My AVR won't go loud: the volume maxes out early or feels capped. What's limiting it?

Usually a setting doing exactly what it was told, and hardware is the last suspect, not the first.

Check the volume limit first. AVRs commonly have a settable maximum volume, sometimes on by default, sometimes set during a past calibration or as family-proofing, and a separate power-on volume cap. Both live in the audio or setup menu under names like Volume Limit or Max Volume. Set the limit off or high and see whether the ceiling moves.

Second, channel levels. If auto-calibration trimmed all channels well down (which is legitimate in a small room with sensitive speakers), the same dial position is simply quieter than it used to be. That is correct behaviour, not a fault; the numbers on the display are relative, and our dB-scale answer explains why they look alarming and are not. Turn it up without guilt. The receiver has not become weaker; its ruler has moved.

Third, source level. Some TV apps and normalisation features output noticeably low signal, so the AVR is doing its job on a quiet input. Compare a disc or a direct source at the same volume setting. If the disc is clearly louder, the app is the ceiling. Night mode, dynamic range compression and loudness normalisation on the TV or streaming device all belong on this list; switch them off for the test.

None of those apply, and the system still cannot reach satisfying volume with clean sound? Then it is not a fault, it is a sizing reality. Room volume, listening distance, speaker sensitivity and amplifier headroom are a matched set. A large open-plan room with a marble floor and a 4-metre listening distance asks a lot of low-sensitivity bookshelf speakers on a mid-range AVR, and the symptom is exactly this: loud enough, then strained, then no more.

Tell us the room dimensions, seating distance, speakers and AVR and I will tell you which of the four it is. We would rather size a system correctly than have you living at the top of the dial.