The 4 best AV receivers for most people in 2026
An AV receiver combines source switching, audio (and sometimes video) processing, speaker amplification, and volume control in one box. Think of it as a traffic policeman for your audio and video system, directing video from your sources to your display and sending audio to your speakers. After you connect your source components – your media player, game console, cable or satellite receiver, or disc player – to the input of the AV receiver and connect its output to your display and speakers, it will direct all the AV signals to the right places and in the right formats.
AV receivers run in price from a few hundred dollars to the four-figure range. Our focus here is on receivers that find a good balance of performance, features, and price, so all of our picks are priced around $1,800 or less.
A serious audio or home theater enthusiast may choose to spend more for more power (which may be important if your speakers have low sensitivity and are difficult to drive), more enhanced channels, more setup and customization options, and better build quality. But above $1,800, you’ll get a diminishing return on investment. At that point, you may want to step into the realm of separate AV amplifiers and multi-channel amplifiers.
We haven’t set a lot of minimum-spec requirements to limit which models we’ll consider, but there are some important specs to keep in mind when you start looking for a receiver, to decide if you need a budget, mid-priced, or high-end model:
How many speaker amplifier channels do you need?
A basic home theater setup is said to have 5.1 sound channels. The “5” in this case indicates the number of enhanced channels: two front left and right speakers, one center speaker for dialogue and on-screen sounds, and two surround sound speakers located behind or to the side of the main listening area.
The “.1” stands for a subwoofer, which usually has its own built-in amplifier so your receiver doesn’t need to supply you with power. Most mid- and high-end receivers are labeled with “.2” instead of “.1,” meaning they have two subwoofer outputs that you can set up or adjust independently. Our choice to upgrade has four independent subwoofer outputs, so Denon markets it as a 9.4 channel receiver.
Most receivers priced around $500 or less are 5.1 channel designs. Stepping up to a 7.1 channel receiver gives you the option of adding an extra pair of surround speakers behind you, enabling a second soundstage, or building a basic Dolby Atmos and DTS:X system with two “height” speakers — as long as the receiver has Dolby Atmos and DTS:X decoding (the newest 7.1-channel models). Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks combine high-end effects to make the sound experience even more immersive. If you add higher speakers, the effect is more convincing, but that requires more amp channels, which requires a more expensive AV receiver.
With Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, channel counting becomes even more difficult. For example, you may see words like “5.1.2” or “5.2.4.” The first number refers to the number of normal ear-level speakers that need to be amplified, the second refers to the number of subwoofer outputs, and the third refers to the number of amplifier channels. Since the subwoofer is usually self-powered, to find out how many amplified channels the receiver has, you simply add the first and third numbers: A 5.1.2 channel receiver, for example, has seven amplified channels and might be called a 7.1 channel receiver.
How many sources do you plan to connect?
Your receiver needs to be able to connect all the HDMI source devices you have, which may include, for example, a media streaming device, cable or satellite box, disc player, and game console. Five HDMI ports is probably the right number for most people, as it gives you an input for every source you can use in a home theater, with the option to add one or two more.
You should also consider how many non-HDMI sources you want to connect and make sure the receiver has enough digital or analog inputs to accept them. If you have a turntable without a phono preamp, you may want a receiver with a phono input.
What HDMI 2.1 features do you need?
HDMI 2.1 is the latest version of the digital connection used by all modern video-based components. Version 2.1 adds support for 8K resolution in the form of a maximum bandwidth increase from 18 gigabits per second to a theoretical maximum of 48 Gbps.
Other notable enhancements include an automatic low-latency mode (which allows devices to automatically detect and switch to the best playback mode), eARC (which allows for high-quality lossless audio through the HDMI Audio Return Channel instead of only compressed formats), variable refresh rate, and fast media switching.
AV receiver specifications may list various features of the HDMI 2.1 standard or whether the receiver supports one or two of them, which creates confusion for consumers. Be sure to read the fine print to choose a receiver that supports the HDMI 2.1 features you need.
What kind of streaming support do you want?
Even music fans with extensive physical music collections are likely to stream some of their music from the Internet, so the receiver needs a way to support streaming audio apps like Amazon Music and Spotify.
With a budget receiver, you may only get Bluetooth support. As the price goes up, you can expect the receiver to be able to connect to a home network (check wired or wireless network connection, if you like) and have built-in support for services like Spotify, Qobuz, or Title Connect (so your phone can act as a remote control rather than a streamer), as well as support for OS-specific Apple Play streaming protocols like Apple Air Play for streaming
If you already own Wi-Fi speakers that use a certain platform (such as AirPlay), you may want to look for a receiver with the same streaming technology so that all devices work well together.
What level of room renovation are you willing to pay?
Room preparation systems make a very significant impact on how the receiver sounds to most listeners. People rarely have perfect listening rooms, and speakers (especially subwoofers) often end up in places where they don’t look good instead of where they sound best.
Room correction helps improve overall sound quality by using the built-in microphone and software to measure how your room and speaker placement distorts the sound and try to compensate for that distortion.
Many receivers offer basic room correction, but at the less expensive end of the spectrum, processing can do more harm than good, dampening the sound without correcting the more serious issues affecting bass performance. But if you invest in more advanced room conditioning technology such as Audyssey MultEQ XT32 or Dirac Live (both available in AV receivers of various brands), you gain the ability to customize the sound processing and account for multiple subwoofers, and these systems do a better job of tuning the sound without making it seem overly processed.
In the price ranges that we covered in our tests, we could not distinguish many receivers where the adjustment of their room was not enabled. We found that the type of room preparation used had a significant impact on sound quality, providing significant benefits for some receivers and minor improvements for others.
The best room conditioning systems are those that encourage you to place the leveling microphone in multiple locations around the room. This process gives the system a complete snapshot of your room’s acoustics. The best maintenance systems allow you to set limits on what the program is and is not allowed to “fix.”
One key difference between Audyssey and Dirac is how they approach different tiers or feature sets. With Audyssey, the power of a room conditioning system is closely related to the price range of the receiver. Cheap receivers have basic Audyssey MultEQ, which does not deliver the best results. Lower-priced models go up to MultEQ XT, while flagship offerings usually rely on the MultEQ XT32, which offers more advanced processing and more customization options.
Dirac, on the other hand, takes a more modular approach. If you buy a Dirac powered receiver, you may find that it comes in a limited form that only offers room resolution up to 500 Hz, which may be all you need. In fact, it can be the best solution to your acoustical problems. If you find that you need a full range room renovation, you can pay around $100 to unlock those capabilities. A more consequential upgrade comes in the form of Dirac Live Bass Control, which we discuss in depth in our Onkyo TX-RZ30 review; depending on your room, your speaker system, and the number of subscribers in your system, its benefits can be significant.
