If you are looking to wire a multi-channel, surround-sound system, your options will vary in accordance with the number of speakers you want to set up. However, slowly, even stereo receivers are beginning to feature video capabilities, such as our #9 choice, the TX-8270, so it's good to know that the option to connect your stereo speakers to your television does exist with a model like this. If you just want a receiver to reproduce audio - from a turntable or your laptop, for example - your needs will be met best by a stereo receiver. Most of these support five-, seven-, or nine-channel setups for surround-sound purposes. If you're only using your receiver to power a pair of bookshelf speakers, and you don't expect to expand into a home-entertainment system, then it's not necessary to consider A/V (audio/video) models. Determining what kind of receiver is best for you depends upon what kind of audio/video setup you'll be using it for.
If you're in the market for an Onkyo receiver, the company has most likely won your loyalty, whether through past experience or at the recommendation of a credible authority. Its speakers are mid-range at best, however, so don't expect to hook this up as your primary home theater setup. This does a good job recognizing rewritable CD formats while providing you with a simple audio solution for small spaces like bedroom or offices. We also updated the previous list's CD player to their newer CS-265 Home Audio. Something like the TX-SR494 Hi-Res is ideal for this, though it does have fewer inputs than many other models, and neither HDMI nor USB located on the front panel. Of course, there are simpler models than these for anyone looking to either spend less money in the first place or keep their setup confined to a single zone in the 5.1 tradition. That includes particularly high-quality digital-to-analog conversion at 384 kHz and 32 bits. One of the nicest new models to come out relatively recently is the Onkyo TX-RZ1100, which, at 9.2 channels, doesn't have the same 11.2 channel array as the TX-RZ3100 THX-Certified, but boasts nearly identical features in almost every aspect. In updating our ranking, we wanted to double check that everything on offer here was still being manufactured by the company, and we found a few notable upgrades in that search that are worth mentioning.