Features, output power, cleanliness of signal inputs and outputs

no coaxial input for DVD

I finally had the itching to upgrade my receiver to Dolby Digital. I had fought with myself whether I should get the 800 or the 1000, but ended up with the 800. It has the same features as the 800 basically, but the 1000 has a better remote. Anyway, I'm impressed with the features and flexibility of this receiver. Since my previous receiver is still amongst the living, I know that this Yamaha will satisfy me for years to come (until another version of surround sound comes along). Would highly recommend this receiver to anyone...

My system includes:

Yamaha RX-V800
JBL N38 Front Channel Speakers
JBL N-Center Center Channel Speaker
BIC Venturi V-52 Rear Channel Speakers
Toshiba 36" TV w/component video inputs
Panasonic AG-1970P S-VHS VCR
JVC XV-523GD DVD Player w/component video outputs
Panamax 1000+ Surge Suppressor
RCA DirecTV receiver
Monster Cable 300 MkII RCA cables
Monster Cable Navajo White speaker cables

Similar Products Used:

previous Yamaha (see review for R-V701 receiver)

High output power in all channels. 4 ohm speaker impedance compatibility. DTS-ES and DD6.1 built in decoder. 2x Optical OUT's (!) 4x Optical IN's

Inconvenient remote (!)

I have spent many months looking for an A/V Receiver, that has all necessary connections and operating functions. I looked for receiver that give me at least:
- 2 optical outputs (to connect my MD recorder + CD-R recorder)
- 3 optical inputs (to connect MD, CD-R and DVD)
- 4 ohm speaker impedance tolerant component
- component video IN/OUT’s (for future system extensions)
Well folks, YAMAHA has it ALL, none like other A/V receivers in fact! I checked out DENON AVR-3801 and even with 7 output power channels it has only ONE optical OUT (big... BOOOO! tor DENON for this !). Also important for me was to use my 4 ohm “Tempo” (Audio Physic) speakers as a second set for stereo listening. Using it with DENON is little risky. With YAMAHA there is nothing to worry about. OK, here is system configuration I use for YAMAHA:
- DVD YAMAHA DS-796 (multiregion)
- CD/MD Player Onkyo FR-435
– CD-R Recorder Pioneer MJ-D707
– VCR JVC-SVHS HR-8600
– stereo speakers: Audio Physic TEMPO
– 5.1 speakers: BOSE Acoustimass 15 (powered)
– 36” TV Panasonic TX-36 PF10

For those of You who look for “newest technology” product and A/V Receiver with 6.1 channel sound compatibility, but You do not want to put another (6-th) speaker in your living room (rear-center speaker) YAMAHA is the best choice ever ! Looking for Home Theatre speakers I wanted to get something small but with good movie sound reproduction. I choose BOSE, cause it had the best “sound space” performance in my 26 square meters (about 230 sq. feet) living room. Well together with YAMAHA they work better than I expected. In stereo reproductions YAMAHA goes to the top of performance (for this price – with my Tempo speakers) when You use “processor direct” function. What else do you need for combining good performance stereo reproduction plus home-theater system. Nothing else, YAMAHA gives you all of these! When watching 6.1 movies (T2-Ultimate edition, Gladiator) you can really hear the 6-th channel (Rear-Center)! It feels like the sound comes from the back of your head, like a mono sound – and that’s an extra channel. The “phantom” function of YAMAHA that makes this extra “rear center channel” work really great. Anyway you can listen this by yourself. There is a higher model of YAMAHA (RX-V1000 and RX-V3000) but if you want to avoid extra speaker installation, RX-V800 has all the best from these two and makes this sound channel virtually pretty good.

The only weakness of this receiver is the remote control. And for this YAMAHA should be punished. Why? Well remote has all necessary learning functions, so You can use this remote to operate any a/v equipment, but it is really hard to switch between them using “dial selector”. The signs on dial are lighted but.... (watch this !) only when You press extra “INPUT” button. Other buttons are not lighted at all! During the movie reproduction in dark room it is hard to navigate with this remote. You can do it but extra lightning is necessary. Of course You can get an extra remote (for extra money) used to operate higher models of YAMAHA (RX-V1000 or 3000) but this is another expense.
Anyway my overall impression is that the YAMAHA RX-V800 is the best of all A/V Receivers for price to $1000 USD, or even more comparing to DENON AVR-3801.
Go and get it folks, it’s really a bargain !

Similar Products Used:

DENON AVR-3801

Build Quality, Digital Inputs, DD & DTS Performance, Realistic DSP Modes and Sound Purity

Component selection on remote

This unit is built like a tank. It produces pure, clean, dynamic and punchy sound. The sound stage is very detailed and precise and the DSP modes are realistic. I believe the subs in the front speakers compliment the clarity of this unit and prevent it from sounding on the bright side. On-screen display is intuitive and lets you tweak the settings.

Remote - To dial selector is terible. However, you will eventually get used to this remote. Other than the dial it works well.

Unit Front - The layout and controls are well organized and present a very clean appearance. Tuning, DSP controls, s-video, normal inputs and digital inputs are behind an oil dampened door. However, I miss having direct access buttons for preset stations. Display for component selection is on the small side.

Unit Rear - The inputs/outputs and speaker connections are well organized. Plenty of them.

Home Theater - DD & DTS is awesome. Must watch DVD is *** Gladiator *** in DTS-ES.

Speaker Setup - Front, Center and Rears set to Large. LFE set to BOTH. The front BP2006TL's each have an 8in sub each powered by a built-in 250 amp(set halfway to 5). I use a splitter to connect LFE to both fronts.

If you are in the market for a sub $1000 AV receiver, I would strongly consider this model. Even at a local store should be able to get it below the $800 MSRP. If you like the sound you can't go wrong quality and feature wise.

System
Yamaha RX-V800
Yamaha CDC-775
Apex AD600A
Panasonic 4620 VCR
JVC AV32D501

Speakers by Definitive Technology
Fronts - BP2006TL
Center - C/L/R 1000B
Rears - BP2X

Similar Products Used:

Sony GX50ES

Very quiet amp, plenty of power and sounds damn good.

It's another Yamaha remote, ecchhh.

I hadn't planned I submitting a review so early after purchasing this unit, but unequivocally say that I am ecstatic with this unit so far.

The build quality is excellent and it has every conceivable feature I needed plus a few others thrown in that make it a great platform to expand upon. Component video switching being the foremost, and S-video across the board.

The pre-amp outputs are nice, as I had planned to use my Adcom GFA 545II to power the mains, a pair of Advent Heritage towers. Notice I said 'had planned', after hooking it up I decided to leave the amp out so I could evaluate the receiver by itself, but after 2 weeks I don't feel the need to put the amp back in. This thing rocks. I haven't had a chance to stress it, but it's held it's composure nicely to way past the point of comfortable movie watching levels.

The remote however is the units weakest point.
I don't like the wheel component selector at the top at all and it doesn't light up.

I use a Sony RM-AV2100 universal so this isn't much of an issue, but for anyone considering buying this unit, also consider getting a good universal remote. If adding $150 - $200 bucks for another remote is not an option, don't fret, it's still worth it.

Following the remote is the OSD, which isn't that bad once you figure the non-intuitive interface out.

Ahhhh, but the sound.
My previous setup consisted of the aforementioned Adcom amp and an Adcom GFP-555II, a solid combination for music. For home theater I ran a Yamaha RX-V393 (strictly pro-logic) off the processor loop of my pre-amp. It was nice and put many D.Digital systems I had listened to to shame, and nothing compared when it came to mucic as far as receivers under $2000 went. This unit compares favorably, almost to the point where I cannot tell. Yes the Adcom sounds better IMHO, but that's a completely subjective opinion though.

For movies, driving my Advent's, a Paradigm LCR450 center, and paradigm Atom's for surrounds it's astounding. I've been watching scenes over and over amazed at the level of detail and clarity it presents even during very acoustically complex scenes. The sub scenes in U571 were wonderfully projected in my living room, as was the rooftop scene in the Matrix where Keanu does his bullet dodging act.
The list goes on and on...

I put off the switch to Dolby Digital for so long because I already had good sound, and spending $750 didn't seem necessary for a long time. This was the first unit I came across that I believed would offer me comporable sound to what I had with music and excel at movies, and that's exactly what I got.

Even at $750 this thing is a bargain, but make sure you have equal caliber equipment to fully enjoy it.

My system:
Yamaha RX-V800
Toshiba SD-2108 DVD
Pioneer CLD-D504 LD
ProScan PS27123 TV
Yamaha CDC-555 CD player
Sony something or other VCR
Adcom 515 Line Conditioner

Advent Heritage Mains
Paradigm LCR 450 center
Paradigm Atom surrounds

All speaker connections are run over Naim NACA5 cable, all audio interconnects are handled by Tributaries SCA300.

S-Video is Monster cable, not the overpriced versions, but the middle model.

Cheers,
Sean

Lots of inputs. digital/optical/s-video etc. Lots of features, good build.

HORRIBLE remote. This is important since you will be using this remote quite a bit to interact with. Selector dial on it is hard to see, remote is physically too small , and since many buttons have multiple functionality, it's quite a challenge to master. OSD menu is too many pages deep. Should be simpler to set up. Volume control is too slow moving, and increment is too small - it takes many turns to crank it up and down. When the phone rings, it takes a bit of time to turn it down.

Sorry, mine is going back.

Musically it's ok. Not as good as my Luxman. Home theatre stuff is satisfying.

But what first attracted me to this unit was it's clean and simple look and Yamaha's reputation for building solid systems. What I've found out though is that the clean and simple look came at the expense of many direct access buttons. Many buttons now do multiple functions, which add to the complexity.

For example, there are 2 source buttons on the unit itself. To select CD, (or any other source) from the unit, you have to push the up or down button multiple times as it cycles a cursor to the desired input. Went too fast and passed it? Hit the other button to go back.

I'd much rather hit a button marked "CD" one time and be done with it.

If the user interface is not as important to you, then this is a solid machine with good value, features, and performance. But to me, the real true test of a good UI is how little you have to refer to the manual, if at all and this along with the horrible speaker set up and other on screen menus, multiple pages deep, and the teeny thin remote is where I draw the line. I want something that performs decently, which this unit does, but not at the expense of ease of use.

Similar Products Used:

Luxman AV 371
SONY STRD2010

Everything - remote

Remote

First I would like to address the people who send reviews and this site managers: There are people such as Nino from 10/3/2001 who don't give any review just ask questions and still give points to the product. If you don't have an opinion ( "..my set up isn't complete .." ) don't grade the product !!! This isn't a place to ask for guidance or tips !!! Nino was rude enough to submit his thing which isn't a review twice and give the product crapy grades.
To the point : you can't find a match for this product in this price level. There is simply no competition. It has a very very good sound, lots of inputs, lots of outputs, very up to date technology ( 6.1 channel). It can't be beaten.
As for the volume knob: a lot of guys complain that it doesn't have light and reduce the grade. Well, believe it or not there shouldn't be light. It's a digital knob. You can turn as much as you want. The light will mean nothing.
It also uses logarithmic method ( as oppose to the linear method most products use ) means you get most of the power on the upper third of the scale.
As for the remote: I agree with most of the reviews. Yamaha could have done better, but you can get used to it.
Overall: For this price I think this receiver is brilliant.
It has everything you can ask for and more ( unless your aim is a 2000$ one).

Power, versatility, number of inputs, brand name, DSP modes, looks.

none for the price

I traded in the 596 for the 800 when American decided to match Sears price(Sears internet store price match, electronicsemall.com), that they would sell the htr-5280(same reciever)to me for. I think this upgrade is well worth the money. I do not think the rx-v1000 is worth the money to jump to for a 6th channel pre-out, a new remote and a few more DSP modes.
This reciever KICKS BUTT! It has PLENTY of power to spare. It produces a crisp, clean sound that sounds great with music and just blows me away with movies. The DSP modes sound real and natural, not fake like others I had listened to. 5 channel stereo mode is good for watching tv, and listening to music. It has a nice look to it as well. You can't beat this name brand and quality that you get. This will last me a long time(which, these days hopefully will be at least 3 or 4 years or so).
Bottom line, You cannot beat this reciever for under $1000, and at $579 I was jumping for joy! GO GET ONE!

Similar Products Used:

rx-v596

Component Video, Sound.

Remote.

To Steve Westcott,

Almost every major mid-high end audio manufacturers don't offer warranty if purchased from unauthorized dealers. This is not the fault of Yamaha. If you are writing an review against a particular reseller, don't post ONE star rating against this Receiver!

You also have a very good chance of getting a B stock product and being charged for a little less than a brand new one, which made you happy for a while.

Very clean sound. Stays cool. The DSP settings are teakable
if you don't like the factory settings. I like the Bass &
Treble knobs on the front.

The remote was designed by a techno-geek who had no intention of ever using it. I would like to see a speaker balance control knob on the front.

I'm impressed, it sounds clean, no humm, it stays cool, all very important things for an amp.
Someone in the reviews below said they were going to take it back because it was so complicated to set up, they wanted something simpler. Well, there is a bit to learn before figuring out how to make it sound the best- I spent the first week with the Movie Theater DSP modes sounding kind of like they were coming out of the end of a toilet paper tube. Finally figured out that I should have my Center Speaker set to None instead of large since I don't have one...
It gets my seal of approval.

Similar Products Used:

Last amp was a 1991 120 Watt Sony that never did work as advertised.

Quality build, wonderful music reproduction, simple design, great price for the amount of goodies!

Have not found any!

I had brought home several other receivers to test drive and the RXV-800 won hands down. Easy setup, incredible music reproduction, the sound is very crisp and clean, I really enjoy the 5-channel mode. I have only watched a handful of movies - I am still cranking through my cd collection and marveling at the clarity but the home theater is equally impressive!

You can't beat this receiver for it's price range. I looked at some pricier models that had far less to offer than this Yamaha! You can't go wrong getting this model!

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Dennon, Marantz