Good all-around receiver
Written: Jun 18 '01
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Pros: Great sound, ample power
Cons: Remote, only one digital coax input
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a high quality entry level DD 5.1 receiver and listen to music as well, give this a serious look.
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| bstauffer's Full Review: Yamaha HTR-5240 Receiver |
After I graduated from college and had a real paycheck, I decided it was time to upgrade from my aging 2 channel receiver. I wouldn't call myself an audiophile, but I do love good-sounding equipment and pretty much anything electronic.
I was originally planning on a Sony AV receiver, but after speaking with a couple of informed salespeople and doing some of my own research on www.audioreview.com, I decided to give the HT-5240 a close look. I looked at the unit's fraternal twin, the RX-V496 (different model number, different color paint, everything else identical) in a local pro shop, and was very pleased with what I heard. I decided on the HT-5240 because I could get it cheaper.
Setting this thing up has been a challenge, but that's due to my system, not the receiver. I have a DVD player, VCR, TiVo, and CD player hooked up, plus something else occasionally on the front inputs (very nice to have). My TV only has one AV input, which made things a little difficult, and also forced me to use my DVD player's composite output rather than the S-Video. I wanted to use the receiver's video switching, and my TV isn't really high enough quality to tell the difference.
I have the receiver driving a set of Paradigm 9se MKIIIs, which I bought used. The rears and center are also Paradigm. I don't have an ideal home theatre setup, but I listen to music more than home theatre, and the setup satisfies me. The sound is very clear at all volumes. There is more than enough power for what I need.
My obligatory pro/con list:
Pro
* Durability. The unit looks, feels, and performs like it is well-built. I don't think I'll have any problems with this one.
* Easy setup. Makes it easy to configure the levels of the speakers for home theatre, and lets you lock the options so you don't mess up your work. There's an option to compress the dynamic range in home theatre mode, which is good for watching movies without waking the neighborhood.
* Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS. If you haven't watched a DVD with a home theatre, you're missing out. You just have to experience it.
Cons:
* Remote is awful. Too narrow, buttons are close together, and very hard to read. Luckily it doesn't matter for me, because my Sony RM-VL900 learned all the functions just fine (see my review -- BUY THIS REMOTE if you have too many on your coffee table).
* No S-Video output for composite inputs. I think you have to go a couple of steps up before you get this feature. I had to use composite on everything instead.
* Only one digital coax input. Leave it to Toshiba, the manufacturer of my DVD player and creator of TOSLink, to not have a TOSLink output on their DVD player. I don't have anything else (yet) that needs digital input, so it doesn't matter now.
Overall, I'm very happy with this unit and would recommend it (or more likely, its new and less expensive version, the HT-5440) to anyone looking for an upper-entry-level AV receiver.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 350
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Epinions.com ID:
bstauffer
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Location: Columbus, Ohio
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 5 members
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