power/DSP modes/lotes I/O

remote

I did a review back when the unit first came out and i played with it more and i still think this is one of the best recievers that Yamaha have put out. the price ,etc
.......The sound modes come close to the real thing to a movie house. Anyone looking for a easy to use unit try this one out.
Last note; Sound and vison mag did a review on the RXV1000 and its the same unit as the 800 excepted for the record out selecter and the center preout and they gave it a good ratings,even a (a+) on the sound modes.I order the service manuel for the unit and it states the 5280 and 800 are the same units

my home system

Yam RXV800 reciever
Yam DVD796 dvd player
Yam kx580 cass deck with dolby S nr
Sony 520 mini deck
A A headphone amp
Klipsch 3.5 main speakers
Klipsch .5 surrounds
Klipsch c-1 center channel
Klipsch sw50 subwoofer
Tosb 36" tv
grado 325 heaphones
JVC super vhs 4500 deck
JVC 830 4 head deck(a classic)
monster/gold kimber cable

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sony str de845

Sounds really good, lots of fields that actually sound different from each other. Solid. Looks good,I still like the basic black.

The LFE Out has such a high cut-off frequency 90 Hz. I have nice tower speakers, and they can handle much lower bass than that. Remote is not very well designed: small, wheel selector is a bad idea. Still using my old Pioneer learning remote, its so much better.

The unit sounds great, it much better that my Pioneer(except fot the remote), but that's to be expected with 5 years of technology and all that. The Phantom 6.1 is quite nice. I am very happy with the number of the inputs and the variety of them. I don't have a TV with a composite input, but that should not be too far off. The power to my speakers is very clean (B&W DM640i mains, 600 ifs center, 600i rears and Paradigm PW2200 sub), but I will probably add a couple of Marantz MA-700's to the mains. The Playstation 2 sounds great through the Yamaha also.
It was very easy to set-up and the manual was very clear. My old unit did not have banana plug terminals, this feature made it so much easier for me too set up my subwoofer, I tried several different amplification options for it before deciding on one. The Pioneer's clips seemed rather cheap and would slip out every now and then. I now that banana plug terminals have been around forever, and I'm glad I finally have them. The room size selector is a nice feature that really enhanced my home theater enjoyment, use it.
I am very happy with the Yamaha and would recommend it.

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Pioneer DSXV703S

Clarity, Power, and Options.

none so far

Wow, this is really a great receiver. The sound is produced very naturally and clearly. The bass response is awesome, and the options are just phenomenal. This is by far the best receiver I've heard in its class. The DSP modes sound very realistic and not artificial as that of Sonys. This receiver sounds a lot more powerful than its 100wpc RMS would suggest. A definite must for serious listeners who care about quality. Once again, just as in motorcycles, Yamaha comes out on top.

P.S Props to the R1 riders out there, and for the Honda enthusiasts all I have to say is...

"Tis better a sister a wh0re, than a brother who rides a Honda".

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Denon 2801, Sony V333ES

Great DD and DTS decoding, Powerful, Good Price

Audio drop-outs

I bought this receiver and was amazed at its ability in home theatre applications... until the audio started dropping out in all channels. These were transiet occurances of maybe once every two or three movies lasting only a millisecond, annoying however. It happened in DD or DTS but never on CD's. Used optical and coax connections and went so far as to buy a new DVD player, same thing. Took it back to the dealer and got an RX-V1000, they thought I was mistaken I think. Haven't had a problem with the 1000 after a month with many many movies. Took back the new DVD player as well.

I was talking to the dealer last week and he was very interested to see how my new receiver was working out. Seems another customer bought an RX-V1000 and was having the same complaint. They contacted yamaha and are ordering new DAC's for both units. I'm sure this is very sporadic and correctable, but I thought you should know.

I also want to address a complaint I see here a lot. This has to do with brightness/darkness in amplifiers/speakers/DVD players etc. There are two ways to fix this. One is to spend a whole pile of money and time trying to find the right combination of gear, listening environment and recordings that will produce the "perfect" sound. The other is to buy a decent equalizer that will overcome room and recording abnormalities. My yamaha is bright on many CD's (not DD or DTS however) as is my old NAD. I bought an equalizer, hooked it up the pre outs/in and you would be AMAZED at how it improves stuff that needs improving.

I would give this 5 stars all around except for the drop-out problem.

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NAD3150

performance, lots of features, well made

I hate the remote

If you are in the market for a A/V receiver, the Yamaha
RX-V800 is an excellant choice. This receiver is equally suited for both music and movies. The RX- V800 has a warm clean sound and is loaded with plenty of features.
I recommend that you also invest in quality interconnects and speaker cable (AUDOIQUEST is my favorite) to bring out the best this receiver has to offer. Believe me its worth the extra cash. Do yourself another favor and price shop this receiver extensively because of the wide price differences
between retailers I have seen in both stores and online dealers. Becareful of shipping charges too.

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Sony STRDE945

The music clarity was excellent,both ConcertHall,and 5 channel stero

Programing the soundfield modes to get the superb clarity.

I had tried the Harmon Kardon,Onkyo,and Sony.But none came close to the Yamaha RX-V800 that I have kright know.Them three receiver that I tried were ok, but didn't have any clarity it just sounded clear, and the normal which is the Sony. The problem with Harmon Kardon their wasn't equal surround sound which lacked. I had made sure I programed it correctly.The same with Onkyo,plus I heard a little hiss, and I heard it also on the Sony even more on the DSP modes.The best thing about Sony is their DSP mode.Sony has a variety of DSP modes which I can use for,like Movies,Wrestling,Music,and Sports.I must say that their Cinema is the best I ever heard on any receiver even the Yamaha that I have. And believe me you can tell a different.Know back to my receiver that I have.When watching a movie,it almost sounds like your in a real movie theater.To the people out their,if you want the best Home Theater with the top notch performance like high current,7 Channel Amplification,then look no futher to a DENON brand Receiver.Which is assembled or made by the best Country in the world today and that is Japan the Qualified who take pride in their work....

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Harmon Kardon

just about everything

no coax imput for dvd

i said i would post another review when i got my dvd, well, i got an integra 5.0 and of course i bought star wars episode 1 dvd, OH MY GOD does it sound good. i got podracers and explosions all around me, as far as some problems ive had, it was strange that there was no coax imput for the dvd, but whatever i am using the cable/sat imput because it really doesnt matter, ive got all types and grades of imput cables and they all sound good, as far as the remote goes, my ex girlfriend and other people where able to figure it out pretty easily, maybe its kinda difficult on some of the more complex functions, but my thinking is is that if you are messing with these options, then you should know how to operate the remote accordingly. This amp has failed to disappoint, i recommend it very highly to anyone, i give it a 4 here because i think this product deserves a 4.5, and a 3 for price so my scores average out to 4.5 overall and 4 price

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see review from 3-10-2000

Excellent sound quality, plenty of assignable digital inputs (all but one are optical though), component video switching

minimal...see below

I had been using a Yamaha RV-902 receiver for several years and using the Dolby Digital decoder built into my DVD player via the 6-channel inputs.

I had been wanting a true Dolby Digitial receiver for some time, but I utilize the component inputs on my TV, so I wanted to wait for a receiver that would allow that kind of video switching. Showcase opened up next to my house and I got their ad in the mail and this model was on sale.

I am very impressed with this unit. The sound quality far outdoes my previous Yamaha. I also like the digital volume control, where the dB level is shown on the display and increments in 0.5 dB intervals (which may be too accurate).

The few gripes I have are that the on-screen display (which is easier to use than the flourescent display on the front) does not appear out of the component outputs. The second is that out of all the pre-programmed TV codes for JVC, it will not control my set.

In DD and DTS modes, the sound quality is superb and I have a hard time thinking why anyone would need anything more elaborate.

I won't go into detail about all my equipment, but I use NHT SuperOnes and SuperCenter speakers up front, an Eosone subwoofer, and JBL surrounds. My TV is JVC and my DVD player is Sony. I also use a Scientific Atlanta digital cable receiver (why doesn't the digital out work?).

Overall, at $549, it's a steal. In my opinion, there are no others that can come close for this amount. If you paid more for it, you paid too much.

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Several others, including Yamaha, Harman/Kardon, and Sony ES

Cristal Clear Sound, Trieble- Bass- and Loudness-Buttons on Front Panel, 5-Channel-Stereo sounds great, 5 optical in- and 2 optical outputs, 2 assignable coax inputs

no coax output, remote selector dial hardly readable, master-volume made of plastic looks cheap, with 46cm too deep for my old Hifi-Rack

As my old Hifi-Rack was not deep enough for most mid- to high-quality A/V-Receivers, I at first decided to buy a Sony STR-V555ES (only 41cm deep - so it would fit in my rack) and thought to be lucky to get it for just 640US$. But after installing it, I was especially dissatisfied by the dull Surround-Sound and the strong hissing at practically any volume. After one week, I traded it in for another one - only with the result, that the hiss was even louder. So I gave it back and was - this time really lucky - to get a full cash refund.
I then asked a friend, who is a real audiophile and he recommended me to buy a Yamaha. (He uses a Yamaha RX-1).
I just had to decide whether to take the RX-V800 or the RX-V1200. The main difference between these 2 devices is, that the RX-V1200 has real 6.1-Surround-Sound and some additional Sound-Programms. As I do not have the possibility to place any rear speakers at all, the 6.1-Surround-Sound was not that interesting for me and I was not willing to pay over 400 US$ more just to have some additional Sound-Programms and a metal master-volume, I decided to take the RX-V800.
So far, I did not regret my choice. What a difference to the Sony. The sound is cristal-clear, especially when you set it to 5-channel-stereo (the center just could be a little bit louder). And practically no hissing until about -15db (but thats far too loud for any appartement).
I have not tried out most of the features yet and probably never will, but so far, I am very satisfied with this receiver, except, that is has no coax output, but I have seen no other receiver so far, that would have one - so it does not seem to be a shortcoming of this particular product. I have read complaints about this receiver having no coax input for DVD in several previous reviews. The coax inputs can be reassigned to any device (I reassigned the cable/sat input to DVD - took less than a minute). As I have a CD-Recorder and a Mini-Disc-Recorder, I like the 2 optical outputs.
I can really recommend this receiver. I would give it 4.5 stars. Rounding up to 5.

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Sony STR-V555ES

Great sound, every input/output connection you could want, good looks, and I like the remote control!

Can't think of any significant weaknesses

I bought the RX-V800 after much time spent on-line comparing it with equivalent products from Denon, Marantz and others. All receivers sound good in the stereo store, so I wanted to know more about the pro's and con's of the RX-V800. The biggest negatives I identified in on-line reviews were the "bright" sound and the awkward remote. Several people cautioned that Yamaha receivers are designed for home theatre enthusiasts, not for music enthusiasts -- that was also a potential concern, as I use it primarily for music.

Well, after listening to the thing every day for 3 months, I can't find a single thing to criticize. The sound is phenomenal -- with the same Mission tower speakers, it made my 10-year old Luxman sound sick in comparison (and the worst part is, I paid more for the Luxman receiver than I did for the Yamaha!). I can hear stuff in the music that I never heard before. Maybe that's the "bright" sound some people have noted, and if so, I like it!

The RX-V800 works well with DVD movies, but I have no basis for comparison, as I invested in an entire home theatre system at the same time as I bought the RX-V800.

Lastly, I should note that I like the remote. It takes several minutes of studying the manual and programming the remote to get it working, but now I can control five separate components with a single slim remote. I don't find it confusing or awkward or stupid at all, but then YMMV.

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Luxman receiver