How to choose the best surround sound receiver (2024)

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othing beats surround sound for movies and TV — and surround sound starts with a home theater receiver. But a receiver can give you a lot more than that.

During my time as a Crutchfield Sales Advisor, I helped many people choose the receiver that worked best for them. As a home theater enthusiast with an ear for sound and an eye for movies, I’ll walk you through the most important and coolest features so you know what to look for.

What does an AV receiver do?

A home theater receiver (also known as an AV receiver) brings immersive, theater-like surround sound to your living room. It acts as a connection hub for a variety of audio, video, and internet streaming sources. And it uses video processing and surround sound decoding to make movies and TV look and sound their best.

How much power do you need?

Home theater receivers have built-in multi-channel amplifiers to power a full complement of surround sound speakers. How much power do you need? The ideal wattage for your receiver depends on the power requirements of your speakers.

You’ll often see a range of acceptable wattages to power a given speaker. To get the clearest sound with minimal distortion, aim for the high end of this range. For example, if your speakers can handle 25-100 watts, you'll get fuller sound with a 100-watt receiver than you would with a 50-watt receiver. And you'll have plenty of reserve power to ensure your speakers don't distort during loud moments in a movie.

The graphic above shows what can happen in extreme situations, but for the most part it's not too difficult to match receivers and speakers. And, of course, we're here to help if you have any questions along the way.

How many channels do you need?

Home theater receivers come with as few as five channels or as many as fifteen. Think about how much room you'll have for speakers, including powered subwoofers. Most receivers have outputs for two powered subs, but a few just have one output. Recently, we've been seeing receivers with four sub outputs for the mega-bass lovers.

A note about stereo receivers

Before we get too deep into our recommendations, let’s do a quick reality check. Are you willing to set up five or more speakers for surround sound? For people with limited space or the less tech-inclined, it might be daunting. If that sounds like you, a stereo receiver might be a better option.

You only need two speakers for stereo sound, and if you've never used anything but the built-in TV speakers for your audio, you'll be pleased at the results. Keep in mind, surround sound is not an option with a stereo receiver, but not everyone wants that.

Many moons ago, I hooked a TV to a stereo receiver, and I was floored by the results. Soundtracks were more vibrant! My DVD player could play my CDs! We have many stereo receivers with the capability to connect to your TV, some with HDMI connectivity. Check out our stereo receiver buying guide for more information.

Get a seven-channel receiver for more flexibility

We usually recommend home theater receivers with at least seven channels. Seven-channel receivers provide more system flexibility than five-channel models, and if you’re not starting out with seven speakers, you’ll have some room for future upgrades.

My receiver is similar to this NAD T 758 V3i that has seven powered channels and the option to add a separate amplifier for four more channels. I started with five channels, now have seven, and if I decide my living room can handle some height speakers, I may go to nine, or even eleven channels! For now, I'm enjoying my seven channels of surround sound.

Here are a few other things you can take advantage of with a seven-channel receiver.

Dolby Atmos and DTS:X

With seven or more channels of power, you can play cutting-edge surround sound formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. They use in-ceiling speakers or special up-firing speakers to produce overhead surround effects. The result is an all-encompassing audio experience that immerses you in your music or movie. Check out our article on surround sound for more in-depth information on different formats.

Wired multi-zone audio

Want to listen to music out on the patio? A seven-channel receiver lets you use five channels for surround sound in your living room and two channels to hook up a pair of stereo speakers outdoors or in another room.

Most seven-channel A/V receivers can provide power to at least two zones. See our article on how to power a multi-room music system for details.

Bi-amp your front speakers for more powerful sound

Some receivers support bi-amping of the front speakers. If your speakers have two pairs of speaker terminals, you can use the front main speaker channels, as well as an unused pair of surround speaker channels to boost volume and detail for a more powerful front soundstage. With a seven-channel receiver, you can bi-amp your main speakers and still have room for a 5.1-channel surround sound system. Bi-amping is also handy if your speakers need a lot of power.

What connections do you need?

Look at the back panel of any AV receiver and you’ll find lots of different connections for audio and video components. Most of your gear will connect to your receiver via HDMI cables.

To allow for system expansion, get a receiver that has more HDMI inputs than you need right now. Want to connect two TVs? Look for a receiver that has more than one HDMI output. Check out our article on multi-zone video for more information.

HDMI cables allow two-way communication between your receiver and TV, so you only need one cable to pass audio and video. This is thanks to ARC (Audio Return Channel) or eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel) capabilities, which are standard for current models.

If your source components (Blu-ray player, game console, media streamer, etc.) are connected to the receiver, the receiver processes the sound and passes the video to the TV. If you’re streaming from TV apps or have your sources connected to the TV, the video is processed by the TV, and the sound is passed to the receiver to be processed.

If you have an older TV that doesn’t support ARC, you’ll need an additional cable to pass audio to your receiver. More on that below.

HDMI 2.1

HDMI 2.1 is the latest HDMI version. It supports bandwidth up to 48Gbps and higher video resolutions and refresh rates. HDMI 2.1 also supports Dynamic HDR formats like Dolby Vision, HLG, HDR10, and HDR10+ for brighter, clearer, and more vibrant video than ever before.

Most receivers support HDMI 2.1, but check to make sure. Best results happen when your TV and all connected components, like Blu-ray players, streaming boxes, and game systems have HDMI 2.1 built in — just make sure you pick up HDMI 2.1 cables for best performance.

And don't worry if you have some older gear in your system. Each HDMI version is backward-compatible with previous versions, so older components with HDMI will work with a new receiver. Their capabilities will just be limited to the oldest HDMI version.

To learn more about HDMI 2.1 and older HDMI versions, check out our HDMI cables buying guide.

Other connections

If you have an older TV or AV components without HDMI connections, an RCA or optical digital connection is your best bet for getting them hooked up to your receiver.

Got a turntable? For the easiest connection, look for a receiver with a dedicated phono input. For trickier scenarios, see our article on how to connect a turntable to a receiver.

For a comprehensive list of AV receiver ins and outs, including older video connections, check out our Home AV Connections Glossary.

Remote apps are the easiest way to control your receiver’s multi-zone features. You can choose which rooms to play music in, and select the music for each room.

Receivers with voice control capability work together with voice-activated virtual assistants for easy control of your A/V system.