Receiver Manufacturers

More than just the heart and soul of your home theater system

The best thing about receivers is that theyre the first thing people see when theyre over and get a chance to eye your stack. Its a matter of pride: the name plate, general look, size and weight of our equipment are things we like to show off if its worthy or something we prefer to cover up if its found wanting. Nobody with an attractive receiver or amp of any kind should cover it up in an entertainment system.

Open stack shelves let your equipment breath and theyre very much in vogue with current hi-fi enthusiasts -- its a minimalist, Spartan appeal that states you mean business and arent asking permission. What name should go on your receiver? Thats a question well help you answer in this section.

First you want quality: quality amps mean power and since the amp is the largest job of any receiver you want one that is powerful and large enough to dissipate the heat of many watts per channel. There is no way to hide real power inside a lightweight diminutive box. If you heft your new receiver in your hands it should be heavy, and most of its weight will be centered on the side with the power supply because of a large power transformer that can pass tremendous amounts of power from your wall during its peak performance moments, like at the climax of your soundtrack. If you get the impression that amplification is a masculine pursuit, thats because it is -- its all about power, and your receiver is your 440 big block engine. The next important consideration now that you know the size is right is the name plate, brand or manufacturer.

So many receivers are styled very distinctively, sometimes curved in unusual places, concaved, convexed, with dials or clean, its really just a matter of personal taste. The higher you go up the echelons of expense, they become like a piece of furniture with space age or retro designs. They do this on purpose to really set themselves apart from the rank and file equipment with little variety and matching volume dial youll find at the local electronics warehouse.

Most often these exotic receiver brands are overpriced and unnecessary, and for the great gobs of cash you throw at them the returns over something much cheaper are marginal. But there is no denying the cool factor to sporting a brand nobodys ever heard of -- a source of pride you can take in the distinctiveness of your very own hi-fi package.

With business being what it is you can often find exotic brands, like Arcam for instance, putting out a mainstream receiver. For probably just a little more than youd spend at the big box warehouse you can have a receiver brand that makes truly high end gear, but for much less.

In Arcams case the Diva line is their foray into the mainstream. The English manufacturer designs the specifications with the same attention to detail given their very expensive stuff, and then contracts the manufacture of the receiver offshore.

There are other brands like NAD, Rotel and Adcom that vary in price and have very distinctive looks. Theyre unique and usually garner brand loyalty from their repeat customers because of their no-nonsense equipment, on par with some of the exotics, but sold at much more sensible prices.

Then you have the mainstream stuff, the top of the mass produced gear that would include names like Onkyo, Yamaha, Harmon Kardon and Denon. These are trusted receiver manufacturer names that have been around awhile and always make a product in the upper end, every bit as pricey as some of the aforementioned exotic names, but their mainstay is the mainstream domain. None of these are bad investments -- in whatever price range you pay you wont go wrong with any of these brands.

Then there are the cheapy mainstream manufacturers that sell only at the big box stores and turn over units at slim profit margins. The reseller is going to try to sell you the extended warranty and costly cables with your receiver purchase so they can at least make a buck off you. Brands like Sony, JVC, Pioneer and even some brands that are new on the scene like Insignia. Like all things from a low budget, you get what you pay for.

With brands of this range youre so close to something so much better. If quality sound is even the least bit important it would really help to just hang on to the money youre going to spend on this disposable stuff and just add a bit more and get a respectable brand. Thats not to say that these manufacturers dont make anything worthwhile -- Sony makes ES and Pioneer makes Elite, which are fair quality.

Its up to you to decide what price range and what you like. When it comes to receiver manufacturers, its not as simple as saying you always get what you pay for, because there are very expensive brands whose names fetch a high price. Lets say that anything under $1000 is where youre getting what you paid for. Over $1500 and youre getting some really nice and fairly exotic stuff. Stray much above $1500 for any audio component and youre either a true audiophile who knows exactly what he wants, or you are in danger of paying a vast premium for a steep diminishing return.