# Onkyo TX-SR507 vs Denon AVR-1803



## BeerCrisp (May 9, 2021)

Hi all,

My receiver (Onkyo HT-R391) has sadly decided to stop working recently. A mate of mine has these two receivers (Onkyo TX-SR507 & Denon AVR-1803) lying around until I can properly upgrade the receiver.

Just wondering your thoughts on these two and which I should go with? Or even if it's better to try and repair my broken Onkyo. It will be driving a Polk Cs350-ls centre, two Yamaha NS-50F and a Yamaha YST-SW216 sub.

Not too concerned around HDMI CEC or video passthrough, etc. I run everything through the TV apps so happy to just use HDMI or Optical out for audio.

Thanks in advance!


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

The Onkyo HT-R391 was typically part of a HTiB setup which means it's not really worth the investment to get it fixed, assuming you even could of course. At this point it's probably better to consider a replacement instead.

Personally I'm more of a Denon fan than Onkyo but based upon those models the Denon is probably years older so it might be better to go with the Onkyo. The tech will be newer and it likely has less hours on it.


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## BeerCrisp (May 9, 2021)

theJman said:


> The Onkyo HT-R391 was typically part of a HTiB setup which means it's not really worth the investment to get it fixed, assuming you even could of course. At this point it's probably better to consider a replacement instead.
> 
> Personally I'm more of a Denon fan than Onkyo but based upon those models the Denon is probably years older so it might be better to go with the Onkyo. The tech will be newer and it likely has less hours on it.


Thanks a lot, I've also been looking at a second hand Yamaha HTR-4069 that is in my budget, is this a good receiver? Mainly looking at it over the Onkyo as it has ARC and I believe that means it can support newer codecs, etc. I'm just concerned about the output power seems a little low, especially for my Polk Cs350-ls centre which can draw up to 250W, though the sticker says 10-250W, think this receiver would drive it well enough?


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

When looking at receiver specifications to see if it's a good match for your speakers wattage is definitely one you need to know, but impedance and sensitivity are just as important. I can't find a spec sheet for that Polk center but I think any of the receivers you're looking at will probably be fine. All are rated at 80 watts which should be enough to drive it without issue. Don't forget, 250 watts is the maximum it can handle not the nominal/recommended wattage.


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## BeerCrisp (May 9, 2021)

theJman said:


> When looking at receiver specifications to see if it's a good match for your speakers wattage is definitely one you need to know, but impedance and sensitivity are just as important. I can't find a spec sheet for that Polk center but I think any of the receivers you're looking at will probably be fine. All are rated at 80 watts which should be enough to drive it without issue. Don't forget, 250 watts is the maximum it can handle not the nominal/recommended wattage.


Okay great thanks! Do you know if ARC would actually make that much difference? For things like Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD Master Audio, etc. on the newer Yamaha HTR-4069 vs the older Onkyo TX-SR507?


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

ARC is a cooperative technology so in order for it to function both the receiver and TV have to support it. Assuming that's the case in your situation... I don't think it would make a difference with regards to the codec used. ARC effectively creates a bi-directional audio channel over an HDMI cable, it doesn't really care what the content of that audio signal is. It's codec agnostic.


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## bassman_soundking (Nov 4, 2008)

I bought an 1803 18 yrs ago nd it still works the same today.
I take good care of my stuff.
About 10 yrs ago I bought a used 3801 also. It works great also, except for the fan that cools the mosfets.
It was an easy fix to add an external brick PSU to run the fan.
Favorite brand by far, but the newer stuff if not from Japan or Korea I wont buy.


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## BP1Fanatic (Mar 28, 2011)

My 2009 Onkyo HT-R570 still works. It sucks having HDMI pass through tho'. However, audio does travel from laptop to receiver via HDMI??? The laptop sees the TV as the audio source.


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