 Home Theater RECEIVERSReceivers are sophisticated boxes that serve as the control center for your home entertainment experience.Learn how to anticipate your needs into the future and how to make the most of what’s out there today.Scroll down for KILLER suggested receivers.
The HOME THEATER RECEIVER is the heart of your sound and remote control Why this one box can control the reality of what you see. How powerful should it be? What’s a watt to you?This box full of buttons and displays, contains circuitry for switching among your video sources and your audio inputs. Depending on your system, you can have a TON of wires going into and out of the receiver, so it will be great if you have a way to get to the back of it to make a change (or, for that matter, to set it up.) A swivel rack would be nice. Or a closet where you can get behind the rack works well. I just looked at the back of one (about $1000) receiver and counted (actually, stopped counting at) – you’re not going to believe me – 100 connections. ONE HUNDRED. But don’t worry, you wouldn’t use them all at the same time. Many of the connections are for different ways to do the same thing. More on that later. The receiver typically has an amplifier built in (there ARE separate amplifiers you can buy, in which case you can also get receivers without amps in them, but as you get into what they call SEPARATES, the price goes up… and up.) The built in amplifier in the typical receiver is usually 5 or more smaller amplifiers to feed your 5 speakers (right, center, front, rear right, rear left) plus an output (preamp – i.e.: not amplified, for your POWERED (self contained amplified) sub-woofer (for deep bass.) This may prove to be an unpopular statement, but here goes. I don’t think you absolutely NEED a subwoofer. It depends on your room, your TASTES, what you watch or listen to, and what your other speakers are. Let’s assume for the sake of argument, that your receiver will have all the inputs and outputs you could possibly want (most will, and we’ll cover some of them in the review section). One of the more common questions is HOW MANY WATTS do I need?A Good question.
HOME THEATER AUDIO Ugly Secret: Many specifications are meaningless or trumped up to look good. Some manufacturers outright lie, can you believe THAT?
What to do about it:Don’t worry. I’ll tell you what to do.I am not afraid to go out on a limb. Get 100 watts x 5, minimum.A typical speaker will play plenty loud with 100 watts in an average sized room.I hope this isn’t confusing, but to turn up speakers just a little, requires a lot more power. Twice as loud takes a LOT more power. So usually you’ll use just a few watts. Right. Your hundred watt per speaker amplifier will be cruising along at under 5 watts. Until something loud happens. Then, the dynamics of the sound will require more. Maybe MUCH more.
YOU ARE ALWAYS BETTER WITH MORE POWER (WATTS) THAN FEWER WATTS.That’s because, when an amplifier can’t give what it’s called on to do, it’ll distort, and that distortion can kill more speakers than too much power will. But keep this in perspective, as you probably won’t hear the difference between 100 and 200 watts. Read on.As for ‘sensitivity’ of speakers – know this – they are far from all alike. Some sit there like pigs and gobble power. Some get quite loud with very little input. The higher the sensitivity number, the louder they’ll be, all things being equal. So if you happen to be into specs: a 93db* (*decibel/watt/meter – don’t worry about it) speaker will play a lot louder than an 88db (and more typical) one will. But I’ve given you the magic number – get a receiver/amp that claims 100 watts per channel, all channels in operation, into 8 OHMS. What? Beg pardon? OHMS? Why’d you say all that? Well, it’s a STANDARD, to try to get everything onto the same measurement field. To cheat, some manufacturers specify ‘differently,’ and a good way to cheat is to lower the speaker impedance (transistor amps will typically give more power into lower impedances) or raise the distortion threshold (what happens when it’s LOUD) or only drive one channel (doesn’t require as much from the power transformer inside the box as do ALL channels simultaneously). What is 8 OHMS? Well, that’s a measure of the impedance of a speaker. What? Impede? You don’t need to know. Most speakers are 4 or 8 ohms. Most transistor amps can double down power output into 4 ohms versus 8 ohms. But remember, there are a LOT of liberties taken by some electronics companies in SPECsmanship. That means a 100 watt amp (into 8 ohms) might play slightly louder into 4 ohms because it might be capable of 200 watts into 4 ohms (you won’t hear the difference. Sorry.) See? Confusing. Get 100 watts per channel and be done with it. Or I’ll stop this car!
This will blow your mind. For a typical speaker (and with some fine print I won’t go into…) 10 watts is only about twice as loud as 1 watt. 100 watts is only twice as loud as 10 watts.You probably can’t hear the difference between 100 and 200 watts. If you’re an audiophile, we can dance later. You can, oh golden eared one. Others can’t. ‘kay?Can you get more than 100 watts per channel? Sure. Will your speakers handle it? More’n’likely. Is there any advantage? I’ll send you a newsletter. New amplifier technologies are on the horizon (or are actually here.) Great sound, tons of power, low cost. The digital amplifier wave is coming. Be cool though. When you crank it up, if the woofer (bass notes) starts to bark, and the tweeter (high notes) starts to cry, you probably should back it down. How will you hear the police at the door anyway? YOU ARE ALWAYS BETTER WITH MORE POWER (WATTS) THAN FEWER WATTS.That’s because, when an amplifier can’t give what it’s called on to do, it’ll distort, and that distortion can kill more speakers than too much power will. But keep this in perspective, as you probably won’t hear the difference between 100 and 200 watts. Read on.
Recommended Home Theater RECEIVERS
Yamaha RX-V2600 (about $1000 street) Converts and scales all sources to HDMI! with 2 HDMI inputs and one HDMI output. If you buy a receiver today (mid 2006) this is a must. Also handy: auto calibration for speaker relative volume and equalization. THREE zone play, even video in zone 2. 130 watts per channel (times 7).
DENON AVR-3806 (about $100 street) Big brother and newer than the Denon below, the 3806, like the Yamaha, offers twin HDMI inputs and one HDMI output, auto setup for the audio, and 120 watts x 7 channels but doesn't upscale 480i. Three zones possible. A strong contender. By special arrangement with Amazon.com, you may read all about or purchase the fabulous Denon Surround Sound receiver at the top of the page by clicking below: DENON AVR-3805 A/V Surround Receiver
The hardest part of keeping this site relevant is the ever-changing marketplace. Now Denon has a new model, which, frankly, I expect to buy: Why? HDMI. Auto setup. Enough wattage. Many features. reasonable price ($1099 retail.)
Denon AVR-2807: Mid-Level Price, With High-End Features and PerformanceWith a suggested retail price of just $1,099, Denon’s AVR-2807 receiver includes many of the same features that distinguish Denon’s higher-priced units, such as HDMI digital video source switching. In addition, for maximum performance from all video sources, the AVR-2807 upconverts all incoming analog video signals (composite, component and S-Video) to HDMI output and provides a simple one-cable connection between receiver and display. Other features in the AVR-2807 include the unique room correction and calibration technology called MultEQXT™ from Audyssey Laboratories that maximizes room acoustics for multiple listeners, creating an optimized 6-point soundfield and compensating for speaker and room capabilities to provide a “sweet spot” for every listener in the room. A C-NET pick! Denon AVR-2807 Home theater receiver with HDMI digital video switching
 A SPECIAL BOX? THE SONY WIRELESS 5.1 system! $700SONY DAV-FX100W Progressive Scan Wireless DVD Home Theater Dream System
No hanging wires! That alone will cause some serious WAF (Wife-Approval-Factor). The DAV-FX100W features a 5 disc DVD/CD/SA-CD changer, 1000 Watts total system power handling and a sleek, silver aluminum finish. The S-Master® Digital Amplifier processes HDTV digital audio sources for clear sound reproduction while the HDMI™ technology carries uncompressed audio and video signals for uncompromised sound and picture. Inputs: DVD, (SA-CD, CD, Video, Sat, Tuner AM/FM) Digital Coax/Optical Input for D-Cable/SAT DVD/SACD/CD Player with Progressive Scan Output The REAR speakers are wireless, but do need to be plugged in for AC. The 1000 watts is puffery of a sort - it's about 140 x 5 with the leftover in the subwoofer (that's plenty though). Still, this isn't the usual way of doing things and you might wish to opt for this approach. About $700 street. Plus: Reasonable sound, HDMI out, compact. Plays DVDs and CDs and SACDs. Wireless rear speakers. Minus: Only 2 inputs. Amp and dvd changer are a single unit. Remote kind of cheap 
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