This is part 2 of 2 of “What to look at when buying a home theater receiver?”

For part 1 please click here.

This post will cover the additional features found on mid-level and high-end receivers. It will help you in your decision on whether you need to spend more on your receiver. Spending more on features you will not use only wastes money. Those additional funds can be spent on speakers instead.

If you are looking for something more advanced and has the following advantages over entry-level receivers:

• Decoding of newer audio formats such as Dolby Digital TrueHD, DTS-HD MA. This allows you to enjoy Blu-ray and HD DVD sound in their full glory.
• Automatic speaker calibration. This allows the receiver to try and set speaker settings to operate at their optimal settings by automatic detection, thereby adjusting speaker levels and speaker distances accordingly.
• On-Screen Display or OSD. This allows you to adjust your receiver settings on your television instead of the small screen on the front panel of the receiver.
• Additional sound processing modes. Sound processing is also commonly referred to as DSP (Digital Sound Processing). This allows you to emulate the sound characteristics of a concert hall, stadium, etc.
• More input connectivity, possibly including some in the front panel for easy access. This allows more components to be connected to the receiver.
• Higher power ratings which are usually negligible and frequently used as a selling point (More on this later…)
• Availability of pre-amp outputs. This allows you to connect an external amplifier in order to provide more power to your speakers.
• Availability of bass management settings. This allows you to customize bass settings according to personal preference.
• THX certifications.
• Multi-room capability. This allows you to power a second set of speakers from a separate room/source. Say for example you have a pair of speakers in another area of your home for a CD player, multi-room capability gives you the flexibility of not buying a stereo receiver just for the CD player. This feature is often identified as “Zones” at the back of the receiver. Midrange receivers can usually have 2 zones. It will have 5.1 channels for the main zone and 2 channels for the secondary zone (Zone 2).

Some examples of current mid-level models from various brands are the Yamaha RX-V663/RX-V863, Harman Kardon AVR 254/354, Onkyo TX-SR606/TX-SR706, among others. Still not satisfied and feel the need to step-up even further on your receiver purchasing?

If you require anything more than what have been previously mentioned.

• Even more input connectivity. This allows you to connect even more components to your receiver.
• Even higher power ratings. Again usually negligible and frequently used as a selling point (Explanation later…).
• Even more sound processing modes. This allows you to emulate the sound characteristics of even more environments.
• More advanced auto speaker calibration algorithms. Each brand has their own type of speaker calibration, Yamaha has YPAO, Denon/Onkyo has Audyssey, Pioneer has MCACC, etc. These calibration technologies vary in complexity among models.
• More advanced bass management settings.
• THX certifications.
• Network connectivity.
• Additional zones for multi-room capability, some receivers offer as much as 4 zones. This would allow you to power speakers in four different areas in your home, for example a dedicated home theater setup, a CD player in your bedroom, an iPod in another bedroom, and another CD player on the patio.

Some examples of current high-end models from various brands are the Yamaha RX-V1900/RX-V3900/RX-Z11, Harman Kardon AVR 645/745, Onkyo TX-SR806/TX-SR876/TX-NR906, among others.