Onkyo HT-RC370

Less than two months after unveiling three new AV receivers with loads of extra features, Onkyo is already expanding its 2011 lineup. The new models feature Marvell Qdeo 4K video upscaling, USB audio support, and the ability to stream some Internet audio services such as Pandora, Rhapsody, and XM. HT-RC360 and HT-RC370 replace last year's HT-RC260 and HT-RC270, respectively.

Read on to find out more about Onkyo's latest additions and see some of their key features.

Onkyo HT-RC360

The front panel of the Onkyo HT-RC360 (click for larger image)

The rear of the Onkyo HT-RC360 (click for larger image)

Key features of the Onkyo HT-RC360:

Onkyo HT-RC370

Onkyo HT-RC370 (click for larger image)

The rear of the Onkyo HT-RC370 (click for larger image)

Key step-up features of the Onkyo HT-RC370:

At $549, the Onkyo HT-RC360 seems to be very redundant to Onkyo's own TX-NR609--a $500 receiver with an almost identical spec sheet.

The HT-RC360 will also be competing against the recently announced Pioneer VSX-1021. That offering, which comes in at $549 as well, boasts many of the same features as the Onkyo (five HDMI inputs, a USB port to play music from external devices, network support via Ethernet port, plug-and-play iPod/iPhone compatibility via USB). Moreover, while the addition of 4K video upscaling to the Onkyo receivers provides a nice bit of future-proofing, it's one of those features (like "Deep Color support") that won't have any real-world use for the foreseeable future.

However, while both the Onkyo receivers and the Pioneer offer plug-and-play USB compatibility with iPhones and iPod Touch handhelds, the Pioneer receiver includes one feature that's conspicuously missing from all of Onkyo's 2011 products to date: Apple's AirPlay. Thanks to AirPlay, VSX-1021 owners can wirelessly stream content from their iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad to the receiver. (AirPlay is also available on more expensive 2010 Denon and Marantz receivers, which means we're likely to see it on that company's soon-to-be-announced 2011 products as well.)

We're glad to see that the new Onkyo models eliminate the need for a separate iPod dock (though that support still exists if you want it), and that they deliver the latest HDMI features (standby pass-through wasn't supported in the predecessor models.) But we hope the 2011 HT-RC models exhibit better sound quality than the HT-RC260, which lagged among its competitors in our 2010 evaluations.