Enjoy movies at home
If you’re a movie lover, but you prefer to enjoy blockbusters from the comfort of your own home, an AV receiver is one of the easiest ways to bring the movie theater experience right to your living room. The best models offer 8K video, Dolby Atmos and Wi-Fi music streaming, but specifications can get pretty complicated, which makes finding the right one challenging. Fortunately, CNET is here to help, and we’ve rounded up the best AV receivers you can buy right now.
If you divide your time between TV watching and listening to music, a number of models can do both well, including the excellent Yamaha RX-V6A and Onkyo TX-RZ50. So how do you know which is the best AV receiver for you? We’ve tested the most popular models between $500 and $2,000 to help you find the best AV receivers 2023 has to offer. For a little more in-depth info, check out the full list at cnet. co/3RCXkYL.
BEST AV RECEIVER OVERALL: YAMAHA RX-V6A
This Yamaha RX-V6A offers a fresh look at AV receiver design, with its futuristic edges and simple controls, while also maximizing sound quality. The Yamaha might even make you forget about visiting a cinema ever again, and it’s no slouch with music, either. It offers plenty of connectivity with Wi-Fi bringing AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Bluetooth and Yamaha’s MusicCast system for streaming from your devices. With a $200 price hike in September the V6A is not as affordable as before, and if the competitive Onkyo TX-NR6100 is cheaper you should probably consider that one.
BEST RECEIVER UNDER $2,000: ONKYO TX-RZ50
Onkyo’s TX-RZ50 is a perfect step-up model for those looking to upgrade their systems for a set of better-quality speakers or to add a turntable. Like its budget-oriented label mate, the TX-NR6100, it’s stacked with features including the audiophile-level calibration called Dirac Live, as well as the best streaming suite offered in an AV receiver. On that point, being able to
request songs directly from Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa is a real boon.
Performance was excellent whether listening to streamed music, or watching a movie: I hadn’t heard Dolby Atmos sound this convincing in a long time. The addition of Dirac Live adds its own complexities in setup — please, only use the Onkyo Controller mobile app in combination with the supplied microphone — but doing so rewards with a highly-involving performance.
BEST MOVIE SOUND UNDER $2,000: YAMAHA RX-A4A
We’re big fans of the Yamaha RX-V6A, so we were curious to see what the step up RX-A4A brings to the table. As it turns out, this Yamaha offers even better build quality and a huge cinematic sound.
Look through the fancy top grille and you’ll see neatly packed components and a distinguished, stamped transformer. The system is capable of a beefy 110 watts per channel (stereo) and has seven HDMI ports for your connectivity needs.
We tested the Yamaha A4A against the Onkyo RZ50 and the Denon X3700. The Yamaha’s sound quality tended toward the cinematic rather than the musical and offered a big, roomy sound perfect for blockbusters or moody conspiracy thrillers. What was surprising is that the onboard phono preamp was even better than the one on the rival Onkyo RZ50, so I can recommend it for people who don’t want a separate preamp for their turntable.