Seven channels and Audyssey against nine and Dirac — which should you buy?
The short answer
Buy the Onkyo TX-NR7100 at prices this close — it states two more amplified channels (nine against seven), seven HDMI inputs and two outputs against six and one, HDMI 2.1 with a 40 Gbps figure and five stated 2.1 ports, a 4–16Ω impedance range, a third zone and IMAX Enhanced, and our S770H row states none of the last four at all. None of that rests on the watt figures, which are not comparable: 100W at 8Ω with one channel driven at 1% THD against 75W at 8Ω with two channels driven at 0.08% THD. Buy the Denon AVR-S770H if you want the room correction in the box rather than bought afterwards — our Onkyo row records Dirac Live as a paid upgrade where the Denon states Audyssey MultEQ included — or if HEOS multiroom is already in the house. Our Onkyo row does carry a multiroom entry of its own — DTS Play-Fi — but recorded as Estimated rather than manufacturer-stated.
As tracked by Home Theater Builder: the Denon AVR-S770H tracks at $749; the Onkyo TX-NR7100 at $749.How we verify this data →
Two receivers that answer the same brief differently, and as tracked today the price row barely separates them: seven amplified channels with Audyssey MultEQ against nine with Dirac Live. The watt figures on the two sheets are the one thing you should not compare.
Shaded rows differ · green dot = lab-measured · amber = manufacturer-verified · blue = retailer/community-reported · grey = estimated · “not stated” means exactly that
Reading the numbers honestly
The power stickers first, because they are the trap. Onkyo's 100W is stated into 8Ω with ONE channel driven at 1% THD — the generous convention on two axes at once. Denon's 75W is stated into 8Ω with TWO channels driven at 0.08% THD, the conservative one. Our data stores the context with the value, so we can say plainly that 100 against 75 is not a comparison, and nothing below rests on it. What is comparable: the Onkyo states nine amplified and nine processing channels against the Denon's seven and seven, seven HDMI inputs and two outputs against six and one, HDMI 2.1 with a 40 Gbps bandwidth figure (recorded from a retailer listing) and five stated 2.1 ports where our Denon row states 8K/60 passthrough but no bandwidth and no port count, a 4–16Ω impedance range where the Denon states none, a third zone, and IMAX Enhanced. Room correction is not like-for-like either: our Onkyo row records Dirac Live as a paid upgrade at full bandwidth, while the Denon states Audyssey MultEQ — the base tier, not XT or XT32 — in the box. One flag against our own data: our Onkyo row records a 75W power-consumption figure, which cannot be a nine-channel receiver's maximum draw when our Denon row records 400W; read it as an unverified field, not a spec.
Compatibility · computed, not written
Checked against a bookshelf that dips to a stated 3.5Ω like the KEF LS50 Meta: KEF LS50 Meta
Can the Denon AVR-S770H drive the KEF LS50 Meta?
Denon AVR-S770H publishes no rated impedance range, so the pairing with the KEF LS50 Meta (which dips to a stated 3.5Ω minimum) can't be verified from its spec sheet — we treat that as "can't check", not a pass.
Can the Onkyo TX-NR7100 drive the KEF LS50 Meta?
Onkyo TX-NR7100 states a 4Ω-minimum rating; the KEF LS50 Meta dips to a stated 3.5Ω minimum, a little below that floor. Most receivers handle a marginal dip at normal volumes — it's worth watching only at very high output on an entry-level unit.
Computed from the catalog's normalized fields — the same fields the builder's compatibility engine reads. A missing field reads as "can't check", never as a pass.
Buy the Onkyo TX-NR7100 at prices this close — it states two more amplified channels (nine against seven), seven HDMI inputs and two outputs against six and one, HDMI 2.1 with a 40 Gbps figure and five stated 2.1 ports, a 4–16Ω impedance range, a third zone and IMAX Enhanced, and our S770H row states none of the last four at all. None of that rests on the watt figures, which are not comparable: 100W at 8Ω with one channel driven at 1% THD against 75W at 8Ω with two channels driven at 0.08% THD. Buy the Denon AVR-S770H if you want the room correction in the box rather than bought afterwards — our Onkyo row records Dirac Live as a paid upgrade where the Denon states Audyssey MultEQ included — or if HEOS multiroom is already in the house. Our Onkyo row does carry a multiroom entry of its own — DTS Play-Fi — but recorded as Estimated rather than manufacturer-stated.
Amplified channelsOnkyo TX-NR7100 — Nine stated amplified and nine processing channels against seven and seven — two more speakers driven without an external amplifier.
Comparable powerEither — Not comparable, so not ranked: 100W at 8Ω with ONE channel driven at 1% THD against 75W at 8Ω with two channels driven at 0.08% THD.
HDMI and 4K/120Onkyo TX-NR7100 — Seven inputs, two outputs, HDMI 2.1 with a 40 Gbps figure and five stated 2.1 ports; our Denon row states six inputs, one output and 8K/60 passthrough with no bandwidth or port count.
Room correction in the boxDenon AVR-S770H — Audyssey MultEQ is stated on the Denon row; our Onkyo row records Dirac Live as a paid upgrade, so budget for it if that platform is the reason you are buying.
Low-impedance speakersOnkyo TX-NR7100 — A stated 4–16Ω range against no impedance range at all on our Denon row.
MultiroomEither — Both rows carry a multiroom entry and they are different platforms recorded differently: the Denon states HEOS inside a manufacturer-stated streaming list, while our Onkyo row states no HEOS but does list DTS Play-Fi — in a streaming list recorded as Estimated in our data rather than manufacturer-stated. If HEOS is already in the house that settles it for the Denon; otherwise this row is a platform choice, not a gap.
The watt figures are not comparable and we say so instead of ranking them: Onkyo's 100W is 8Ω with ONE channel driven at 1% THD, Denon's 75W is 8Ω with two channels driven at 0.08% THD.
Nine amplified and nine processing channels against seven and seven — two more speakers driven from the box, which no power sticker substitutes for.
Stated HDMI: seven inputs, two outputs, version 2.1, a 40 Gbps bandwidth figure and five 2.1 ports on the Onkyo; six inputs and one output on the Denon, with 8K/60 passthrough stated but no bandwidth or 2.1-port count recorded.
Room correction is not a like-for-like feature: our Onkyo row records Dirac Live as a PAID UPGRADE at full bandwidth, while the Denon states Audyssey MultEQ — the base tier, not XT or XT32 — included.
A flag against our own data: our Onkyo row records a 75W power-consumption figure, which cannot be a nine-channel receiver's maximum draw when our Denon row records 400W — an unverified field, not a spec.
Only the Onkyo row states an impedance range (4–16Ω) and a third zone; only the Denon row states HEOS — though our Onkyo row lists DTS Play-Fi, its own multiroom platform, inside a streaming list recorded as Estimated — $749 vs $749 as tracked today.
