Power (70 watts seems like 110), reputation

Remote - no s-video

Fantastic natural sound. I have read some of the other reviews and they say that there are not many features. B.S.
It is simple up front for every day use but you can tune center, sub, rears to help match your main speakers (read the owner's manual). I did not know the full potential until I purchased a DVD, center and powered sub. Sounds great. I have Infinity's sm122, sm185, sm center and the Velodyne ct100 (highly recomended). I could have bought the 795 or 995 but I dont need that much. Spend the money on speakers.
Also, the 595a has s-video (damnit).

Similar Products Used:

JVC

Very good clarity compared to other receivers in its price range.

Could really use a back-lit remote. Pre-outs would have been nice, but are rare at this price.

I love the sound of this receiver. I use a pair of North Creek Music Systems modified NHT Super Zeros for stereo listening. (I use another Super Zero for the center channel, and, of course, I have to use a sub with these speakers.) This combination gives me outstanding imaging and clarity at a very reasonable price. Digital surround is very good, although my rear speaker setup is not optimal. Level and delay settings are very flexible. And Yamaha finally included an S-Video input for the DVD player (duh!). Overall rating is very close to a 5.

I found the 595a on sale for $399 in Jersey and the local AV store where I like to do business matched the price.

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon AVR 10

Great Product at a great price. ($377 from onecall.com)Great Sound and easy to hook-up.
Difficult remote at first, felt like I needed a PhD!
Added Toshiba 2109 DVD and surround sound Klipsch synergy speaker system.

I decided to upgrade from my Technics system consisting of the SA-X720 and the SCH-500D audio components. After almost 9 to 10 months of owning this combo, I felt that, despite the fact that everything sounded quite good, I wasn't getting the best sound with my speaker set. My set consists of 5 Klipsch speakers and the Energy ES-8 sub. The combination of my speakers and the Technics most of the time sounded too bright for my taste. Ever since I got the home theater bug, I've heard nothing but rave for the Yamaha line. Being that this new year promises to be a great year with all the new movies coming out, I decided to upgrade my receiver.
I headed over to Ken Crane's ( to one of their a/v store, not the laserdisc one), this nice salesman greeted me at the door. I asked him to showed me their receivers and he took me to one of their demo rooms. I saw all the Yamaha line, from the rx-v595 up to the DSPA-1. I played with the smooth-as-silk sliding door of the DSPA-1 and rx-v2095. I knew I couldn't afford them, might as well get to touch them at the store for Pete's sake! I asked the guy to turn on the rx-v595, but he stated that it wasn't hooked up. I told him I really liked the rx-v595, he stated it was a nice receiver. I asked him what's the best price he could offer it (the thing had a $498 retail price) He left the room and came back about two minutes later. He said $469. I kept staring at the rx-v595, he then said, $460. I said, I'll probably be back. I went home, to see what the family acceptance factor would be. It wasn't good. They stated that I didn't need a new receiver. The one we have is good enough. In the end, they said they wouldn't consent it, but that it was my decision. I headed out the door as soon as I heard that. I got back to KC and ask for the same salesguy but they told me he had just left for lunch. I told them of the deal and the other guy said, are you sure he said $460. I said, "YES". He grabbed one the rx-v 595 boxes that they had stacked in the middle of the room, I paid and rushed my way home. Now, I'm sure that the $469 is probably their "arranged" discount, but the salesman went down to $460, and I took the deal.
Well, after owning it for a week and playing various material, I have to say I'm very satisfied with the Yamaha. The Klipsch sound better and even more dynamic than they did before. The ES-8, despite the fact that I didn't change one setting on it, is rumbling WAY more than it ever did. I have the SCH-500D connected to the six-channel in so I can hear DTS whenever I feel like it. The 70 * 5 are more than enough. I have yet to reach the 11 o'clock setting. It's just too loud around 91/2 -10 o'clock. I do notice a markable difference in the dolby digital material. There's more bass all around, coming from the speakers as well as the sub. The sound doesn't sound bright like it did before. There's more detail and sound is more pronounced. Everythng has more "oomph", to it. The soundstage extends way beyond the speakers, and the surrounds seem to sound more powerful. Yes, I have the speakers balanced with the spl meter. Everything just sounds more expansive. I'm really impressed as to how dynamic the Yamaha makes the soundtrack sound. It's as if I had the dynamic range setting on with the Technics combo, even though I didn't. When somehting blows up, your neighbor now knows it too. Now, I haven't really used the dsp modes on movies, so far, I find them too reverbrant, but I haven't experimented with the setting. 2 channel music sounds improved as well. Again, the sound extends beyond the speakers, giving a bigger front stage. I have quickly come to like the remote, it's very easy to use once you figure it out. The only thing I'm not too enamored with is the rotary control, but it's acceptable. I don't need s-video since I already had a video switch box. The Technics was good. The Yamaha is better. There really is a difference between the mass market receiver and the higher priced quality brand. And the rx-v595 isn't that expensive in the first place. If you're thinking of upgrading to dolby digital, you should save a little bit more and get yourself a Yamaha instead of a mass market receiver. You'll appreciate the higher quality that comes with it.

-Vic

This reciever is definitely a good deal for its price. You get all the DSP and digital features that are in the higher models for a lower price. The only real difference I see is that the higher model have a greater watt output. Although the volume knob does not have a LED to light it up, it performs great. This reciever is for those who want all the new features at a lower price with the great Yamaha quality.

RX-V595 Review:
I decided to upgrade from my Technics system consisting of the SA-X720 and the SCH-500D audio components. After almost 9 to 10 months of owning this combo, I felt that, despite the fact that everything sounded quite good, I wasn't getting the best sound with my speaker set. My set consists of 5 Klipsch speakers and the Energy ES-8 sub. The combination of my speakers and the Technics most of the time sounded too bright for my taste. Ever since I got the home theater bug, I've heard nothing but rave for the Yamaha line. Being that this new year promises to be a great year with all the new movies coming out, I decided to upgrade my receiver.
I headed over to Ken Crane's ( to one of their a/v store, not the laserdisc one), this nice salesman greeted me at the door. I asked him to showed me their receivers and he took me to one of their demo rooms. I saw all the Yamaha line, from the rx-v595 up to the DSPA-1. I played with the smooth-as-silk sliding door of the DSPA-1 and rx-v2095. I knew I couldn't afford them, might as well get to touch them at the store for Pete's sake! I asked the guy to turn on the rx-v595, but he stated that it wasn't hooked up. I told him I really liked the rx-v595, he stated it was a nice receiver. I asked him what's the best price he could offer it (the thing had a $498 retail price) He left the room and came back about two minutes later. He said $469. I kept staring at the rx-v595, he then said, $460. I said, I'll probably be back. I went home, to see what the family acceptance factor would be. It wasn't good. They stated that I didn't need a new receiver. The one we have is good enough. In the end, they said they wouldn't consent it, but that it was my decision. I headed out the door as soon as I heard that. I got back to KC and ask for the same salesguy but they told me he had just left for lunch. I told them of the deal and the other guy said, are you sure he said $460. I said, "YES". He grabbed one the rx-v 595 boxes that they had stacked in the middle of the room, I paid and rushed my way home. Now, I'm sure that the $469 is probably their "arranged" discount, but the salesman went down to $460, and I took the deal.
Well, after owning it for a week and playing various material, I have to say I'm very satisfied with the Yamaha. The Klipsch sound better and even more dynamic than they did before. The ES-8, despite the fact that I didn't change one setting on it, is rumbling WAY more than it ever did. I have the SCH-500D connected to the six-channel in so I can hear DTS whenever I feel like it. The 70 * 5 are more than enough. I have yet to reach the 11 o'clock setting. It's just too loud around 91/2 -10 o'clock. I do notice a markable difference in the dolby digital material. There's more bass all around, coming from the speakers as well as the sub. The sound doesn't sound bright like it did before. There's more detail and sound is more pronounced. Everythng has more "oomph", to it. The soundstage extends way beyond the speakers, and the surrounds seem to sound more powerful. Yes, I have the speakers balanced with the spl meter. Everything just sounds more expansive. I'm really impressed as to how dynamic the Yamaha makes the soundtrack sound. It's as if I had the dynamic range setting on with the Technics combo, even though I didn't. When somehting blows up, your neighbor now knows it too. Now, I haven't really used the dsp modes on movies, so far, I find them too reverbrant, but I haven't experimented with the setting. 2 channel music sounds improved as well. Again, the sound extends beyond the speakers, giving a bigger front stage. I have quickly come to like the remote, it's very easy to use once you figure it out. The only thing I'm not too enamored with is the rotary control, but it's acceptable. I don't need s-video since I already had a video switch box. The Technics was good. The Yamaha is better. There really is a difference between the mass market receiver and the higher priced quality brand. And the rx-v595 isn't that expensive in the first place. If you're thinking of upgrading to dolby digital, you should save a little bit more and get yourself a Yamaha instead of a mass market receiver. You'll appreciate the higher quality that comes with it.

-Vic

I have chosen the Yamaha due to two facts: design (I own already a yamaha tape and cd-player -> my hifi racks looks good now) and the informations I found in the web on several sites. Having an old (>10 years) stereo receiver RX-330 for 500DM (300$) I thought I could do no wrong replacing it with the RXV-595. Stereo music:
I have to hear many of my CD's again to discover more and more details which I missed up to now. I'm very impressed how good my small boxes sound (IQ Mini Lady). The output power is quite enough for my listening levels and the internal tuner is good, too.
Surround:
I have only listened/watched to some dolby surround movies broadcasted by normal tv stations up to now and my wife and me were both impressed. (center and surround speakers: M80 from Teufel, Germany). But please 'scale' this opinion because I have never heard any surround movies at home before. Additionally I'm thinking now of buying an additional dvd-player to use the full capabilities of my dolby digital receiver. We're expecting a baby soon and therefore the time to go to a cinema shrinks drastically.The setup of the unit with the speaker was o.k and not to complicated, but the manual could be a bit more informative. I found most of the informations about speaker placement, speaker levels and delay times on the web.
DSP:
The several dsp modes are quite o.k for different scenarios like surround movies, watching mtv, or just playing around with it. I don't know how many of them I will use in a few months, but now they're interesting.
Remote:
Even my wife is familiar with it already and we can use it for the basic use of our TV(Siemens), as well as the VCR (Panasonic), sure some things have still to be done with the original remotes, but we don't care for that. The small labels could be bigger but who has found the perfect remote already? It's the best looking remote I have ever had.
Setup:
The setup was o.k, but the manual could be a bit more informative. Most of the informations about speaker placement, speaker levels and delay times I found on the web.
Result:
I rate a five although I know there are better units out there, but for my budget (list price 590$, with mail order I got it for 450$) it's the best choice I could do.
My choice was confirmed by two recent reviews in german video and audio(video 3/99 and audio 3/99) magazines. The 595 was a two time winner to the comparable Kenwood, Aiwa, Technics, Onkyo and Denon receivers.

Just installed this unit and I am thrilled. It has exceeded my expectations. Sound quality is outstanding. Full HT system includes RX-V595, Pioneer DVL-909 DVD/LD/CD player, Klipsch KSW150 sub, KSC-C1 Center, pair of KG-2's for mains, a vintage pair of ESS Tempests for the surrounds and a Mitsubishi 35" TV.
The RX-V595 provides more than enough power for this setup and the sound is clean and crisp. Paid full retail of $499. but have no regrets. This is an outstanding unit and hard to beat with Dolby Digital included.

Gia !!!design sarround system blok diagramm & design
Eyxaristo poly

Kostas

After 25 years of service from my Kenwood 5150 receiver I decided to take the plunge into Dolby Digital. Over the years I have seen Kenwood ride the rollar coaster of technology, trying to keep there standards on a high level but getting caught in the mass market swamp of low cost units and then coming back to there high end roots but never regaining their previous level of status. During the past 10 years I have seen Yamaha rise to that level of status that I used to associate with Kenwood. When I finally began seriously looking to upgrade I was naturally drawn to both Kenwood and Yamaha. Both companys are producing very high quality products these days but Yamaha won my heart. My budget was in 800 CDN$ range and listening and comparing featurs choose the RX-V595. I am not disappointed. Power is more than I will ever need as I have been able to rattle the windows and my neighbours with what I consider pure clean sound. Bass levels are not as pronounced as the Kenwood but not a problem for me as I prefer cleaner mid and high range response. The remote seemed complicated at first but with some experience has become my primary remote. The DSP is wonderful as I can now control the stereo and DPL to my room environment and preference. My 5 speaker system is breathing new life into my old CDs and videos. Adding a subwoofer is not a priority now but will probably be added later. DVD is coming soon. I purchased the 595 from A&B Sound in Vancouver for 650 Cdn$ and it is probably the best investment I have ever made to my entertainment system. Thank you Yamaha