heavy construction, versitility, i actually like the remote, very reliable and configurable

power output not as advertised, don''t like the tuner (but don''t plan on using it much)

After looking at all of the reviews of different HT receivers I decided to go with the Yamaha. What many other people have said is true, the speaker connectors are cheap, the unit is built very well, it is extremely flexible as far a dts and dd formats. The only problem is the power output. The rating was 100 watts, which doesn''t seem even close. In my opinion it''s more like 70 or 80. The good thing is the sound it does produce is clean, clear with no fuzz or buzz. My previous Sony receiver would produce fuzz at about a quarter turn of the volume dial. This produces only a small hiss at around 10db. As previously reported from another reviewed that bought theirs on uBid as well, you really can''t hear anything until it hits 50db. At 20db it''s loud, but mine is in a small bedroom. All in all I love the thing, just wish the power output was what was advertised. At $390 I think it was a great buy. Would be a steal at $300 if you can find one.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Klipsch, Bose

Clean, clear sound and good DSP processing

lack of power...cheap binding posts

Bought this unit in June 2001. Have used it for 9 months now. Clean sound and good DSP processing, but drastically underpowered. If this unit pushes 100 watts per, then I''m as rich as Bill Gates. Prior comments about binding posts are true... they are cheap. This unit is discontinued, so it may be available for short bucks. Would be a good buy at $300 or less.

Great sound, the highs, the mids & the bass are really fine with my Acoustic Research Speakers (AR-11).I like the remote.I like the whole bunch of inputs.

The manual could be better, the remote is lettle complicate to understand in the begining,

I replaced my Technics SA-AX720 with Yamaha.That was really big good step for me.I am very, very pleased with this receiver.I like everything on it.The sound in movies is awesome, in music too.I will suggest this receiver to everyone.

Ease of use, setup, remote took 5 minutes to control all components of my system, plenty of in/outs

location of volume on remote, digital volume takes while to get used to

This is an excellent a/v receiver. To the previous post by mcleod, clearly you have a faulty unit, as several people I know have this product and it is plenty powerful to drive the system you describe. In 2 channel this unit is not as rich sounding as some of my other receivers, but for HT and 5 channel it is very good and well worth the cost.

Similar Products Used:

denon, HK, marantz

Well I turned the volume up a quarter according to the LCD since I have a digital volume control on this thing. I could not hear anything at all. I turned on the setup program and went through it quick and set everything to large speakers and bass to both main/sub. Then I pressed the test to test the output of each speaker. First my speakers are rated at 95+db sensitivity so I was getting a little worried. I heard no test tone at all. So I proceeded to turn the volume up to half-way, about 50db and finally I heard a soft signal. I immediately thought something was not right. I turned the unit off and checked all the connections and imedance selctor switch once more. Everything checked out. I thought the unit was fried or something. This thing should have been loud at 50db. I turned it back on and played a cd with my dvd player. The volume was a hair better, I could get sound at 55db. It was almost like the sound was muted. Well I pressed my luck and turned it up to 3/4. Bass was good from the subs, mains were weak and center was louder. went and adjusted them to match again. I got decent sound, loud but not booming loud at 3/4. So I thought that this unit was either broke or it was

Do not buy this unit. It blows. Low power, no where near 100watts P/C. Yamaha should be ashamed of this product. The others that have reviewed this model on here that praise it, WHY? Do you know something I don''t? I am not an audiophile expert, just a techie who knows good music when I hear it. Plus I am a sax player and have a good ear for sound. Bottom line is that This unit is going back ASAP, am going to get the Denon AVR-2802 and pay the difference. It should also be said that I am the tye that is even to lazy to write a review like this. First one ever as a matter of fact. I just am so dissapointed and it helped to relieve my frustration.

The summary of this review is easy. A lot of reviews on here recommend this product and I have no clue why they do. Below is a detailed description of my experience with this unit. First of all let me just say that I have a pair of Klipsch RP3''s for mains, a klipsch RC3-II center, and a pair of Klipsch RS3-II surrounds. Well I get the unit and right out of the box I am happy because I am thinking based on all the other reviews on here that this thing is going to kick some major butt. I knew it was underrated in terms of power before I bought it, but I upgraded to this unit after owning a yamaha HTR-5450 which was an entry level receiver. The point is that it was only 80 watts per channel but had plenty of power and volume. Turned up half way on the LED screen, my speakers were loud as hell with no distortion. Let me also say that I am a technical person by nature and know how to hook my stuff up the first time. I read a lot and do my homework before making any purchase. I am an IT Tech for a living. However, that being said, lets talk about the RX-V800. Right out of the box it was heavy, about 35-38 pounds. Seemed to be well built right off the bat. Much taller than my old one due to all of the extra inputs and outputs on the back. Like I said I was happy for the moment. I proceeded to wire up all of my speakers using gold banana plugs and 16 gauge finely braided monster xp cable. I did not bi-wire or bi-amp the speakers because I called klipsch and talked to a tech who told me not to do it, and that they would sound better with just a single wire. Instead I was told and did first wire up the two subs with a Y-cable coming from the receiver to two RCA cables 10 foot each, going to the LFE input on both subs. Then I wired my mains from the receiver to each main speaker and connected them to the high level input jacks. I left the gold plate connectors on the speakers in place. ( The two sets of posts for non biwiring.) Then I connected my center up the same way and my surrounds. I rechecked everything and made sure I did not accidentally reverse the polarity on any of the connections and set each sub amp dials to normal input and center for bass contour. I then flipped both switches to auto after plugging them in. OK, so I was pumped all ready to hear the awesome sound already in my ears without turning anything on. I turned on the receiver, it lit up.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Klipsch, B&W, M&K, Infinity, Polk, Cerwin-Vega, Yamaha-5450, Nakamichi, Sony, You name it!

STRONG Binding Posts, lots of audio and video outputs, preprocessor-bypass, NICE SLIM REMOTE

i wish the remote keys were backlit...

EXCELLENT RECEIVER...TONS OF FEATURES...how could this guy shaheem in the above posts, give the RX-V800 a 3 out of 5 and yet praise it. that makes no sense...this receiver has an abundance of great features. for instance the preprocessor switch bypasses the equalizer...this is an excellent audiophile feature for a non-audiophile piece of equipment...this is receiver is so great...not to mention the terrific sound. compared to lower end models in the RX-V series, this receiver lends a warm sound to the music...

Lots and lots of inputs. Assignable inputs. DTS 6.1 EX and DD 6.1 EX processing. Low frequencey tone generator. Very good 2 channel sound. Great surround sound processing

Overated in terms of power (especially compred to the RXV795 which it replaces). Cheap binding posts. Clunky Remote. Clunky on screen menus.

About a month ago my house was burgled and my RXV-795a was stolen (as well as dvd player & vcr). My insurance company replaced the 795 with the RX-V800. This review is more of a comparison between the 795 and the 800. Initially I thought that I had scored as this was the replacement to the 795 and had more features and inputs. My first disappointment came when connecting my speakers. The 800 uses cheaper binding posts than the 795. They feel extremely flimsy, and are not as solid as the ones on the 795. Hooking up the rest of my stuff (dvd and satellite decoder) posed no problem as all video inputs have s-video. There are also more optical inputs and two assignable co-axial digital inputs. The 795 had far fewer s-video and optical inputs. I can''t remember, but I think it only had one co-ax. The 800 also has an extra VCR input which I use for my Playstation. This was a problem on the 795 as I had to use the VCR-AUX inputs on the front of the unit for the Playstation. This mean that I had to unplug the Playstation whenever it was not used as I could not close the cabinet doors. On the input side the 800 beats the 795 hands down. The remote control is basically the same as the 795''s (I still have the 795 remote and it works with the 800). Extra capabilities are the learning functions and extra manufacturer codes. With the 795 I could not get my previous DVD (Akai) or my satellite decoder to work with the remote. This is where the 800''s remote scores big time over the 795''s (only one remote laying on my coffee table). The only problem I had (also with the 795) was that my TV is locally made in South Africa and was not listed under the remote codes. I spent the better part of 2.5 hours trying various codes until I found one that worked. One of the downfalls of the 795 was the crappy remote and this is still the same for the 800. The wheel used to select the component to control is a stupid design. It is absolutely useless in the dark as you can''t see what component is selected. My wife hates it and always calls me if she wants to watch something. (Time to get a Pronto). Setup was easier this time round as the menus are similiar to the 795''s. It might not be that easy for a first time Yamaha user. One thing I dislike about the menu system is that you can''t change a setting and exit at that point. You have to page through all the functions that f

Similar Products Used:

RXV-795a DSP-A5

powerful and clean sound, great remote, superb digital surround processing modes exclusive to Yamaha

Settings remain the same when you switch from say DVD to CD. Could be better aesthetically speaking. The Sony's look great ...but then do we care about looks that much????

Very very happy with this buy even though I paid list price. I could have got it for less but I wanted to make sure that I was covered as far as the warranty was concerned.

The bass and treble response is MUCH better than my old Onkyo and the Sony 333ES that I demo'd. The movie DSP modes are simply spectacular. I used to be skeptical before purchasing this item but after watching "Titan AE" in "70mm Sci-Fi 6.1 DTS" I was convinced that Yamaha has definitly created something special.

If you are looking for a sub $1,000 receiver Yamaha's RXV 800 "Digital Top-ART" (total purity in audio reproduction) is quite easily the gold medal winner.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TSVX595, Sony STRV333ES

Ultra clean power, flexibility with tons of inputs/outputs, component video switching, 5 channel stereo, outstanding DD & DTS performance.

NONE!

This is a review for the Yamaha HTR-5280, which is the same exact receiver as the RX-V800. This is the finest receiver I've ever owned. The build quality is very good and the unit is quite heavy and fairly large in stature compared to others close to it's price. It has tons of digital inputs (7 in all) and outputs as well as both S-Video and Component video switching. The sound is very clean and very powerful particularly for a receiver under $800. It stacks up to the Pioneer Elite models quite nicely and even surpasses them in some areas. Watching DVDs in both DD 5.1 and DTS-ES through this unit is light years better than through lesser receivers close in price to this one. The on screen display also makes setting the unit up fairly simple. The remote takes a bit of getting used to with the selection dial at the top, but it's slim and controls most of the features nicely from across the room. Overall this receiver gives you basically everything you could want, except for 7 channel sound if that is the type of setup you're looking for. Highly, highly recommended, this is definitely a receiver you can enjoy for years to come.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer, Sony

Top-ART Technology for Incredibly Clean Sound, 5-channel stereo mode, Dolby Digital Matrix 6.1 and DTS ES, Composite on-screen display. Inputs and Outputs Galore.

Absolutely None (Remote takes some getting used to)

If I had to summarize my experience with this receiver in one sentence I would unequivocally state that this is absolutely the best receiver available for under $1000. It shares much of the same technology with its big brother, the flagship Yamaha RX-V1 (priced at $3400). Not only does Yamaha's Top-ART technology (which stands for Total Purity Audio Reproduction) give you near audiophile level performance for under $1000, but the unit is well constructed and beautiful to look at. There are enough inputs and outputs to satisfy the most discerning home theater junkie and there is even an optical input and an S-video input on the front of the unit, which is neatly concealed beneath a classic smooth operating door located under the screen.

The 5-channel stereo mode is enchanting for casual listening, while the Dolby Digital Matrix 6.1 creates a vibrant sound field with dazzling rear center effects on a phantom rear channel. Setup is a breeze with the on screen display, which works with either composite or S-video connections (a nice bonus)and there are enough inputs and outputs to satisfy the most discerning home theater junkie. The remote control on this unit is functional and has learning capabilities, although a backlight would be nice and initially it takes some getting used to.

Before purchasing this unit I auditioned the RX-V596 in my home. The RX-V596 was a nice receiver and had adequate power for a medium to large sized room; however if you are going to spend $500 for the RX-V596, I implore you to spend the extra $250 to get the RX-V800. The differences are astounding. I promise you it will be the best $250 you have ever spent. The RX-V800 allows you to tap into the upper echelon of Yamaha performance for under $1000 and in my opinion is the ultimate home theater choice in that price range.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX-V496 and Yamaha RX-V596