353. Regarding power, then Elite SC-LX904 has such a W/Ohm ratio - 140/8 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, ES9026PRO 384 KHz/32-bit for Elite SC-LX904 and 192 KHz/24-bit for the TX-SR353. Only the Elite SC-LX904 supports Bi-amping feature. The Pioneer Elite SC-LX904 can transmit an audio signal directly to the amplifier and bypasses any DSP processing. Rivals from our review have Bluetooth support. Only the Elite SC-LX904 supports Spotify. HDMI signal transmission in standby mode is implemented in each of the devices. The Elite SC-LX904 can scale the input HDMI signal, unlike the TX-SR353. Dolby Vision technology found support only on the Elite SC-LX904.
The Pioneer Elite SC-LX904 has 7/3 HDMI inputs/outputs versus 4/1 HDMI connectors of the Onkyo TX-SR353. The HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) feature supports both devices. The HDMI eARC is available only on the Elite SC-LX904. The Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) feature is present in most modern AV receivers and the models in our comparison are no exception. The Elite SC-LX904 supports the protection of digital content of the standard HDCP 2.3, versus HDCP 2.2 in the TX-SR353. The Elite SC-LX904 has a built-in phono stage for connecting a vinyl player. An ECO mode is not present in each of the AV receivers. The setup assistant will help you configure Pioneer Elite SC-LX904.
Only the Elite SC-LX904 has a Dolby Atmos multichannel audio format support. A surround technology DTS:X is supported only by the Elite SC-LX904.