Excels at home theatre; s-video switching; DSP modes if you like them...

yes, the remote

This purchase sparked my "upgrade" from casual listener to borderline enthusiast. I'm in a severe upgrade cycle caused by this receiver. Its revealed faults in my setup and has fueld a desire to want more out of my system.

I'm writing to confirm that yes, I was one of the lucky few that bought the amazon closeouts via redtagoutlet.com -- 519 +15 shipping. It was a new unit and in perfect working order. Its working well with no major problems to report so far. The remote is clunky... sometimes I would just prefer a lot of buttons compared to a smooth cover and multiple key combinations...

I auditioned the Yamaha, Denon and Sony at the local mega GoodGuys and then rushed home to order this one. It excels at home theatre, which is what I purchased it for. This box pushes the limits of the equipment its attached to... once I upgrade the rest I'll be able to tell if there are any weaknesses to the sound in two channel mode. But right now, I'm extremely pleased.

The DSP modes are set by default to a level a little severe for my tastes... you can override the defaults. The set-up is in a large family room (23x27) and the settings are still too large.

Its paired with a Klipsch KSW-12 sub (bought shortly after this), Klipsch rears, wharfy fronts (a cheapo purchase that will eventually be replaced...), Klipsch center (matches well, actually). Set out new 12 gauge OFC wire and have a new Denon CD on the way.

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Technics crap; auditioned the Denon 3300 and Sony

Name, DTS & DD, 6 Ch input & output,

Harsh sounding power Amplifier, not good in 5.0 reproduction, only 5.1 will deliver hfe but not in 5.0. No coaxial input for DVD/LD or say insufficient and limited digital inputs. Not user friendly compared with others AV amps. poor "universal remote control",

Acceptable at its selling price (W Malaysia). Yamaha should review the power amplifier section.

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Sherwood Newcastle R945.

Have only heard it on the showroom. Just ordered one and will receive it within one week. Paid $625 on the web. I understand the risks but his company has been highly reviewed by two outside consumer advocate companies.

After a lot of consideration and research between the Yamaha and the Denon AVR3300, I selected the Yamaha 995. Both were within $50 of each other (the Denon) was the higher of the two. However, based on the reviews I read here as well as other audio review sites, I chose the Yamaha. In the showroom, I liked its performance with DVD significantly more. I'll keep you posted on how I like it once I hook it up next week. Any thoughts on my choice -- pro or con -- please email me at mcrheist@aol.com. Thanks!

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Moving up from a Yamaha RX-V850 Dolby Surround ProLogic. Great receiver but wanted to move to Digital Dolby. Partnering my new 995 with a pair of PSB Century 600i front speakers; currently using Pioneer Elite big screen speaker for center (going to upgrade that next); Yamaha DVD-S795; DishNetwork's DV3 satellite receiver; & a JVC HRDX62U VCR.

See my other post

See my other post

Dvir Ofek from Israel review this RX-V995 two posts below. He complained that it has no digital coax input for LD/DVD.
This is true only for general model. US and Canada model have digital coax input for DVD.

Since I also have the general model what I did was to connect my DVD player coax digital output to the CD coax digital input of the receiver. For video connection I went directly to TV.

What if I want to connect a new CD player. Well I'll make sure to get one with optical output and would connect it to DVD optical input.

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See my other post

Amazing array of inputs more than last years 992, enough digital/optical for all components. Clean Power evident. Has DTS.

Built in DSP functions are a little lacking, sometime overpowing and distort the sound. Remote learning is somewhat sub-par. Overall great sound though.

I used the Yamaha RX-V992 for about a year and a half and have recently upgraded to the 995. This year's model sound is much cleaner and I finally got the much needed extra digital inputs. However, I will say that the 992 is also an excellent unit as well as the 995. Either of these Yamaha's are great for Home-Theatre enthusiasts and those wanting great dolby digital and dts playback. This reciever is an excellent value for the money compared to others in this class. You should be able to find it for about 695-795 in most decent places.

-JM

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Yamaha RX-V992, Denon 3300, Sony 555ES

Lots of DSP modes, good DD/DTS and Pro-logic decoding

weak in straight stereo mode; no 24 bit processing

Compared this unit to the AVR 3300 from Denon in a side to side comparison test and took each unit home for a week to test them out. The Yamaha performed well with all sources but seemed a little weak (some say 'bright') on two channel music sources. DD and DTS were amazing on this unit and I was very pleased with that aspect.

I then listened to the Denon and immediately found that the DD and DTS reproduction on the two units were virtually identical and, in some spots, the Denon seemed to outclass the Yamaha. I then threw in a CD and whoa!!! the Denon was awesome! It has 5 channel stereo which I thought would be a gimmick but it turns out that it is perhaps the best way to listen to two channel stereo (way better than the disco mode in the Yammie). Alot of the difference is due to my speaker array (PSB) which natural sound better with a 'toned-down' receiver. DSP modes aside, the Denon was the flat-out winner in my test (I'm not a huge fan of the DSPs anyway).

The kicker in my decision was the fact that Yamaha is using a 20 bit DAC instead of the industry standard 24 bit. Not a big deal in the future I know but why downconvert to 20 bit when the Denon will convert to 24?

A nice unit and a definite winner had it not been for the Denon. I was, and still am a supporter of Yamaha but I think their lagging a little bit behind right now. I hope they take notes when building the 995's replacement.

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Denon AVR-3300; Yamaha RX-V592

Huge amount of inputs/outputs, future upgradeability

Remote

This receiver is the finest piece of audio equipment that I've had the pleasure to own. I usually don't like to spend huge amounts of money on audio equipment, but after I heard this unit, I had to have it.

The 995 has far exceeded my expectations as far as home theater. I was looking for a high quality unit that offered DD and DTS. The sound in DD is incredible. My previous receivers never put out the clairity in the mids and highs that this receiver does.

As far as value, the 995 can't be beat. I found mine for a little over $800 at a dealer in my hometown. For the amount of flexibility and power that this unit offers, it's money well spent. Yamaha isn't hung up on useless certifications like THX. Instead, they let the quality of their receivers sell themselves.

If you are looking for a top-quality receiver for a great price, this unit is for you.

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Sony STR-D560Z, HK AVR65

Excellent machine!!!

The remote, but you'll get used to it ( or maybe not!!! )

This receiver is just amazing. It sounds great. I was deciding between the denon 3300 and this reciever. Don't get me wrong, the denon is very good to, but the RXV-995 is much brighter and that appealed to me. The denon perhaps get more information than the yamaha but the yamaha just sounded better to me. I ruled out the HK 65 coz it had just two digital inputs. And the other high end receivers were either too expensive or had really bad remotes ( just hate those remotes which need to hands to operate ).

I got it at the good guys ( so got the warrantee, which i wouldn't have got if i bought it online ). Told him what price i saw it online for and if he could match it and he said he'll give it to me for $30 more. So i ended it getting it for $785.

overall you can't beat this machine. It s very well built, sounds great and has the bells and whistles, overall great buy, so i give it 5 stars all around.

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denon 3300

Let's keep it simple. I purchased the 995 a month ago locally for $699 (after some haggling) and, except for the much (and deservedly) maligned remote, couldn't be happier. I'm in a fringe area and don't notice any difference in the tuner, but everything else is at least what I expected if not more. Can't think of a reason not to recommend it. The remote knocks a star off.

This unit is excellent. My review is as follows:Setup
Setup was a easy enough. The connections were all easy to make and understand. Altho binding posts are more secure than spring clips, it takes a bit longer to connect plain wire. But this is not a complaint unique to this unit. Unit setup was not too difficult. The manual was easy to understand, but it would have been easier to read if the two sections on settings were contiguous so you don't have to jump around. Also, setting the speaker volume with the test tone was annoying because it won't let you fix on a particular speaker. I used an audio meter so it would have been easiest for me if I could have fixed on the mains to set the balance, then fixed on the center to set its volume, then the rears, etc. The moving tone made this difficult and time consuming.

Audio
The audio was excellent. When people talk about subtle differences between one receiver and another they forget that many of those differences are not detectable to the human ear at normal listening levels. I think the sound is great. The digital movie experience is well worth the money ( I watched "Ronin" using the Adventure sound field). The unit detects the appropriate digital signal and remembers the last setting for a given source. Some may prefer that it be able to lock in a default setting for each source. But that's personal preference.

Remote
I've read all the complaints about the remote. I think it's fine. The macro feature allows me to turn on my TV and the receiver set to the appropriate function with one button. That's great. My only complaint is that section A cannot be reprogrammed. How many people have a Yamaha CD player? As for the door, I see that it's purpose is to make the remote appear simple. Once it has been programmed to suit your needs, it accomplishes that purpose.

Price
I compared this unit to the following: Yamaha RXV-795, not enough S-Video inputs (JVC has just introduced a S-VHS VCR that records S-VHS on standard VHS tape which may make S-VHS take off if the price is right.); Denon AVR-2700 and AVR-3200 which had no DTS or sound fields, and at $525 and $625 respectively are not even in the same league as the Yamaha, altho Denon's MSRP would indicate so (you get what you pay for); and HK's AVR-65, which may sound great, but with such poor quality control I wouldn't take a chance.
I paid $750 + $64 sales tax from a local (Chicago area) dealer who told me that since this is below Yamaha's floor price of $857, they could lose their dealership if Yamaha finds out. This is possible, but I don't believe it. Uncle's (www.unclestereo.com) quoted $799 + $26 S&H. But you don't get a factory warrantee from Uncle's. You have to ship back to them. With a factory warrantee you can take it to any factory authorized Yamaha dealer for service. I felt this insurance was worth a few extra dollars.
Anyone interested in the local dealer's name may email me at ellaryk@aol.com.

I rate it 4 stars because there is some room for improvement.