Price Paid:  $1100.00 from StereoPlus

Summary:
All I can say is WOW. The soundfield exploded with depth, detail, power, and precision. All of this happened by just changing receiver! I used to have a Pioneer D409 receiver using a 5.1 setup. Don't believe the reviews on the pioneer, it simply sucks. This receiver perfectly decodes and amplify's everything you feed it without distortion (well, depending on your speaker's quality). Having upgraded to 7.1, the soundfield is much bigger yet never sounds artificial or forced (Yamaha claims it's a natural sound receiver, they're right).

The YPOA is one of mankinds best inventions (soundwise, of course) since it perfectly calibrates the speakers and seriously makes the sound much better. I was a bit worried in using this since my speakers are not from the same company (JBL and Klipsch). After using YPOA, the speakers seem to be more timber matched then before. I know some of the audio experts might disagree but to my ear, they sound perfect (to each his own). The amount of DSP's and audio options are simply mind boggling. Even after using it for one year, I find new features on a regular basis (just found out I could properly bi-wire one set of speakers).

The only douwnside to this receiver is the lack of a sub output during 2 channel stereo. This does not affect the sound quality one bit but I do miss the lows. If you have big floorstanding speakers, this won't affect you at all. The other downside is the remote. For some odd reason, engineers can blast a man to the moon but don't tell them to build a quality remote. So far, all electronics I've purchased do not have a quality remote. There is always something wrong. In this case, the remote to too wide and is too crowded with buttons. It is usuable, but it takes some time to get used to it. Other than these two clitchs, this receiver is very close to perfection.

Do yourself (and your speakers) a fever. Buy it, listen it, enjoy it.

PS. I do not work for Yamaha, I truly love this receiver.

Strengths:
Excellent sound no matter the source. Even old movies with stereo soundtrack sound great in surround! Great power, numerous inputs, DSP heaven. Buy it.

Weaknesses:
No sub output when in 2 channel stereo (too bad). Remote is too big and crowded. On-screen Menus are impossible without the manual. Minor problems to an otherwise perfect a/v receiver (considering the price)
.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer D409 (pure sh*t), pioneer D308 (same as it's brother).

Price Paid:  $560.00 from DigitalCity

Summary:
I had RX-V2300 but then it broke down after 2 week of use so the store offered me to switch to the new Rx-v1300.
I am so glad I did. The functionality is so much easier and the remote is nicer.
Sound wise: Awesome. I wasn’t sure because I did not have a reference to compare so I brought my friend’s ($1700) DPR-2005 H/K. Rx-v1400 sounded better and crispier.

Strengths:
Sound !!!
Adjustments options just unbelievable -you can so anything with it.
Connectivity.

Weaknesses:
8 and 6 ohms only (not 4)

Similar Products Used:
RX-V2300
PDR2-2005

Price Paid:  $730.00 from United Online Shoppi

Summary:
Excellent receiver. Very clean, warm, and powerful. I have the highly rated Sony DVD-S9000ES hooked to it, output to a pair of Def Tech BP2004TL. It sounds absolutely wonderful in my bedroom. I have never been a Yamaha fan, but it was highly recommended by a friend who works at a local hi-end store. I did not want to spend another $3000 for a receiver for my bedroom, so I gave it a shot: It certainly rivals my Pioneer Elite 49TX in terms of cleanliness and 2-channel sound. I haven't hooked it to a complete surround to really directly compare the two. A super-bargain. Build quality is great, but obviously not the same caliber as the 49TX. Definitely worth the investment if you plan to spend less than $1200 for a home receiver. An incredible buy for me, given that I got it new for less than $750 shipped.

Strengths:
Cleanliness, Ease of Connection, Build Quality.

Weaknesses:
None that I've found...

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer Elite 49TX

Price Paid:  $800.00 from tweeter

Summary:
I was looking for a receiver to replace my old Sony 555 ES (it was nice just time for a change). I went shopping for units that can be had for about $700 street price. I purchased all of the following models (and of course returned 3 of them when I was done)
Denon AVR-2804
Marantz SR6400
Yamaha rx-v1400
Pioneer Elite vsx-53tx
first of all there is not a looser since all were good. Only the Yamaha and Pioneer had the microphone autocal system which is very very nice espceically if you have strange room and or non-matching speakers. My review is based upon my ears and test specs from related products tested in various magazines (I am honest).

What I liked about the Yamaha was the features, and good value.
The sound was very smooth but there was not enough of it. My room is 20ft x 20ft with 10ft ceiling and I am running NHT in-ceiling speakers so I need plenty of amp to make them sing. The Yamaha boasts 110W but in real terms will only give you about 40w when driving 5 channels. My ears confirmed this HomeTheater Mag gave me the actual measurements.
But The pioneer Elite is available for the same money and it boasts everything the Yamaha has and more. It improves the amp power, fan-free construction and is much easier to use.

I stayed with the Pioneer Elite VSX-53tx.

But if you are a Yammy fan you will like this product (but give the pioneer elite a look) By the way the Denon had excelent sound but was missing the Auto-EQ magic.

Strengths:
Great value
YPAO auto EQ is a miracle worker
Plenty of features
Smooth Yamaha sound if your room is small and speakers are efficient.

Weaknesses:
Not the easiest to use (selecting sound fields and speakers are not intuative) programming is a slight chore.
Amp is a little on the wimpy side.
Missing some low frequency oomph.
Do not like amps with fans in them (breakdown issue)

Similar Products Used:
Sony ES555
Denon AVR-2804
Marantz SR6400
Yamaha rx-v1400
Pioneer Elite vsx-53tx

Price Paid:  $600.00 from Decker & Sons in Gra

Summary:
A outstanding receiver at an excellent price!! This receiver has more than enough power to drive even the largest speakers. The clarity of sound is excellent. The YPAO setup routine is a snap, if a little limited. The component video upconversion works well and makes setup easier, but it won't make anything look better. It also has the ability to drive bi-wireable speakers. Not exactly mainstream stuff, but if you have speakers that support it, why not? The remote is a true learning remote and works well, even though the layout can be confusing (especially in the dark). If you choose not to use YPAO, expect to spent about 4-6 months fine tuning your system, because there are that many options for adjustment. I've had mine for 4 months with only 5.1 and I'm still working through it. The sheer amount of connections is mind-boggling. Sometimes all I do is look at the back panel and I grin ear-to-ear.

If you can afford something in this range, you will NOT be disappointed with this receiver.

Strengths:
POWER, POWER, and did I mention POWER?!?
Sound Clarity
Ease of Setup (YPAO)
Component upconversion (composite/s-video)
Input/Output options
Onscreen menu
Biwireable capable
Learning remote

Weaknesses:
Remote layout is not intuitive
Sheer amount of adjustments can be daunting
Finding speakers good enough to match receiver

Similar Products Used:
none