Layout: - The key to picking a surround sound receiver is to find one that matches your speaker layout requirements. Most Receivers will work for Dolby Digital 5.1. Then depending on the model, they should also work for 6.1 or 7.1 surround. See the diagrams below to help you pick the right receiver type.

Each speaker of your home theater needs its own channel of amplification, so a 5.1 system needs six channels and a 7.1 system needs eight. These amplifiers are typically built into audio/video receivers, but there are also many stand-alone multichannel power amplifiers for use with preamp/processor components. (Subwoofers, the ".1" channel, frequently incorporate their own built-in amplification and need only a line-level connection from the subwoofer output to the receiver.)