Looking over the two with them being in the same price bracket the Onkyo looks like it has more features like Dolby Pro Logic IIz, Audyssey MultEQ for Room Correction and Speaker Calibration and HDMI 1080p upscaling powered by Faroujda DCDi Cinema.
Having said that I don't believe you could go wrong with either choice.
The Elite 23TXH has MCACC, which is Pioneer's room correction and speaker calibration feature (similar to Audyssey on the Onkyo).
I have been very satisfied with the two Elite receivers I've owned -- my current receiver is the VSX-94TXH. I have never owned an Onkyo receiver, but have read many favorable reviews on their products. As Parker stated, you probably cannot go wrong with either choice.
It looks like to me that the 23txh is a step above the 707. A better comparison might be the 807.
Between the 23 and the 707 I'd take the 23 but I'm also a Pioneer Elite fan. But the 707, at a better price, would also be an excellent choice. Like Parker said, lots of features for the price. And people around here really like Audyssey and it's Dynamic Volume and Dynamic EQ.
thanks folks - my friend next door is getting Onkyo 707; i am going to listen to it and then make a decision; right now leaning towards Pioneer. thanks for all the feedback. regards
I just replaced my 12 year old Pioneer Elite VSX 24TXH with a new Pioneer Elite VSX 21 TXH and it is terrific. I found it very easy to hook up and the sound is incredible. The MCACC room calibrator improved the sound mix tremendously. My only complaint so far is that the GUI interface looks like something you would see on a computer monitor in the 80's.