Best Compact AV receivers

The best small stereo receiver is several different devices combined in one housing. It is the switching center for the entire home theater system.

The main advantage of compact receivers is that they take up much less space and it is easier to arrange such a receiver. And in their capabilities, compact receivers are no different from ordinary ones. But there are significant differences in the design of the devices. Cooling in compact receivers is given more attention since the air circulation in such cases is minimal. Some manufacturers even equip their models with active cooling.

The choice of the best slim av receiver is wide enough and to simplify your search for your best compact av receiver, on this page, it is possible to compare different models.

Slim vs Compact av receiver

The tendency to create compact versions of their products exists not so long ago. Often, slim versions are in no way inferior in power to the "fat" models.

A compact or slim body is done more for the sake of design in order to be able to accurately fit the device into the interior of your room. And in essence, such slim receivers are quite powerful devices. They have modern surround decoders that support the latest Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack formats and HDMI switching. In most cases, a small home theater receiver will be equipped with an automatic calibration system that sets the parameters of the decoders and optimizes the sound of the complex in specific acoustic conditions.

In addition, in this segment, although not very often, there is the possibility of integration into a local computer network and support for Internet services, as well as the ability to play multimedia content.

Amplifier vs Receiver

It is believed that for the same amount of money, you can provide the best sound quality of music through an amplifier. On the one hand, indeed, these devices are made specifically for playing audio files, and in the receiver, most of the expenses are intended to expand the functionality of the device: electronics, connectors, image conversion. But there is a small “but”: almost all receivers also work effectively as an amplifier, if they have the Pare Direct option.

The receiver not only provides amplification of sound in audio files but also gives the possibility of the more complete multi-channel acoustic accompaniment of films. This is achieved through the decoding function. There are many options for encoding tracks with sound when recording movies. There are two main sound standards: DTS and Dolby Digital. For this reason, the receiver must play any sound format and do it without any defects and distortions.