Dolby Prologic 2

buzz in rear channels, lack of power

I might have kept this receiver had it not been for a terrible buzzing sound in the rear speakers in all DPS modes. It lacked power, but all the receivers in this price range do. It claims 60 watts per channel, but the lab test show more like 25 watts per channel with all speakers used. Yamaha has also test low on noise reduction, which doesn't surpise me due to the noise in the rears. This model would not be a good audio reciever because of its lack of power, but might be ok for some who just use it for a home theater.

Overall, if it were not the noise in the rears this would be the best receiver in its class for the price, and i would have given it 4 stars if it had not been for the noise.

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onkyo

Nice clean sound! Elegant design ( no cheap looking buttons everywhere) Simplicity Rules!!

Gets quite hot (although it may be the cabinet it's in, has only 2" clearance on top) no effect on sound though!

For such a large, diverse company, Yamaha seems to hold its own in everything it produces. I've owned a yamaha motorcycle, tape deck, synthesizer and computer speaker system. Every one of these products has surpassed my expectations!
The RXV496 Reciever is no exception!! Clean sound, elegant design and very reliable. What more could you ask for?
Looks and sounds expensive.

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Sony, Pioneer

Great Sound; Has both Dolby 5.1 and DTS

I find the remote to be cumbersome - but them maybe it's just me.

We just got into the big screen league a year ago with a Mitsubishi 46". I told our salesman that I didn't want to spend a great deal of money on an AV amp/processor until we got our feet wet in AV (recalling my experiences in audio over the past 40 years or so). He recommended the RX-V496. Boy - what a surprise! This is a first rate piece of gear; it certainly can't be judged by price. I can't imagine how much more one would have to pay to discern a big difference. I would certainly recommend it to anyone starting out in AV. Heck, I'd recommend it to almost anyone period. In our setup, we use Bose speakers - Acoustimass 5 for front/sub, VCS 10 center and 161's surround. The RX-V496 drives the speaker system effortlessly without the least bit of distortion; and at some pretty high volume levels when my wife isn't around :-)

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For audio - Carver amp and preamp, Audio Control equalizer, Yamaha Surround Processor

It have very, very much POWER, can blow your ear off !!
Nice design. Very clear sound, and bass.

This receiver has no weakness, It can blow your eare, and your neighbour house :-)

When I came to the store I was going to get the sony 475.
But fortunately they did not have it in the stock.
The man in the shop telled me that I could get this yamaha receiver for just 115$ more. I buyed the receiver and plug`d it to my Philips dvd player.
I must say that i was shocked !! One week after I played the Matrix DVD with my Yamaha yst-sw320 sub, and the house began to shake. Our dog think`d it was thunder outside, but it was only me and my wonderful Yamaha receiver. And the remote has a nice design.
I must say that this receiver is a "soundbeast"
the rds-radio has very many functions, almost so many that you can`t remember what they are for.
The cinema-dsp is awsome you feel like you are in a cinema.
So by this receiver now, and remember to have a house that can deal with it.

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I have heard an sony 445

very.clear.very.very.good.for.h.t. dts

no.so.good.for.music.it.is.very.bright

600.$.canedian.tx.in.very.good.for.only.h.t

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sony.str-de545.for.150.less

lots

none

Listen you swedish meatball,if you are going to post a bad review do it in english.THIS IS AN ENGLISH FORUM.Again for the price this is a great receiver.fliben,faben,fluben,coulduschleiben(MORON)

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lots

I think this Andreas Bo guy from Sweden is a person that is representing the OLD SCHOOL OF DOLBY PRO.LOGIC.
First, your selection for similar products is poor comparison. Harman Kardon and Pioneer have good amps, but not as many as excellent amps such as Yamaha and Sony.
Second, this receiver, my friend, is one of the excellent ones. It receives reviews based entirely on PERFORMANCE FROM A BUDGET RECEIVER.
Maybe, you use this receiver to drive your fancy Euro30,000-00 priced speaker.
Or worst, maybe, you connect crappy Euro50-00 speaker.
You're not listening to it right.
Or just maybe you just hate rave reviews for this Yamaha, you a**-****!

None

Everything ..... In Swedish. Detta är nog en av de sämsta receivers jag nogånsin har hört .... ljudet är platt, omusikaliskt och stickigt. Jag avråder alla att köpa denna produkt. Don`t Buy This Reciever!!!!!!

The Worst Reciever In History!

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Harman Kardon avr 2000 , Pioneer vsx 808

clean power. nice dsp.

none for this price

i'm satisfied by the real clean 70w. if you are using some sesitive speakers, this unit can blow you away easily in a mid size room. i also recommend denon 1601 at the same price range. it's really just personal taste, i liked both when listening.

the new rxv620/520/420 will coming out in spring so all the 596/496/396 will be replaced. the difference between 520 and 496: 520 has more digital input(4 opticals instead of 2), a better dsp chip and a new look. if you are not picky on those dsp modes and don't need the 2 extra optical inputs for now, you'd better grab 496 when it's here.

give it 5 stars for the price. just don't expect it to beat $2500 recievers.

DTS decoder, value

Remote design could be better

I got this receiver so I could watch DVDs with digital sound. I got it home, and couldn't immediately use it for this purpose, as I didn't have an optical cable to hook it up to my PS2. I unhooked my old Kenwood receiver and hooked up the Yamaha to listen to some CDs and I was blown away. I was fully convinced that this receiver was worth every penny without even trying out the digital sound. I hadn't realized just how good my speakers could sound. This receiver made me happy not only about its purchase, but also about the purchase of those speakers (I had been less than impressed with my subwoofer until I got this receiver, and realized it wasn't the subwoofer's fault). Needless to say, when I did pick up the correct cable I was even more impressed. I don't think there is a better receiver out there for the money. If you are looking for a reasonably priced receiver that has Dolby digital and DTS decoding this is the one for you.