Home Theater Receiver Review

Reviewing basic and fancy home theater receivers

This report covers component home theater receivers used as part of a total home theater that also includes surround-sound speakers and a DVD or Blu-ray player. While experts say that buying these devices separately gives you the best performance and flexibility, those looking for simple setup and lower prices should also consider a home theater system, which includes a receiver, surround-sound speakers and (sometimes) a DVD or even a Blu-ray. See our companion report on home theater systems.

It is possible to spend more than $5,000 for a home theater receiver. However, for the vast majority of consumers, that's simply overkill. Instead, reviews say you can spend considerably less and still wind up with a home theater that will impress all but the fussiest listeners. That's why the focus of this report is on mainstream receivers priced at $500 and less.

While most reviewers evaluate high-end receivers, we did find some coverage of moderately priced and budget models at CNET and Home Theater magazine. Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, a site usually more given to discussing audiophile receivers in its multi-page reports, also comes through with some reviews of lower-priced options. British sites and publications such as What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision magazine, TrustedReviews.com and TechRadar.com are also helpful; while the receivers sold overseas differ in some technical details, performance should be similar. ConsumerReports.org is not a great source for guidance -- their coverage of home theater receivers is both dated and extremely shallow at present.

User feedback and opinion at AVSForum.com, BestBuy.com, Amazon.com and similar sites is helpful for gauging owner satisfaction after the sale, and sometimes after weeks or months of ownership.

In the past, features such as seven channels of surround sound, enough usable power to wake the neighbors, automatic speaker setup and decoders for the lossless audio formats used on Blu-ray discs could only be found in high-end receivers. Now, those features can be found in virtually every mainstream home theater receiver. While budget and basic home theater receivers are somewhat less capable, they do offer more functionality than previous models.

Sound quality is also generally excellent, especially for movies, though the pickiest of audiophiles might want to consider more expensive receivers for enjoying finely nuanced music. That said, most listeners will be very happy with mainstream home theater receivers, and many basic and budget receivers sound just as good,

While we found lots of good choices among sub-$500 audio-video receivers, there were a few also-rans as well. Most are actually not poor performers, but in the opinions of experts and users, these home theater receivers fall a step or two behind the competition.

One example is the Yamaha RX-V565BL (*Est. $430). According to CNET, that receiver is identical to the Yamaha HTR-6250BL that's included in the Yamaha YHT-791BL home theater system. While the receiver is solid when compared against those in competing home theater in a box (HTIB) solutions, the RX-V565BL falls a little short compared to the stand-alone competition.

The Yamaha RX-V565BL certainly doesn't lack features; it includes decoders for the Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio (lossless surround sound formats used in Blu-ray Discs), seven-channel surround sound, four HDMI inputs, the ability to upconvert analog video signals to 1080p and an automatic speaker set up system. However, CNET notes several warts. Video upconversion is offered, but it isn't very good, which leads editors to conclude that you are better off passing analog signals on to your HDTV untouched. Sound quality isn't terrible, but it isn't the best in its class either according to Matthew Moskovciak and Steve Guttenberg. Owners aren't much more impressed thus far, though feedback is limited.