Top Picks

2020 Top Picks of the Year A/V Receivers

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A/V Receivers

Top Pick of the Year:

Denon AVR-X6700H 11.2-Channel A/V Receiver
(December/January) Read Review

Packing 11 onboard 140-watt channels of class-A/B amplification plus preamp outputs that increase its total processing to 13 channels, Denon's X-Series AVR-X6700H arrives ready to power the most ambitious home theater speaker configurations. It handles all existing immersive audio formats, including Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and Auro-3D, and features an HDMI 2.1 input plus a pair of HDMI 2.1 outputs that can upscale video to 8K resolution. Bottom Line: The AVR-X6700H was the most featured-packed AVR to arrive in 2020. $2,499, us.denon.com

Finalists:

NAD T 778 AV Surround Sound Receiver
(September) Read Review

"Is it still okay to describe a piece of electronics as 'sexy'? Because, dammit, that's exactly what the T 778 is!" Once our reviewer John Sciacca calmed down after unboxing NAD's latest AVR, he found much to appreciate beyond its cosmetics. Highlights of the T 778 include nine 140-watt class-D amplifier channels, Dirac Live room correction, BluOS audio streaming, and, of course, the company's Modular Design Construction (MDC), which permits future upgrades as A/V tech advances. $2,999, nadelectronics.com

Yamaha RX-V6A 7.2-Channel A/V Receiver
(February/March 2020) Read Review

Built on an all-new platform, Yamaha's latest 7.2-Channel AVR delivers solid sound quality with immersive audio formats and does so at a very reasonable $600 price. And a promised firmware update from the company will make the RX-V6A HDMI 2.1-compatible, enhancing the value of an already value-packed receiver. $600, usa.yamaha.com

COMMENTS
SuicideSquid's picture
Submitted by SuicideSquid on January 7, 2021 - 10:35am

It's nice to see a range of pricing across your picks - good to see a mid-range priced bookshelf speaker as your top pick of the year, and a $700 set of B&Ws to sit alongside some of the $5,000 options. It's a lot more helpful to most readers than just leaning hard into the top-end.

The feature set of that Monoprice preamp looks amazing, but am I the only one who thinks it looks ugly as sin? The aesthetics of most of monoprice's gear makes me cringe.

mjmiller715's picture
Submitted by mjmiller715 on January 18, 2021 - 7:57am

Couldnt agree more.

I havent heard any of their products other than basic hdmi cables and the like.

I find it hard to believe they can copycat their way into such high quality but maybe im mistaken.

This coming from someone who uses an old anthem receiver that is not the prettiest girl at the party but it does quite well under most conditions.

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