The Best AV Receivers For Home Theater – Audio Advice Enhance your audio-visual experience with our top-rated home theater receivers. Unrivaled sound quality for immersive entertainment. Discover the best today! Key Features To Shop For In A Home Theater AV Receivers Best Home Theater AV Receiver Under $750: Denon AVR-S770H Best Home Theater AV Receiver Under $1,250: Denon AVR-X2800H Best Upgradeable Value Home Theater AV Receiver: Onkyo TX-RZ50 Best Value 11 Channel Dolby Atmos AV Receiver: Sony STR-AZ5000ES Best 9 Channel Dolby Atmos AV Receiver: Marantz Cinema 50 Best Sounding AV Receiver: Anthem MRX 740 Best AV Receiver For Music: Arcam AVR11 Best 11 Channel Dolby Atmos AV Receiver: Anthem MRX 1140 Best Biggest and Baddest AV Receiver For Home Theater: Denon AVR A1H Channels: This is the number of powered speaker channels on board to drive your speakers.
Enhance your audio-visual experience with our top-rated home theater receivers. Unrivaled sound quality for immersive entertainment. Discover the best today!
- Key Features To Shop For In A Home Theater AV Receivers
- Best Home Theater AV Receiver Under $750: Denon AVR-S770H
- Best Home Theater AV Receiver Under $1,250: Denon AVR-X2800H
- Best Upgradeable Value Home Theater AV Receiver: Onkyo TX-RZ50
- Best Value 11 Channel Dolby Atmos AV Receiver: Sony STR-AZ5000ES
- Best 9 Channel Dolby Atmos AV Receiver: Marantz Cinema 50
- Best Sounding AV Receiver: Anthem MRX 740
- Best AV Receiver For Music: Arcam AVR11
- Best 11 Channel Dolby Atmos AV Receiver: Anthem MRX 1140
- Best Biggest and Baddest AV Receiver For Home Theater: Denon AVR A1H
Channels: This is the number of powered speaker channels on board to drive your speakers. Watts Per Channel: This is the power rating of the receiver. Some companies spec this with all of the channels driven and some spec it with just two. Some will also spec it without it covering the full audio bandwidth of 20Hz-20,000Hz. The most honest spec would be all channels driven from 20-20,000Hz at a very low distortion number. Preamp Outputs: Preamp outputs allow you to add more amplifiers later to expand your system without having to change your receiver. An example could be a receiver with 5 powered channels, yet it has preamp outs for a total of 9 or 11, which gives you great expansion options. This will be a Yes or No followed by the number of channels available as preamp outs. As a note, we will not count subwoofer channels unless the receiver does something special. Discrete Subwoofer Channels: At Audio Advice we love multiple subwoofers! You can get far better performance if your AVR has the ability to calibrate your subwoofers separately. We will call out how many true independent channels are available as some brands may have two subwoofer connections, but they do not calibrate separately. Power Amp Matrixing: This is a great new feature we are seeing on some models. This applies if you are thinking about upgrading in the future, or have a nice power amplifier you want to use with your home theater receiver. Amp matrixing lets you reroute channels in the receiver to other channels. An example of this might be if you had a good two channel power amp you wanted to use on the left and right channels. Amp matrixing would let you assign the internal left and right channels to other channels in the receiver that were not powered as it came out of the box. This will be a Yes or No followed by which ones can be matrixed. ARC: stands for “audio return channel.” e-ARC is the latest version of ARC, which will pass full uncompressed Dolby Atmos down the connection. ARC will pass compressed Dolby Dolby Atmos down the connection. This all comes into play if you like to use your TV apps for streaming. All app streaming (for now) compresses the Dolby Atmos signal — so you will be ok just using an ARC connection. However, if you have connected a next-gen video game console to your TV, you will want e-ARC for the best audio. Room EQ: We are big fans of Room Correction. No room is acoustically perfect and this technology has greatly improved over the years. Some are better than others, you can learn all about them in our video that walks you through how to optimize home theater EQ. Phono Section: If you can connect a turntable through a phono input, this will be marked as a “yes” to indicate this. Bear in mind many turntables have a phono preamp built-in, which means you could connect that type of turntable into any of these receivers even if this was indicated with a “No.” 8K Capable: We are starting to see more 8K content in video games released. While we still feel the best way to connect for most systems is to run your game console directly to your TV and use its e-ARC connection to get uncompressed audio back to your home theater receiver, some people might want the future capability to switch more than a couple of 8K sources at the receiver. We will call out if the receiver can handle 8K and for how many sources
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Channels: 7 Powered
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Watts Per Channel: 75 W/Ch (8 Ohms, 20 Hz–20 kHz, 0.08% THD, 2 Channels Driven, FTC)
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Preamp Outputs: ❌ No
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Discrete Subwoofer Channels: 1
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Power Amp Matrixing: ❌ No
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ARC: ✅ Yes, e-ARC
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Room EQ: Audyssey MultiEQ
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Phono Section: ✅ Yes, MM
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8K Capable: ✅ Yes, 3 Inputs
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Excellent Sounding Amp Section
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Supports Streaming, HiRes Audio, & Vinyl
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Great Room EQ with Audyssey MultiEQ
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Channels: 7 Powered
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Watts Per Channel: 95 W/Ch (8 Ohms, 20 Hz–20 kHz, 0.08% THD, 2 Channels Driven)
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Preamp Outputs: ❌ No
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Discrete Subwoofer Channels: 1
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Power Amp Matrixing: ❌ No
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ARC: ✅ Yes, e-ARC
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Room EQ: Audyssey MultEQ XT
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Phono Section: ✅ Yes, MM
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8K Capable: ✅ Yes, 3 Inputs
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Great Height Speaker Flexibility
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Classic Powerful Denon Sound
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Easy To Use and Excellent Room EQ
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Channels: 9
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Watts Per Channel: 120 W/Ch (8 ohms, 20 Hz–20 kHz, 0.08% THD, 2 channels driven, FTC)
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Preamp Outputs: ✅ Yes, 11
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Discrete Subwoofer Channels: 1
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Power Amp Matrixing: ❌ No
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ARC: ✅ Yes, eARC
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Room EQ: Dirac Live
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Phono Section: ✅ Yes, MM
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8K Capable: ✅ Yes, 6 Inputs
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Dirac Live
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9 Powered Channels Included
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Every Audio/Video Feature You Can Dream Of
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Channels: 11
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Watts Per Channel: 130 W/Ch (8 ohms, 20 Hz–20 kHz, 0.08% THD, 2 channels driven, FTC)
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Preamp Outputs: ✅ Yes, 11
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Discrete Subwoofer Channels: 1
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Power Amp Matrixing: ❌ No
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ARC: ✅ Yes, eARC
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Room EQ: Sony DCAC Calibration
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Phono Section: ❌ No
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8K Capable: ✅ Yes, 6 Inputs
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11 Channels of Audiophile Level Power
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Incredible Surround Sound Effects
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Built Like a True Tank
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Channels: 11
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Watts Per Channel: 110 W/Ch (8 Ohms, 20 Hz–20 kHz, 0.08% THD, 2 Channels Driven, FTC)
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Preamp Outputs: ✅ Yes, 11
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Discrete Subwoofer Channels: 4
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Power Amp Matrixing: ❌ No
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ARC: ✅ Yes, eARC
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Room EQ: Audyssey MultEQ XT, Dirac Live Optional
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Phono Section: ✅ Yes, MM
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8K Capable: ✅ Yes, 6 Inputs
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11.4 Channels of Processing
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Four Independent Subwoofer Outs
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Great High Power Amplifier Section
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Channels: 7 Powered
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Watts Per Channel: 140/2 channels driven
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Preamp Outs: ✅ Yes, 11
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Discrete Subwoofer Channels:1
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Power Amp Matrixing: ✅ Yes, all except center since it is just one
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ARC: ✅ Yes eARC
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Room EQ: Anthem ARC Genesis
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Phono Section: ❌ No
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8K Capable: ✅ Yes, 7 Inputs
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ARC Genesis Room Correction
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Real Amps Coupled with High-End DAC’s
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Great Speaker Profile Memory
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Channels: 7 Powered
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Watts Per Channel: 80 W/Ch (8 ohms, 20 Hz–20 kHz, 0.02% THD, 2 channels driven, FTC)
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Preamp Outs: ✅ Yes, 12
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Discrete Subwoofer Channels: 2
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Power Amp Matrixing: ✅ Yes, to rear or height channels
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ARC: ✅ Yes eARC
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Room EQ: Dirac Live
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Phono Section: ❌ No
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8K Capable: ✅ Yes, 7 Inputs
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Classic British Sound
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Great Built In DAC’s Provide Outstanding Audio
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Dirac Live
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Channels: 11
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Watts Per Channel: 140/2 channels driven
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Preamp Outs: ✅ Yes, 15
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Discrete Subwoofer Channels: 2
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Power Amp Matrixing: ✅ Yes, all except center since it is just one
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ARC: ✅ Yes eARC
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Room EQ: Anthem ARC Genesis
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Phono Section: ❌ No
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8K Capable: ✅ Yes, 7 Inputs
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ARC Genesis Room Correction
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Awesome Full Atmos Amp Section with Extra Preamp Outs
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Independent Dual Sub Calibration
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Channels: 15.4
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Watts Per Channel: 150 W/Ch (8 ohms, 20 Hz–20 kHz, 0.05% THD, 2 channels driven, FTC)
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Preamp Outs: ✅ Yes, 15
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Discrete Subwoofer Channels: 4
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Power Amp Matrixing: ✅ Yes
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ARC: ✅ Yes eARC
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Room EQ: Audyssey MultEQ XT32, Dirac Live Optional
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Phono Section: ✅ Yes, MM
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8K Capable: ✅ Yes, 7 Inputs
If you are reading this and want to learn more about home theater in general, check out Home Theater Central. Here we have lots of articles on how to design your dream home theater. We even have a free 3D design tool so you can visualize how the screen and speakers should be placed for optimum performance in your room.
If you are lucky enough to live near our world class showrooms, we highly recommend you contact one of our local theater designers to help with your project. We can help you build the theater of your dreams from start to finish including installation.
Marantz CINEMA 50 9.4 Channel Home Theater Receiver
$2,500.00
Anthem MRX 740 8K Home Theater Receiver
$3,099.99
Arcam AVR11 AV Receiver
$3,050.00
Anthem MRX 1140 8K Home Theater Receiver
$4,199.99
Denon AVR-A1H 15.4 Channel Home Theater Receiver
$6,499.00
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FAQ
What is a 4K AV receiver?
A 4K receiver, also referred to as an AV receiver (Audio-Visual receiver), acts as the central hub of your home theater system. Its primary function is to process audio and video signals from various sources, such as gaming consoles, Blu-ray players, streaming devices, and cable/satellite boxes.Nov 20, 2023
Are AV processors worth it?
While the most powerful receivers can offer around 13 channels at up to around 150W in stereo, with an AV processor and power amp, you can not only up the channel ante but also increase that wattage by a considerable amount to drive all the loudspeakers and subwoofers in home cinema installs of even epic proportions.Jun 15, 2023
Are AV processors worth it?
While the most powerful receivers can offer around 13 channels at up to around 150W in stereo, with an AV processor and power amp, you can not only up the channel ante but also increase that wattage by a considerable amount to drive all the loudspeakers and subwoofers in home cinema installs of even epic proportions.Jun 15, 2023
What is high-end AV?
High-end audio is a class of consumer home audio equipment marketed to audiophiles on the basis of high price or quality, and esoteric or novel sound reproduction technologies.
What is AV in amplifier?
(Audio/Video receiver) A combination audio amplifier and audio/video switching device for a home theater. An A/V receiver contains inputs for all the user’s audio and video sources such as a cable TV box, Blu-ray or CD player and digital media hub (Apple TV, Roku, etc.).