Nice sound quality, affordable, relatively easy to use, interesting DSP modes.

No S-Video in/outs, remote takes getting used to.

I actually bought an RX-V795a but the store lent me a 495 because while they get me the 795a (it's back-ordered). I actually can't wait to get the higher model. I bought the 795a because of its higher output power and DTS support.

My system is made up of Paradigm speakers (Titans up front and Atoms on rear, as well as the PDR-10 sub-woofer and the center channel speaker).

This is my first surround system so I can't really compare with anything else, but I've been quite impressed so far, playing DVDs on my Toshiba SD2190.

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None

Crisp, full sound, excellent for small home theatre. Sound fills room w/o being boomy or tinny

Hard to see volume level on dial in low light

I was looking for a quality DD5.1 surround system for about 4 months, and finally settled on this receiver. It came packaged w/Boston Acoustics System 8000 surround speakers at Tweeter for $799. I don't know if it was a one-time deal, but they had about 4 of these packages boxed on the floor. Everything else I'd seen/heard was closer to $1200, so I grabbed this on the basis of reviews and what else I'd read about the quality of Yamaha and BA. This has been an excellent system for my surround system, which also includes Sony SAT-A50 DD 5.1 satellite receiver and Sony S330 DVD. I would heartily recommend this system to anyone who is looking to get a new surround setup w/o spending an arm and a leg. The room I have it in is roughly 14 x 20, and this system definitely has the power. I can only set the vloume at about 3.5 until it gets too loud.

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Technics Dolby Surround receiver

Excellent sound, love the DSP effects: great for live recordings, easy to use

DOES NOT HAVE A OPTICAL IN!!!! I CANT BELIEVE IT, I HAD TO UNPLUG MY CASSETTE DECK TO PLUG IN MY SONY 330 MD PLAYER

I love it, the only bad thing is that it lacks the optical input, thats it. Sound overall is very bright and strong, although i do wish the bass extension was better. I do recall my old crappy Fisher receiver had better bass expansion than this Yamaha model! Also, the Fisher was louder, i rarely had to put the volume higher than 1!!! the Yamaha however is just as loud, but like i said, i wish the bass had a more "thump" appeal. For me, its enough to sell it and buy a yamaha with a optical input, although i really am happy with it, and it has never given me one problem, i also got it when it was 400 bucks (at the time i worked for a electronics store so i got it for 258). worth every cent.

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FISHER (LOL)

pristine, dynamic, clean, open sound

we'll see
we'll see

i am impressed!
after i hooked everything up and played my first dvd on it, i have become a yamaha believer. i was told the denon 1600 was comparable. well, not in my experience. unless long term use changes my first impressions of this reciever, it's a class act. it made my living room a theater for the first time. the clarity and sonic dynamics are thrilling. so far, i love it. i think i stole it for what i paid ($300) on a promotional sale at good guys.
i'm a happy camper!

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denon, kenwood

Sound Quality / Price

None that I can find

Stop thinking about it and go get it!

I purchased this receiver at Supremevideo.com as the package theater YHT-22 for $550.(they sell just the receiver for $280) It comes with the HTR-5140 reciever (same as the RX-V495), five satalite speakers (four NS-A327 and NS-AC327 for the center chanel), and the YST-SW45 for the powered subwoofer.

I have been shopping for at least the last 5 months for a home theater checking everything on the way. I'm one of those that makes sure it's exactly what I want before I shed a single cent. Anyway, I went to every audio store and checked all over the internet for what was hot and what was not. I was lucky in that I had several friends buy their
recievers in the last 6 months from other brands and I had them to compare to. They are all now envious of me and
wish they did the research I did. (Refer to the list of similar products, that is what they bought.)

The Yamaha is nothing but the best quality, in sound and in manufacturing. Most other brands sound tiny (bright) but
this receiver is very warm and full of body. The DSP fields are beter than the Yamaha site claim. What really struck
me was that the sound out of this unit sounds complete even at low volumes.

Some have complained about the remote but I don't know what the are doing wrong because I think the layout and versatility of it is fine. I've programed it to control all my equipment and it even works with both my VCR's. (I use the cable spot for the second VCR since I don't have a dish)

Oh, and don't let the 60/70 watt rating fool you. This thing will blow you away. It is far better than the 100 watt rating of other receivers.

Be sure to do your research and make sure you are getting what you want and then BUY YAMAHA! Their line will
have what you need. I guarantee that you will not be sorry.

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Sony, Pioneer, Technics, Denon, Harman Kardon

GOOD SOUND, LOTS OF SOUND FIELDS

BOTTOM FUNCTIONS OF REMOTE CONTROL DIE ALOT, RECEIVER IS ONLY 60 WATTS, NO LIGHTED DISPLAY ON THE VOULME CONTROL TO ALLOW YOU TO SEE WHAT LEVEL THE VOLUME IS SET AT

I BOUGHT THE RX-V495 ABOUT 3 MONTHS AGO AND POSTED A PREVIOUS REVIEW OF IT HERE.THE RECEIVER IS ONLY 60 WATTS BUT SOUNDS FAIRLY GOOD..***THE MAIN INFO*** I TOO HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE REMOTE CONTROL WHICH IS FAULTY..ABOUT 5 TIMES NOW THE BOTTOM FUNCTION PAD ON THE REMOTE HAS BECOME INOPERATIVE..THERE ARE 2 SETS OF ARROW PADS ON THE REMOTE WITH RIGHT, LEFT, UP, AND DOWN ARROW KEYS..THE TOP ARROW PAD CONTROLS VOLUME ECT. AND REMAINS FINE..THE BOTTOM ARROW PAD CONTROLS TIME DELAY IN THE RIGHT AND LEFT ARROW KEYS, AND SOUND FIELDS IN THE TOP AND BOTTOM ARROW KEYS..THESE 4 ARROW KEYS ON THE 2ND ARROW KEY PAD ON THE REMOTE HAVE DIED FOR NO REASON ABOUT 5 TIMES SO FAR, EVEN WHEN USING FRESH AAA BATTERIES..THIS PREVENTS YOU FROM CHANGING THE TIME DELAY OR SWITCHING FROM ROCK CONCERT SOUND FIELD, TO MONO MOVIE, CONCERT HALL ECT. ECT..IT IS A MINOR PROBLEM BUT EXTREMELY ANNOYING WHEN PLAYING DIFFERENT
TYPES OF MUSIC OR MOVIES..YOU CAN CHANGE THE SOUND FIELDS
MANUALLY ON THE RECEIVER..ANYWAY, YOU HAVE TO REMOVE THE 4 AAA BATTERIES IN THE REMOTE AND REINSERT THEM TO GET THE BOTTOM FUNCTION PAD TO RESUME OPERATION AGAIN..I HAVE DONE SO 4 OR 5 TIMES NOW WHEN THE BOTTOM CONTROLS DIE AND THEY RESUME OPERATION AGAIN INSTANTLY..YOU HAVE TO TAKE ALL 4 BATTERIES OUT OF THE REMOTE CONTROL AND REINSERT THEM TO GET THE REMOTE CONTROL FUNCTIONS WORKING AGAIN..JUST FIDDLING WITH THEM OR SMACKING THE REMOTE DOES NOTHING..HOPE
THIS HELPS OTHER RX-V495 OWNERS OUT THERE......DAVE

Great Sound
Feature Rich

Remote problematic
DSP switching time is considerable

I bought the RXV-495 a few months ago and I am pretty impressed with it. however there are a few problems. I am not sure if they are common or its just my set :

1. The remote ocassionally stops working partially. Only the volume control works. However if you take the batteries out and put them back, it works fine again.

2. There is a noticable delay and noise when you switch from one DSP mode to the other.

Other than that, its a beauty. I got it for $300 at the Wiz..brand new in the box...what a bargain !!!

Great Sound, Good inputs and outputs on back of unit, Good Proce

The volume control is analog,
it use a motor to turn the volume knob.
I would prefer a digital display.

The unit has very good sound, and is simple to use.
There is one unusual quality, if you crank up the
volume the tuner leeks onto other channels.
I initialy thought this was just a problem with my unit
but I checked it against other units that also do the same
thing. Nevertheless this is largely an academic issue because this is only noticeable at volume levels

Gorgeous, stunning sound at an amazingly affordable price.

None that I can find. The remote is a touch tricky but if you sit back for half an hour and read the manual all is clear.

OK - I read this and think it is a bit long but I think one should have some detaiul as to what is being listened to and on what the listening is done. So forgive the considerable lack of brevity.
I have been an audio enthusiast since the early 70's when I got a Yamaha integrated amp with Presage speakers (don't know if Presage is still around but I liked them in the 70's)and a Nakamichi casette deck (man wish I still had it! - it was, if I recall, a 300 or 600 - the brain cells are a bit worn from that timeframe!).
Anyway, I currently am using Cambridge Soudnworks Ensemble IV speaker system (same satellite for front, center and rear and a detached woofer (please don;t call it a subwoofer). I found that nothing, absolutely nothing, came even close to the money I spent on the Ensemble IVs. For someone on a tight budget I highly recommend them. I've actually impressed many an audiophile with them.) And to the perosn who was ragging on them here, I say - in a most gentle way - pah!
Well, on to the 495. I bought the 495 today, set it up and have been going through my laser discs (Pioneer 406 with "ac-3" optical out), dvds (Sony 330), hi-fi vcr (cheap but effective Sony SLV-678HF), cds (on the Sony 330 dvd player) and broadcast television (no cable yet). I am an old film fan, especially enjoying 30's and 40's horror amd sci-fi (FRANKENSTEN, WOLF MAN, MONSTER MAKER, STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP, DEVIL BAT etc), mystery (Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holmes series, Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto etc), "screwball" comedies (MY MAN GODFREY, BRINGING UP BABY and such ilk) and the 50's sci-fi films like THEM, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, etc... But about 20% of my viewing is modern sci-fi/horror such as FIFTH ELEMENT, X-FILES Movie, THE MATRIX (so-so - wish I had rented instead of bought) etc. My musical tastes are kind of odd. Classical North Indian music (Vilayat Khan, Nikhil Benerji, Dagar Brothers etc), Kate Bush, Blues (along the line of the more electric Son Seals and BB King and vocalists such as Katie Webster - the discovery of this genre some years ago almost completely replaced my rock and roll listening - it seems that this type of Blues actually contained what I had been unsuccessfully seeking in r&r), Dixieland Jazz, Renaissance music, classical music (heavy on the Russian Five), Klezmer, Tibetan, Japanese (like koto and sakuhachi), Beatles, Queen and Sweet (ok - some rock sticks!) and such music as Squirrel Nut Zippers and the Narada line (GREAT company) such as Vas, Celtic, etc.
I knew that the difference between Dolby Digital and ProLogic was going to be fairly obvious, and it was. But what I was NOT prepared for was the quality of the plain old SOUND that came out this receiver. I honestly do not think that $399 (at Good Guys plius the criminal 8.5% San Francisco sales tax)) could be better spent. I was looking at the 595 but all it seemed to offer as an advantage was a couple of s-video in/out jacks, DTS and 10 more watts (and 10 watts is really nothing). Well my Panasonic ultraflat TV has 2 S-video inputs and DTS is simply not of interest to me, so I figured I save $100 and try the 495.
Now the bottom line. This thing is SWEET (Ballroom Blitz). I honestly was not expecting the sound that came out of this thing. And not just the difference between plain pro-logic vs Dolby Digital. I also mean turning the effects off and just listening in plain old stereo. Amazing is the word for the Yamaha 495. Many schools will try to convinve you that the single best way to upgrade your system is to get better speakers. Well, the Yamaha 495 receiver belies that. Over the past 30 years years I have gone through many an upgrade (receiver, speakers, cartridge for my turntable - incidentally, I found B&O to have some mighty find cartridges in the 70's and early 80's). But I can truthfully say that the Yamaha 495 gave me, by FAR, the most noticebale improvement of ANY component.
So my recommendation for folks who are looking to get a truly wonderful sounding Dolby Digital system at a budget price is the Yamaha 495. And if you are looking for a speaker system as well, go with the and the Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble IV speakers. For about $650 you are going to blow away almost anything that does not cost twice as much.
PS -I gave this a 4-star rating for "overall rating" simply because Yamaha has a few higher end products. But seriously - I still cannot believe that a $399 reciever could sound so incredible. And remember - please spend a half hour or an hour with the manual and you will find the remote on the 495 is quite good.)

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A Sony Pro-Logic reciever I got about 10 years ago and a Kenwood VR-305 Pro-Logic receiver.

Amaizing power. With a reported 75Watts per channel, I very rarely go above 9:00 on the dial.

Remote is somewhat difficult to use at first with the slim design. It's functional but could be better.

Had to buy a Digital reciever for the DVD player. After researching the best ones here for the price I bought the Yamaha 495. After about 6 months I purchased a center channel to improve the movie quality. The reciever wasn't able to send the signal to the center speaker. Had to send to Yamaha for repairs. It was still under warantee so there were no questions asked and got it back in 2 weeks.
The sound is clear in all modes. The Digital input from the DVD is a big improvement over the RCA plugs.

I would definitely recommend this reciever to anyone for great sound at a great price. My old Kenwood was good, but distorted when turned up. The Yamaha stays crisp and clean even at high volumes.

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Kenwood Reciever