Music Reproduction (at this price) Movie Reproduction Feature Set

Only 1 digital coax input

NOTE: Price mentioned is in CDN dollars. I managed to pick this up for the lowest price available at the time of writing. I also auditioned the Kenwood VR-510 (see my review under that receiver). Sound Quality: Compared to the Kenwood, the Yamaha is much more suited to music. It sounds much more like a stereo receiver than most brands in this price range. Vocals are smooth and concise. The 70W discrete power surely has something to do with this. This is probably the cheapest home theatre receiver that can reproduce music adequately. It does an excellent job of movies also. Since I only have a 2 speaker setup the 'Virtual CinemaDSP' is very useful. Interface: The Yamaha has an intuitive setup, once you get past how it displays its menus. Sometimes it's hard to figure out what submenu you are in, but the manual helps out a lot in this respect. The remote has a nice feel, with a bump on the side marking the volume button. This is subtle, but handy when the room is dark. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. Overall, this receiver did not require a lot of time to setup. Build: The outer casing of the receiver is extremely solid, like most of the Yamaha receivers in the past. It also does not dissipate a lot of heat which is an added bonus. There are a few downsides to the build, but none are major. The TOSLINK digital inputs use the plug covers rather than the flap covers. The latter are easier to use as they won't get lost as easily. The bannana plugs are high quality, but a touch too close for my liking. If you use high guage (12 or less) speaker wire, then this may be of concern. Of course it is always possible to put ends on the speaker wire in order to avoid shorts. The knobs and dials are of high quality. They have a nice feel to them when they turn. Analog tone (treble and bass) controls are also a plus. Overall the receiver is well built and should last a long time. Features: The feature set of this receiver is good for its price. If you want you can look on Yamaha's site for the specs. The only complaints are that it only has one coax digital input, and there is no A/B switching. On the plus side, there is a digital TOSLINK output, useful for MD recording. This form won't let me input as much as I would like. If you have any questions/comments email me.

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Kenwood VR-510 Receiver Yamaha, Marantz CD Players Sansui Stereo Amplifier Cerwin Vega Speakers Energy Subwoofers

Lot's of input configurations. Also Yamaha offers a free external A/B speaker switch box with the HTR 5550.

Would have been nice if Yamaha compared the differences between their HTR and RXV receivers. The vendors that carried HTR only said HTR was a better line, and visa-versa.

This is my 1st home theatre product and it's awsome playing both Dolby Digital and DTS formats. Setup wasn't too bad, but my Audio Savvy brother-in-law did some final tweeking, and it sounds great. Definately go with the fiber connectors for cleaner installation.

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None

Great sound and excellent compatibility.

The manual could be a little more detailed.

I must say, I was very impressed with this receiver. The sound blew me away, it''s very clear and precise. Like the previous poster said, setting up takes a little time and tweaking it takes some time. But all in all it wasn''t too bad. I use the receiver with just 2 speakers. And luckily for me, a lot of the sound modes work for 2-channel stereo as well as with 5.1 channel. I love the remote. Its complicated at first but after using it for a day or two you will definitely know everything it does. The receiver is a little expensive, but its definitely worth the money. Its works great with music and movies alike. Thumbs up!

Sound quality is great!

The manual should be a little more detailed about the front panel, particularly the section about the imput signals.

This receiver is actually a 2002 model. Let me tell you, this receiver is awesome! The sounds is really great, especially the DTS. Once it''s all set up, it''s really easy to use. Setting up is a little complicated. Not so much hooking up the back of the receiver, but after it''s hooked up adjustments take time. I like that you can control the individual levels of each speaker. You can adjust the front left/right, center, rear left/right, and the subwoofer. Once all that is set up, you don''t need to do anything else. I have not used the component video input/outputs yet, but I''m sure it''ll turn out just fine. So far I am VERY satisfied with this purchase.

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Kenwood 4-Channel Stereo Receiver