Greetings! According to the best drywall company in Pasadena, It's a great entry receiver for the beginning audio junkie.

None so far.

This may sound a bit controvercial but although these newer £1200 pre-power amps were nice they weren't any better than the Super 20 The build quality is very good also. The super 20 weighs 9Kg even though it has a lightweight all aluminium case. That hefty custom toroidal and the 4 big reservoir caps being most of the mass here. Fremont Onsite Truck Repair

None . .

The audio is smooth and precise. Extremely powerful. The sound is natural, open, and clear from the middle onward—excellent imaging. Excellent entry-level receiver for the beginning audiophile. Perfect for my build closet

Mid-bass on down is a little murky (although, to be fair, I was listening to the reciever through bookshelf speakers). The switchgear does not feel as solid as the Denon's. Some may consider the top end to be overly bright.

So far it has good quality! Thanks replacement social security card

none so far

I immediately put an order for JBL S-310ii for $240, and I researched for the most hectic 24 hours of my life to find matching receiver and a subwoofer. I asked lots of people and visited lots of stores to audition. I was very content with Panasonic HE-200K. Queens truck repair services

None . .

I have had this model for 11 years with no issues. Money well spent. Great product.

Described above

Rear panel not solid - moved when pushing in banana connectors

I have not compared this receiver against other brands, so I should give it four stars so as not to bias the average score. HOWEVER, I do not think it is fair for the one reviewer below (from Wisconsin) to submit TWO one-star reviews just because he had a bad experience with this product! Therefore, I am giving the Yamaha RX-596 five stars to partially offset his damaging ratings. I have been using this receiver for almost one year, and it has worked flawlessly. The motorized volume and input selector knobs are only audible if you put your ear beside them. The LEDs for tuner signal strength are great for skipping over 'iffy' stations. And, the two sets of speaker connections (A and B) work in parallel when they're both used (not in series, as in some receivers ), so that bi-wiring is easy; i.e., using both sets of binding posts. (Bi-wiring is pointless in a serial circuit; it just serves to double the length of the speaker cable. You can check yours by connecting only one set of speakers to either the A or B posts. If you then select A and B together on the control panel, the speakers will NOT work if A and B connections are in series.) Some reviewers pointed out that there is no subwoofer output. Since all the subs that I've seen have line level and speaker level inputs, you can connect it to the same posts as your speakers using different terminals (e.g., spades for speakers, bananas for sub). Lastly, one reviewer that liked the Direct feature asked why not make the receiver permanently 'direct'. The Direct feature bypasses the tone, balance and loudness controls, and some people (including myself) would miss them.

price

build quality

The volume control motor went bad after one year. After having it repair by yamaha it failed again after 18 months. I know this will upset people that work for yamaha, but your customer service and product quality are awful.

Similar Products Used:

marantz, luxman

Smooth, clean, sound. High power.

The CD-Direct & Pure-direct features are peculiar - why not make cleaner sound PERMANENTLY, rather than an option!?! Oh well.. was that a weakness?..

I would concur with much of the possitives already mentioned. Ample, clean power. The frequency response is particularly good in the low and high ends, but not over-done. The "CD-Direct" feature seems to actually have a noticable affect on the sound of CDs, things seem more up-front by just a hair - it switches to a dedicated amp when this option is on. The motor-controlled source selector and volume knob are in-audible when operating - which suggests a sign of good build quality.

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Connected to PSB 2B speakers, & Yamaha CDC-585.

Even sounding. Instruments sound like themselves. Convenient. The best sounding receiver I've found.

Lacks dynamic punch and ultimate clarity.

This is the best receiver that I have found. It has an even frequency response. With orchestral music all the instruments have correct tonality and no certain instrument (frequency) is overdone. For its price I don't think this receiver has any faults. Bright rock and bad recordings are all played very well without any edginess to set off my ears. On an ultimate scale I see two problems. First is a lack of dynamic punch. This receiver is best used with efficient speakers. With Vienna Acoustics Bach and pounding rock music, the speaker needed more punch. Kick drums and leading edge transients (which could be considered detail) could be better. This receiver does not have a torroidial transformer. Instead it uses a "dual mono" power supply setup. I think this is what causes the problem. The lesser problem is lack of clarity, imaging, and leading edge crispness. Singers and instruments are a little hazy both in detail and sounstaging placement. In summary, for a cheap receiver it sounds really great! Get some efficent speakers and the dynamics should be fine. On most music this is not really an issue. In comparison, Cambridge integrated is not even sounding. Denon is dead sounding. Sony etc. is bright and not natural as Yamaha. Teac would be my only thought as a competitor to this receiver. So if you want a receiver because you don't want the hassle of separate integrated and tuner and all the remotes the Yamaha should definitely be on your list. In my case my speakers aren't real efficient so I will go the integrated route. Probably NAD or used.

Similar Products Used:

Denon, Teac, Cambridge Audio, Sony, other mass market Japanese stuff.