Incredible sound in both music and movies, many DSP programs, more than enough Watts, 6.1 supported, Dolby Prologic II, lots of digital inputs and outputs, universal remote, input renaming, good look.

Remote could be better but does its job anyway.

I bought this product upgrading from an Onkyo TX DS 494. I always thought that the Onkyo was a good product for its money (almost half the amount I paid for the Yamaha) but it lacked the extra "quality". This one on the contrary is an extraordinary receiver. The improvement in sound (especially in music which I listen to most of the time) is enormous. The sound has more depth (surely a lot more Wattage), more bass and better soundstaging. Even my old Dual turntable sounds significantly better now! The many available DSP programs are really incredible. Particularly the DP II is excellent but others such as Concert, Rock etc constitute a vital improvement in sound. There are many inputs available (especially digital ones) for all kinds of connections; you can also rename the inputs according to your choice. A universal remote is also included. I use it with a pair of B&W DM 602s S3 in front, B&W DM cc6 S2, B&W ASW 600 subwoofer and a pair of old Magnats for surround. Rest of the system consists of Marantz CD 6000 OSE LE cd-player, Pioneer DV-444-s dvd-player and Dual CS 508 turntable. If you already own a low level receiver and think about an upgrade or want to buy a reveiver for the first time the Yamaha RXV 1200 is the product guaranteed for perfect sound without spending a fortune to buy it.

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Onkyo TX DS 494.

Power, clarity, inputs, visual flow, quality of workmanship, display, range of processors

Remote a little clumsy Set-up - the manual is good - could be clearer - especially on the higher level delays etc as I had to go find explanations of this elsewhere on the internet.

I use this system with Energy 5.2 speakers, and a Paradigm subwoofer. The room is a 24/16 room, insulated with acoustic tile. I was torn between the 1200 and 1300 model but could find no difference except for wattage for an extra 250 dollars. Took it home - set up was easy, but intricate, and soon realised that power was not a problem. HT - Has all the essentials - DD EX ( not officially listed as such - called DD 6.1 ), DTS-ES, DD, and the auto function works really well with DVD's - Listened to Star Wars, LOTR, etc and the sound of these is amazing, full sounding theatre, however you need to be very careful on the bass, found it very overwhelming so adjustments had to be made. The DSP modes are really good - and they really know their stuff when it comes to sound fields...so movies are better at home than in the theatre...more depth and clarity. Music - Regular stereo is good on here - but after you use DD PL2 - regular stereo is out of date - music takes on a whole new meaning with this - Neo 6 has more channels, but not quite as clear and powerful as PL2. For example, God Part 2, on the U2 album, rattle and hum, brings enveloping guitar sound all around the room -simply jaw dropping. Be sure to use the DSP modes for music - ie club, church etc - they sound excellent and should be chosen acording to your preference.

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Looked at Denon - Onkyo etc in similar price range - Yamaha had better overall power,the Denon and Onkyo had nice color screens and bells and whistles - Yamaha has one color screen - but you spend

See earlier review under the 1300

See earlier review under the 1300

This is for the RX-V1300. Just adding to my previous review (under V1300). I love the way music sounds on this receiver. But the MOST FRUSTRATING part is there is no way to set the crossover frequency. Why ???? I just dont get it. Even low end receivers let you set this. Luckily there is a work around for me as my fronts are good. Turning ON the bass extension sends down to 60Hz to the front mains. My fronts have a range of 50Hz-20KHz. If your fronts have a low end of more than 90 Hz, you are screwed because The RX-V1300 has a fixed output to the sub (20Hz - 90Hz). I just like to have control over my receiver. Actually there is an advantage to bass extension. With its turned on, you could send some low freq. to both the mains and the sub - exactly what i like. The crossover will split the range up and you cannot overlap (unless the overlap overrides the crossover). You may NOT want to demo at Tweeter Etc (if thats your nearest dealer). They demo 6.1 receivers without a rear center speaker - WOW ! And then they had these Mirage speakers. I turned the volume up and the Mirage started making this annoying whining noise that made the receiver look like a piece of junk. Take this one home and audition it. Another thing that worries me is there are only 2 digital co-ax inputs. Why are there more optical inputs (5) than coax ?? Doesn't make sense to me at all. I am still going to keep the RX-V1300 simply because i haven't heard such clear music ever before at home and this is a good price (as I have come to realize now).

Warm, rich, clean powerful sound. HDTV capable component video switching. 192khz/24 bit DACs.Easy remote.OSD via S-Video and will convert s-video to composite.Clean uncluttered design.

Remote not back lit (c'mon Yamaha).Only one crossover setting at 90hz. That's it.

Thsi is a review of the RX-V1300 Excellent receiver. Yamaha receivers have always provided topnotch surround sound playback for movies so I was not surprised there, what did surprise me was how well it performed with stereo music. It has a rich warm sound that wasn't there with my RXV800 (which I still have in another room). The RXV800 is excellent with movies and while it sounded crystal clear with music vocals alway came over as being a little on the thin side. When I decided to get another receiver I listened to HK AVR520, Marantz SR7200, Denon AVR2802 and 3802, and a few Onkyo models. One store that I was in happened to have the Denons and the Yamaha connected to similar speakers and I was stunned at the open sound of the Yamaha in Stereo mode. It certainly did not sound like the older Yamahas that I had been used to hearing. After going back and forth to several dealers over the course of several weeks and listening to the different models mentioned above I kept coming back to the Yam. Even though I was willing to spend more money I took the plunge when a 2001 AudioVideo said they could let me have it for Cdn$999 (approx US$630)I took the plunge and am very happy that I did.I had heard my PSB Speakers (Image 4T and 8C)mated to a NAD T761 receiver that was excellent with music and average with movies and I had been waiting for the new NAD T752 to come out.The Yamaha gives me the same kind of musicality (to my ears)in stereo and is exemplary with movies. Listen to James Taylor's vocals on Hourglass and Sarah MacLachlan, Diana Krall and Eva Cassidy and then try some Pat Metheny and Lee Ritenour or Larry Carlton. It handles all genres very well, as well as can be expected in this price range and up to several hundred dollars more. Which is why I couldn't justify spending more for the other pricer models I auditioned including its big brother the RXV2300. I have 2 THX certified monos (MA500 that I would normally use to power my L&R main channels but so far I havent hooked them up. I am that satisfied with the sound and power. One note is that the new yams do have cooling fans but I believe they are probably insurance for installations where they are not well ventilated, because I ran mine for 3 days none stop trying to trigger the fan but couldn't. The remote is an improvement over the older models. I am able to control every piece of equipment in my system - Toshiba DVD, Sony VCR and CD player, TV and a Scientific Atlanta digital cable receiver with no problem. I am very happy with this purchase so considering the excellent sound and the low price I paid for it I am giving it 5 Stars

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Yamaha RX-V800, Denon 1801,2802 and 3802, Marantz SR7200, HK 520 and several Sony models in the DB and ES ranges.

powerfull, clear sound. DSP-Soundfields. Plenty of in & outputs. 6 channel amp.

set-up and remote, fixed freq. for bass (90 hz).Hear clicks when changing inputs, even low volumes (don't know if it's in receiver or powerconn.)

This unit gives a crisp & clear sound, both movies en cd's. Has good,clean sound, a bit agressive, which is perfect for DD & DTS. More than enough power for average livingrooms. Set-up is a weak point of all Yamaha rx-v...'s. Just like remote, but learning-funtion is cool since I use also Sony components in my set-up. This funtion works perfectly. Good match with my Tannoy Profile Plus speakers, great sound even without Sub.

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Kenwoods, Pioneer vsx-series, Sony QS 930, 940 (can hear radiosignal when played loud on each input) .

love the dsp modes,,enhanced pro logic..using the rock mode on live, who cd,,works awsome

it gets hot,,,fan comes on too often,,usually listen to music in the -35 to - 25db range

i am reviewing the rx v1300 as well i bought it after taking home the onkyo i think the model is 7297 was thinking it would fit the bill since it had thx cert but after hooking up,,i just didnt like the look,,more than the sound,,then demoed at yamha at store and it was very good i thought ,,was much cleaner side by side whith onkyo,and better looking to boot

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like i said the onkyo,,had harmon k for while as well

Music maturaty and detail, faithful reproduction of movie tracks, setup capabilities, 6.1 Surround sound from VHS tape via DTS Neo:6

limited bass management 90Hz for small speakers only would have liked to have 30,60,90,120, 150 instead but its better than THX 80Hz only

Actually this is a reveiw for the RX-V1300 the improved version of the 1200. I have heard a bunch of receivers that have a similar price from companies such as Denon 3802, Sony STR-DA3ES, Kenwood 5080, & Onkyo SR700 and out of all of them the 1300 was the best as far a music it wasn't harse like the Sony & Kenwood and wasn't bright like the Denon and Onkyo it sounds very mature and natural. The RX-V1300 has more than enough power to handle any load 100 Watts x 6 0.04% THD is accurate. I found that I actually like DTS NEO:6 Cinema better than Pro-Logic II: Movie it more faithfully recreates the soundtrack of vhs tapes (unlike PLII which seems to boost the bass and treble by about 3dB). DD Sorround EX is terrific but Enhanced EX is incredible, DTS:ES Discrete is just ublievably realistic sounding on Se7eN, and The Haunting is very chilling (not the acting) but the SFX and surround sound of voices whispers and creeks are spacial and ambient. Gladiator was inspiring to combine that good of a story with the likes of Hanz Zimmer and Lisa Gerrrard was awesome and the sword sounded like swords not clothes hangers.

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Sony STR-DE845

-clean, even sound at all power levels -22 DSP modes that work with all input formats, including 24/96 and DTS-ES -7 A/V inputs, 7 digital inputs -universal/programable remote with 12 modes; no codes to look up -assignable inputs/outputs -Graphic equalizer for center channel -full custom installation support -comfortable, easy to use remote - A++ reliability

-overly difficult surround setup -incomplete control on front panel & remote -useless backlighting on remote -no macro buttons on remote -remote learning very finicky -difficult to read, uncustomizable LED display -poor FM reception -no tone controls on surrounds -sometimes fails to switch to DTS or DD surround processing -mediocre analog preamp -nickel plated inputs -no amplification options for sub or 7th surround channel -sub low-pass stuck at 90Hz

I got the RX-V1300, which has a cleaner faceplate design and an amplifier upgrade to 100Wx6 into 8 ohms. I purchased the Yamaha sight-unheard, as it was pretty much my only option. I needed something with at least 6 S-Video and 6 digital audio inputs. My first choice was the Denon 4802, but it was out of my price range anyway. I'm no audiophile, but I can say that there's enough power that you'll hurt your ears or your speakers well before you get any clipping from this unit. You can turn the unit all the way up to 0db and hear no hiss if you are using a digital input, but noise and input crosstalk are noticeable starting at -12db with analog inputs. -40db is the highest I've ever needed to use in my condo. The LED display is just short of infuriating. The orange display contrasts with the white and cyan displays of almost all modern electronics. Except for the few seconds when you change source, the current source is displayed by a faint red line under the source name. The only thing you can read from more than 4' away the current DSP/surround sub-mode and Yamaha provides no way to change this. So you usually just see works like "Normal", "Stereo" and "DGTL Spectacle EX", instead of something useful to all listeners. This is just plain stupid. Also frequently infuriating is Yamaha's choice of tone and surround control locations. Main speaker Bass and Treble are on only avaiable on the front panel, as are the Loudnesss and "Processor Direct" options, plus manual radio tuning. Yet the setup menu is only available on the remote, where you will find L/R Balance, bass and surround tests, surround levels, dynamic range selection, input setup and the like. The setup menu is a pain to navigate, even though many basic options are found hidden in it. This is far more annoying since there is no macro options available on the remote. The remote itself has an awesome 12 programmable device modes, 120 signal learning memory and a full complement of pre-programmed device codes. But there are only 32 total programmable buttons per mode, and the numerical buttons are in the dreaded 4 column format. I would prefer either more programmable buttons and/or macro buttons and more reciever specific controls. I'm not a big fan of environmental DSP programs, but many of Yamaha's sound very realistic without being overly obtrusive, plus are highly custo

Power and Clarity. Good for both Stereo and Home Theatre

None

I just had this thing for two weeks and it sounds amazing. Loads of power with perfect clarity. I watched Gladiator in DTS and its mind blowing. My config - DVD Player - Panasonic A560 Speakers Main - JBL N38 Centre - JBL - S Centre Surrounds - N24

* Sound clarity and detail * More than adequate power * Future ready * Inputs and outputs * Sound format support * Learning remote control * Clean power/clarity at high volume * Extremely low distortion

Nit picking here! * Vague/poorly written manual * OSD only for S video

Excellent sound clarity and detail with more than enough power. Future ready and has extensive inputs and outputs. Diverse sound format support. Best bang for buck and looks great too! Enough said.

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