onkyo vs. Marantz A/V recievers which better?

Three year warranty on the Marantz should tell you something. For 2-channel quality audio the Marantz is the better choice over all receivers but the Arcams IMHO.

I would choose Denon 3806 over the rest although Yamaha and Marantz are equally good. Onkyo and Harman Kardon are my least preferred out of the pack.

Don't know much about the Onkyo but can definetely vouch for the Marantz.

I own the Marantz SR5600 precedesor of the 5001. 2 channel is a good as it gets for it price range, superb quality sound (read my review in audioreview). Yamaha/Denon might be slightly better for HT but they are not reknown for their hifi performance. For all rounder capability without paying silly prices, I would choose the Marantz.

of course the bottom lines is you should put your ear to any under concideration as personal tastes vary. that said, I absolutely perfer the marantz sonics (I own and 8500 and love it) to any other reciever I've heard @ or near the price. I know there are units w/ some features which marantz sometimes lacks, base management on mine is limited and interface isn't as intuitive as some, but for me the sonics and video processing come first. thusly the marantz is the obvious choice.