Price Paid:  $45.00 from Sound-Pro (liquidati

Summary:
I just both the receiver and I could not believe the way they run the auction. I paid $45 and I could choose any one item from the shelf in there were house!!! That was not a floor unit!! It's not open box! That insane! This receiver is absolutely awesome; in every aspect I was ready to bid $300 I still can't believe it. As you realized I'm not a pro but I'm very picky in terms of sound quality, I love the smooth silky sound you getting it's just awesome!

Strengths:
Sound! The volume control is not digital!!

Weaknesses:
Remote control. It is kind of confusing.

Price Paid:  $400.00 from AB sound

Summary:
I didn't realised how good this receiver is until I brought home a Marantz SR5200 for upgrade for it's 6.1 & PL2 at a very tempting price. The Marantz being 15W advantage on all channels was a disappointment.On 2 channel stereo it didn't have the tight mids and the punchy bass the Yam Had. Moreover, the Marantz burnt out in smokes only after 20 minutes of play. I returned the unit and keep my Yam for now. I'll wait for Yamaha to come out with an entry level PL2 receiver like the onkyo 494. The Rxv1200 is still a bit expensive.

Strengths:
Clean,detail sound and punchy bass.Easy setup although no onscreen display.

Weaknesses:
No banana plug on center & surround.

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood,Teac & Techics

Price Paid:  $495.00 from Good Guys

Summary:
A great reciever overall, all the great traits, some of those that made it exceptionally better than other A/V recievers I've heard (even at 3X the price) were it's ability to retrieve low-level detail. I like the volume control, in that it's not digital like you see on most of the others. The 70 watts that it's rated into each channel is VERY conservative. It powers my B&W602 S2 speakers just fine.
Equipment used:
Harman Kardon FL380 CD changer (heavily modified) - and Ah! Tjoeb '99 Single disc player
S&E pure Silver interconnects into
Yamaha 595a reciever
Through both Monster Z1 speaker cables and S&E Silver speaker cables
Sony DVPS360 DVD player

Initial hookup was through the original S&E Copper interconnects, which were then swapped to the Carbon Fiber interconnects. The Carbon Fibers really impressed me. I knew that they had a higher resistance, but the carbon fiber remains linear through a larger range than the copper interconnects. Next I tried Silver, which was thin. Finally, the S&E Reference, which blew the others out of the water. I'd say that the change to this interconnect was like changing the entire digital front end. Female vocals sang out of a pure, black background. I've had JPS Superconductor, and even a bunch of the Nordost interconnects, and none of them even come close to the sound I heard through the S&E Reference cables! You really don't know what your reciever is capable until you put some nice cables on it! Good pricing too!

Strengths:
Smoothness, high end, bass control, non-digital volume control, phono input, resolution of fine detail, nice power output. Glow in the dark buttons on the remote!

Weaknesses:
No banana jacks for surround speakers, shrill when pushed (extremely) hard, numbers wearing off the remote buttons, that's about it.

Similar Products Used:
Harman Kardon AVR7000, AVR520, Onkyo TXDS898, TXDS696, McIntosh monoblocks

Price Paid:  $600.00 from Fairview Hi Fi Burlington

Summary:
I purchased this unit in Dec 1999 to replace my old Marantz receiver, and upgrade to home theater. I wanted both Dolby Digital and DTS, and after comparing many units in this price range, the Yamaha stood out.

In short I would highly recommend this digital home theater receiver. The overall sound quality is very clean, and when using the sound field programs they respond very well depending on the type of DVD selected.

For example for DVD movies @ DTS (Gladiator, Saving Private Ryan) the enhanced program will provide a very clean crisp, sound. The Cinema DSP program will also create a more wide sound field as advertised. With DVD music @ DTS (Eagles, Roy Orbison, Queen) I would recommend the Disco program to obtain equal tight sound, or the Cinema DSP Program for wide sound which is excellent.

The silver remote control is very sleek, however complex, and does take some time to become accustomed to. It would be nice to have a volume control which is marked, however I have used a glow in the dark small reference point.

To get started in Home Theater this unit will not disappoint you, 70 watts of power equally distributed is more than enough to start.

Home Theater System: (Family Room 12 x 18)
Speakers, Paradigm (Monitor 3 front, Titan's rear, CC-170 Center, PDR-10 Subwoofer)
DVD, Toshiba 2220
T.V. Hitachi HD 43"

Strengths:
Clean, powerful sound.

Weaknesses:
Bass response, could use old fashioned loudness button when listening to FM stations.

Similar Products Used:
Marantz 2220 model (20 years old)

Price Paid:  $450.00 from Radio Speet, Alphen a/d Rijn

Summary:
Yamaha already was main competitor for my old Luxman some 25 years ago.
Both excellent reviews then.

Not a single moment disappointed in the hones 1:1 sound amplification in both normal Stereo and 5:1 DD.

Volume indication is not on display, and my Volume knob is black all over, a simple small triangle white sticker on the knob gives me all the visual feedback I need to know how the knob is positioned, I hardly need more then 40% of the volume range. More then enough power by then!

Rated 5 x 105 Watts (at 0.7% THD) but in reality I guess about 5x 60Watts at < 0.05% according to the specs)
Agtain more then enough power on-board for clean and excellent dynamics (e.g. in Mahler Symphony #2).

Very pleased with this very affordable unit.,

Strengths:
Good, precise sound in Stereo and DD
Excellent volume adjustment for 5:1 speaker matching

Weaknesses:
Too many hall/movie and other 'effects' that I never use.

Similar Products Used:
Luxman 25 yr.old 1040 stereo reciever, amnnalogue tunng. no remote