The Best AV Receivers for Gaming

“4K/120” on an AV receiver is almost never a statement about the receiver. It is a statement about three of its HDMI inputs. Every receiver we cover advertises 8K and 4K/120 passthrough. On the Onkyo TX-NR6100 that applies to inputs 1–3, and Onkyo says so in one sentence; inputs 4 to 6 are HDMI 2.0 and stop at 4K/60. On the Denon AVR-X1800H it is “6 HDMI Inputs (3 x 8k)”. On the Yamaha RX-V6A it is HDMI 1–3 out of seven. If you own a PlayStation 5, an Xbox Series X and a gaming PC, the number on the front of the box is not the number that decides whether you have to reach behind the rack.

The four gaming features, and which of them a maker will put in writing

HDMI 2.1 introduced four things a gamer cares about, and HDMI Licensing Administrator describes them briefly on its own specification page. VRR(Variable Refresh Rate) “reduces or eliminates lag, stutter and frame tearing for more fluid gameplay”. ALLM(Auto Low Latency Mode) “allows the ideal latency setting to automatically be set” — the console tells the display to drop out of its picture-processing mode without anyone touching a menu. QFT(Quick Frame Transport) “reduces latency for smoother no-lag gaming”, and QMS(Quick Media Switching) “eliminates the delay when a device changes from one HDMI frame rate” to another — the black screen between a menu and a cut scene.

Those four are a menu, not a package. A receiver can pass 4K/120 and publish none of them. Of the nine receivers in our registry, exactly one publishes all four by name. One publishes three and prints an explicit Noagainst the fourth. One publishes VRR and QFT in the specification table while claiming ALLM only in the marketing paragraph above it. And one — the receiver with more HDMI inputs than anything else here — names none of them anywhere in its specification.

How we ranked this

Two rules, applied in order, and nothing else.

Rule one: a pick must publish VRR in its own specification table. Not in a feature bullet, not in a firmware release note, not in a press release. If the maker will not print it in the table it prints the power rating in, we do not rank the receiver here. This is the rule that keeps the seven-input Yamaha RX-V6A off the list, and we explain that case below rather than burying it.

Rule two: how many inputs, and does the maker say which.A receiver that enumerates — “inputs 1–3”, “6 (3 x 8K)” — ranks above one that prints a bare Yes against a 4K/120 row and leaves you to guess which socket to use. Enumeration is not a courtesy; it is the difference between plugging in a console and troubleshooting one.

After those two, the tie-breaks are what the receiver is when the game is off: amplifier channels, whether Dolby Atmos and DTS:X are named, and which room-correction system it runs. Those are covered at length on the under-$1,000 page and the under-$500 page, and this page does not re-rank them. Price does not move the order at all — the cheapest receiver here publishes a gaming feature the dearest one does not.

We have not tested any of this. We do not own these receivers, we have not put a signal analyzer on an HDMI terminal, and nothing on this page is a listening or gameplay impression. What we have done is read nine manufacturers’ specification tables and print what is in them, including the gaps. Our method is published in full.

1. Onkyo TX-NR6100 — the only one that enumerates everything

Onkyo publishes a single sentence that no other maker here matches: “HDMI 2.1 features are supported on HDMI inputs 1–3, Main Out, and Sub/Zone 2 Out in Sub Mode output including VRR, ALLM, QFT (Quick Frame Transport), DSC (Display Stream Compression), QMS (Quick Media Switching), and eARC (Main Out).” That is all four gaming features by name, plus DSC, plus the exact terminals they apply to — and it is the only place on this page where the fast specification is documented as reaching the outputsas well as the inputs. With three HDMI 2.1 inputs it is also the only receiver here that can take a PS5, a Series X and a PC at 4K/120 without swapping a cable.

It is a 7.2-channel receiver rated, on the FTC line rather than the marketing line, at 100 W per channel into 8 Ω from 20 Hz to 20 kHz at 0.08% THD with two channels driven. It decodes Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, it is THX certified, and it has an MM phono input at 3.5 mV / 47 kΩ, which is unusual on a receiver bought for consoles.

The honest cons.Inputs 4–6 are HDMI 2.0 and cap at 4K/60, so a fourth fast source means re-plugging. Room correction is AccuEQ, not Dirac Live — Onkyo starts Dirac at the TX-NR7100 and this model has no upgrade path to it, which matters because room correction changes what you hear far more than any HDMI feature does. The “210 W per channel” figure in most search results is a dynamic-power marketing number, not the rating. Onkyo also publishes 65 W idle draw — powered on and playing nothing — which is the only idle figure any maker in this bracket prints, and it is roughly a hundred times the standby number everyone advertises. And it has no main-channel pre-outs at all, only a subwoofer output and a zone line-out; our pre-outs page ranks it last for exactly that reason.

2. Denon AVR-X1800H — the clearest gaming row, and the better receiver

Denon prints the four features as one row with a verdict on each: ALLM / QMS / QFT / VRR — Yes / No / Yes / Yes. Publishing an explicit Nois rarer than publishing a Yes, and it tells you something real: if you play on a machine that changes frame rate between menus and gameplay, this receiver will give you the black screen that QMS exists to remove. Denon enumerates the input count as “6 HDMI Inputs (3 x 8k)” and the maximum as “8k/60 – 4k/120”, with HDCP 2.3, Dolby Vision and HDR10+.

It ranks second rather than first on rule two: three fast inputs, same as the Onkyo, but Denon does not say whichthree, and it does not document the HDMI 2.1 feature set as reaching the output. On everything after the HDMI rows it is the better receiver. It is 7.2 channels at 80 W + 80 W full-band, it runs Audyssey MultEQ XT rather than the plain MultEQ on the cheaper models, and it has the best-documented phono stage in the bracket — 2.5 mV MM with a published RIAA deviation of ± 1 dB. Our full review covers the rest.

The honest cons.QMS is a published No. Only three of six inputs are fast and Denon will not say which. The pre-outs are 2.2 — front L/R plus subwoofers — so there is no path to external amplification on the surround channels later. Denon publishes no idle figure at all, and its 0.1 W standby claim holds only with Network Control set to “Off In Standby” and HDMI Pass Through off, which is not how a console owner will run it. The menus are dense and it runs warm in a closed cabinet.

3. Onkyo TX-NR5100 — the most amplifier behind a published VRR

Onkyo publishes “HDR10+, Dolby Vision and BT.2020 color; VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), and QFT (Quick Frame Transport); eARC (Main Out), and HDCP 2.3” for this model, and 4K120 and 8K60 support via HDMI 2.1. Three of the four features, published in the specification, on the cheapest receiver here with seven amplifier channels. It decodes Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, and it is the only receiver on this page with two HDMI outputs.

It drops below the Denon on rule two. Onkyo enumerates the fast inputs for the TX-NR6100 and does not do it for this one — there are four HDMI inputs and no published statement of how many carry 4K/120. QMS is not named. Its rated output is the FTC line: “With 8 ohm loads, both channels driven, from 20 – 20,000 Hz; rated 80 watts per channel minimum RMS power, with no more than 0.08% total harmonic distortion”. The 165 W figure on Onkyo’s own product page is measured at 6 Ω, 1 kHz, one channel driven, at 10% distortion.

The honest cons.Four HDMI inputs is tight the moment a console, a streaming stick and a disc player are all connected. Onkyo’s own manual publishes speaker layouts only up to 5.1.2 despite the seven amplifier channels, so there is no 7.1 or 5.1.4 arrangement in the documentation. No phono input — the analog side is three RCA inputs and a 3.5 mm jack. Room correction is AccuEQ again. And Onkyo’s own store showed this model out of stock when we checked on 2026-09-27; the live price above is the Amazon listing, and if it reads as unavailable there too, the TX-NR6100 is the same family one step up.

4. Denon AVR-S670H — the same HDMI sheet as the X1800H, two channels short

Denon publishes “HDMI Inputs: Back/Front 6 (3x 8K) / 0” and the same four-feature row — ALLM / QMS / QFT / VRR — Yes / No / Yes / Yes— as the dearer AVR-X1800H, with Dolby Vision, HDR10+, Dynamic HDR and HLG. On the two rules this page ranks by, it is the equal of the number two pick and it costs less. It runs Audyssey MultEQ and has an MM phono input at 2.5 mV.

It ranks fourth on the tie-breaks, and the tie-breaks are serious here. It is a 5.2 receiver: five amplifier channels cannot produce height, whatever the decoder does, so the Atmos layer in a PS5 or Series X game has nowhere to go. Worse, Denon’s own sources disagree about whether it decodes Atmos at all. The info sheet enumerates Dolby TrueHD, Digital, Digital Plus and Pro Logic II with a “Dolby Audio” logo and names neither Atmos nor DTS:X; the product-page title says “with Dolby Atmos”. We trust the spec table over the page title and we print both. What height channels actually require is on its own page.

The honest cons. Five channels, no height, and a documentation conflict about the format most game consoles output. QMS is a published No. Subwoofer pre-outs only. And, as with every Denon here, no statement of which three of the six inputs are the fast ones.

5. Yamaha RX300A — the cheapest one that publishes QMS

Yamaha’s specification page for the RX300A lists the HDMI row as “4 in / 1 out — HDMI 2.1, eARC/ARC, VRR, ALLM, QMS, HDCP 2.3”, with 8K/60 and 4K/120 passthrough, Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and Hybrid Log-Gamma. Three of the four features named in the table, including the one the Denons print a No against. It is also the only receiver here where Yamaha publishes gaming features in the specification at all — the contrast with its own dearer RX-V6A is the sharpest thing on this page.

Its rated output is 70 W (8 Ω, 20 Hz – 20 kHz, 0.09% THD, two channels driven). The 145 W printed on the same line is measured at 6 Ω, 1 kHz, one channel, 10% distortion, and is not a listening rating. Yamaha’s spec server returns HTTP 403 to our tooling, so these figures date from our last successful read rather than from 2026-09-27.

The honest cons.Four HDMI inputs, and Yamaha does not say how many carry 4K/120. It is 5.2, so no height channels. Dolby Atmos yes, DTS:X no — DTS:X appears only in the RX500A column of Yamaha’s own table. There is no network streaming of any kind: Yamaha publishes a dash against Wi-Fi, Ethernet and every streaming service, leaving Bluetooth 5.3 as the only wireless input. No phono input. No main-channel pre-outs. And room correction is listed only as “Room Correction” — Yamaha does not name YPAO for this model anywhere.

6. Denon AVR-S570BT — the cheapest published VRR, and a gap in the same table

Denon’s specification table for the AVR-S570BT prints “HDMI 2.1: 8K/60Hz, 4K/120Hz — Yes, Yes”, VRR Yes, QFT Yes and QMS No, with Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HDCP 2.3, across four rear HDMI inputs and one eARC output. That clears rule one at the lowest price on this page, which is why it is here rather than in the excluded list.

And then the gap.There is no ALLM row in that table. The marketing paragraph on the same Denon page claims ALLM; the specification does not carry it, while the specification for every dearer Denon here does. We are not calling that a No — we are telling you that Denon puts ALLM in writing for the AVR-S670H and the AVR-X1800H and does not put it in writing for this one. Denon also prints a bare “4” for the input count with no 8K qualification, where it prints an explicit “3 x 8K” on every dearer model. On a four-input receiver the likeliest reading is that all four are fast, but Denon does not say it, and we are not going to say it for them.

The honest cons.ALLM is unpublished. No room correction at all: Denon prints “Audyssey Dynamic EQ: No” and “Audyssey Dynamic Volume: No”, so this receiver sits a full step below the AVR-S670H in the thing that most changes what a room sounds like. Neither Dolby Atmos nor DTS:X is named anywhere on its product page. No phono input, no network streaming — it sits outside Denon’s HEOS range — and subwoofer pre-outs only. It is a good HDMI switch with amplifiers attached, and on this page that is enough for sixth.

The receiver with seven HDMI inputs that is not on this list

The Yamaha RX-V6Ahas seven HDMI inputs, more than anything else we cover, and it is a 7.2 receiver rated 100 W per channel across the full band — the highest full-band rating in the registry. It accepts 4K/120 and 8K, with 8K on inputs 1–3. On paper it is the receiver a gamer with four consoles should want.

It fails rule one. Yamaha’s HDMI feature list in the owner’s manual reads “8K, 4K Ultra HD (include 8K/60, 50 Hz, 4K/120, 100 Hz 10-bit), 3D Video, ARC, eARC, HDMI Control (CEC), Auto Lip Sync, Deep Color, x.v.Color, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, Hybrid Log-Gamma, DSC FRL, FRL” with HDCP 1.4/2.3 — and VRR, ALLM, QMS and QFT appear nowhere in it. They appear nowhere on Yamaha’s 4K/8K MODE page for the model either, which is the page that explains which jacks take which signal and says “The HDMI 1-3 jacks support 8K signals… ‘8K Mode’ is applied to only the HDMI 1-3 jacks.”

The reason is that ALLM and VRR were not shipped on this model. Yamaha added them by firmware and documents them in a separate support note rather than in the specification, and Yamaha’s US support server returns HTTP 403 to our tooling, so we could not read that note ourselves and will not summarize a document we have not opened. If you already own an RX-V6A, the feature is reportedly a firmware update away and Yamaha’s own support pages are where to confirm it. If you are buying one for gaming, you are buying on a claim the specification does not make, and that is the difference between this receiver and the six above it.

Three more are excluded and it is worth saying why. The Yamaha RX-V4Aaccepts 4K/120 on four HDMI inputs and names none of the four gaming features in its manual either, and Yamaha’s own table lists Dolby Atmos and DTS:X as N/A. The Marantz Cinema 70spublishes “Total HDMI Inputs / No. Support 8K — 6 / 3”, ALLM “pass-through for gaming” Yes, and VRR / QFT Yes / Yes — it clears both rules cleanly. It is off the list on price and power: it is the most expensive receiver on the site and rated 50 W + 50 W, a slim-chassis trade that makes sense for a furniture problem and not for a console. Its full 7.2 pre-outs are the reason to buy it, and that is a different page. The Denon AVR-S570BT made the list at number six; nothing cheaper in our registry publishes VRR at all.

The route that skips the receiver, and why Sony brings it up first

There is a way to own a five-year-old receiver and still game at 4K/120: plug the console straight into the television and send the audio back to the receiver over eARC. The TV handles VRR and ALLM because the TV is the display; the receiver only ever sees an audio stream. Every receiver on this page has an eARC output, and so do several that are not on it.

This is not a fringe workaround. Sony’s own troubleshooting page for PS5 4K/120 output asks, as one of its checks, “Is the PS5 console directly connected to the TV by HDMI, or to a receiver or other piece of intermediary equipment that could be affecting the signal?” — the console maker treats the AV receiver as a suspect before it treats the television as one. The same page asks whether you are using “the cable included with the PS5 console or an Ultra High-Speed Cable that is rated for 4K 120Hz output”, which is worth checking before you replace a receiver over a cable.

What you give up going direct is real: eARC carries the audio but the receiver no longer switches the video, so source switching happens on the TV, and any format the TV will not pass over eARC does not reach the receiver. What you gain is that the console’s signal path has one fewer device in it. If your current receiver is otherwise fine and the only complaint is HDMI, try this before spending anything.

What we would buy

For two or three fast sources on one receiver, the Onkyo TX-NR6100, and not by a small margin — it is the only one that names all four features, the only one that says which terminals carry them, and the only one that documents them on the output. Accept AccuEQ as the cost.

For one console in a system that is also a home theater, the Denon AVR-X1800H. You will use one fast input, the QMS absence will cost you a black screen occasionally, and in exchange you get Audyssey MultEQ XT, seven channels for a 5.2.2 Atmos layout and a phono stage with published RIAA accuracy. Room correction is worth more to how the system sounds than any HDMI row on this page, and we have written honestly about what it does and does not fix.

On a tight budget, the Yamaha RX300A if you want QMS and can live with five channels and no streaming, or the Denon AVR-S570BT if the receiver is mostly an HDMI switch and you will treat room correction as a later upgrade. And if you already own a receiver with eARC, spend nothing: run the console into the television, send the sound back, and put the money into treating the room, which will change what you hear more than any of this.