Do You Really Need an AV Receiver? A Look at Standalone Options for Home Theater Audio

For what feels like forever, AV receivers have been the default for hooking up and powering home theater speakers. However, they’re a bit complicated and can feel like overkill. You might want to consider some standalone options instead…

What Does an AV Receiver Do?

While your TV handles the visuals, an AV receiver manages everything related to sound. It takes the audio signal from your devices (gaming consoles, streaming boxes, Blu-ray players,etc.) and does some next-level processing before sending those signals to the right speakers, making sure every detail plays exactly where it should.

Let’s say you are watching an action movie scene and a car screeches across the TV screen from left to right. An AV receiver would route the engine’s roar through your speakers in such a way that it travels across your room, perfectly matching the on-screen action.

Beyond that, an AV receiver also amplifies your audio signals and lets you fine-tune everything. You can boost just the center channel to make whispered conversations more audible without affecting other sounds. That’s something your TV speakers or other standalone options simply can’t do. Speaking of those other options…

Soundbars

The appeal is obvious: they’re sleek, you can set them up without breaking a sweat, and they’ll definitely smoke those weak speakers built into your TV. Plus, a lot of them come with wireless subwoofers. Toss one in the corner, and you get deep, rumbling bass without a spaghetti mess of cables.

If you’re feeling fancy, high-end picks like the Sonos Arc Ultra and Bose Smart Ultra lead the pack here. They offer Dolby Atmos support and an attempt to recreate surround sound effects by bouncing audio off your walls. But the caveat here is that while this can work if your room is set up just right, it’s more of a cool party trick than the real deal. Without actual speakers around you—front, back, and maybe even overhead—you simply can’t nail that true surround sound experience.

Another couple of trade-offs with soundbars generally are that you’re pretty limited when it comes to upgrades and that you won’t get the same level of fine-tuning that a full-on speaker system with a receiver can deliver.

Active (Powered) Speakers

Unlike old-school passive speakers that need an AV receiver to work, active speakers come with built-in amplifiers, so there’s no need for extra gear to power them. So, if the idea of juggling a pile of components, dealing with cable chaos, or fiddling with endless settings makes you scream in your head, active speakers are your saving grace. They’re basically plug-and-play. All you need is a power outlet and a source for your audio, and you’re ready to rock and roll.

You can even step it up to a 2.1 sound setup, but that depends on the speaker model and its connectivity option. Some active speakers include a handy “Sub Out” or “LFE out” port, so adding a subwoofer is as simple as plugging it in. Mind you, the subwoofer needs to be self-powered, too.

And as a cherry on top, a lot of active speakers on the market come with built-in wireless connectivity options like Bluetooth. That means you can stream your favorite playlists, podcasts, or movies straight from your phone, tablet, or laptop, as well as your TV. Brands like KEF, Klipsch, and Audioengine have all made names for themselves in this space. If you’re looking for some standout options, check out the KEF LS50 Wireless II, KEF LSX II LT, Klipsch The Fives, Klipsch The Nines, Audioengine’s HD6, or the Triangle AIO Twin.

Wireless Multi-Room Systems

Wireless multi-room systems, while traditionally focused on music streaming, typically operate through a central hub or app connected to your Wi-Fi, letting you control multiple speakers throughout the house. These speakers can be placed in different rooms and grouped together to play out the same audio or different audio in each room.

Companies like Sonos pioneered this category, but we now have excellent options from brands like Denon HEOS, Yamaha MusicCast, and Apple’s AirPlay ecosystem. What makes these systems particularly appealing is their modular nature. You can dip your toe in the water by starting with just one soundbar—like the Sonos Arc, Beam, or Denon Home 550 sound bars—and then add a basic speaker setup for each soundbar (like for Sonos, a Sub 4 with a couple of Ones, Era 100 and or Era 300 TV in the living room). From there, you can level up your setup piece by piece, adding satellite speakers in other rooms.

However, there’s a catch: you’re somewhat locked into each manufacturer’s ecosystem in what is referred to as a closed system. This means that if you have Sonos components, they’re very likely not to play nice with a HEOS setup, for instance. But if you go the route of open systems like Apple’s AirPlay2 (which can work with Sonos One, for example), you can mix and match brands, but they come with their quirks. You might notice a slight delay when watching TV or gaming, which can be a bit annoying.

One more thing: your Wi-Fi network can make or break the experience. If your router barely reaches the upstairs bedroom, you might want to invest in a solid Wi-Fi setup to ensure every note hits as it should, no matter where you are in the house.

Portable Speakers

This might not be the first thing that comes to mind in the context of a home theater, but a portable speaker can totally step up if you know how to use it. As most of these are built for mono sound when they’re flying solo, you might want to look for ones that support stereo output. For example, you can grab two Sonos Roams or two JBL Charge 5s, pair them up, and place one each at equal distances from your TV to create a stereo effect.

JBL takes things up a notch with a feature called PartyBoost, which lets you connect several of its portable speakers for a bigger, more immersive sound. Many of its models support it, like the Charge 5, Xtreme 4, Pulse 5, Boombox 3, and Flip 6. So you can add even more speakers to have a bit of surround-y sound.

If you’re thinking of using portable speakers as more of a permanent setup, make sure they’re plugged in instead of running on battery. That way, they’ll stay consistent and won’t randomly die on you mid-play. And, of course, the beauty of portable speakers is in their name—you can take one to the kitchen while you’re cleaning up or set it on the balcony for some chill music under the stars. Flexibility like that is hard to beat.

So, do you really need an AV receiver? Well, it depends on what your priorities are and how you want to experience sound. If you’re all about creating a fully immersive home theater, an AV receiver is hard to beat. But if you’re more like, “I just want something simple that doesn’t wreck my wallet or take over my room,” these standalone systems can still deliver impressive results.