Bought the yamaha 995 a week ago and like it alot, remote is not great,but I will upgrade it in june. Probably still buy a universal remote. Paid $800 at a dealer when I showed them costsheets.com information and several mail order prices. Accepted my price. DSP fields are great. have used the disco dsp for 5 channel stereo effect. Lots of power, fills room up and only at 10:00 setting. Tried 1:00 when no one was home and remained clear and clean. Driving energy speaker package of 4 e:xl16's, e:xlc, e:xls8 ($750 for the package from the same dealer). Had my choices down to Onkyo 656 or wait for new dts receiver, and denon 2700, possibly 3200, but really did not want to spend more than $800. No regrets.

In response to the question of "where to buy":
I got mine for $785 plus a 5 year warranty (I think it's 5 years) thru Uncle's Stereo (check their website for phone #). I'm sure you can get them to go down on the price a bit too, but I didn't bother. I was happy with the $785 and the price of my speakers from them.

It was shipped double-boxed. Packed nice and tight. I was very hessitant to buy this mail order, but I'm glad I did. I just chuckle when I see it local for $999 for the RX-V995 and $795 for the RX-V795.

Superb audio, loads of inputs/outputs. Doesn't get hot. Very quiet receiver. I cranked it all the way up (well, with the cd player paused - I didn't want to blow the roof off) and didn't hear a spec of noise. I was extremely amazed by that. I was expecting SOME noise all the way up.

I use the Disco DSP mode with settings set for the smallest room possible with minimal delay.

Sure, the remote could use some work, but I don't mind it all that much. I plug the cd and dvd players to the AC inputs of the receiver, and the power button on the remote shuts them off as well. Nice and convenient. Essentially, I only use "play" "stop" and volume controls on the remote, so I'm not as dependent as others. I use the remote 12-15 feet from the receiver at an angle and it has NO problems. Before I got the audio rack put together, I used to have to bounce the signal off the side of my front-left speaker to hit the receiver (which was on the floor in the corner sideways) - again, no problems.

The "Bass Extension" on the receiver is a nice touch. It adds 3db (6db? I forget what the manual said) at 50 Hz. I leave the bass, treble, and balance in the null position since it doesn't need it, but it's nice that they're there (I would have liked a 7 band digital graphical EQ but I guess it doesn't really need one).

Hmm, what else can I add? The 'test' function is nice in conjunction with a meter to balance out the levels of all speakers. Picked a db meter up for $80 yesterday. To adjust the front speakers, you have to adjust the balance between left/right. So it's best to set this up with a friend at the helm, but that's true for most devices.

(listening with PSB: Stratus Silver-i fronts, Stratus Minis rears, Stratus C6 Center)

I JUST BOTH RXV 995 RECEVER YEATERDAY BY YAMAHA I JUST OPEN THE BOX BY LOOKING AT IT I GIVE IT 4 STAR I CAN'T FIND WHERE TO PUT OR HOOK-UP MY LASERDISC WITH AC3 ALSO PLS. HELP

Bought the 995 about 2 months ago. I like it. Looked at Denon, B&K, several Sonys & the HK 65. I am so glad I didn't buy the HK w/ all the problems they've been having w/ that. Some things I really like about the Yam - solid as a rock, future proof, lots of different inputs & options, DSP modes are relatively easy to customize. Don't really like - remote (see others reviews for specifics), can't use dual banana plugs on center & rear channel outs. I called and e-mailed Yam w/ my dissatisfaction w/ remote. I expressed my disappointment that Yam would mislead people by representing that this remote would replace all others. About a week ago I received an e-mail back from Yam that they were going to address this problem & would have a new remote ready by May. I'd encourage everyone who isn't happy with the remote to follow up now!

I also bought the RX-V995 for $900. I could've bought it for $799 at Uncle's but I just didn't want to take the risk of dealing with mail-order and a voided warranty. Uncle's offered an in-house warranty but it didn't convince me.I had considered buying the Denon 2700 or the Yamaha 795 but after comparing the features and spec's of these two with the Yamaha 995, I decided on spending a bit more for the 995. I feel that this reciever meets my current and future needs better than the Denon 2700 (or 3200) or the Yamaha 795. I am using a pair of Energy e:XL16 in front, an e:XLC Center, e:XL15 for rear, and a Energy e:XL 12" Sub. No DVD player yet, but I do subscribe to COX Digital Cable (great picture and sound). Movies sound awesome and my music never sounded better.
I know this was not really a critical review of the receiver. I'll leave that to the pros.
Thank you all for your comments.

I have done months of research and finally bought the 995. I am very impressed. I have it set up with the Energy Take 5's and it is great!. Like everyone else, the remote needs work. Overall give it 5 stars.

I just bought this receiver 3 days ago and I can tell you this is one fine piece of equipment! To start with, I am replacing a Technics pro-Logic receiver and there is no comparing the two. I can hear the clearness of the Yamaha over the Technics. There is plenty of power( I am using Klipsch Klf 10's as my mains and Paradigm Phantoms for my surrounds.) I listen to the radio quite a bit and unfortunately I am in a valley and reception is normally poor. However the Yamaha has such a fine tuner I am able to pick up a station 40 miles away in another state much more clearly than previously. The one drawback is of course the remote control. I played with it for about an hour then decided I would get a replacement. I bought a One-for-All for $20 at Circuit City that can do everything the Yamaha remote can plus it is a whole lot easier to deal with. If you are in the market for a receiver in the $1000 range this is the one for you. It has 6 channel imputs for future upgrades,how can you lose?

In my "review" of the 995 I mentioned the price I paid and have received a LOT of emails asking for details. The unit was purchased at a local PC Richards, but there's a story. I was looking for a number of items so I phoned to check availablility. A salesman said all were in stock, but when I got there nothing was in stock. I complained to the manager who felt and acted appropiately. I told him I wanted the 995 and had heard a price of $699 from somewhere. He agreed to find one in the chain and get it for me, which he did.
It's a super unit and now that I've had it a couple of months I'm as pleased as the day I got it. Just hooked up a Sony 7700 and everything looks as great as it sounds. Still loses a star for the remote though (does that make me anal?).

The unit is GREAT! can't be beat for the price. I got it for $799 at PC Richards, just tell them you saw it cheaper at 6th Ave.and they drop the price right away.
I just received the following note for Yamaha the will address the remote memory problem.

They were responsive to the remote issue and the is fantastic. I would highly recommend it.


"Notice to Yamaha RX-V995 Receiver Owners

It has come to our attention that additional remote control memory capacity is desirable in a small percentage of larger, more complex home theater applications. While this condition represents less than 3% of RX-V995 applications, we have taken steps to allow these users to obtain additional remote control memory capability for their systems.

In June of this year, we will make available an enhanced version of the remote control normally supplied with the RX-V995. This remote control will feature expanded memory capacity for use with more comprehensive home theater systems.

At that time, RX-V995 owners whose installation requires expanded memory capacity will be given the opportunity to exchange their original remote control for the enhanced version by sending the original remote control, a copy of the purchase receipt from an authorized Yamaha retailer and a $10 shipping and handling fee to:

Yamaha Electronics Corp., USA
Attention: Parts Office
6660 Orangethorpe Avenue
Buena Park, CA 90620

While we wish that availability were immediate, the enhanced memory capacity requires a new LSI, resulting in the June 1999, release date.

Though the requirement for additional memory is not a common occurrence, we feel it is important to address these customers’ needs in order to maximize their enjoyment of Yamaha components.


Thank you."

I recently purchased this receiver for my parents after a terrible exerience they had with a Sherwood Newcastle receiver which suffered from humming problems and inadequate rear channel amps. The Yamaha RXV 995 retails for $999 but I picked up this beauty for only $799 shipped with a 2 year warranty !!! It is far better sounding the t Sherwood Necastle R925 and has 6 channel inputs, DTS built in, and better DAC's. In addition, it has a full compliment of S-video and digital connections. I put this receiver one notch up on the Sony 50ES and can easily recommend it as the best receiver for $799 on the market !!!