Power, input/outputs, sound quality. Kick ass.

I'm not going to complain about the remote.

The 5250 was a replacement for the hissing Sony 545. I had done my research on this receiver but had decided that this was out of price range. Well after test driving Sony I realized that I could spend a little extra now so as to save myself a lot of money later. Yamaha rocks. There is no hiss on any speakers and the power output drives my speakers farther than I'll ever need them. The seperate bass and treble control is nice for when you want more bass, you don't have to sacrifice treble like in some other models. It might not always be true, but it is with receivers, the more you spend the better you get. Yea, Yamaha. It also seems that the heaveir you get the better, the Yamaha was at least twice the weight of the Sony....go figure!

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Sony STR-DE 545

Great sound, awsome power

I don't have enough stuff to hook up to it yet,

I bought this reciever after haveing my car stereo stolen, and didn't feel like going through the trouble of putting in another. Anyways, I looked around and talked to some people for the best one to get in my price range. After reading the reviews here i decided the 5250 would be my best bet. I was surprised at the sound it put out. Compared to all the shelf systems i have owned in the past, It was exactly what i needed for my listening tastes. With only a pair of Cerwin Vega LS-12's attached I was easily able to shake all the books off my shelves. Needless to say I was impressed. The sound quality was great at all volumes.
The only problem I have had is that I did fry the amplifier after playing it at near half volume for only about 2-3 minutes. I have since had it sent in for repair. Seeing the other reviews I hope mine was only a fluke model then. This is my reason for the lower overall rating.

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Technics, Sony, Pioneer, JVC

Power, clarity, true audio reproduction, did I mention POWER (100 Watts per channel RMS).

I would say the only weakness is the complex remote, but it is not Yamaha's fault that we (audiophiles) don't like to read the instruction manual on how to use it. So I think it's my stubborness that would be considered as it's weakness. (Truthfully speaking!)

I did my homework before purchasing this reciever. I viewed every comment about the 5250 on this board (the good and the bad) and felt that on my budget this was the best bang for the buck. The Yamaha 5250 will truly put you into the movie. In fact, my wife has attempted to answer the phone and answer the door while I am enjoying the Dolby Digital or DTS surround modes. This is truly an amazing reciever. If you are looking at over-hauling your old home theater system and would like to know what will complement this reciever, this is what I am using in my set-up for a living room that is approximately 18ft. by 18ft.
Yamaha HTR-5250
Polk RM-6600 (otherwise known as Bose Killers!)
Polk PSW-350 (sub-woofer, 100 watts RMS, 250 Watts Peak)
Phillips DVD (nothing special, $165.00 @ bestbuy)

This package has complemented each other very well and I would recommend them if your budget is around $1100.00 with tax. As for the individual who submitted his review below regarding the hiss he is hearing, I would recommend checking his setup configuration and connections, of which all of this information is in the instruction manuel, again not Yamaha's fault that we don't want to read the instructions. I highly recommend this reciever to individuals that truly appreciate the highest quality of sound along with ample power to shake the plaster off of your walls. I am rating this reciever 5 stars across the board and this is a conservative rating.

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Kenwood Pro-Logic surround sound reciever (horrible sounding after after listening to the superb sound quality of the Yamaha HTR-5250.

None so far.

Sounds grainy, hiss at any volume level.

Very surprised at the low level of performance this unit offered. After several days of break in I thought it would lose it's hard lifeless sound. Well that's what I get for thinking. On complex classical music the Yamaha fell flat on it's face. On the thunderous soundtrack to Twister the Yamaha turned into to a harmless summer storm. This unit is going back on ebay pronto. I have already bought a Sony for the same money that is much closer to the warm and hissless sound I expected at this price point.

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Sony / onkyo / Panasonic

Extremely clear sound and several digital inputs.

None

This receiver is extrememly nice for the price. I purchased the HTR-5240 and then the next week the HTR-5250 was the same price so I picked that up instead. It has several inputs, this is under rated, it has way more power than they say. I would recommend this to anyone from a casual listener to a audiophile.

Similar Products Used:

YAMAHA HTR-5240, AIWA, Pioneer, Marantz, Fisher (x3), Sony, Kenwood

This thing rocks....Great sound with all types of music, and my DVD sounds unreal!

Remote too small and too cluttered...here is how NOT to make a remote!

I can't say enough about the awesome sound this thing produces. Nothing I have ever owned produces sounds like this. I replaced a Technics receiver that I've only had about 3 years, and there is no comparing the two. I finally have gotten to hear how good my Infinity speakers really are, because the other receiver never did them justice. I say get off your behinds and go buy this thing....you won't be sorry!

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Pioneer, Sony, Technics

Plenty of clean power, plenty of adjustable settings allow you to adjust to your listening space. Good DSP modes.

The remote is not intuitive and needs to be backlit.

I purchased this when building a new home theatre system from the ground up. Overall I am very pleased with this product. In addition to the many soundfield programs, this amplifier allows the user to make many adjustments to customize the sound to fit his/her individual preferences. The remote is a bit frustrating as it is not very easy to learn to use, and the selector dial setting is small and hard to read. I still feel this is one of the better amplifiers for the money, but it requires a little patience to learn to use all it has to offer. I recommend reading the owners manual thoroughly. Once you learn to master this product it really brings the best out in your speakers.
I have no regrets about this purchase.

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JVC, Onkyo.

Good clean power and plenty of it. Easy set up. Looks good.

Remote takes getting used to.

Bought a new DVD and it had Optical outputs. Old receiver did not support digital inputs. Decided to upgrade to take advantage of the digital signal, plus the old receiver had .9% THD on the rear and center channels.
This is a very nice receiver. Has gobs of power and seems very clean to my ear. It was easy to get the system set up using just the remote. The remote runs everything in my home theatre set up. My only gripe is that the display on the receiver is sort of small and dim. During set up you need to be right in front of it to see it well. I would buy this receiver all over again if given the opportunity. I use this receiver with Infinity RS-5 front speakers, NXG8 rear speakers, Tecnnics center channel speaker, Sony DVPC360 DVD, Technics CD player, and Sony 35" Trinitron TV.
By the way, Onecall.com was excellent. Purchased over the phone because I had questions. Unit was packed VERY well, (box within a box) and arrived in three days. Price paid included shipping.

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Technics SA-DX730

Inputs, Inputs, Inputs...
Quality build
Heavy construction
Clean sound Reproduction
Lots of YAMAHA Power
AWESOME for the price level

Remote - (This is not a major problem since I do not buy a receiver for the remote... Just buy a third party programmable remote and then it is a non-issue for EVERYTHING!) But, it is a little hard to use at first and missing some major features for other devices (ie: DishNetwork/Echostar - missing a cancel button.) Backlit would be nice since I usually watch movies with the lights off.
Volume has not indicator light (again, not a biggy since if it isn't right, I just turn it up/down...)
Video conversion - By this I mean that it doesn't convert the composite video to S-Video or vise-a-versa. It only outputs S-Video from S-Video and Composite video to composite out... (But, this is only an option available on feature filled low quality receivers and high end, so it is surprising.)

I purchased this receiver to have as high quality sound as possible for my price range and I was limited to Best Buy (18 months interest free :-). In addition, my wife made it "CLEAR" that it would be in my best interest to not spend more than $1500 total for all my speakers and receiver.

Having said that...

I went there going to get the HTR-5240 but I ended up with the 5250. It has much more expandability for more inputs, more power and cleaner sound.

After putting a new 5250 in my cart I found an open box one. It is normally $450 new at Best Buy but since it was an open item they marked it down. They marked it down the usual 10%... but they took 10% off the price of a 5240 and accidently marked it down to $319... My gain!

No matter what you pay for this receiver, I would be damned to see anyone show me a better one under $500. Of course, this is all personal preference.

My System:

YAMAHA HTR-5250 Receiver
Echostar 4700 DishNetwork 500 Box
Front Speakers: Cerwin Vega LS-12
Center Speaker: KLH Satellite speaker
Rear Speakers: AIWA 80 Watt Bookshelf speakers
Pioneer DVD-414
27" Sharp TV

Future plans for system:
The goal is to replace the center channel with the Cerwin-Vega centwe channel and place LS-8 bookshelf speakers in the rear. Then when I go gray, I will move the 27" TV to the bedroom and replace with a much larger digital one.

Review:
What can I say that no one hasn't covered? The receiver is just great. You have a few things that are small problems (see weaknesses) but nothing major. The strengths this receiver has, for this price range, are endless. I will say it again, I would be damned to see anyone show me a better one under $500 - which I believe is a fair price range for this receiver to be compared to. And I am referring to prices for receivers that fall off the back of a truck somewhere.

Similar Products Used:

Technics, Sony, Aiwa

some eatures

Very Harsh sounding, worthless remote

I recenty picked one of these up just to evaluate what yamaha had to offer in this price range. Pleople must like this kind of sound but I found it to be extreemly harsh on the ears, pure headache material. Useing (M&K S-125s which is their warmest speaker)this thing sounds like a cheap Kenwood running KLH speakers with 18 guage wire. Even turning down the treble to almost off does'nt help.

Spend a few extra bucks and get something with better amp. That is, if you want a reciever to actually send a signal to the woofers.

Junk.

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Carver, denon, Sherwood Newcastle