Power, ease of use and price

Universal remote doesn't work with any of my other stuff!

After reading all the receiver reviews I was struck by the number of satisfied owners it had. I found it on the internet for $377.00, but they were on back order and couldn't fill my request. So I took my price confirmation shhet and went to SEARS. They had the 5150 and would gladly meet the price! I never shopped at Sears before, but with service like that I will be back! The best part is that if you don't like it they will take it back without any hassle. This reciever has gobbs of power and a fare amount of digital/optical in and outs. I don't think that one can expect a whole lot more for the price. I am running Kimber 4pr cables, better cables video, AR Toslink, Toshiba 3109 DVD, JBL studio series model 310 speakers and their s-center channel. As you can imagine the system is on the bright side, but I knew that going in. I am about to purchase a good subwoofer to up my bass some and eliminate some of the highs. Dollar for dollar I can't make one complaint about the receiver or the speakers. In the end its all about bang for the buck!

Similar Products Used:

none

Power, Clarity, Features

Remote is a bit complicated

I considered a JVC model, but I'm extremely pleased with this receiver and glad I spent the extra money. Love the concert hall mode for jazz and softer listening.

A Great buy at $399.

Similar Products Used:

Carver

Clean, smooth sound

only my speakers!

I came to own this receiver after i had some trouble with my Oknyo 575. There was a terrible hiss that drove me nuts. By chance i came across this web site and found that others too had trouble with it. Seems Oknyo has some quality control problems. I took it back and wanted to try something else. The Yamaha HTR 5150 seemed a good choice, it had the same features and was the same price. Thing is there was not one in the store to listen too, they had to ship it from Houston. A week later i had it in my room and hooked it up.

Wow. This baby is loud! Damn loud. Needs a sub or big main speakers to handle the bass this thing sends out. The highs are awsome too. Im not saying this is better than a thousand dollar receiver, but for the money you will be hard pressed to find one of such quality. Runs VERY cool. If you are looking to buy an Onkyo 575, look at this one too. The salesman told me Onkyo was the better brand, but she was full of it. When i took it back they said that was the first problem thay have had with it. Uh huh. When in the back room to pick up my receiver, i saw two Onkyos that were returned, and they were not there the week before. The Yamaha is BETTER than the 575. No hiss to drive you up the wall either.

The is a receiver that demands better speakers.

My system:
Toshiba SD-3109 DVD player
Yamaha HTR 5150
Infinity center and rear surrounds (minuettes)
Sony left and right mains

Similar Products Used:

onkyo 575, aiwa

Blah, blah, blah...this is a great receiver, we all seem to be pretty much in agreement about that. What I wanted to write about is the price.

OH WOW, did I just steal this receiver. I printed off these reviews and headed to my friendly, neighborhood Sears. After showing the review posted many months back from someone getting the 5150 from eCost for $339, the salesperson immediately beat the offer by knocking off an additional 20% off their $399 sale price, bringing the total to only $319.20!!! They were very easy to deal with when bringing the price down -- I did not have to beg nor did they have to call manager to get special permission. Whenever my my A/V needs can be met by Sears, I now vow to be a customer for life.

Beyond the thrill of my bargain, here's what I plan to do with my new receiver. A week ago when pricing the new Dell I will be buying any day now, I was tempted to upgrage the speaker package to an Altec Lansing THX certified set with 4 monitors and a sub for only $220 extra. Well, the audio bug bit me when considering this option and I thought hmmm, I can make my make my secondary DVD player sound better than that and what a joy it would be to listen to MP3s with. Soooo, I will be hooking this up to my new hotrod of a Dell with 2 pairs of the new B&W Leisure Monitors. Should be killer, can't wait for the experience. (BTW, I have the B&W CDM-SE series for my home theater -- FANTASTIC.)

Question RE: HTR-5250?

Question RE: HTR-5250?

crutchfield.com has started to advertise the Yamaha HTR-5250, which will be also badged the RX-V596. Yamaha representatives have confirmed it to be arriving in stores at the beginning of June.

my question is: Is it worth paying more for the HTR-5250, or taking advantage of the discounts on the HTR-5150?

Here are the specs from crutchfield.com on the HTR-5250:

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For clean, dynamic music — and thrilling movie sound — check out the HTR-5250! It pumps out an impressive 100 watts x 5 channels of full-bandwidth-rated Yamaha power. Built-in Dolby® Digital and DTS decoding, plus 5 digital inputs (with switching for 3 digital sources) let you enjoy state-of-the-art 5.1-channel surround sound from DVD discs, and a growing number of DBS and digital TV broadcasts. For high-resolution digital audio sources, 96kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog conversion ensures maximum sound quality.

Control your whole system from the thin-profile remote: It's pre-coded to operate most brands of A/V gear, and its keypad is arranged for easy access to the features and functions you'll use the most. Yamaha's exclusive Cinema DSP™ circuitry combines Dolby Surround with DSP soundfields for an enhanced experience.

You'll love this receiver's extensive hook-up conveniences. A full 5 S-video inputs accommodate all your high-res video sources (like DVD, S-VHS, or a DBS receiver). A convenient front-panel input is great for connecting your camcorder. Preamp outputs for all channels give you the flexibility to upgrade or add to your system with separate amplifiers. And a 5.1-channel analog input makes the HTR-5250 compatible with future multichannel formats.

Key Features:

Dolby Digital, DTS, and Pro Logic™ decoding
5 digital inputs (3 optical and 2 coaxial, with switching for up to 3 digital sources)
96kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog conversion
14 DSP and Cinema DSP modes (including Dolby Digital, Pro Logic)
multibrand A/V remote control
preamp outputs for all channels
3 audio and 5 A/V (including 5 S-video, 1 front-panel, and one 5.1-channel) inputs
100 watts x 5 channels into 8 ohms (20-20k Hz) at 0.04% THD
sleep timer
40 AM/FM presets
17-1/8"W x 6"H x 15-3/8"D
warranty: 2 years

Similar Products Used:

HTR-5250, HTR-5240, HTR-5150

crisp clear sound,alot of dsp modes

none so far

Well I don't have a lot of things to say about this reciever,but,it is the best reciever I used so far.I was thinking of the Sony d935 but I felt the sound is hollow it's not as deep and natural.I bought the pioneer VSX-D409 used for 3 weeks and something went wrong with the subwoofer output in it so I exvchanged it with another pioneer and the same thing happened I called pioneer and they told me that an IC chip to the subwoofer blew and take it to be fixed so I thought I've had it for 3 weeks and ic's started blowing what will happen after 3 months.I had an old yamaha dolby prologic reciever so I thought why not give yamaha a shot in the dolby digital,as I trusted them with my old reciever which was running very good.There it was the best sounding reciever I've heard,running smooth with no problems.It doesn't heat like the technincs 940 that I've also tried before the pioneer.I really recommend it.

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-D935,Pioneer VSX-D409,Technincs SA-X940

crisp clear sound,alot of dsp modes

none so far

Well I don't have a lot of things to say about this reciever,but,it is the best reciever I used so far.I was thinking of the Sony d935 but I felt the sound is hollow it's not as deep and natural.I bought the pioneer VSX-D409 used for 3 weeks and something went wrong with the subwoofer output in it so I exvchanged it with another pioneer and the same thing happened I called pioneer and they told me that an IC chip to the subwoofer blew and take it to be fixed so I thought I've had it for 3 weeks and ic's started blowing what will happen after 3 months.I had an old yamaha dolby prologic reciever so I thought why not give yamaha a shot in the dolby digital,as I trusted them with my old reciever which was running very good.There it was the best sounding reciever I've heard,running smooth with no problems.It doesn't heat like the technincs 940 that I've also tried before the pioneer.I really recommend it.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX-D409,Sony STR-d930,Technics SAX-940

YAMAHA Sound and Quality can't be beat!

None

What can I say,I can't refute any of the good things everyone has had to say about this receiver;it is outstanding and a pleasure to listen to!

As far as the remote and the receiver features,any decent receiver with a lot of features and settings will have a learning curve for both the receiver and the remote so to me this is really a non-issue.Just use it and you will soon find yourself very comfortable.

I have another,relatively brand new,DD/dts receiver that I got about a year ago that I felt was pretty decent,I saw the YAMAHA HTR-5150 brand new in the box for $242;can't walk away from a deal like that!

I just happened to luck into a great deal on this YAMAHA; can't stop grinnin'. And yes,I bought it from a reputable dealer.

Similar Products Used:

ONKYO-525 & SONY STR-DE925

Yamaha quality, sound imaging that I had been missing for several years.

A light on the volume dial. I did not know what the big deal was on other reviews until I experienced it myself.

Many thanks to the others who reviewed this receiver and to the site in general. I am very frugal and wanted as much value as possible. The HTR-5150 really came through! After
alot of research on this site I finally took the plunge at a local Sears. Unlike several others, I did not have any luck talking the sales people below the $389.00 closeout price. They must have formed a strategy for the internet pricing approach used successfully by a few who have posted.
This may be due to my location in the midwest, as it was purchased in Lima, Ohio (Lima being an acronym for Lost In
Middle America) since there are few Yamaha dealers locally.
The dedicated audio stores had it priced as high as $699.00. Immediately the sound difference between the Yamaha and the Sony I had been using for the last six years
was evident. A "Court of the Crimson King" CD was sonically released in a way the Sony was incapable of. That was just the beginning. The remote has not been an issue, due to careful reading of the manual and the fact that I do not have the full compliment of gear connected beyond CD, cassette, turntable, and VCR. I am still running the TV separately. I am a former gear junky who loved separates when I was younger, so, performance was important. Yet, price and room constraints led me to go
"budget-audiophile". This unit is truly wonderful in filling that bill. I recommend the 5150 to those who want
great sound and cannot justify high-end. It is plenty high-end enough for most tastes. I was hooked on Yamaha in the
mid-70's and went with the Sony because it was inexpensive. In fairness, the Sony was a decent unit that performed fine, it was simply a case of wanting to upgrade.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha T-500
Yamaha A-500
Sony yada-yada 511

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Help... I need to know why there is a such a huge reported variance in the price paid for this unit (as well as other units reviewed on audioreview.com). For example, one reviewer claims to have paid $239 @ Best Buy, and another $400 at the same store. I have never found Best Buy to be overly competitive, nor offer significant sales on audio equipment. Am I overlooking something, or is our local Best Buy less competitive than the others ? Thanks !

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