I Purchsed this unit through One Call several weeks ago. My first choice had been a H K AVR 75 refurb through their factory outlet. However, after recieving 2 defective units I gave up and purchased my second choice, the Yamaha 5150. The DTS, price and the Yamaha name were the deciding factors. I had not listened to this unit as nobody in the Seattle area had it yet (I was told this is a newer model). I initially was not happy with the sound as I had been comparing it to the HK's. One Call can only offer these prices because they don't allow returns unless the product is defective and then they won't let you change products. You have to weigh the pros and cons in this matter when you purchase from them. I had tried to upgrade to a HK AVR 85 they were offering but thats the way it goes.
I was able to improve the sound quality slightly (enough so I am satisfied) by increasing the rear surround output 10DB and purchasing a pair of good quality metal speaker stands through Audio Advisers (This allowed me to better position the speakers). I also purchased 2 Monster Cable Line conditioner/ Surge protectors and hooked up my sub and reciever. I am using 14 guage Monster Speaker Cable. My speakers are all Infinity. Center is the CC-3, Sub is BU120, Front 2004 and rear 2003.
I am giving the Yamaha 5150 5 stars only because of the initial price I paid. For being in the sub 500 range its clearly one of the best. The features it offers and the Yamaha reputation make this a good choice for lower end gear. If I were to compare this to the HK then I'd drop it to 3 but we aren't comparing Apples to Apples then. As for One Call I will continue to do business with them for some items but I'll be more aware of their return policy.

Excellent Sound Quality, Flat Clean Response for music

No optical in/outs for MD and no Optical in for CD

Considering I had a pioneer VSX-D308 before purchasing the
5150, I was expecting a little bit better sound quality.
I'm running Bose 201 Series IV bookshelf speakers, and older sony bookshelfs for the rears, but considering I'm still in High school. I picked this reciever up for $300, the Best Buy employee discount is generous.
I knew right when I picked up the box at the store I was
getting quality, as it weighed more then the supposed "highly acclaimed" Sony STR-DE935.
As soon as I hooked up the reciever to my setup and powered
it up, I was VERY impressed. It sounds like I put new
speakers on my system as I've NEVER heard the Bose 201's
sound this good.
In Pro-Logic mode, the surround for analog is very distinct
and clear.
The AM/FM tuner section in this reciever is excellent as
the Tuning strength indicator is very useful for tuning in
weak stations.
As for all the complaints I've been reading on the remote,
I have had NO problem adjusting from the pioneer remote to
the Yamaha, I find the yamaha remote easier to navigate on.
Music playback on this reciever is sweet. I'm running a Yamaha CDC-905 to the reciever via the Monster Cable Interlink 400 cable for highest quality single transfer. As for some complaints I've heard about the lack of bass, the fact is the bass is definently there if you crank the reciever, it's just the bass comes out the way it's meant to be heard, not in a muddy fashion. The highs are also very very crisp and bright, better then what I heard out of my dad's luxman reciever from 17 years ago that was top of the line at that point.
If you wanna spend $400-$500 on a reciever, the 5150 is definently the way to go.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX-D308

quality sound and reptation

Only has two AC inputs on the back

I was surprised how much difference a reciever made in sound quality. I always assumed it was up to the speakers. My old Pioneer had 150 watts per channel with relatively little noise. However, the Yamaha just sounds more open and natural and A LOT more detailed despite only having 70 watts per channel. I've never understood what salesmen at Hifi stores meant when they said Yamaha or Denon watts will blow away a Sony or Pioneer's watts. I always thought a watt was a watt, but now I understand. The digital surround for movies is awesome with no hiss or noise at all in any of the speakers. The remote isn't that bad either, I think Yamaha was being bold with the skinny silver thing. However, it doesn't fast forward or rewind DVD's which doesn't make any sense, so basically that means you have to keep the DVD remote control on the coffee table. Other than that, this is a really great receiver at an amazing price of $350 at Shoppers Advantage.

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Pioneer Pro Logic

clean high quality power

bass control 90 hertz cieling on sub output is not defeatable

This is a very frustrating reciever it is very well built decent amount of feature for price but the filtered sub output makes it useless with the many small sub sattelite combos if Yamaha won't let us defeat the filter they should supply preamp outs what a shame

Similar Products Used:

pioneer denon and other yamaha

Good quality sound on DVDs and music

FM radio reception weak; no monitor out plugs

I bought this to replace my pro-logic receiver and am very pleased with the difference in sound. The worst thing is the 5.1 digital makes my old video tapes sound lame. I do have a few complaints, though. The FM radio reception is not as good as that on my car radio. This is not a big problem for me, however, because I rarely listen to the radio at home. My biggest disappointment was the lack of a monitor out set of plugs meant I had to do some strange wiring to get my 900mhz headphones to work with the system (i.e., one wire plugged into the sound out plugs for the vcr while another set of wires had to run directly from the dvd player to the headphones because the digital signal is not output to the vcr.) A minor complaint is that there is nothing in the control window or on the volume knob that lets you easily see how much you are raising the volume in a dark room. Couple of times I've been watching a movie and when the dialogue gets very quiet I've gone to raise the volume to hear. Then when the music and sound effects come back on I'm blown out of my chair. Speaking of which, the unit has plenty of power for a set of bookshelf speakers that I use in a fairly small room (13x20). All in all, I am very happy I bought this unit.

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JVC pro-logic receiver

Yamaha quality, a two year warranty, all the essential features for the money.

Mostly that I don't own a gold mine so that I could buy the 2095 or 995 which has the additional connections which my dream unit would have... I do wish the volume dial lite up like others have said.

I am still learning how to get the most out of this receiver. I don't mind the remote- it fits well in a woman's hand and I've never had a universal type remote that didn't seem awkward at first and have things about it that I would have designed differently. My older TV would not program onto it- it's a 9+ year Toshiba but most of my other components run well off it it. The chart seems helpful to keep nearby while learning how to run all the applications on the remote...
The speaker connections for the main speakers are to bit of a challenge especially when you are trying to connect them by "feel"- it would be helpful to look them over and get a good idea of how the wires will go into them before the unit is in a big dark cabinet! Or better yet connect the speaker wires before putting the receiver in your cabinet-
I've been real pleased with the sounds I've heard from my CD's and AC-3 Laserdiscs (I don't have anything DTS yet and no DVD...) I do think that I'm a pretty good judge of what sounds good though and have been learning/playing with the speaker adjustments. When you do get a new unit you have to give yourself time to experiment around with it and read over the manual several times. I been happy with the FM/AM.
I would love if this receiver had 3-4 more digital A/V hook-ups because I want to do quite a bit with this unit. But for the price I'm pleased. I paid 405. plus tax totalling 429. at Sears here locally. I went around to the chain stores and one local high end store and they basically competed for my business. Sears came within 7. of OneCall's price after factoring in shipping (Sears came down to 435. and then let me use a 30. off coupon which I had from being a charge card customer- it had to be charged to get the 30. off- so I'm paying it off immediately!!!)
I recommend this receiver to anyone on a budget who wants Dolby Digital/DTS and good quality.

Similar Products Used:

My last receiver was a Dolby Surround Pioneer 4400/4500 which was still running fine and about 9-10 yrs. old.

Great Sound, DTS, Quality, Low Price

Maybe the remote, I'm still in the learning process

Well I know you are supposed to use the receiver a month or two beford posting an accurate review, but I just could'nt wait. This unit is replacing a Denon AVR-2000 Pro Logic Receiver. The upgrade in sound quality is awsome, not only Dolby Digital but Pro Logic sources even sound clearer and cleaner and the channels are much better seperated. I have to really watch my purchases as I am married with 2 children, living on one income. I wanted a unit that would sound good and not break the bank and also could be used for many years to come. I did alot of comparisions with the Chain Store Pioneers, Sonys and Technics, as well as the Onkyo 575 in the stores as well as in friends and co-workers homes. For the money the ($390.00 + shipping from onecall.com) Yamaha 5150 is by far the best sounding receiver. It may not have all the bells and whistles as some of the others, but if you are buying for sound quality and reliability this is the one. The speaker settings take a little time to get right and of course the remote could be a little more user friendly but overall I could not be more pleased. Don't let the 70W per channel fool you, it is more than enough power for a average size living area. The receiver puts out very clean sound espically with DVD's and the FM section sounds pretty good too. I find myself watching DVD's over and over and I am still glued to the screen as if I had never seen the movie before. I had the old Denon hooked up to an EQ but I don't need it to make the Yamaha sound good. I looked at the new Denons but I could not justify spending $200.00 + for 5.1 stereo and a few more frills. The DPS modes on the Yamaha are actually pretty good too. As you can tell I'm very pleased. You won't be disapointed with this one.

Darrell

Similar Products Used:

Compared Sony, Pioneer, Denon and Onkyo

Sound Quality, Features, Value for the money, 2 year Warranty

Remote (buttons too small and hard to read)

This is one great receiver for a first time buyer or someone looking to move up to Dolby Digital/DTS home theater receiver without spending a small fortune.

My old Yamaha AVC-50 only had Dolby Surround (not even Pro-Logic) and I wanted to get a quality unit with DD/DTS without having to patch in an add-on unit (too many wires - costs more than the receiver itself). The 5150 fits the bill perfectly by having enough features : S-Video front and rear, plenty of power (70w x 5), coaxial and optical inputs for CD/DVD (no digital output though - I can live without it), usable soundfields for movie theater settings but the concert hall and other music venues have a bit too much delay even with the shortest delay times.
The best feature is the price! If you can still find one and are in the market for a DD/DTS receiver, you can't do much better than the 5150. The sound that comes from a DVD player with DD/DTS will amaze you. It makes my Hi-Fi VCR sound like a boombox in comparison!

My only complaint is that the remote buttons are too small and hard to read but the remote is full featured and works well for adjusting settings. Forget about using the remote in a dark room for anything except for volume changes and even that can be a lucky guess. And I'm not about to spend $200-300+ for a remote which costs as much as the 5150 itself! Maybe the One-for-All remotes with bigger buttons and clearer markings will do for now just to make basic volume and source changes.

You don't have to get a second mortgage to enjoy high quality home theater with the 5150. It will do what you need it to do and more. Spending 2 or 3 times more does not increase your enjoyment by that many times. Only your bank account is smaller by that factor. Do yourself a favor and look at this receiver before they are all gone. It may be last year's model but your ears won't be able to tell the difference, only your wallet will. Enjoy!

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha AVC-50, Nikko receiver

Don't be fooled by the watts - it really kicks

Remote looks nice but a bit cumbersome

You have got to be kidding me. I just upgraded from a Pioneer Prologic that supposedly had more wattage - please I barely turn the damn knob to 9o'clock and I'm in trouble with my wife. I just got two day ago, still tweaking it because I have the cheapest speakers and NO NOT BOSE even worse but that another story. Anyone email me on any setups that I can try.

build quality, number of inputs, DD/DTS

Sound- 1.) badly distorted at higher volumes (not my speakers), 2.) analog input sound quality is mediocre, 3.) exaggerated highs ruin clean lows. ALSO: remote sucks, difficult to set up, no volume level display or light on the volume knob, no digital CD input, poor displays and the damn protection circuit is more a pain then a help. Also- YAMAHA'S WARRANTY POLICY SUCKS

I bought this receiver based on reviews on this website, and while it does display all of the strengths listed here, there are a number of things not mentioned.

First, the protection circuit is incredibly annoying. I have had this thing shut off on me at volumes that werent even that loud. According to yamahas website, its because the receiver is preventing an overload. Baloney. I've never had another receiver do this to me before. Ive owned a number of receivers over the years and have yet to blow one out from cranking the volume. I have the same equipment hooked up that I did to the receiver I replaced, a 7 year old Sony. I never had an overload or had it switch into protector mode before, EVER. And yes, i checked all cables for exposed wires and had the impedence set to match my 8 ohm speakers. I mean, what kind of possible overload can come at quarter volume, that isnt due to a poorly manufactured product?

The remote is the absolute worst thing I've ever used in my life. You need a microscope to read it, and each button has about 3 different functions.

The displays are very poor and the menus are not well thought out. For example, to adjust the level of the rear speaker, you have to cycle through every single adjustment option until you get the one you want. Its annoying if you miss the one you want, because you have to scroll through every option again! There is also no volume indicator or light on the volume knob.

Speaking of volume, I understand the reasons why you cant turn the volume past halfway, but this sacrifices any sort of great control over how loud the volume is. Because of it's limited adjustment range, the volume is always a bit too loud or a bit too soft. I dont know. Again, this seems to be a Yamaha thing which Ive never experienced with any other manufacturer. Everyboldy else can budget the power to the full range of the volume knob adjustment. I really think that this is lame.

I didnt like how there was no optical input for CD, but you can kind of bypass it but hooking it to the DVD input. DVD has 3 jacks, analog, coax, and optical. It will automatically detect which one to use, so you can have your CD hooked up to optical and DVD to coax, sharing an input. A minor inconvenience but worth it for the better sound you get, as the analog inputs are quite poor.

One last thing that really pisses me off about Yamaha. Unless you buy it from an "authorised dealer" (of which there is ONE in my area, 35 miles away) you are not entitled to Yamaha factory service. If you buy from Sears or Best Buy, THEY are responsible for doing repairs. I did not kow this when i bought it. I have dealt with both of these comanies for service and they have MEDIOCRE reliability at best. Talk about not standing behind your product. Every other manufacturer, even cheap-o's like RCA or Samsung will provide factory service as long as you have the receipt. Yamaha impresses me as being an arrogant company who does not stand behind its products that arent sold at is snotty little dealers. Hey Yamaha, if you make it, you STAND BEHIND IT and not pawn off your problems on Sears or Best Buy. Because of this idiotic policy i will never buy another Yamaha product.

I dont know, I just was not impressed with this unit. My old receiver sounds better for both music and movies and I may stick with it until it dies. I dont know what other reciever to recommend in this price range, as this is pretty much the best one out there even with all its flaws. The newer Sonys hiss like mad, Technics burn up to a crisp, Pioneers lack adjustability...I think ALL of these new receivers suck. I am not EVER going to spend more than 300 bucks on a receiver. I like music, but there are more important things i can do with that money thabuy crap like this.

To all you music lovers, stick with older amps designed for playing music, not this digital rubbish.

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Sony receivers