Champagne (domestic) sound on a Chardonnay Budget
Written: Feb 18 '01
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Pros: Great sound, reasonable price and plentiful features. Great connectivity.
Cons: Complicated and non-intuitive remote. A little short on digital inputs.
The Bottom Line: Great bang (literally) for the buck. A high quality piece with enough features to satisy the the most devoted audiophile in a confusing enough configuration to keep 'em interested.
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| sticks-strings's Full Review: Yamaha RX V795A Surround Sound AV Receiver |
It was time to take the plunge and eschew my old JVC synthesized surround amp for a true Dolby 5.1 receiver. I shopped the Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha and others but I kept coming back to the Yamaha. I spent a great deal of time in the upscale electronics stores and rediscovered that most of the salesmen out there are clueless. The will usually spout facts and opinions in the absence of intellect, knowledge, experience or integrity. A much better source of information were the web and print media. After much agonizing I concluded that in the absence of price considerations, my first choice was the Denon 3300. The one thing the salesmen had tried to convince me of was the need for more power than the 795a could deliver. Fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be, price was a consideration and I ended up (somewhat reluctantly) with the 795a. There had just been a price drop and I picked up the unit for $395.00 with the assurance of a no questions asked return policy.
I have a moderately sized listening room, approximately 15x18 and I had been persuaded that power might be a problem. Well, guess what, no problema. With the power needs reduced by the addition of a powered sub-woofer, this receiver can drive me from the room at less than half power! I have been stomped by dinosaurs, caught in earthquakes and volcanoes and experienced various and sundry other natural (and unnatural) disasters and I'm lovin' it.
I also spend alot of time listening critically to music and here, this receiver again really shines. Power is more than adequate, smooth in delivery and exemplary in all respects.
Now the down side. The remote is THE PITS. First, ya have to be 20 with 20/20 vision to see it at all. Tiny buttons with tinier print under them. Too many buttons to memorize so its a hit and miss proposition and many of you know what happens when you start pushing buttons at random. It can sometimes take the rest of the show just to figure out how to undo what you did and hear anything at all. Fortunately, as a last resort you can get off your butt and use the controls on the face of the receiver which are somewhat less confusing and easier to identify.
Also, I prefer to use the fiber optic digital inputs which are less than plentiful on this receiver. Using the light pipes also allows the receiver to automatically select the DSP setting that best suits the source material. Imagine my surprise when I switch from a jazz CD to The Matrix on DVD and the receiver switched from Jazz Hall to Sci-Fi Theatre all by its little lonesome.
In sum I'd have to say that I'm very pleased with my choice. After all, I purchased it for the SOUND and not the remote and it sounds mahvellous. For the money, its hard to beat and Yamaha's reputation for quality products is a comfort as well.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $395.00
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Epinions.com ID:
sticks-strings
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Member: Mark
Location: South Florida
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
I'm a musician who practices commercial trial law to pay the bills.
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