Which av receiver is best

Over the years, he has auditioned more receivers, preamps, and amplifiers than he cares to count, and in recent years he has devoted an inordinate amount of time to learning about and testing room-correction systems of all varieties. Some of this guide is based on the work of Wirecutter senior staff writer Chris Heinonen, who has spent hundreds of hours over the past few years testing AV receivers for previous versions of this guide.

For those who want to get closest to the movie-theater experience at home, who have multiple sources to connect, and who want more flexibility in speaker selection and setup, an AV receiver is the way to go. An AV receiver is the core of most home theater systems. It combines source switching, audio and sometimes video processing, speaker amplification, and volume control in one box. Plug your source components—your media streamer, gaming console, cable or satellite receiver, and disc player—into its inputs, then connect its outputs to your display and speakers, and an AV receiver will direct all of the AV signals to the right places and in the right formats.

Many receivers include built-in music streaming services such as Pandora, Sirius XM, Spotify Connect, and Tidal, along with the ability to connect directly to internet radio stations and local DLNA media servers. And for those who prefer a more traditional approach, some receivers allow you to distribute audio sources and sometimes video, too to a second zone via wired connections. All of our current recommendations support 4K HDR displays and sources. Many new AV receivers also support Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, newer sound formats designed to add an overhead element to the typical ear-level surround sound available for decades.

To enjoy Dolby Atmos and DTS:X sound to its fullest, you need to add height speakers or buy special Atmos-enabled speakers you can read more about that topic in our guide to the best surround-sound speaker system , and you need an AV receiver that can decode these formats and provide power to more speakers. AV receivers run the price gamut from a couple hundred dollars to well into four-figure territory. The serious audio or home theater enthusiast may choose to spend more money to get more power which may be important if your speakers are difficult to drive , more amplified channels, more setup and customization options, and better build quality.

But there are certain key specs that you should consider when you begin your receiver search:. A basic home theater configuration requires a 5. Moving up to a 7. The more height speakers you add, the more convincing the effect—but that requires more amp channels, which leads to a more expensive AV receiver. Since the subwoofer is typically self-powered, to figure out how many amplified channels a receiver has, or how many you need, you simply add the first and third numeral.

So, a 5. Your receiver needs to be able to connect all the HDMI source devices you have, which could include a cable box or DVR, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, and a media streamer. You should also consider how many non-HDMI-equipped sources you want to connect and make sure the receiver has enough digital or analog inputs to accept them.

If you have a turntable that lacks a phono preamp, you may want a receiver with a phono input. HDMI 2. The connector remains the same, but version 2. Other noteworthy enhancements include automatic low-latency mode which allows devices to automatically detect and switch to the best mode for gaming , eARC which allows for higher-quality lossless audio over the HDMI Audio Return Channel instead of only compressed formats , variable refresh rate, and quick media switching.

But only a few of the newest receivers support the higher bandwidth necessary for 4K Hz gaming and 8K video. Make sure to read the fine print or our discussions below to pick a receiver that supports the HDMI 2. Even folks with extensive physical music collections likely stream much of their music from the internet, so a receiver needs some way of supporting streaming audio apps like Pandora and Spotify.

If you already own Wi-Fi speakers that use a certain platform such as AirPlay , you may want to look for a receiver that features the same streaming technology so that all the devices will work well together.

Room-correction systems make the biggest impact on how a receiver sounds to most listeners. People rarely have perfect listening rooms, and speakers especially subwoofers often end up in spots where they are unobtrusive instead of where they sound the best. Room correction helps to improve the overall sound quality by using microphones and built-in software to estimate how your room and speaker placement are distorting the sound and to attempt to compensate for those distortions.

Lots of receivers offer basic room correction, but when you invest in a more advanced room-correction technology such as Audyssey MultEQ XT32 or Dirac both of which are proprietary systems that can appear in various brands of AV receivers , you get the ability to customize the type of corrections and account for multiple subwoofers, and these systems do a better job of tuning the sound without making it seem dull or overly processed.

In the price ranges we tested, we were unable to tell most receivers apart in blind testing when their room correction was not enabled. We found that the type of room correction in use had the biggest impact on sound quality, providing big benefits for some receivers and only smaller improvements for others. When testing each receiver, we considered its sonic performance and its ease of setup and everyday use. This AV receiver is ready to deliver a thumpy experience with its 5.

That's thanks to its inclusion of four HDMI 2. In addition to that high bar of quality, this receiver supports gaming features such as variable refresh rate and Auto Low Latency Mode.

The Onkyo TX-NR will likely do the job for most, and it comes with modern upgrades that make it a great fit even for a bit more advanced setups. The receiver also features the latest HDMI 2. The most premium AV receivers have support for some really over-the-top setups. This AV receiver still has the connections it needs to support key features right now, including 8K video at 60Hz or 4K at Hz, so you can build a TV gaming setup around this receiver. It can even support VRR. In an ideal world, you might have a simple room with very little to affect the acoustics, but reality is hardly ever ideal.

So, if you've got a big room that leaves you trying to tweak the sound in, the Anthem MRX AV receiver can be a big help. This 7. With your speakers arranged and powered how you want, you can then use Anthem Room Correction software to measure and adjust the audio to perfection. The HDMI board is designed for easy user upgradability, so you'll be able to swap it out for a new board in the future if 8K video starts calling your name.

Marantz takes it know-how in audio performance and packs it all into a slim AV receiver with the Marantz NR This compact receiver can slip into tight quarters thanks to its constrained proportions — it's just 4. You won't miss out on much in terms of performance by going small, though. It offers up seven poweramps to support a 7. You also get the option of sticking with a 5. In terms of video capabilities, the Marantz NR is built for the latest features.

If audio comes first and gaming comes second, then you should check out the Marantz SR This receiver comes at a high price, but it has what you need for a healthy dose of gaming as well as some serious audio chops. This advanced feature works with IMAX Enhanced displays and content to deliver out-of-this-world images, sound, scale, and clarity. You have to see and hear it to believe it!

NAD is famous for prioritizing quality over frills, and the T V3i is a perfect example. It accepts and decodes Dolby Atmos signals for emphasis is on audio quality, with Modular Design Construction MDC that allows future hardware upgrades.

In addition, analog sources are converted to HDMI for simple "one-cable" connection to the display. This receiver leaves video processing where it belongs—in the display. Integrated Wi-Fi allows you to stream audio from local sources using AirPlay 2 and various online streaming providers, and it also supports Apple Siri voice control.

If your philosophy is "music first," this receiver has your name on it! This receiver offers nine channels of amplification with an honest 85 watts per channel 8 ohms, all channels driven , with two additional preamp outputs for an extra pair of overhead speakers that need a separate power amp. That's a total of 7. In addition, a full-color touchscreen on the front panel offers improved ergonomics for user-friendly operation. You can use the touchscreen to configure up to five custom presets with speaker-level and tone-control settings for different types of program material.

And with full support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, including BluOS high-resolution multi-room streaming, you can enjoy top-quality music from a wide variety of online sources wirelessly throughout your home.

This powerhouse will deliver superb audio and video for many years to come. With watts per channel into two channels , the AVR-XH has enough power to fill a good-sized home theater with 7 channels, including floor-standing mains and a couple of subs. Configuring your rig is simple with the included Audyssey speaker calibration and system optimization tools. Alexa and Google Assistant are on-board to help you enjoy your music and video just the way you want, too. Remember the first rule of home theater?

Future-proof your system! Full support for ultra-high-definition video and audio, immersive surround systems such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, high-definition music streaming, multi-room speaker systems, smooth game performance, and more — this AV receiver actually delivers. The sweet spot for this unit is a home setup that covers one or two rooms.

You might have your sights set on a nice 7. At 90W per channel with two channels firing, this AV receiver is ideal for the kind of living spaces that most of us spend our time in. The good news? Once everything is set up, most AV receivers really are simple to operate.

Not the case 10 years ago. Most of our customers prefer the app. As always, we invite you to call or write, anytime, with any questions at all. Our one and only motive: doing such a great job, you tell your friends, neighbors even your cousin Ricky about us.

A last word of advice: if not us, buy your new AV receiver from a trusted dealer. And the more experience and longer the track record, the better. A good dealer will take care of you in the event anything happens. We opened our doors in , gained a small yet die-hard following, won a slew of national awards for everything from killer car audio installations to customer service, grew the business online… and today we enjoy a faithful following of like-minded TV-watching, music-listening, gear-loving defenders of fun for the whole family.

Our only rule: no one leaves unhappy. Learn more about World Wide Stereo here.