Fantastic receiver, much better than my older Kenwood, i got it right this time, i will hold on to this one for a very long time, my first Yammie WOW. :)
Pros:
Great Dolby Digital & Dolby Pro-Logic Decoder, Great Cinema DSPs, amazing power for 70Wx5, it looks like having 100Wx5, and btw, the European Model has S-Video.

Cons:
Remote is hard to work with, don't hate it, but could be much better.
Volume knob with no light on it, hard to see how is the volume with the lights out.

This is an excellent receiver. Very easy to set up. Amazing sound for both HT and music. Dynamic range compression works fine. If you have good front speakers and a subwoofer, set Subwoofer to "BOTH" not just "SW" to get more bass. DSP modes are very nice. Excellent price-quality ratio.

This was my first Dolby Digital receiver, and it was well worth it. It has all the features that I need for my current system, and it is great. It has inputs for every possible external device that I could possible use (and do!!).
However I do have 2 complaints:
1- The remote doesn't have every feature that I need for use of all my equipment. I find myself having to still use my DVD remote for fast forward/rewind within a chapter (and many other features). It also lacks much of the control of my cable box, the new Sci-Atl Explorer 2000. The number pad is not enabled when using my CD player. (They should have used the learning remote from the old RX-V592)

2- They have optical and coaxial input for a DVD player, but only optical inputs for your TV/DSS tuner. Because I have digital cable, which only has coaxial out, I had to switch the connections for the DVD player and cable box on the receiver so that now DVD is Cable and TV/DSS is my DVD player.

Overall, it is still a good receiver, and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a solid low cost receiver.

i bought the RX-596 (same product) in august'98 for $380. I suggest that you pay no more than 400 for it. Paired with B&W CDM1 SE speakers, 8-guage monster speaker cable and MIT Terminator2 RCAs to the favorite CD player (in my case a Harmon Kardon FL 8450), sound far eclipses any other RECEIVER on the market for the money. Of course, the speakers are the strongest link in my chain, which i recommend HIGHLY ( B&W CDM1s are exhilarating for the $1200 range ), but the Yamaha does a powerful job of conveying detail and quality sound. It has a solid, clean circuit layout, with a CD Direct switch (as well as Pure Direct switch for all other input selects) to bypass tonal controls for maximum efficiency and the best sound from the original recording, which is realized on a pair of quality speakers. These make for a great value for the money. Plus, Yamaha products last---not a bad deal.

I liked it...

Great receiver for the price ($399 at Nobody beats the Wiz) - they accidently sell the RX-V495 at the same price.. (?)No S-Video output is a minus, so is no DTS but overall great unit with great sound and easy installation.
I agree with most people that the remote is somewhat defective in design. That wheel drives me nuts, especially at night and my cable box and TV do not respond to it. However my Sony MD does...
I only have 2 speakers (Infinity reference series) and my TV as well as the MD sound great. The manual should be read at all costs as fine tuning the unit is not too logical.
Great unit.

This reciever is awesome. The sound is crystal clear and it has enough power easy. Hooked up to Energy eXL:16's this sounds sick.
5 Stars

I've had this unit for about 2 weeks and I'm really pleased with it. The DD sounds awesome compared to my old Yamaha which had DPL. The 70w/channel is deceiving - this unit really packs a punch ! I feel this unit was designed more for hometheater than for music reproduction..dont get me wrong...it sounds great , but its forte is definitely HT. I highly recommend this yamaha, it's my 2nd unit and I am not dissapointed.

I bought 595 yamaha receiver and this is wonderful, I love it. I would recommend for my family and friends.
Compare to the sony 935 receiver 595 yamha alot better.

Clean natural sound

Poor remote

This receiver offers great sound for the money. It has strong, clean, natural sound for a reasonable price. On the neagative side it lacks an S Video in for DVD and DTS. The remote stinks (it does not have critical keys for other equipment and does not learn). I am going to buy a $20 One-for-all Cinema 7 as a replacement.