Best Receiver Under $500 (Top 7 Both Used & New Ones)

An AV receiver is the brain and the whole home theatre system is the body.  You need a sharp and swift brain to run the body perfectly.

After that everything will run successfully.

AV receivers are the most important part of the home theatre system and many people want it in their price range. That’s why I have written three articles on three different price ranges.

Finding the best new receiver in these low price ranges like 500 and 300 is very difficult.  But I have tried my best to research the top ones for you.

I have been a home theatre enthusiast for quite some time and have tested many home theatre products in my friends’ houses and also installed them for my clients. That’s why I have hands-on experience with many receivers. This review is the product of my experience.

Without taking much time let’s deep dive into the reviews.

Our Top Tested & Reviewed Products At A Glance

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AV Receiver	Video	Audio	Usage	Ratings	Today’s Best Deals
Yamaha RX-V685	4K Ultra HD	Dolby Atmos	Used	5/4.8	Check Price On Amazon
Sony STR-DH790	4K HDR	Dolby Atmos	New	5/4.8	Check Price On Amazon
Denon AVR-S650H	4K Ultra HD	Dolby TrueHD	Used	5/4.7	Check Price On Amazon
Onkyo TX-SR494	4K Ultra HD	Dolby Atmos	Used	5/4.5	Check Price On Amazon
Sony STRDH590	4K HDR	Dolby Digital	New	5/4.4	Check Price On Amazon
Pioneer VSX-532	4K Ultra HD	Dolby TrueHD	Used	5/3.8	Check Price On Amazon
Yamaha RX-V377	4K Ultra HD	Dolby TrueHD	Used	5/3	Check Price On Amazon

Yamaha RX-V685 – Best For Dolby Atmos

It is the best Dolby Atmos receiver under 500 because it provides 7.2 channel surround sound with second zone, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, music streaming, internet radio, and many more features that make it the best candidate for Dolby.

 It provides Dolby Atmos and DTS:X quality audio and Dolby Vision 4K Ultra HD video.

There are 5 HDMI inputs and 2 HDMI outputs.  One output can be plugged into the TV and the other to the projector or the TV in another room. The One TV in the theatre room sound will be played by surround sound and the output HDMI  will transfer audio to another TV in the other room. That TV will play its audio through its speakers.

 It also provides Second zone audio where you can connect wireless speakers in the kitchen or outdoors.

This receiver comes with an audio calibration mic that will calibrate the audio of the surround sound according to the acoustics of the room.

Mobile devices can be connected with this receiver via Bluetooth. I was able to stream music from a wide range of apps like Pandora and Deezer.

Bluetooth is delivering very well and I felt no distortion in the connectivity of my iPad with it.

When I set up this receiver in my client’s room. He was blown away by its performance and told me that the same speakers now sound better because of it.

You should connect the best affordable speakers to the best receivers for the perfect sound experience. Click on the colored words to read my guides about it.

This receiver also comes with MusicCast speakers that can be used as rear speakers at the back. These speakers can be connected wirelessly to this receiver.

The HDMI inputs were very smart. When I turn on the Blu-ray player it also turns on the receiver and TV.

The Internet radio was amazing and I was able to stream my favorite music genres and they all were there.

The dedicated mobile app is amazing and it can control almost every feature of this receiver. I was very pleased with the convenience that it provides.

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Sony STR-DH790 – Best For Entry Level 7.2 Surround Sound

It provides Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio and Dolby vision and HDR 4K quality video.

This is an entry-level 7.2 channel receiver that can be used for small to medium-size home theatre rooms even in 2021. Because this receiver has modern features that can satisfy modern needs. Like Bluetooth connectivity, 4K, and eARC HDMI functionality.

It can be used for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X the object-based sound. 

Just connect the 5.1 or 5.2 surround sound on the ground and connect two speakers in the ceiling and the Dolby Atmos connection is done with this receiver.

The Bluetooth connectivity is good and you can stream your favorite music from mobile or favorite apps.

A calibration mic comes with it in the box, which can be used to calibrate the audio of the surround system according to the acoustics of the room.

This calibration process was easy and Swift.  I just connected the mic to the front 3.5 mm audio input and followed the calibration guide.

The sound was clear and the bass was punchy. But For guaranteed punchy bass you must find the best affordable subwoofer for yourself. The receiver is affordable that’s why I am referring you to my affordable subs review.

This receiver has a feature that can provide surround sound from just two front speakers. This feature is good only for small rooms where you can’t set up all the speakers.  But I will not recommend it for medium to large rooms.  Because there you must set up a complete surround sound to get its complete magic.

 When I turn on the input device the eARC turns on the receiver too. I get the eARC functionality after the firmware update.

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Denon AVR-S650H – Best For 5.2

This is a 5.2 AV receiver that provides 4K video with HDR and Dolby vision and audio with Dolby true HD  quality.

It provides 5 HDMI inputs with the latest HDCP 2.3 content protection technology and with eARC support.

It supports multi-room audio streaming with the help of the HEOS app.  The speakers can be connected to the receiver via Bluetooth or  Wi-Fi with the help of this app.

Music from a wide range of streaming services like Deezer, Pandora, and Napster can be streamed in multiple rooms of the house.

This receiver too comes with audio calibration according to the room environment.

This receiver can be controlled by voice command Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple Siri.

The volume can be changed, songs can be changed and even the inputs can be changed through voice commands.

The onscreen setup guide is easy to follow and it is to the point. The user interface is minimal but can be changed by a firmware upgrade.

The one thing that I have noticed about this receiver is that it turns on randomly. It scares my client a lot. Because he thinks that there is a ghost in his theatre room that turns it on. LOL!

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Onkyo TX-SR494 – Best For 5.2.2

This is the best Dolby Atmos receiver with a 5.2.2 speaker layout.  If you are a fan of realism that gives you the feeling of you are in the middle of the action and can sacrifice modern features for this sound realistic bubble then this is the best receiver for you to go with.

It provides a 4K pass-through video with HDR and audio with Dolby Atmos.

Dolby atmos height virtualization feature in this receiver can create a Dolby Atmos virtual sound bubble with only a 5.2 speakers layout.   but again I will not recommend this in every condition to rely on.  you should have a complete 5.2.2 Dolby Atmos layout for the real feel.

You can rely on this feature if you are not comfortable with height speakers and their installation process. 

 It can also scale 1080p video to 4K. It has 4 HDMI inputs and 1 ARC HDMI output port.

I connected my mobile phone and I was able to stream Amazon music but it is not specified by the manufacturer how many other streaming services it supports.

This receiver too comes with a room audio calibration feature.

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Sony STRDH590 – Best For Entry Level 5.2

This is the third-best 5.2 surround sound receiver that provides 4K HDR video with Dolby vision and audio with Dolby Digital quality.

This 5.2 Sony is best for its cinematic-like audio in the home theatre. The above 5.2 by Denon is the best for its modern technologies like streaming services support and multi-room audio with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and few more features described in its section.

Provide 4 HDMI inputs that are HDCP 2.2 compatible and the one output is ARC compatible. 

This is ARC transfer Dolby Digital in compressed form while eARC transfers it in its original form and eARC can also transfer Dolby Digital Plus. This receiver supports ARC and the above Denon receiver is eARC supported. 

This Sony receiver comes with automatic audio calibration. But if you have one seating row in your room then better be to calibrate the sound with an SPL meter.

It provides virtual surround sound from just two front speakers. You can rely on this feature if you have a small room or are not comfortable with the complete 5.1.

But I will not recommend using this feature in any other conditions because you must have a complete 5.1 speakers layout to feel the 5.1 magic.

The HDMI connectivity is the best, when I turn on the input device it turns on the receiver and TV automatically. 

It has Bluetooth connectivity functionality. I have connected my client’s phone with this receiver and the music was good with the complete surround sound. I was feeling like I was in the concert.

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Pioneer VSX-532 – Best For Entry Level 5.1

This is an entry-level 5.1 surround sound receiver that provides audio in Dolby TrueHD and video in 4K Ultra HD.

It too comes with auto-calibration of the sound according to the theatre room environment.

It provides 4 HDMI inputs and 1 ARC-enabled HDMI output.

The HDR capability of this receiver is accurate and it is delivering well.  I was able to differentiate among the objects in the darker areas of the screen.

 The best thing that I like about it is that it can stream compressed music in a CD version.  It is very good to experience MP3 or WMA  content of mobile devices in full 5.1 surround sound.

As I’m talking about MP3,  the built-in Bluetooth is very powerful and seamless to stream music from mobile devices.

 The range of this Bluetooth is very good, I was able to connect my mobile device from at least 41 feet away.

I call it the entry-level receiver for 5.1 because it doesn’t have that quality that can match high-end receivers and also lacks many modern features.  These modern features provide more convenience for the users and also now we cannot leave without Wi-Fi,  music streaming services, and eARC.

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Yamaha RX-V377 – Just Good For 5.1

This is just a good 5.1 surround sound receiver that provides a 4K pass-through with 3D capabilities and ARC functionality. But it is quite an outdated receiver but still, it is a good bargain under 300.

It has 4 HDMI inputs and one ARC HDMI output. It has an HDMI CEC feature.  This feature can turn on the receiver and TV when a CEC-compatible input device is turned on.

This receiver too comes with speaker auto-calibration according to the room acoustics.

It provides a virtual surround sound facility.  I arranged all 5 speakers at the front for this virtual surround sound magic.  The sound was good but still, it was not the best like real surround sound. I  arranged all the speakers at the front because my client doesn’t want to run wires from front to back of the theatre room.  He wanted them to be organized.

The radio is not very capable.  It can stream radio channels with high frequency and also misses on low-frequency channels.

It is an entry-level receiver and lacks many modern technology features.  But still, it can be a good option for small theatre rooms.

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FAQs

All answers are highly affected by the price range under $500.

Does a better receiver mean better sound?

Yes, I have experienced many of my clients’ speaker systems sounding better after I upgraded their receivers. Yes, this is real.

How long should a receiver last?

Due to modern features congested more into the receivers and the users being keener about those features, now receivers lack longer-lasting ability. Now, expect the modern receivers to last at least up to 6 years.

Do you still need a receiver for the home theater?

Yes, if you want a robust object that takes care of all the input and output devices, you need the receivers. You can’t go without it if you need surround sound and Dolby Atmos magic in your theater room.

Do you need a receiver to hook up the surround sound?

Yes, you need but not always. There are amplifiers now that can also be used for the surround sound hook up but still, you will need a receiver to hook the amplifier to it and the output video devices and input devices as media sources.

Helpful Resources For The FAQs To Read More

1. This was my opinion read more here avsforum. (Resource for the first answer)
2. This was my opinion read more here on Quora. (Resource for the fifth answer)