How Does An Integrated Amp Differ From A Receiver?

...well to me, that just sounds like a receiver without a tuner.

Well, that's what an integrated amp is!

It does get a little confusing these days.


An integrated amp minimally integrates amp + pre-amp in one box.

These days integrated amps may also optionally integrate within the box:

1) streaming capabilities using a network connection
2) a built in DAC
3) an additional phono pre-amp for vinyl (just like the days of old)

If the device also can tune in broadcast am/fm radio stations, it’s a receiver.

Any decent receiver will provide connections needed for an external am/fm antenna to use with the radio tuner.

Just to make things confusing, devices with integrated digital streaming alone (no radio tuner, no antenna) might also be labeled or called a receiver in that it provides a means to select the digital source to listen to similar to a traditional broadcast radio receiver.

Hope that helps.

Traditionally a receiver meant it had built in radio tuner, usually for am and fm.
However have also seen receivers that had just dbb radio ?
Mapman has a point that any that stream internet radio could also conceivably be called a receiver.

Not really many new traditional receivers built right now, at least nowhere near the amount of integrated which are having quite a bit of a resurgence.

The term "receiver" derives from the concept of a radio receiver which typically had facilities for audio amplification for playback. They don't call them tuners in HAM circles. They're receivers. The tuner portion of a good old receiver will consume a quarter to a third of the electronics and they were much better quality than what you get in today's black plastic faced boxes.