A (hopefully helpful) Guide to Choosing a new Audio Video Receiver
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Introduction
This guide is intended to new prospective buyers of AV receivers. I will assume you are willing to read the AVR FAQ I wrote, which is a stickied thread, for more detail on some of these topics.
Before looking at models, you should have some information clearly in mind. First is budget and second is your minimum set of required features.
Budget
This is an iterative process. Especially if you have a combined budget that includes speakers or other home entertainment gear or accessories. I suggest looking at speakers first to get an idea of what they will cost if they are in your combined budget.
A very general budget breakdown of a combined budget would be as follows -
Speaker package -- $1000
Powered Sub Woofer - $500
AV Receiver - $500
Don't take this budget seriously. It's simply a general idea of what you might want to spend. An idea to save money is to build up slowly. Speakers can have a big impact on sound, so it's worth taking your time to research them. As I said above, it's an iterative process to come up with a budget.
Buying last year's models is a huge money saver. You can get 1/2 off MSRP or more. This is especially great for the high priced receivers which may bring them into your budget range. You can buy a $1500 MSRP receiver for $800. Of course, you will have to do without this year's features.
Once you have a general idea of what you can spend on a receiver, you can now filter out many models based on their features.
Features
Which features are important? First off, I would say number and type of inputs are most important. A receiver that can't handle all your inputs is going to be annoying. Consider current and future needs.
HDMI inputs are important going into the future. DVD and Blu-ray players, DVRs, Cable boxes and game consoles are all providing HDMI outputs.
HDMI can be a pain, but it can also simplify your wiring. So I would consider a receiver with four HDMI inputs if you have a lot of gear or plan on buying a lot of gear. As an example, my Tivo, XBox 360, PS3 and DVD player are all connected with HDMI cables. You can buy an HDMI switch box to work around a lack of HDMI inputs, but that adds wiring and complexity.
If you want to switch all your audio and video from your receiver without having to touch the TV remote, you might want a receiver that can convert from analog video to HDMI. With this feature, you can connect a single HDMI cable to your TV rather than having to make both analog and video connections. For example, the Wii game console does not have HDMI. It has component video and optical outputs.
Not all receivers with HDMI can handle HDMI audio. Some receivers will say something like 'HDMI switching'. I strongly suggest getting a receiver which can play HDMI audio. When in doubt, consult forums or download and read the manual. The cheapest receivers in a manufacturer's line are the one's most likely to be limited in this way.
Note that HDMI has been known to work poorly with cable or satellite tuners. In this case, it's suggested using analog video outputs from these boxes even if HDMI is provided.
This ability to convert to HDMI is often referred to as HDMI upconversion. Don't confuse that with the 1080p conversion.
I see a lot of confusion when it comes to video processing terminology. Converting from one resolution, such as 480 to 1080 is called scaling. Converting from standard definition interlaced video, often called 480i, to progressive video is called deinterlacing. Converting from 480i to 1080p requires both steps.
People often think they want a receiver that can convert to 1080p. The most important thing to know, is that your 1080p TV already converts to 1080p. It has to, to display the signal. Unless a receiver can do a better job of it, than your TV, there's no reason to worry about a receiver that can convert to 1080p.
I mentioned terminology above. Converting from one resolution, such as 480 to 1080 is trivial when compared to deinterlacing. If your TV was bad at deinterlacing, a receiver which was good at it, could be of some help. But you likely won't know whether or not your TV does a good job, unless you know what to look for. In general, I suggest not worrying about receivers which convert to 1080p. I think other features are more important.
Higher end receivers provide full video processors on a chip, including high end features like noise reduction. These might be of some use in improving your video quality, but current come with a big price tag. For example, Yamaha's RX-VZ7 has almost the same functionality as a standalone Anchor Bay video processor.
For more on receiver video processing, see the AVR FAQ.
Many receivers are now coming standard with setup wizards and room correction systems. The auto setup "wizard" will play back test tones and automatically set your levels. This seems to work well. Along with this auto setup, these receivers may also have a room correction feature. Common room correction systems include Yamaha's YPAO, Pioneer's MCACC and Audyssey. They differ in how they do the job. Some allow some user customization, and some don't. The receiver should allow an option to turn off the room correction feature, so you may want to try turning it off to see which way you prefer.
Which is best? That's impossible to say. Audyssey seems to be one of the more sophisticated systems. YPAO, is one of the simplest. It's hard to recommend one over the other though, because their effectiveness is based on their ability to deal with your speakers in your room.
There are variations on these systems. There's a multi-point YPAO variant available in a few of the more expensive Yamaha receivers. There are a number of flavors of Audyssey such as Audyssey 2EQ and Mult EQ. Audyssey's website explains the various versions.
The ability to play lossless audio from Blu-ray disc is a commonly requested feature. Lossless audio includes the Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. For maximum flexibility, get a receiver with TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding. Some Blu-ray players can decode lossless audio and pass it to a receiver via HDMI MPCM, or via analog cables. Even if you have a player like this such as the Playstation 3, it's still nice to have lossless decoding for potential future need. Also, lossless audio decoding is now standard in all but the cheapest receivers.
I have seen some posters ask about technologies to control dynamics such as loud commercials, or peaks in movies. Some receivers have had limited dynamic range settings for bitstream signals. Or a night mode, or other limited technologies.
There are some new technologies coming out that promise a more sophisticated approach. One such technology is Audyssey Dynamic Volume. Another new technology is Dolby Volume ( I am not sure if any receivers with this are in production yet.) Audyssey Dynamic Volume is currently available on a number of current receivers and more have receivers with this feature have been announced.
A common question that gets asked in the forum is whether THX certification is important. There's no short answer to this question. Here's one article addressing it (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...06-part-1.html)
Power and Audio Quality
Many people ask how much power they should look for when buying a receiver. The most important thing to know, is that receiver power specs are typically worthless.
There are a few reasons they are worthless. First, most are misleading. Lets consider a typical receiver spec such as 100x7 watts. Can it continuously produce a combined output of 700 watts? Doubtful. The US FTC does not require that it do so either. They only require that it put out 100 watts continuous into a single channel. Some manufacturers such as Harmon Kardon rate their receivers with an "all channels driven rating," which is somewhat more helpful. You may note though, that Harmon Kardon's power output specs are also lower than their competitors, and that's why.
My advice is to ignore power specs. That being said, as you spend more money, you will probably get more power. Manufacturers have a pricing structure where they add more features and more power as their receivers get more expensive. If you want more power, buy a higher receiver in that manufacturer's line.
People often ask about audio quality. Of course, audio quality is important. The problem is, it's also subjective. It's so subjective, in fact, there's not much to be said about it. There are two main camps when it comes to receiver sound quality. One camp thinks it does not matter. That camp will argue that receivers sound identical, or very similar. The other camp thinks receiver sound is an important factor. I am not going to tell you who's right.
Clearly there are differing opinions. When reading receiver reviews, I suggest not blindly accepting their recommendations on sound quality. After all, you will be playing the receiver in your room with your speakers, not the reviewers room and speakers. You should not expect it to sound like the reviewer's system. Also, with room correction systems, your results will vary even more.
You may ask how much should you spend on a receiver. I think that's dependent on features and power. The more you spend, the more power and features you get. My Yamaha receiver can play music from the Rhapsody music service. I personally find this to be a desirable feature, but other people may not. It's all about your needs and wants.
As for power, spending more won't buy you a lot more power, but it typically it will buy you more power. I think the biggest jump will be from the cheapest budget models up to pricier mid priced models.
More Features
The remainder of this guide will talk about a few other popular, but less critical features.
One feature people ask about, is the ability to play back 5.1 movies in 7.1. Not all receivers can do this. And they differ in their ability to do this depending on how the audio is sent. For example, some receivers let you play back 5.1 movies in 7.1 as long as the audio was sent from the player in a bitstream format such as Dolby Digital. If the movie was sent via Multi-channel PCM over HDMI, they would not allow it. If this feature is valuable to you, make sure you research which models support it.
If you have XM radio, and want to play it on your home receiver, look for receivers which feature XM/Sirus capability. And make sure you understand how it works.
Many receivers have iPod capability. They may even let you control the iPod and select songs or playlists. This can be an somewhat affordable way to have a music library. Some receivers let you connect a USB device or hard drive and play music off of it. One thing to consider is whether you can live with the lack of organization these often provide. I found that did not work well with my Yamaha, and my music collection which is organized in a folder structure by iTunes. Manually moving files around into a more usable folder structure is impractical.
Some people ask about receivers that can play audio that's stored somewhere on their home network. Some receivers do this, but it's important to understand their limitations. This AVS forum is a good resource for questions on streaming audio. And there are solutions besides using a receiver, such as a Squeezebox.
Receivers often offer processing modes, especially for surround sound. A lot of these are useless, in my opinion. I have personally found Yamaha's 5 or 7 channel stereo mode nice for background sound or for parties though. Dolby Pro Logic II and Dolby Pro Logic IIx seem popular. DPL II will give you surround sound for any stereo source. DPL IIx can give you surround sound for 7.1 speaker setups for stereo or 5.1 sources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
This guide is intended to new prospective buyers of AV receivers. I will assume you are willing to read the AVR FAQ I wrote, which is a stickied thread, for more detail on some of these topics.
Before looking at models, you should have some information clearly in mind. First is budget and second is your minimum set of required features.
Budget
This is an iterative process. Especially if you have a combined budget that includes speakers or other home entertainment gear or accessories. I suggest looking at speakers first to get an idea of what they will cost if they are in your combined budget.
A very general budget breakdown of a combined budget would be as follows -
Speaker package -- $1000
Powered Sub Woofer - $500
AV Receiver - $500
Don't take this budget seriously. It's simply a general idea of what you might want to spend. An idea to save money is to build up slowly. Speakers can have a big impact on sound, so it's worth taking your time to research them. As I said above, it's an iterative process to come up with a budget.
Buying last year's models is a huge money saver. You can get 1/2 off MSRP or more. This is especially great for the high priced receivers which may bring them into your budget range. You can buy a $1500 MSRP receiver for $800. Of course, you will have to do without this year's features.
Once you have a general idea of what you can spend on a receiver, you can now filter out many models based on their features.
Features
Which features are important? First off, I would say number and type of inputs are most important. A receiver that can't handle all your inputs is going to be annoying. Consider current and future needs.
HDMI inputs are important going into the future. DVD and Blu-ray players, DVRs, Cable boxes and game consoles are all providing HDMI outputs.
HDMI can be a pain, but it can also simplify your wiring. So I would consider a receiver with four HDMI inputs if you have a lot of gear or plan on buying a lot of gear. As an example, my Tivo, XBox 360, PS3 and DVD player are all connected with HDMI cables. You can buy an HDMI switch box to work around a lack of HDMI inputs, but that adds wiring and complexity.
If you want to switch all your audio and video from your receiver without having to touch the TV remote, you might want a receiver that can convert from analog video to HDMI. With this feature, you can connect a single HDMI cable to your TV rather than having to make both analog and video connections. For example, the Wii game console does not have HDMI. It has component video and optical outputs.
Not all receivers with HDMI can handle HDMI audio. Some receivers will say something like 'HDMI switching'. I strongly suggest getting a receiver which can play HDMI audio. When in doubt, consult forums or download and read the manual. The cheapest receivers in a manufacturer's line are the one's most likely to be limited in this way.
Note that HDMI has been known to work poorly with cable or satellite tuners. In this case, it's suggested using analog video outputs from these boxes even if HDMI is provided.
This ability to convert to HDMI is often referred to as HDMI upconversion. Don't confuse that with the 1080p conversion.
I see a lot of confusion when it comes to video processing terminology. Converting from one resolution, such as 480 to 1080 is called scaling. Converting from standard definition interlaced video, often called 480i, to progressive video is called deinterlacing. Converting from 480i to 1080p requires both steps.
People often think they want a receiver that can convert to 1080p. The most important thing to know, is that your 1080p TV already converts to 1080p. It has to, to display the signal. Unless a receiver can do a better job of it, than your TV, there's no reason to worry about a receiver that can convert to 1080p.
I mentioned terminology above. Converting from one resolution, such as 480 to 1080 is trivial when compared to deinterlacing. If your TV was bad at deinterlacing, a receiver which was good at it, could be of some help. But you likely won't know whether or not your TV does a good job, unless you know what to look for. In general, I suggest not worrying about receivers which convert to 1080p. I think other features are more important.
Higher end receivers provide full video processors on a chip, including high end features like noise reduction. These might be of some use in improving your video quality, but current come with a big price tag. For example, Yamaha's RX-VZ7 has almost the same functionality as a standalone Anchor Bay video processor.
For more on receiver video processing, see the AVR FAQ.
Many receivers are now coming standard with setup wizards and room correction systems. The auto setup "wizard" will play back test tones and automatically set your levels. This seems to work well. Along with this auto setup, these receivers may also have a room correction feature. Common room correction systems include Yamaha's YPAO, Pioneer's MCACC and Audyssey. They differ in how they do the job. Some allow some user customization, and some don't. The receiver should allow an option to turn off the room correction feature, so you may want to try turning it off to see which way you prefer.
Which is best? That's impossible to say. Audyssey seems to be one of the more sophisticated systems. YPAO, is one of the simplest. It's hard to recommend one over the other though, because their effectiveness is based on their ability to deal with your speakers in your room.
There are variations on these systems. There's a multi-point YPAO variant available in a few of the more expensive Yamaha receivers. There are a number of flavors of Audyssey such as Audyssey 2EQ and Mult EQ. Audyssey's website explains the various versions.
The ability to play lossless audio from Blu-ray disc is a commonly requested feature. Lossless audio includes the Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. For maximum flexibility, get a receiver with TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding. Some Blu-ray players can decode lossless audio and pass it to a receiver via HDMI MPCM, or via analog cables. Even if you have a player like this such as the Playstation 3, it's still nice to have lossless decoding for potential future need. Also, lossless audio decoding is now standard in all but the cheapest receivers.
I have seen some posters ask about technologies to control dynamics such as loud commercials, or peaks in movies. Some receivers have had limited dynamic range settings for bitstream signals. Or a night mode, or other limited technologies.
There are some new technologies coming out that promise a more sophisticated approach. One such technology is Audyssey Dynamic Volume. Another new technology is Dolby Volume ( I am not sure if any receivers with this are in production yet.) Audyssey Dynamic Volume is currently available on a number of current receivers and more have receivers with this feature have been announced.
A common question that gets asked in the forum is whether THX certification is important. There's no short answer to this question. Here's one article addressing it (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...06-part-1.html)
Power and Audio Quality
Many people ask how much power they should look for when buying a receiver. The most important thing to know, is that receiver power specs are typically worthless.
There are a few reasons they are worthless. First, most are misleading. Lets consider a typical receiver spec such as 100x7 watts. Can it continuously produce a combined output of 700 watts? Doubtful. The US FTC does not require that it do so either. They only require that it put out 100 watts continuous into a single channel. Some manufacturers such as Harmon Kardon rate their receivers with an "all channels driven rating," which is somewhat more helpful. You may note though, that Harmon Kardon's power output specs are also lower than their competitors, and that's why.
My advice is to ignore power specs. That being said, as you spend more money, you will probably get more power. Manufacturers have a pricing structure where they add more features and more power as their receivers get more expensive. If you want more power, buy a higher receiver in that manufacturer's line.
People often ask about audio quality. Of course, audio quality is important. The problem is, it's also subjective. It's so subjective, in fact, there's not much to be said about it. There are two main camps when it comes to receiver sound quality. One camp thinks it does not matter. That camp will argue that receivers sound identical, or very similar. The other camp thinks receiver sound is an important factor. I am not going to tell you who's right.
Clearly there are differing opinions. When reading receiver reviews, I suggest not blindly accepting their recommendations on sound quality. After all, you will be playing the receiver in your room with your speakers, not the reviewers room and speakers. You should not expect it to sound like the reviewer's system. Also, with room correction systems, your results will vary even more.
You may ask how much should you spend on a receiver. I think that's dependent on features and power. The more you spend, the more power and features you get. My Yamaha receiver can play music from the Rhapsody music service. I personally find this to be a desirable feature, but other people may not. It's all about your needs and wants.
As for power, spending more won't buy you a lot more power, but it typically it will buy you more power. I think the biggest jump will be from the cheapest budget models up to pricier mid priced models.
More Features
The remainder of this guide will talk about a few other popular, but less critical features.
One feature people ask about, is the ability to play back 5.1 movies in 7.1. Not all receivers can do this. And they differ in their ability to do this depending on how the audio is sent. For example, some receivers let you play back 5.1 movies in 7.1 as long as the audio was sent from the player in a bitstream format such as Dolby Digital. If the movie was sent via Multi-channel PCM over HDMI, they would not allow it. If this feature is valuable to you, make sure you research which models support it.
If you have XM radio, and want to play it on your home receiver, look for receivers which feature XM/Sirus capability. And make sure you understand how it works.
Many receivers have iPod capability. They may even let you control the iPod and select songs or playlists. This can be an somewhat affordable way to have a music library. Some receivers let you connect a USB device or hard drive and play music off of it. One thing to consider is whether you can live with the lack of organization these often provide. I found that did not work well with my Yamaha, and my music collection which is organized in a folder structure by iTunes. Manually moving files around into a more usable folder structure is impractical.
Some people ask about receivers that can play audio that's stored somewhere on their home network. Some receivers do this, but it's important to understand their limitations. This AVS forum is a good resource for questions on streaming audio. And there are solutions besides using a receiver, such as a Squeezebox.
Receivers often offer processing modes, especially for surround sound. A lot of these are useless, in my opinion. I have personally found Yamaha's 5 or 7 channel stereo mode nice for background sound or for parties though. Dolby Pro Logic II and Dolby Pro Logic IIx seem popular. DPL II will give you surround sound for any stereo source. DPL IIx can give you surround sound for 7.1 speaker setups for stereo or 5.1 sources.
