From finding the proper wattage to the right inputs and outputs to look for, we cover all the essentials of choosing the best audio video receiver for your TV and home theater system.
Think for a minute about all that has changed on the home theater/home entertainment front during the past decade. In 2000, the video source of choice was the VCR and all your music was on compact discs. Televisions were CRT-based monsters incapable of what we now commonly refer to as “high-definition.” DVDs were just catching on, the terms “Blu-ray” and “HD DVD” hadn’t even been coined, and you were one of the lucky few if you had something as advanced as a 5.1 speaker setup.
Fast forward just ten short years. The CRT TV has become so antiquated that it isn’t even sold anymore. VHS has given way to DVD which is now giving way to Blu-ray. CDs are passé to some in the face of digital downloads, and high-definition television broadcasts are commonplace.
Chances are you’ve bought into the new home theater technology game. You probably own one or more sleek, slim HDTVs. You’ve likely purchased or rented a set-top box that grants you access to high def broadcasts. And you’ve not only swapped your VCR for a DVD player, but you’re now opting to jump in the Blu-ray pool.
But if you’ve stood pat with your circa-1990s A/V receiver, thinking all the really cool developments have happened elsewhere, you’re not alone. But you’re also wrong.
Today’s receiver is an amazing animal. It is not only the audio-generating component of a home theater/home entertainment setup, it is also the brains and the hub. Everything else is – ideally – connected to it, everything is fed through it, and everything benefits from its intelligence and its capabilities. And no, unlike decade-old receivers, newer models don’t pester you with ridiculous, hollow audio processing modes that make you feel like your standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon.
And right now, in the midst of a slowly recovering economy and with the onset of the Christmas sale period, and considering the most recent innovations and developments in the world of receivers have been, to say the least, dramatic, the time is ripe to craigslist your old workhorse and get down and get funky with the new breed.
Your final choice is, of course, dependant on how much you can personally afford to spend, and we’ll finish off with a quick listing of some of the better receivers at various price points. But for now let’s look at some of the most desirable features in the modern A/V receiver.
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