The present review is aimed to compare two AV receivers - Pioneer VSX-S520 vs Onkyo TX-SR353 that are meant to satisfy the needs of cinema and music lovers.
Considered AV receivers have the same number of channels 5.1. Regarding power, then VSX-S520 has such a W/Ohm ratio - 50/4 when TX-SR353 has a power of 140/6. The THD is 0.09% for the VSX-S520 but 0.08% for the TX-SR353.
Competitors' digital to analog converter (DAC) is identical to 192 KHz/24-bit. None of the models support Bi-amping. The Pioneer VSX-S520 can transmit an audio signal directly to the amplifier and bypasses any DSP processing. Rivals from our review have Bluetooth support. Only the VSX-S520 supports Spotify.
Only the Pioneer VSX-S520 has support for High dynamic range (HDR). HDMI signal transmission in standby mode is implemented in each of the devices. The VSX-S520 can scale the input HDMI signal, unlike the TX-SR353. Dolby Vision technology found support only on the VSX-S520.
Each receiver has 4/1 HDMI inputs/outputs. 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 VSX-S520 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 VSX-S520.
Only the VSX-S520 has a Dolby Atmos multichannel audio format support. A surround technology DTS:X is supported only by the VSX-S520.