Amazing quality in DTS and DD, very good music performance for an AV amp, loads of inputs, build quality, ease of use (very easy to use like most Yamaha amps).

As with all Yamaha amps, should have more setup options for speakers (e.g. speaker distance from listening position, adjustable crossover).

I finally got the amp I wanted. Great in movies and music. First of all, I have to say that the amp is very heavy due to the quality of parts and large power supply used. Build quality as usual with Yamaha is top class, very solid construction and it looks like your typical Yamaha amp. There’s a knob you can turn for selecting inputs and an analog volume control. Apart from the above controls there’s only a power button and input mode button you can see. When you open the panel below, there are plenty of controls and inputs for Video and audio. The menus in setting up the amp are simple and probably there should be more. This is a problem with all Yamaha amps. There are more then enough inputs at the rear. The sound quality in stereo is very nice. It’s solid, powerful, detailed and the high end is clearly presented. Doesn’t sound dull as some people have said. I’ve listened to a few Yamaha and Sony AV amps and this has by far the best sound for stereo music. There’s a tone bypass button you can use for pure sound. In DTS and DD mode it’s amazing, there’s so much detail and it’s all there in your face, not laid back like some amps. The only way I think you can better DTS and DD sound is by having more power, so the sound is a little cleaner at realistic listening volume. But that’s a minor complaint, there’s very little hiss, it only becomes noticeable when the volume knob is after 1 o clock. After 1 o clock, the sound becomes a bit harsher but this is expected. But I can’t see anyone raising the volume above 12 o clock, unless you’re using it in a very very large room. In firewall tests done by homecinemachoice magazine it gives a very respectable figure of 95W, after this distortion starts setting in and affects the quality. Considering its rated at 100 w and the max figure obtained by the mag was 110 then you can see it’s a very powerful amplifier. You can pick up these amps for under 500 pounds off ebay or other second hand sources. If you want a better AV amp you’re going to have spend over 1000 pound. And at that price range, you’re going to want some very expensive speakers to notice the difference. I know I am going to keep this amp until it dies. My setup: B&W DM601 S1 (fronts) B&W DM110 (rears) Paradigm CC150 Yamaha YST SW205 As you can see my speakers are good but there's a lot better out there(mainly floorstanders) , but for me they are perfect.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RX V396, Yamaha DSP AX620

Open the front page of the manual and read. Every thing on this puppy is more than you can fathom. The best sound I have ever thought I could hear.

No other AMP to compare it to. Although it is heavy, it is worth it''s weight in gold.

Dynamic, authoritative, and unequaled is how I choose to describe this AMP. The DSP cinema sound combined with either the DTS or Dolby Digital produces the greatest and fullest audio sound throughout the entire listening area. There are so many filters it would take forever to list. I have planned and researched AMP’s for a while and when I came across this deal I could not pass it up. My Set-Up AMP: Yamaha DSP-A2 (Black) Speakers: 2 Bose Acoustimas 15 Bass modules with 8 double cubes. (Black) Center Channel: JBL Studio Center DVD: Hitachi DV P250U VCR: 2 Hitachi F540 (7 head models) LD: Pioneer CLD-1070 Monitor: JVC 53” projection flat screen

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NONE

I auditioned the Denon 3800, Sherwood 945 and Yamaha A1 and well as the A2, which I eventually bought 2 months ago. I found the Sherwood to be several leagues worse in terms of DD sound quality, and way worse for stereo than the others (but then, the Sherwood only costs £500, so I sort of expected that). The Denon was much closer to the mark, but I thought the Yamaha A1 and A2 had better channel separation and superior stereo sound quality. The differences between the A2 and A1 are slight, but noticeable in a high-end setup. The A1 has a more "full" nature, possibly due to the slight increase in power handling, and more advanced audio circuitry (though I found that the A2 controlled bass somewhat better with the tone defeat switch enabled). The A1 is more configurable on the back panel and has more options to ease speaker integration as part of the OSD. The DSP modes are of typical Yamaha quality, with more being available on the A1. The thing is, does these differences make up for the price gap between the two? I don't think so as the A2 is currently selling for £850 and the A1 £1450 (black). With that in mind the A2 wins out despite being a slightly inferior machine to the A1. On a side note, Mike said that the remote for the A2 was a non-learning model. In the UK at least, this is not the case. The RAV-180 remote has full learning and macro capabilities, and, as far as I can tell, is identical in operation to the A1 remote.
The A2 is great, go out and audition it.

Went out this weekend and audition one of these babies, and I can tell you that it's better then the real thing (cinema that is). You can play it loud without getting your hear drums poked, it has tremendous power that you can actually feel and plays the music on DVDs very nicely. Also very accurate.
I really, **really** enjoyed listening to it.

still...

...when it came to just music, it just didn't fit the bill for me. It sounds very good but it just doesn't have the "thing" I was looking for. So, if you are considering to use it mainly for music (which is most of cases) beware and listen before you buy.

PS: To give you a hint at what kind of sound I was looking for, I ended up ordering a Plinius 2100i (a $2000 2 ch amp) - now that's music !

POWER - CHANNEL SEPARATION - NO INFERIOR SURROUND CHANNELS - BUILD QUALITY - EXCELLENT DYNAMICS

NONE, MAYBE ITS A BIT HEAVY, BUT THATS BECAUSE OF THE HUGE POWERSUPPLY AND ALL THE OTHER GADGETS !!!!

I USED A PIONEER VSX 808 BEFORE, I THOUGHT THIS WAS GOOD. NOW I HAVE BOUGHT A YAMAHA. WOW WOW WOW, A REALLY HUGE DIFFERENCE. THINGS THAT I IMMEDIATELY NOTICED;

1) VERY GOOD CHANNEL SEPARATION
2) VERY VERY POWERFUL
3) EXCELLENT BASS, VERY POWERFUL
4) EXCELLENT SURROUND SOUND
5) VERY GOOD DYNAMICS
6) UNRIVALLED BUILD QUALITY

THIS IS BETTER THAN BEING AT THE MOVIES ITSELF, THE SOUNDS IS SO GOOD, UNCOMPARABLE WITH OTHER BRANDS IN THE SAME PRICE RANGE.

MY SET-UP;
PANASONIC 28 INCH WIDE SCREEN
YAMAHA DSP-A2
MISSION 70C1 CENTER ( PERHAPS A BIT SMALL, BUT IT DOES THE JOB, AND ALTHOUGH ITS ONLY RATED AT 70 WATT MAX. , IT NEVER STRUGGLED WHEN CONNECTED WITH THE YAMAHA )
MISSION 704 FRONT ( SUPERB, JUST ONE WORD )
ELTAX HT BIPOLAR SURROUNDS ( HOT ITEM, VERY GOOD SPEAKERS CHECK THEM OUT AT RICHERSOUND, I PAID $150/PAIR, AND THAT FOR DIPOLAR SPEAKER !!! VERY GOOD SOUNDSPREAD AND EXCELLENT BASS FOR SUCH A COMPACT SPEAKER !!! )

I FEEL NO NEED FOR A SUB, CAUSE MY 704 OFFER PLENTY OF BASS AND MY ROOM IS NOT THAT BIG. WHEN WATCHING MOVIES I ALWAYS USE THE "BASS BOOST", IT WORKS VERY WEL.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND ALL THE PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE STEREO SOUND. YOU DONT HAVE TO COMPARE IT WITH A SIMILAR PRICED TWO CHANNEL AMPLIFIER !!! I HAVE AS YOU KNOW MISSION 704'S AND THEY SOUND VERY POWERFUL, DETAILED, REALLY NO COMPLAINTS, JUST AWESOME. ONLY PEOPLE WHO LISTEN TO VERY CRITICAL MUSIC, AS CLASSIC SHOULD OUGHT TO COMPLAIN, AND IN GENERAL THIS TYPE OF PUBLIC ARE IN MOST CASES NO REAL MOVIE LOVERS.

THIS IS A MUST LISTEN AND AFTER THAT A MUST BUY !!!! ONCE YOU HAVE LISTENED YOU WANT IT, THERE'S NO WAY BACK. THIS IS MY FIRST YAMAHA PRODUCT AND I AM SO SATISFIED, THERE'S REALLY NOTHING BETTER, I TRIED SEVERAL BRANDS AS DENON, SONY, PIONEER, ONKYO ETC. ETC. BUT NOTHING COMES CLOSE.

I HAVE NEVER LISTENED TO THE A1, BUT I THINK IT WILL SOUND QUITE SIMILAR, ONLY A LITTLE BIT MORE POWER. FEW MAGAZINES EVEN SAY THE A2 OFFERS BETTER STEREO SOUND THAN THE A1 !!!

IN TERMS OF PRICE / QUALITY THE A2 IS A FAR BETTER BUY IN MY OPINION.

I AM GOING TO FINISH; IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A HOME CINEMA AMP, BUY THIS BABY YAMMIE, IT WILL PROBABLY BE THE BEST BUY IN YOUR LIFE ( ITS CERTAINLY MY BEST BUY, WISH I COULD IT GIVE MORE STARS !!! )

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THERE ARE NO SIMILAR PRODUCTS

It is a reliable system, which brings cinema to your home
I am enjoying very much watching movies through this system
In the meanwhile it is gives you the best quality of digital sound of movies as well as CD audio and songs.

I strongly recommend this system, as it is the best.

Individual LFE level on DTS DD. Smooth switching between input source. Auto select for input mode, Analouge, DS, DD and DTS.

Volume control, tracking. Remote control. The way it plays 2-channel music.

I'v used it whit Canton Ergo RC-L, CM 52 and R 51. There is nothing or at least not much to complain about when you use it playing DVD movies. BUT...as soon as you switch over to 2-cannel, put a CD in the player and press play the problem starts. The sound is harsh. No deep bass only middle bass that makes your furniture play along. Female vocalists and pretty high volume you find your self blink whit your eyes...HARSH. When I plays at really high volume the treble starts to crack. Ok, I know, Ergo RC-L isn't the best speaker to combine whit an Yamaha amp.

I give the 5.1 4 stars. Good setup etc.
I give the 2-channel 1 star. Just sounds awful.

Take a good time to listen. And do it at home if possible. I did the misstake to just listen in the store. However the problem is solved. I traded to a Pioneer VSA-E07.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX-908, Pioneer VSA-E06

Everything

The cover of the remote when you have to access the buttons on the indside...it feels fragile

Got this unit about 10 days ago in Hong Kong for about $1200 Cdn. Love the beautiful gold color! Was considering buying the 2095 for about $100 cdn more but I though I never use the radio anyways! Have it hooked up to a 12in Energy sub, 2 JBL Control 1, Polkaudio center. I know...speakers are kinda old but Titanic never sounded so good before! Will upgrade all the speakers to Missions or something like that but will keep the sub.

Warning to all that buy this amp! You better have some strong arms!!! This thing is a drag to take home from overseas and watch out for baggage overweight too!

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tested similiar products from Denon and Sony

DTS, AC-3, Dolby Pro-logic

Remote is awkward due to size. (There's a lot to control!)

This is an outstanding control center for audio equipment, I have been continuously expanding speakers, equipment due to all the options available. DTS and AC-3 have spoiled me but this units soundfields breathe new life into all my vhs tapes. Sounds great with La scalas, Heresy 2's and Bozak 4000's.

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Denon 3200,Sony 50ES

good sound,only in a AC3 or surround mode

very weak in only playing music.

I am a very critical listener if its about music but in this case video is in the game.
It looks that the most amplifiers in this catagory are made to give a nice sound to made watching movies more comfortable and enyoing.
for this test i get the best for a good sounding performance
so i connect for the front my own bw's 803 and from my dealer for the center a cdm-c and rears a pair 805.
no SW because this set is going to play well whithout one.
my own amplifier,a tube n.a.f class-a triode 845,is my reference player only for the music.
cable siltech ls-100,ftm4g3,mit tm4,kimber 8tc.a various of cables to get the best tuning.
dvd player panasonic dvd-160,this is the best for your money .
after playing in this amplifier i was still dissapointed for its sound quality,talking about depth and freshnes in the highs a speccialy the mids could not sattisfy me at all
wich are very important if you watching movies.
i think its very hard to make a decission if you are a music
listener and not a video watcher because other things matters and not the things music listeners do love.

Similar Products Used:

denon AVC A1,onkyo TX-DS575,harman kardon AVR85 AC3.