Great Sound

None

I purchased this AV Receiver on the recommendation of a Audio & Video Consultant at Tweeter, due to the fact that it was being discontinued and he located one that was still in the box. I purchased my Klipsch KLF 20(s) and KLF C7 two months later and set up a home theater system. Based on comparison with my Yamaha Stereo System with a AV-55 Amplifier, the sound brings a new world to jazz music. I'm hearing new sounds from CDs that was not heard before. I guess I can also give some credit to the speakers but the RX
V800 is a great receiver. Jazz radio stations in this metro area are heard crystal clear with the standard provided indoor FM antenna. I have not mastered the remote control yet nor have I installed the On Screen Display. After these items are completed I feel that this will be a five star product based on the price paid.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha AV-55

5.1 decoding and playback

When I ran across this display model at Sears a few weeks ago for only $320, I had to buy it. If I didn't like it I could always get rid of it on Ebay and get my money back out of it. Well, it's staying in my audio rack. Even though it does not have the white lettering, I will keep it. As you can tell, I have been a little eliteist in the past. But HTR-5280 and the RX-V800 are the same models and you can't tell what color of letters are on it when it is behind class in my entertainment center. Oh well, let's get on to how this thing performs.

Performance:
Now this isn't on par with seperates, but it is on par with 90% of the receivers on the market. When you consider I paid only $320, it is the dollar for dollar heavyweight champ of the world! Well, at least middleweight. I was a little concerned that Yamaha had exaggerated the power ratings. 100x5 - 100 watts per channel driven in pairs. I didn't think it would be any more powerful than my RX-V795a at 85x5. I was mistaken. You can notice a difference! This unit's amplifier section is superior to the RX-V795a. The sound is definately Yamaha. Very detailed and clean at moderate levels. Thin and a little less tight at higher volumes. It may not play as loud as some, but it is much more refined and it does not get too loose at high volumes.
The soundfields are excellent, if you are into that. The Cinema DSP fields are excellent for providing a little airyness to old movies or cable/satellite movies. It's fun. The Cinema DSP fields do not have the overabundance of reverb like many others have. 5-channel stereo! Thank you! This is awesome! All DSPs have numerous adjustments available for you to adjust. Yamaha is the king of recreating likelike sound fields that do not overpower you with reverb. No other manufacture can compare in this regard.

Flexibility/Set-up:
Not as extensive as the most expensive, but it does provide sufficient optical digital inputs, as well as S-Video connecitions. It even has two component video inputs.

System:
Yamaha Receiver HTR-5280
Yamaha CD Player CDC-575
Proscan DVD Player 8680z
Proscan VCR 73
RCA DSS (dd 5.1)
Sony 53" Television
Paradigm 7seMkIII
Paradigm CC-300
Paradigm ADP-150
Paradigm PS-1000
Sony AV2100 LCD remote control
Monster, IXOS, Street wires, Audiostream cables and speaker wires

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX-V795a, Kenwood

Too many to list.

Remote.

Got a good deal on this unit with a $200 price drop from Yahmaha. Give it a listen in the store if you can it'll make you buy it.

I got it home, hooked it up (which was quite easy) and it sounds even better through my home speakers.

Not a complaint. This is a great product for the price.

Similar Products Used:

Yahmaha reciever about 4 years old, this replaced it.

Clear sound, Many features, Universal remote (Very usefull once you got used to it..), design & front pannel.
Non-linar volume adjustment.

Speaker wire caps are a 'lil bit fragile.

Overall a very good buy, nice build / design, clear sound.
Very direct sound.

Other components used:

Nad CD player
Pioneer DV-533K DVD
Mission 775 Floor standing fronts
Mission 771 Bookshelf on the back
Mission 77c Center speakr

Similar Products Used:

Nakamichi AV-8, Rotel stereo amp.

Clear, well-defined sound. Binding Posts, (Assignable) Optical In & Outputs, (Assignable)Digital Coaxial Inputs, On-Screen Display, Learning Remote Control, lots of DSP settings, lots of Component, Composite and S-Video Ins.

None

This Dolby Digital/DTS Receiver was worth every penny that I paid for it. It keeps suprising me with it's flexibility and scalability. Here are some facts to support my opinion.

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-Controls, knobs etc are well made.
-Front panel is very strong and sturdy.
-All rear and front inputs are gold plated.
-Binding Posts can accept an array of speaker plays INCLUDING BANANA PLUGS....Ignore any in this posts that says otherwise. In fact, I USE BANANA PLUGS ON MINE.
-Optical Ins and Outputs (Can assign any component to each)
-Coxial Digital Inputs (Can assign any component to each)
-Lots and lots of Component, composite and S-Video connections
-Learning remote is excellent...has a menu pad like a dvd's remote...can assign sets of commands to each component on the easy-to-use selector dial
..AND MORE...
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Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX-V596

Power,lots of all kind of inputs,sound.

For me , none.

I always loved the `Yamaha sound`so i am very happy with this unit.It is powerful. Watching movies from DVD source is great with all the DSP modes available. The 5ch music is fantastic to me. Also that unit have the capability to drive my `AR90`giant front speakers who are 4 ohms while all the others speakers of my system are 8 ohms. The remote control is ok with time.
So that unit drive perfectly my system:
AR90 (Acoustis Reasearch)Front
CS400I (Polk) Center (Fantastic speaker)
AR18S (Acoustic Reasearch)Rear
David 301 (Powersub)
DVPS360 (Sony dvd)
CDCPX335 (Sony 300 CD unit)
KV32FV27 (Sony 32in. tube set.(Fantastic)

Sweet sound, good finishing and DSP mode

Remote too simple and not friendly

Before I decide to purchase this model, I have a lot of choice on my hand.

Power Sound Effect Finishing
Sony STR-DB940 1 3 2 1
Onkyo TX-DS595 3 2 3 2
Denon AVR-1802 3 1 3 2
Yamaha RX-V800 2 1 1 1

Sony STR-DB940 (US$460)
Strengths: Great power, a lot of sound effect and a good remote
Weaknesses: Sound is not sweet enough and detail for CD but this is good for movie.

Onkyo TX-DS595 (US$460)
Strengths: Sweet sound, good detail (but not enough) and Dolby Pro Logic II
Weaknesses: Power and leak of sound effect.

Denon AVR-1802 (US$360)
Strengths: Sweet sound, good detail and Dolby Pro Logic II
Weaknesses: Power and leak of sound effect.

Yamaha RX-V800
Strengths: Sweet sound, good detail and good finishing
Weaknesses: Remote to simple and the output power seems less than the specifications

After getting the comment and listening on those product, I take the Yamaha. I think it's a balance choice for who like to listen CD and watch movie. It's value for money in that price range!

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-DE845

????

Power,sub output,stereo,everything........

Yamaha never more!

Similar Products Used:

rxv-795a,denon,marantz,onkyo.

Fantastcic Digital surround decoding, Great looks, High Power, good music sound. Virtual EX

remote awkward to get used to and needs 4 batteries, doesn't accept banana plugs, poor binding posts.

I bought this reciever at the a week ago, and got it home and set it up very quickly, I was very dissappointed to see that it doesn't accept banana plugs, meant I had to strip all the ones since I had my previous amp, (sony strdb830). once set up I i put my T2 special edition dvd in the player and tried out the dts ES and DD EX. The Effects modes like Sci Fi and Adventure and Enhanced are fantastic when chosen for the right movies. The Perfect Storm movie in its recorded DD EX format is fantastic on the Adventure 6.1 setting. This amp is also very good on music. All in all I got the amp for £379 and it was supposed to be £650 and to my ears that is a bargain. Must listen, even better if you have Dipole or Bipole rear speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Sony STRDB830 Digital Dts reciever.

Good power. Good sound. Lots of DSP settings, or straight through processor direct to amp or outputs. Plenty of audio, video, optical,multi zone, composite and coax inputs. Even phono! Big case but not too heavy. Preouts for all 5 channels. Assignable inputs. Manual. Good match for Klipsch speakers.

Almost intuitive setup. But I had to spend 45 minutes to an hour reading the manual. That's almost as bad as stopping and asking for directions on a road trip! No THX(no wait, that's a strength!)

I wasn't intending to purchase this model already. I was still trying to decide between this and the Rx-V1000, the HK AVR 320, or taking a chance and trying the Outlaw 1050 without an audition. But Good Guys is unloading the RX-V800's. All they had left were "open box"(demo) and they were $375(no sales tax in Oregon either).
Several models in this price range were crossed off my list because of a lack of preouts or a lack of a phono input. Any company that prominently listed stats at 6ohms was also suspect (Onkyo, Denon, Technics).
No problem hooking everything up. I'm keeping a Yamaha M-60 amp from the old configuration to drive the main speakers(Klipsch RF-3's). Hooked it up to the main preout. Probably don't need the amp. The receiver powers all the speakers louder than I can stand it, but the amp is a sentimental favorite since I bought it in Japan in '85. And it really helps shake the foundation. This receiver acts as a good preamp. It seems to be very quiet. I can pick up slight high volume hiss at a few settings, but they seem to be the ones with crappy interconnects too. Upgrading those one at a time.
The setup and use of the remote is not an easy out-of-the box thing. A readthrough of the manual was necessary for me. Using the test tone to configure the surround and center speakers was pretty easy. I haven't even started tweaking delay, reverb, or room size settings yet. I will probably pick up an SPL meter from Radio Shack in the near future(tweak tweak).
Since this was a display model, all of the settings on the receiver/remote were anything but factory default. The reconfigure went pretty quickly though. Many of the option areas indicate what the default was, so it is easy to get back to square one if your config suddenly sounds like crap. As with most things, change as few variables at a time when setting this up.
I'm driving my family crazy changing the DSP settings multiple times at the beginning of movies, but we are settling on a few that we like. I think a couple of the 70mm settings have too much reverb. Time to go back and read the manual.
This unit generates a fair amount of heat in the enclosed rack that it is in. Not too hot to lay a hand on though, even after a few hours of hard driving. A fan is in order for the rack before summer. Leaving the door open also eliminated any heat factor. The old power amp is on the next shelf below the receiver also.
I've read of some people not thinking that Yamaha is a good match for Klipsch. I've used Yamaha and Klipsch together since 1980. I might be used to the sound, but I've never found it to be too bright or harsh.
I'm using this system for probably 60/40 music/movies.
If you can pick one of these up at a retailer as they sell off the remaining stock, do it! It seems that some of the mass market stores are only carrying the higher end RX-V models(like the 1200) and bringing in the HTR line(the HTR-5280 is the same as the RX-V800). The manual is freely available as a .pdf from the Yamaha site, but make sure you get a remote. It is essential!

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned Denon, HK, Sony, Onkyo, Pioneer, and Technics in the $250-$1000 range. Had Adcom pre, Yamaha amp setup in home before.