Yamaha RX-V465BL 525 Watt 5-Channel Home Theater Receiver Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've had the RX-v465 for over a month now, so i've had plenty of time to get comfortable with the receiver. I purchased this b/c it seemed like the best value. My major goals were to find a receiver that had HDMI vid and audio pass-thru and had good quality cd music output - and the rx-v465 delivered!
PROS:
I used the mic to auto-calibrate the sound quality - very easy (do this before using it). CDs (analog) sound great and digital audio sounds even better. The sound settings are great: it has several sound enhancer settings for a full/modern sound and even a 'direct' mode where the receiver uses the minimum electronics to provide a pure (almost vinyl) sound. These settings are easy to access once you get comfortable with the remote.
It has plenty of inputs for all of your older (rca) and newer (HDMI) devices. For TV, I run my comcast dvr box via an hdmi cable to the receiver, then run an hdmi from the receiver to the tv. For dvd, i run hdmi to the receiver. Only one cable (an hdmi) is needed from the receiver to the TV (sony bravia 52v5100). Video quality and dolby digital audio quality is excellent. It even allows you to view TV without turning on the receiver (downside in this mode is you can't listen to the sound system). Also, my cable remote can control the receiver volume when watching tv when the pass-thru mode is set (control-on).
CONS:
1. There is an annoying time delay (up to 3 seconds) when switching from HD to non-HD channels and when pulling up the dvr menu/list and cable guide. The receiver is thinking /switching digital modes and makes clicking sounds as it switches resulting in sound but no vid. This issue took me some time to get used to and will be a deal-breaker for most people.
2. Longer delay / thinking when the receiver is turned on and the hdmi input is set. Same clicking and no vid as it finds the right mode for the data that is coming in.
3. Remote is annoying, not built well, but whatever, its not a deal breaker.
OVERALL, i'm happy with this receiver at the price i paid when compared to other available receivers with similar features/functions.


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Yamaha RX-V465BL 525 Watt 5-Channel Home Theater Receiver

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Yamaha RX-V565BL 630 Watt 7-Channel Home Theater Receiver Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)There are two model numbers for this AV Receiver as disclosed on CNET. One model number is the RX-V565BL, the other is the HTR-6250BL, which I purchased. At various times, the prices of the two vary on Amazon, so I just went with the cheaper one. I coupled the receiver with the Energy Take Classic 5.1 and was able to get two satellites on Ebay to complete a 7.1 speaker system. To round out the system I have the Mitsubishi DLP 73". I also have the PS3, xbox360 and Wii hooked up.
Unlike another reviewer who had a problem with his Tivo Series 3 with RX-V565 version of the receiver, I had no problem at all. If you have a problem with the HDMI, just use the Tivo component out and digital optical out direct into the Yamaha. It works perfectly.
The biggest problem I had in hook up was my inability to connect the Wii directly through the Yamaha. I use the component video cable for the Wii. This Wii cable has two rca connectors for audio.
There are two composite inputs on the Yamaha. One has a coaxial audio and the other has digital optical audio. There is no connection for composite video plus two rca female audio inputs. I ended up connecting the Wii output video straight to the tv, without the benefit of the 1080p upscaling of the Yamaha, and the audio only to the receiver. Because of this I can only give the receiver 4 stars.
The sound from the system is very clear. I am still playing with all of its sound options and will update the review after I have more experience with the sound options.
UPDATE I found this inexpensive work around for the Wii audio hookup on Amazon: RCA DT2AD 2-Way Signal Converter DT2AD. It allows conversion of the analog audio to digital audio.

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Yamaha RX-V565BL 630 Watt 7-Channel Home Theater Receiver

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Yamaha RX-V765BL 665 Watt 7-Channel Home Theater Receiver Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I had been looking at several of the Yamaha models through the spring of 2009, as well as its competitor's (Sony, Onkyo, Denon), for an upgrade of my ancient Sony receiver (one of the first Pro-logic receivers). I just installed a set of Definitive Technology Mythos speakers ordered through Amazon.com, including a power-hungry Mythos Three center channel. I wanted this receiver to be the core of my Home Theater as it's primarily use for improving my Sony Blu-ray and TiVo Series3 HD DVR experience.
Sports, such a baseball is vivid with the upscale feature from 1080i to 1080p (although it has not yet improved the performance of my Seattle Mariners). 1080i broadcast shows such as Chuck, both sound and look great.
The optional YDS-11SL iPod dock works well with both a 4th generation Nano and an 80G iPod Classic, including the videos.
What is worth the wait is the clean layout on the back, the heft of the discrete amp, and the Blu-ray friendly support with both the scene button and the Decoders for HD audio formats: Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Yes they do make a difference in your home theater experience.
The audio calibration microphone works as advertised. Silent Cinema (headphone mode) is also a nice feature.
What could be improved - You need to keep the manual next to you for the first week to figure out some of the controls such as accessing all of the iPod controls with the dock. I was also sorry to see HD Radio(tm) missing from this "top of the mid-range" Yamaha's. The older RX-V863 has it, but this one doesn't. Also the four scene buttons are not programmable. I wanted to program the TV scene button for my TiVo (HDMI #2), no luck.
In the end, if you are looking for a quality receiver that performs well on both movies and music, and can drive your amp hungry speakers to their potential, look no farther that this RX-V765. It really was worth the wait.

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Yamaha RX-V765BL 665 Watt 7-Channel Home Theater Receiver

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Yamaha RX-V665BL 630 Watt 7-Channel Home Theater Receiver Review

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(More customer reviews)I chose the Yamaha V665 after careful comparison with other units, and was very impressed with ease of setup and features. The sound quality is excellent, and while I had initial concerns with power output, at 90 watts it demonstrates more useable power than my previous NAD unit at 100 watts. I particularly like the four "Scene" buttons which allow linked input sources and sound fields and switch the unit on with one action. Contrary to other reviews on Amazon you can easily assign whatever input you wish together with a preferred sound field and assign it to any of these buttons. On the downside, you cannot assign different tone adjustments to these four "Scenes" which means I have to manually attenuate the bass to listen to spoken radio broadcasts which tend to create disturbing bass reverberations at times.
However the one big disappointment, which because of its nature I only discovered too late to return the unit (and I would not have purchased this unit had I known beforehand) is evident when a TV input from some (possibly all?) cable boxes is connected to the unit and passed through using the receiver as a switching unit (one of the key features of any modern receiver after all). In this mode the signal is subject to frequent dropouts of sound and video. Some days these dropouts are hardly evident and only for a fraction of a second, other days they are frequent and last long enough to leave the screen blank for a second or two or to delete entire words on the audio track. This happens with every possible connection I have tried, whether HDMI or component video (I have also tried monster cables to no avail). I have since seen other reviews reporting this same problem on other Yamaha units. My cable box is Time Warner but there are similar reports with Verizon Fios, so the problem seems endemic. Updating the current Yamaha firmware seems to have no effect.
There are always so many variables that it is difficult to track down the source of the problem, and I would hate to criticize Yamaha unfairly, but as the problem apparently occurs throughout the Yamaha product range, it would seem wise to hesitate on purchasing Yamaha until this problem is resolved.

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Yamaha RX-V665BL 630 Watt 7-Channel Home Theater Receiver

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