AV Receivers

As part of Yamaha's flagship Aventage receiver lineup, the RX-A6A promises to put everything the storied audio brand knows about movie sound into one, feature-packed box. Priced £2,000, this is a big brooding beast of an AVR, and it has the performance to match – film and music playback is never less than enthralling. Ask me where it comes up short, and I'd have to give a shrug.

Anthem's range of AV processors and receivers finally get an update, and at some point in the past five years it looks like the Canadian manufacturer drew inspiration from the Scandinavians. The new models are elegant, minimalist, and a definite step up from the dated appearance of the previous generation. But are they just surface charm, or is more going on underneath?

The latest in Marantz's now long-established slimline, half-height receiver range, the NR1711 is a bijou behemoth for those of us who don't require unhinged power, but do want advanced connectivity to best work with modern wired and wireless sources.