Yamaha DSP-A595 A/V Receivers Reviews

Price Paid:  $200.00

Summary:
Simply because of its incredible price I bought this unit to drive my Mission 753 Freedoms. The sound was horrible at first but later became more tolerable. It replaced a marantz Pro Logic and in terms of music reporoduction, just not comparable

Strengths:
Remote

Weaknesses:
Sound

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo 575

Price Paid:  $470.00 from Richer Sounds

Summary:
Using the Yamaha, straight out of the box, I connected it to a (Panasonic A-160) DVD player. I was impressed with the clarity and realism, allowing for the switch from the Surround Sound of the JBL to the Yamaha's Dolby Digital. Apart from the rear speakers (B & W 302's), the rest of my gear is relatively old (JPW P1 Vinyl fronts, JBL MR Centre). From DVD, you can feel the bass coming from the JPW's...I don't listen at ear-splitting levels, so I can only say that the Yam is pushing out adequate levels of bass..the JPW's are quite generous in that department, so the effect might not be as marked with "bass-light"speakers.
onsequently, I don't feel the need to buy a sub-woofer, unless I upgrade the JPW's, perhaps...
Good stereo performance. CD and FM tuner sources are pleasant enough, no harshness at average listening levels. Then again, I'm only an average listener (neighbours on both sides).

Strengths:
Setup options. Plenty of power (I have a small lounge). Plenty of bass slam and detailed sound effects.

Weaknesses:
Some of the DSP (Digital Sound Field Processor) effects are exaggerated...my bathroom has less echo than the Mono Movie option! The handset, for me, is not as bad as some of the other reviewers have commented, (it's a bit like using a Dymo hand printer).

Similar Products Used:
JBL Sound Director (a bit of a toy compared to the Yamaha).

Summary:
Great piece of kit. Very easy to setup. I've got a DVD, ancient VCR and DSS running through it. For a beginner/budget user it does its job very well. Display is a little basic - Denon and Sony units have a lot more system info available. On the Yammy you have to scroll/click through them to see what functions/levels are. Once setup though you shouldn't need to touch again. The remote is a bit fiddly. Very thin, with a roller function selector that I'm sure in a years time will cease to work properly.
Sky Digital remotes cannot be programmed into this learning device.(If you have done this - please let me know). A few DSP's are added to let you play with different scenerios.
Concert and TV Sports are particularly fun. It's not loaded with extras and for the price you shouldn't expect it, but it will get you into DDigital and the start of a unrelenting
expensive hobby that'll have you wanting to buy more and more. You have been warned. Enjoy

Strengths:
Sound, ease of use, excellent amp for price.

Weaknesses:
Remote

Summary:
This is my first AV amplifier - previously I was using a Philips Prologic mini hifi (FW880p).

The Yamaha sounds much cleaner than the previous setup (with the same speakers), and the bass sounds much tighter than I was used to. The unit also has ample power - the 65Wx5 is fine for my 5m x 5m room.

Unfortunately, the display doesn't show when a digital source is being used - there is no way of finding this out
without first toggling the "analog/auto" switch-selection.

The unit has 2xoptical and 1xcoax digital inputs. However, these are fixed as TV and DVD - if you want to hook up your CD player (in my case the mini), I have no choice but to call my CD a TV in future.

The remote works my mini hifi's CD player and tape deck flawlessly, but it cannot control the tuner section, and it cannot change sources on the mini. However, it has no trouble with my ancient AIM VHS (set up as a Daewoo).

The remote sensor also has a very limited angle - it won't work from the side AT ALL, you have to be within a 30 degree "cone" in front of the amp for it to work - a real inconvenience.

Other than this, the amp is just plain amazing, and I'll recommend it to any beginner home theatre addict.

Strengths:
Great sound!

Weaknesses:
No Digital/PCM indicator
Remote