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 -- sometimes also called a home theater in a box (HTIB) -- which includes a receiver, surround-sound speakers and (sometimes) a DVD or Blu-ray Disc player. See our companion report on home theater systems.

It is possible to spend more than $5,000 -- in fact, lots more -- 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 $600 and less.

While most reviewers evaluate high-end receivers, we did find some coverage of moderately priced and budget models at CNET and elsewhere. British sites and publications such as What Hi-Fi? magazine, TrustedReviews.com and TechRadar.com are also helpful and, in fact, cover budget audio-visual receivers more frequently than U.S. sites; while the receivers sold overseas differ in some technical details, performance should be similar. Other destinations for reviews of at least some home theater receivers include BigPictureBigSound.com, MaximumTech.com, Sound and Vision magazine and elsewhere. User feedback and opinion at AVSForum.com, Amazon.com and Newegg.com is helpful for gauging owner satisfaction after the sale, and sometimes after weeks or months of ownership.

In the past, features such as Internet connectivity, 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 many mainstream home theater receivers. 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 nearly as good.