Value, clean sound, surround modes, ability to accurately reproduce 5 channel home theater and two channel stereo.

none

I finally found an affordable receiver than can do movies and two channel stereo right. I tried the Sony STR-DB830
that is the sister to the STR-DB930 that everyone is raving about on this website. It was great for movies but really pathetic for two channel stereo. Very flat soundstage. Too many gimmicky features - Sony spent too much time and money on the gimmicks and not enough on the basic audio performance. It also suffers from the dreaded "hiss" problem that so many people who have bought this unit are complaining about. The Harman Kardon AVR5 is a dolby digital ready receiver that has great two channel stereo performance but just not enough power for Dolby Digital movies. Actually this is a great unit for the money and can be found for less than $200 at Circuit City. The Yamaha RV-905 is similar to the HTR-5150 but does not do DTS and does not have S video capability. This model is discontinued but can still be found - I have seen it at some Sears stores for around $329. The HTR-5150 can do movies and two channel stereo with authority. The Yamaha Cinema DSP is the best I have heard under $2000. Yamaha IMHO is the best when it comes to cinema surround processing. This is really a great unit (same as RV-595a) - I bought it at Sears - they will match any price you can find on the internet ( as long as you have the price quote printed). They were selling the unit for $499.99 and I got it for $391. I have looked for a long time and compared the best I could find in the price range of around $500 and this Yamaha is the best of them all. I am very picky even though I had a budget of only $500 and this one can't be beat.

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-DB830, Harman Kardon AVR5, Yamaha RV-905

Great sound for the $

remote does not work well with my satellite receiver (2 year old echostar)

I can't believe the previous post.I also just purchased the 5150 from Sears for $359 plus tax.I could not believe that they would match internet sales.Not to mention,Sears stated that I had a 1 year warranty thru Sears for this product. This unit sounds incredible with pleny of clean power.I would highly recommend this unit.

Excellent Value, great performance for a reciever in this price range, outperforming its competitors hands down.

None... unless you compare it to units costing far more.

Hello People,
This more about the features and comments about this product I have read. First, To explain the power difference everyone is describing. It has to to with impedance.... speakers are tested into 8ohm normally, but in real life, speakers operate across a wide range of loads. Thus, the Yamaha appears to have more power than it's rated.. and it does. Many amplifiers drop in power as the impedance lowers... but the yamaha, as those manufactures who know what they are doing, rise in power. High end equipment has been like this for years. Any amp which falls in power as the impedance falls is a piece of equipment to stay away from. Example; 70 watts into 8ohms, 120 into 4 ohms, 140 into 2 ohms. This is the sign of a well built amp section.. Vrs, lets say, a manufacturer who claims 120 watts @8ohms, but in reality, into 4 ohms, it drops in power output to 57, and into 2ohms, it won't even operate. This just an example to give one a very basic understanding of how to read power specifications, and what to look for/what to ask about.
Speakers; it is better to have a match in speaker drivers in all of your front/middle/rear, as it gives tonal balance. To mix ones speakers can work, but it becomes more difficult to balance the sound. I've found it's better to have a set of inexpensive speakers which match, then to have a set of expensive speakers which do not.
Volume control. Ok.. I'm sick of people saying how they only have to use 1/4 volume control, or etc. This has NOTHING to do with overall power of a system! this is only the gain of the control. You might well find that volume control which is loud at 1/4 cannot be turned more than 1/3-1/2 before it becomes distorted/overloaded. Thus, it is far more useful to have a volume control which has a greater range.... allowing more sensitive adjustment of the power/volume available. This is a marketing ploy.. and countless people fall for it. I am not cutting the Yamaha.... it has the low impedance power to back it up. But don't be fooled by this.
I don't believe it is possible to purchase a better reciever of this type in this price range. It's a matter of design. Yamaha uses good design practice, and it has features which make it stand out from the other manufacturers. In my opinion, one would have to spend much more to get the same performance from another manufacturer.. and it would not be any of the familiar name brands. Purchase the Yamaha, buy a good pair of Di-pole surround speakers (this makes a world of difference), and try to match your speakers if you are starting out fresh. At least match the center and surround speakers.. and don't skimp on the center speaker. It carries a ton of information,and really should, in ideal conditions, match the left/right front speakers (have the same capabilities of your front speakers. Thus, a center speaker which has two 3 inch woofers, and a tweeter, simply cannot reproduce the range of sound sent to it, period) . Shop around, TAKE YOUR TIME,and make a decision you can be happy with for the next 15 years.

Similar Products Used:

Harmon/Kardon, Pioneer, Audio Source, Technics, NAD.

[Budget Audiophile really]
OK. I checked my manual and here's the rub. I was wrong in my above posting. The
5150 has 70W of power in each channel. So it does have more power, but not a lot more. Still, ever since I traded in my old 5140 (well, it was three weeks old) I have to say I like listening to the 5150 much more than before.

There are 3 S-Video inputs, 2 digital inputs, two TOSLINK and one coax although you can only switch between two of them, 14 surround effects (some of which
are acceptable) DD,DTS (good), AV inputs on the front panel etc.

The reciever really deserves a 4.5 on the rating scale, so I'm giving it a 5 to balance out the 4 I gave it.

I just bought this reciever. It's identical to the 5140, which I exchanged it for, except that it adds DTS decoding. For $500 it's a steal.
I really dislike the remote control unit. It's unbelievably unintuitive. I have it hooked up to my Paradigm Mini Monitors(fronts) and Atoms (surrounds). I am using a Phantom center right now, and no sub, apartment living.

I have to say I like it. It's a very good match for the Paradigms. It sounds very clear, I have no complaints about it except that I'd have liked more power in each channel and, since I use a PC for my home theater more than one coax
digital input instead of the two TOSLINK's. It's rated at 60W x 5 channels into 8 Ohms ( 20-20,000 Hz) at 0.04% THD, which really isn't that bad except I bought it after I finally talked myself down from buying the Nak AV10 which I can't really afford.

Can't complain. It's no Audiophile system. Budget Audiophile, maybe! When I get a high paying job I'll exchange it or move it into the bedroom. Until then it's doing a pretty good job.

PS: As this goes to press there are no online references to this reciever except for what I've written here. At least none that I know of. I found out about it by calling Crutchfield and asking them what they had. It will be on their website soon enough though.

I was planning to buy this receiver from Onecall.com but I'm concerned that they aren't an authorized dealer of Yamaha products. I visited Yamaha's web site and checked their authorized dealer page and did not see Onecall being listed. Therefore I'm assuming that if I bought from them the warranty would be voided. Is this correct? Does anyone know if Onecall is a legitimate dealer?

I got below brief spec. from a crutchfield salesman. He lists the output power is 70wx5. I hope someone could confirm it again !
Here is some information about the Yamaha HTR5150:

* Dolby Digital & DTS decoding built-in
* A/V remote control (multibrand for video)
* 14 DSP & Cinema DSP modes (including Dolby Pro Logic)
* preamp-level subwoofer output
* 3 audio, 4 audio/video (including one 5.1-channel) inputs
* 3 S-video inputs
* 1 coaxial & 2 optical digital inputs
* 70 watts x 5 channels into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.04% THD
* sleep timer
* 40 AM/FM presets
* 17-1/8"W x 6"H x 16"D
* warranty: 2 years

Great HT sound; fits in a budget

Brand new to the HT front. Wanted to upgrade because my new home had rear speaker connections pre-installed. I always research before I buy and I lucked upon this site. After about a week reading the discussions and the reviews, I knew Dolby Digital was the way to go. I liked what I heard about the Yamaha line and so I ordered via onecall.com. I bought some satellite speakers and sub, a DTS DVD player, hooked it all up ,and popped in Saving Private Ryan in DTS. WOW! I couldn't believe my living room was transformed into a mini-theater. I was truly impressed with the quality. I don't have much to compare it to since I'm new to HT, but I can say that the sound is very pure with no distortion or static. Yamaha's DSP settings are cool, too. I used the "TV Sports" mode to watch a football game this weekend and felt like I was at the game.

If you don't want to spend a jillion dollars but want to enjoy a great product, I highly recommend the HTR5150. You will be the envy of all your friends. Just be ready to hear you wife scream, "You're going to go deaf!"

70 Real Watts, Great Price for all the features, Good sound
Remote that only I know how to work! (Control)

Hard to see volume level, remote is a learning experience

I looked and read and tried them all, but for the money this is a great piece of equipment. The 70 watts are 140 by almost any other equipments ratings. Matched with my new Def.Tech 80's this system really kicks for music and home theater. The "Disco" setting is great for sub/sat systems because it lets you play all 4 sats for music, giving a room full of sound. With all the features this receiver has hidden behind the scenes, I am thinking of burning a weeks vacation so I can give some undivided attention to learning them all. I really see no major weaknesses and am just glad to finally have a good sound system that drives my wife insane. There are so many sounds in music and movies that I can now hear it is amazing and quite annoying to the other half. I really can't see spending any more for a receiver with all that this one gives you.

Similar Products Used:

None

More than enough inputs / outputs / speaker connections. great balanced sound from VHS and DVD sources. Loads of FM presets. Good selection of preset tonal ranges, ample power

A bit on the bright side from CD sources. Learning curve for the busy remote face.

The HTR 5150 I purchased was a refurbed unit with full warranty at less than $300 U.S. This unit is running with 4 Burhoe Blue cabinets (3 way system from the late 70s) along with a Yamaha centre speaker and a powered Sony Sub-woofer.

Movie soundtracks are incredible! The 5150 / powered sub combo make the windows rattle without any hint of distortion! The many movie settings accomodate a huge number of inputs such as old mono movies, musicals, drama and more. Speech is crisp and clear in the soundtracks and the separation for the rear speakers in 5.1 mode is well defined.

The speakers that I use are well balanced across the listening spectrum and the mids and highs can be adjusted by pots on the cabinets so that the 5150's tendency to be a bit bright with some music sources can be easily adjusted. The 5150 shines sonically with music from vinyl format. The extra warmth from a turntable comes right through - terrific sound and everything is crystal clear, absolutely no muddiness that can sometimes accompany a turntable.

I am hooked up to cable so there is plenty to choose from as far as FM stations. The bottom end comes through nice and tight in the FM mode with a great mid-range. THe brightness seems to disappear in FM without any need for extra balancing. The vast number of station pre-sets is a great feature.

The later Yamaha CD players with the newer chip technology that emulates 20 bit technology, warms up the CD sound on the 5150 and comes close to the sound of vinyl. Using the digital /fibre optic inputs makes a huge difference in improvement of the CD sound as well, though you still need the analog input if you want to tape from this sound source.

I found that quality input and speaker cables made quite a difference to the sound quality. Occasionally. I like to crank things up with some BB King or down and dirty blues - even at LOUD volume the 5150 shows no sign of distortion or breakdown. On the 5150 the speaker impedance can be set to either 4 ohm or 8 ohm. The speakers are rated at 100 Watts RMS and are very efficient, so I rarely can stand to move the volume up to the 12 o'clock position! By that time the neighbours are enjoying my choice of music as well!

The remote was somewhat mystefying at first, but once I got over the learning curve, I learned to appreciate its many features. It can be set up to run almost everything by itself (CD / tuner / tape / DVD / VHS / TV) in fact it handles everything but the turntable which predates remotes!

I have owned Yamaha amps and tuners for almost 30 years and based on price and the 5150's feature set, this is the best unit I have used so far!

I would recommend this unit to folks who want to enhance their movie watching and also want a solid music source. Be sure that your speakers have a solid mid-range and bottom end to compensate for the added brightness that this receiver produces. This is the best buy that I have seen on the audio shelves lately and since the model is about to be replaced (if it hasn't already) there should be some good deals out there.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha CD player, Akai Tape, hitachi VCR / DVD / Pioneer turntable