It’s no secret that the first receivers with HDMI 2.1 ports had problems in their work. We hope that Pioneer and Onkyo have taken into account the mistakes of their predecessors, and their seven new models will not disappoint users.
And why, in fact, do you need HDMI 2.1 in the receiver? Let’s say you want to get a dramatic sound from a video game. Your layout will look like this: game console – receiver – TV. The receiver will receive a sound signal from the console, solving your problem. It remains only to transfer the image of the game to the TV screen. This is where the HDMI 2.1 ports on the receiver come in, which will be able to receive a high quality 4K / 120Hz (and even 8K / 60Hz) signal from a console like PlayStation 5 and send it further to its destination.
The HDMI 2.0 ports fulfill the same mission, but their bandwidth is limited to 4K / 60Hz signal.
In the above example, another layout is possible: game console – TV – receiver. In this case, the HDMI 2.1 standard will help the TV to transmit and the receiver to receive high quality audio signal through the eARC function.
So, briefly about today’s new products from Pioneer:
| Name | Configuration | Power | HDMI ports quantity |
| Pioneer VSX-LX105 | 5.2.2 | 80W per channel | 6 inputs, 2 outputs |
| Pioneer VSX-LX305 | 7.2.2 | 100W per channel | 7 inputs, 2 outputs |
| Pioneer VSX-LX505 | 7.2.2 | 120W per channel | 7 inputs, 2 outputs |
Information about new products on Onkyo:
| Name | Configuration | Power | HDMI ports quantity |
| Onkyo TX-NR5100 | 5.2.2 | 80W per channel | 4 inputs, 2 outputs |
| Onkyo TX-NR6100 | 5.2.2 | 100W per channel | 6 inputs, 2 outputs |
| Onkyo TX-NR7100 | 7.2.2 | 100W per channel | 7 inputs, 2 outputs |
| Onkyo TX-RZ50 | 7.2.2 | 120W per channel | 7 inputs, 2 outputs |
All of these receivers support HDMI 2.1 companion features, VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), as well as a wide range of modern audio formats, including Dolby Atmos and DTSX. Additionally, users will have access to AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Bluetooth, DTS Play-Fi, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa technologies.
Pricing and sales start dates will be announced at a later date.