Best AV Receivers for 4K 120Hz gaming on PS5 & Xbox Series X using HDMI 2.1 for 2022

I originally made this post in 2021, which highlighted a fault with the Nuvoto-made HDMI 2.1 chipset, which affected every AV receiver at the time and broke 4K 120Hz output for gaming on consoles.

Companies promised these problems would get fixed but were extremely slow to roll out the change. Denon and Marantz AVRs made after May 2021 had the bug fixed. Yamaha has only recently rolled out a firmware update that added HDMI 2.1 4K120 and 8K120 support, about a year after they launched their receivers.

AV Receivers with working HDMI 2.1 4K 120Hz in 2022

Thankfully, halfway through 2022, most of the issues are resolved, but not all.

Onkyo AV Receivers

The Onkyo TX-NR6100 launched late last year and was confirmed to have working HDMI 2.1 4K 120Hz at launch. It is attractively priced and well-reviewed.

It is available from Amazon US for under $800, and according to Keepa, it has been under $700. Annoyingly there is limited UK supply; the EU store for Onkyo has it for £849, which is less of a bargain.

Denon AV Receivers

All the new Denon made since May 2021 should now be OK. This includes:

• Denon AVR-A110                  
• Denon AVR-X6700H              
• Denon AVR-X4700H              
• Denon AVR-X3700H              
• Denon AVR-X2700H              
• Denon AVR-S960H   

The Denon AVR-X2700H is your cheapest option for £600, available from Richer Sounds, and Peter Tyson. US buyers can get it from Amazon.

The Denon AVC-X3700H is regarded thanks to its superior calibration using the top-tier version of Audyssey (MultiEQ XT32). It is a big jump in price at around £980 and available from Exceptional AV or Seven Oaks in the UK.

Marantz AV Receivers

• Marantz AV7706
• Marantz SR8015
• Marantz SR7015
• Marantz SR6015
• Marantz SR5015
• Marantz NR1711

The Marantz SR5015 is the most affordable option and the same price as Denon at £600, available from HyperFi.

The Marantz SR6015 is compatible with the Denon AVR-X3700H, but many people seem to prefer the Denon. The Marantz also currently costs more at £1150 from Richer Sounds.

It is quite expensive on Amazon.com, too.

Yamaha AV Receivers

Back in April, Yamaha rolled out the 1.65 firmware update, which enabled 8K60Hz/4K/120Hz and HDR10+ support on the Yamaha RX-A8A, RX-A6A, and RX-A4A. HDMI 2.1 features such as VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), QFT (Quick Frame Transport) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) are still missing.

In the UK, the Yamaha RX-V4A seems to be in short supply, likely due to the attractive price of £500. Peter Tyson allows you to order it with an ETA of late July.

The Yamaha RX-V6A is your best bet at £649 from Peter Tyson. Plenty of other stores are reporting this out of stock too.

Both the Yamaha RX-V4A and RX-A6A are quite affordable in the US, priced at $500 and $700, respectively. The RX-A6A doesn’t appear to have new stock at the moment.

Nuvoto HDMI 2.1 Fault

With the launch of the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, gamers can now enjoy games at up to 4K resolution with a 120Hz frame rate.

This coincided with the launch of many TVs and AV receivers that supported HDMI 2.1, which is needed to be able to handle the high bandwidth requirements of 4K high refresh rate gaming.

Not many TVs launched with 120Hz support and HDMI 2.1 in the 2021 product line-up but LG, Samsung and Sony all have 2021 models out, and 55-inch options start from around £1200.

Things are a little trickier if you want to integrate your console with a home theatre system using an AV receiver.

Yamaha, Denon and Marantz have launched receivers that have HDMI 2.1, which should offer 4k/120hz HDR and 8k/60 HDR. However, the HDMI version 2.1 chipsets, made by Nuvoto, that all the manufacturers use for this have/had a bug that prevents passing through uncompressed 4K/120. The big, reportedly, doesn’t affect the PS5.

The solution has been to connect your console to the TV and use the eARC equipped HDMI port to pass back the audio to your receiver. For people without eARC, there is the SHARC eARC Audio Converter.

[Update] From May onward, any receiver made by Denon and Marantz has had the fix integrated into the receiver.

Previously, Sound United, who own both Denon and Marantz, have developed an SPK618 HDMI adaptor that takes an HDMI input signal from the gaming source and delivers the corrected HDMI data to the AVR, thus remedying the error and allowing a 4K/120Hz or 8K/60Hz signal to pass.

AV Receivers that were affected by the HDMI 2.1 bug

Anyone that bought a receiver that has an issue with the HDMI but can apply for a free adaptor, and they should be shipping now.

The affected receivers include:

Denon AV Receivers

• Denon AVR-A110                  
• Denon AVR-X6700H              
• Denon AVR-X4700H              
• Denon AVR-X3700H              
• Denon AVR-X2700H              
• Denon AVR-S960H      

 Marantz AV Receivers

• Marantz AV7706
• Marantz SR8015
• Marantz SR7015
• Marantz SR6015
• Marantz SR5015
• Marantz NR1711

How to check if your Denon and Marantz AV receiver has the HDMI 2.1 bug

Any receiver made after May 2021 should be problem-free, but of course, you won’t know if a seller is selling a newer or older version. You can check using the serial number.

Sound United has confirmed that models with the serial number *******70001 onwards are from the latest production runs (i.e. May 2021 onwards) and will therefore already be HDMI 2.1 bug-free.

Yamaha 2020 AV Receivers to get a hardware update sometime later this year

Yamaha has also announced that the RX-V4A, RX-V6A, RX-A2A, TSR-400 and TSR-700 receivers all have an issue with pass-through of 4K/120Hz and that a future hardware update is required.

This HDMI board update is complimentary to customers for 24 months after the program starts. You will need to register to find out the next steps, but the updates should be available late summer.

Yamaha 2021 Receivers – will support 4K/120Hz & 8K/60Hz but not at launch

[June Update] 4K/120Hz & 8K/60Hz is hopefully be fixed with the new 1.65 firmware update

It seems that the HDMI 2.1 saga continues into 2021 AVR launches. Yamaha has just announced the  RX-A8A, RX-A6A and RX-A4A. While these receivers have HDMI 2.1 and support all the advanced features it offers, many of them will not be enabled at launch.

4K/120Hz, 8K/60Hz, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Quick Frame Transport (QFT), and Quick Media Switching (QMS) will not be present at the launch.

Similarly, the new advanced Aura 3D audio format will also not be present at launch.

Considering how long it has taken Denon and Marantz to fix their AVRs, it is a little hard to recommend any of these new Yamahas until all the features are fully enabled.