Introduction to Receiver Reviews

While a large HDTV can bring your favorite TV show or movie into your living room, you need a cinematic soundstage to fully bring the theater experience to life in your home. Today’s audio/video receivers are at the heart of any home theater system. The receiver connects all the devices in your home theater including your television, Blu-ray and DVD players, cable and satellite boxes, gaming systems, media servers, and even old legacy devices like CD players. Besides offering all that connectivity, the receiver is really multiple components in one. The receiver is first and foremost a pre-amplifier (or pre-amp) which serves to process and decode everything from two-channel stereo up to 11.2 channels of immersive 3-D surround for formats like Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Auro:3D. The receiver is also responsible for routing the video signals from each source device to your television. While some receivers are still able to handle legacy analog video inputs, the trend is to support the latest HDMI formats with support for HDCP2.2 and 4K UHD video codecs.

The receiver is also a multi-channel amplifier capable of powering a wide range of speaker configurations, from stereo and traditional 5.1 and 7.1 surround systems, up to the latest 11 channel systems with multiple pairs of height channels. The receiver has traditionally included a tuner for AM/FM radio, but todays’ receivers can now include such things as an HD Radio tuner, room correction, multi-media connectivity, multi-room and multi-zone connectivity, and control apps for your favorite phone or tablet.

The receiver market has always been feature rich with new products updated and released every year or two. Receivers are available in all price ranges, from budget minded options to feature-laden flagship models that command big bucks. Our reviews and bench tests cover the full range of receivers and offer insight into product design, setup, operation, the features and functionality that matter most, and of course how the receiver performed and sounded in our home theaters. Our receiver reviews will help you decide which receiver is right for your home theater and your budget.

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Receivers

Onkyo NR929 9.2 A/V Receiver

Gabe Lowe

While the TX-NR5010 remains the company's flagship model, the TX-NR929 is Onkyo's most fully-featured receiver released in 2013, carrying the THX Select2 Plus variety. Having both owned and reviewed Onkyo receivers, I was greatly looking forward to putting this model through the paces.

Receivers

Sony STR-DN1040 7.1 A/V Receiver

Chris Heinonen

When I turn on the Sony STR-DN1040 and am greeted by a colorful, interactive full screen graphical interface, I am surprised. It is even in high definition! Someone has actually been listening to complaints from users and decided to do something about it. They are trying to make the home theater less complex than the PC of the 1980's. Is the Sony STR-DN1040 just a pretty face or does it have the brains and brawn to go along with its beauty?

Receivers

Pioneer VSX-43 7.1 Elite A/V Receiver

Jim Milton

Back in my college days, I had a roommate that had a nice stereo Pioneer receiver. It cost him a few hundred bucks. Since it was pre-digital, the inputs were pretty basic. Simply hook up to a cassette deck and turntable and we reveled in the audiophile sounds that its 30 watts/channel produced. Ah, the 70's were the "golden era" of audio. Point being, everybody has to start somewhere in their journey to musical nirvana. Fast forward to 2013 and now for around $500 you can get a 7.1 surround, network capable, DSP loaded, phone/Android integrated, Bluetooth, 80 watt/channel Elite receiver from Pioneer. True, the VSX-43 is their entry level Elite receiver, but it is packed with features that would have cost you a lot of money, even just a few years ago. But does the VSX-43 have what it takes to be the brain and brawn you are looking for in a modern home entertainment system?

Receivers

Pioneer SC68 9.1 A/V Receiver

Chris Heinonen

Pioneer has been revising and refining their Class D amplifier technology inside of their Elite receivers for a few years now. The performance has kept improving, as it is one of the few receivers out there that actually delivers its rated power output into all channels at once. Pioneer's SC68 is a 9.1 receiver, and yes, there are nine power amplifiers in there, rated at 140 watts each. It weighs only 39 pounds. How do they get that much power in a 39 pound package? The Class D amplifiers.

Receivers

Integra DTR 50.3 THX Select2 Plus 7.2 A/V Receiver

Ross Jones

Integra has produced a high-quality, high value product in the DTR 50.3 7.2 receiver. It has all the bells and whistles you could ask for in a modern receiver, and still has that clean, neutral Integra sound. Read our review and find out why we say, "Definitely recommended!"

Receivers

Integra DTR-80.3 9.2 A/V Receiver

Robert Kozel

The Integra name always makes my short list of leading companies in the receiver and processor market space. While Integra is a premium manufacturer of high-end A/V equipment catering to custom A/V installers, their products offer a great mix of leading-edge technology along with outstanding performance at an attainable price. At CEDIA 2011 this past September, Integra introduced their latest product updates, including the flagship DTR-80.3 receiver, which I cover in this review.

Receivers

NAD T757 7.1 A/V Receiver

Kevin Lichterman

Like most people I have some pet peeves. When I shop for televisions, I am always hoping to find one without speakers. I have a dedicated theater with speakers and electronics that are leaps and bounds ahead of what I could possibly get in a TV. I don't need speakers; I'll never turn them on. I don't want them! Simply having them adds cost, complexity, and size to my TV. I don't want to pay for what I won't use! So, instead of TV's built-in speakers, a receiver will deliver much better quality sound, and surround sound at that. NAD's new T757 is reviewed here, and it does the job well.

Receivers

Pioneer SC-57 9.1 A/V Receiver

Chris Heinonen

I've reviewed a fair number of receivers, and owned a fair number of them myself as well. The unit that I was the most sad to part with was the Pioneer SC-27 a couple years ago. With its Class D amps, it was fast and powerful, but not harsh. The new SC-57 is a 9.1 receiver, with Class D amplification, but Pioneer has built the amplifier modules themselves rather than using ICEPower modules. Was the sound different? Read on . . .

Receivers

Onkyo TX-NR809 Wireless Network 7.2 A/V Receiver

Gabe Lowe

Having both reviewed and owned several Onkyo receiver models over the last few years, I have come to expect an excellent product that is both packed with features and performs extremely well. The Onkyo TX-NR809 network receiver was announced in May of 2011, and right away, it made me salivate. So, here is the review.

Receivers

Anthem MRX 300 7.1 A/V Receiver

Secrets

Anthem is a company that is well-known in audiophile circles for cost-no-object separates and excellent separate power amplifiers. Anthem is the parent company to Paradigm, whose Studio 20 v.3 monitors were used in conjunction with the Anthem seven-channel MRX 300 AV receiver for this review.

Receivers

Anthem MRX 500 7.1 A/V Receiver

Jim Clements

Anthem released their highly-anticipated line of surround receivers in late 2010. Right out of the gate, Anthem's three entries into the surround receiver market really turned the audio world on its "ear" by essentially acing some of the most salient qualities for receivers; just some minor little aspects like build quality, sound quality and features. The Anthem MRX 500 is their newest 7.1 receiver, and it's very affordable at $1,499.

Receivers

Yamaha R-S700 Stereo Receiver

Kieran Coghlan

5.1, 7.1, 9.2... even 11.2 and beyond. Yes, I'm talking about the numbers of channels available in multi-channel home theater systems. It seems to be getting out of control, don't you think? Well, Yamaha may have the prescription for your multi-channel nausea: good, affordable, old-fashioned 2-channel stereo, done right. In this review, we take a look at their R-S700 Stereo Receiver. For many folks, two channels is enough.

Receivers

Pioneer VSX-1021K 7.1 A/V Receiver

Stephen Hornbrook

Pioneer has consistently brought innovation and quality to the home theater market. From their famed Kuro plasma displays to its Elite brand AV receivers, Pioneer is always on the mark. Here, we review their VSX-1021K 7.1 A/V receiver. It performed about as well as could be expected at a price point of $549.

Receivers

Onkyo PR-SC5508 9.1 SSP and PA-MC5509 Nine-Channel Power Amplifier

Chris Heinonen

Onkyo has been on a roll with their professional line of preamps recently. Starting with their 885 model, and continuing through the 886 and 5507 they have managed to hit a previously weak area in the home theater market. Their new PR-SC5508 surround sound processor (SSP) hits a higher plateau with nine channels. Along with the Onkyo PA-MC5509 nine-channel power amplifier, let's take a look at how nine channels are configured and how the processor and amplifier combination perform.

Receivers

Yamaha RX-A2000 7.1 A/V Receiver

Kieran Coghlan

I've been using a Yamaha receiver in my home theater for well over a decade. The fact that I've been happy with the sound from this receiver for so long though, speaks volumes for the quality Yamaha built into their receivers back then. Although I have reviewed one of their entry-level receivers, I decided it was time to take a look at one of their better, current offerings, the RX-A2000 to see how far they have advanced in the past decade.

Receivers