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Rating: 
Summary: in love
Review: i got this receiver five days ago, as a replasment to a three year old pioneer 5.1 receiver;i wanted somthing beter, and I realy got beter. befor I receved the yamaha I thought about returning it becouse of how much it coust; not after I hooked it up, the thing is increadable, the sound is butiful, and a lot of a/v in's and out's; I ended up useing all but two.it's hooked up to two hitchi floorstanding 12"s in front and pioneer center and srounds.I dont have a sub (yet) and have never ,felt, music like this befor everything sounds better on it: eros ramazzotti to blue oyster cult, moves, tv, everything.
I highly recomend this receiver.
Rating:
Summary: Great reciever for a great price
Review: I was very impressed with this unit as I am not an audiophile but this is bringing me closer to being one. This is not one for the faint of heart of for those with no patience as it does take a bit of time and manual reading to set it up for your personal preferences. Once done it will be well worth the time and effort because the punch that it packs and the sound quality in my opinion are superb. The other reviews I agree with except the remote one. I highly recommend!!!
Rating:
Summary: TYTIGER
Review: I'm not a hardcore audiophile, but I did a fair amount of research before buying this receiver. I found this unit has all of the features I was looking for, and at an exceptional price. This receiver is basically the new version of the 5560. It adds 10 watts per channel for 85 watts each. It also now has digital audio inputs and s-video inputs for every video input including the front one. This receiver is also basically identical to the RX-V640 that Yamaha sells through it's retail channels. According the Yamaha website, the only difference is the coloring of the lettering on the front of the receiver. There was a list of features I was looking for in a receiver and this met all my criteria. Support for both 6.1 channel Dolby Digital and DTS were a must. For my particular application 7.1 channel surround was overkill, and there currently aren't that many sources for it. Discrete circuitry for each speaker is a must. No spring clips for speaker connections. All support banana clips. I use a DVR and a VCR, so I wanted 2 AV in/out hookups. I have an oddly shaped room with less than optimal speaker placement, so I wanted the ability to adjust each speaker volume level independently. I don't have a HDTV compatible TV yet, but I wanted composite video support for when I get one. This receiver has 2 composite inputs and 1 output. Size was also a consideration for me as the receiver would have to fit into an entertainment center. The Onkyo I was looking at had similar features, but was just too massive to fit. The Yamaha was a more reasonable size. Performance wise, I have been very impressed with the Yamaha. With the ability to adjust each speaker volume level independently, I was able to set it up to create impressive surround effects despite my less than optimal room. The Dolby Digital and DTS effects are impressive. When the receiver detects a DD or DTS source, it switches to those modes automatically. There are 40+ additional surround modes. Yamaha apparently went to a lot of trouble to develop them, but in my opinion they are mostly useless. I've settled on Dolby Surround II for most of my non-Dolby Digital AV viewing which is very impressive so far. 6 channel stereo is great for listening to music and really allows you to take advantage of your surround system. I've tried most of the other surround modes. Some are interesting, but I haven't found that I use them much. The included antennas for AM and FM reception are adequate and I found that my reception was much improved over my last receiver (Sony). I found the remote and manual to be adequate and simple to use. I was able to adjust most of the settings on the receiver with minimal hassle. I was able to map all of the remote features to my Sony learning remote and it works fine. If you are looking for a step above entry level receiver with many of the features and quality of the high end models, I highly recommend this model. I did a search on the internet and found many stores offering it at very attractive prices. I called J&R and they matched the lowest internet price and I had the receiver in 2 days. They also have a very reasonable return policy though I haven't had to test it yet.
Rating:
Summary: Great Reciever at a great price
Review: I'm not a hardcore audiophile, but I did a fair amount of research before buying this receiver. I found this unit has all of the features I was looking for, and at an exceptional price. This receiver is basically the new version of the 5560. It adds 10 watts per channel for 85 watts each. It also now has digital audio inputs and s-video inputs for every video input including the front one. This receiver is also basically identical to the RX-V640 that Yamaha sells through it's retail channels. According the Yamaha website, the only difference is the coloring of the lettering on the front of the receiver. There was a list of features I was looking for in a receiver and this met all my criteria. Support for both 6.1 channel Dolby Digital and DTS were a must. For my particular application 7.1 channel surround was overkill, and there currently aren't that many sources for it. Discrete circuitry for each speaker is a must. No spring clips for speaker connections. All support banana clips. I use a DVR and a VCR, so I wanted 2 AV in/out hookups. I have an oddly shaped room with less than optimal speaker placement, so I wanted the ability to adjust each speaker volume level independently. I don't have a HDTV compatible TV yet, but I wanted composite video support for when I get one. This receiver has 2 composite inputs and 1 output. Size was also a consideration for me as the receiver would have to fit into an entertainment center. The Onkyo I was looking at had similar features, but was just too massive to fit. The Yamaha was a more reasonable size. Performance wise, I have been very impressed with the Yamaha. With the ability to adjust each speaker volume level independently, I was able to set it up to create impressive surround effects despite my less than optimal room. The Dolby Digital and DTS effects are impressive. When the receiver detects a DD or DTS source, it switches to those modes automatically. There are 40+ additional surround modes. Yamaha apparently went to a lot of trouble to develop them, but in my opinion they are mostly useless. I've settled on Dolby Surround II for most of my non-Dolby Digital AV viewing which is very impressive so far. 6 channel stereo is great for listening to music and really allows you to take advantage of your surround system. I've tried most of the other surround modes. Some are interesting, but I haven't found that I use them much. The included antennas for AM and FM reception are adequate and I found that my reception was much improved over my last receiver (Sony). I found the remote and manual to be adequate and simple to use. I was able to adjust most of the settings on the receiver with minimal hassle. I was able to map all of the remote features to my Sony learning remote and it works fine. If you are looking for a step above entry level receiver with many of the features and quality of the high end models, I highly recommend this model. I did a search on the internet and found many stores offering it at very attractive prices. I called J&R and they matched the lowest internet price and I had the receiver in 2 days. They also have a very reasonable return policy though I haven't had to test it yet.
Rating:
Summary: Class act all the way!
Review: Most of what I have to say is covered in the other reviews, although I have to say that the reviewer who gave a 1 star rating just because of the remote was not doing this receiver any justice. Setup was quite nice and simple. Now anyone who has never used a 5.1 or 6.1 receiver before might not find it that easy. But it's still quite straight forward if you read the manual. You can choose how many speakers you want to set up, anywhere from 2 to 6. Setting the volume for each speaker is also easy. The best part is that you can even change each speaker volume while listening to an audio input - makes it easier to choose a setting you really like.
Regarding the remote - yes, it can be a little intimidating at first. There's a LOT of functionality in the remote. And a lot of the buttons actually have double functionality (similar to a 'SHIFT' function on calculators). But after using it for a while, you'll get used to it. I certainly wouldn't condemn this receiver just because of the remote. In fact, it looks nice and even grows on you after a while. As for sound - this receiver is absolutely awesome! I had a Denon AVR-2800 earlier that went bad. I loved the Denon. But this Yamaha receiver is even better - didn't think it possible. Of course, to be fair, I'm using the Yamaha in 6.1 mode while the Denon was only a 5.1 receiver. The extra 6th speaker (Rear Center) really sounds nice. Also, the simulation modes that this receiver has are fantastic. For those who are not aware, a simulation mode is needed to convert a 2 channel audio source (like broadcast TV, Tuner, etc.) or a 5.1 audio source into a 6.1 output. The extra channels are 'simulated'. I myself didn't understand the importance of simulation till I used this receiver. Typical simulation effects are 'Hall', 'Rock Concert', etc. and they're all fun to play with and sound great! The only complaint I had at first was that the bass didn't seem to sound as deep as my previous Denon receiver (everything else like speakers and DVD player remained the same). The sound was (and still is) crystal clear, but only the bass seemed lacking. So at first I had to turn up the volume on my powered subwoofer. But then I played with some settings on the receiver - like making the bass come out of both subwoofer and all speakers and it sounded much better. In fact I had to end up turning down the volume on the subwoofer. But the point is that you have a LOT of control. There's even a graphic equalizer that lets you set 5 different frequencies, a bass and treble control, a LFE (Low Freqeuncy Effect) Level adjustment, etc. As far as choosing from the Yamaha family of receivers, here are some tips you might find useful:
1) The HTR-5660 is the same as the RXV-640, the HTR-5650 is the same as the RXV-540 and the HTR-5640 is the same as the RXV-440. Apparently Yamaha changes the product code only for purposes of channel distribution, or something like that. So shop around for whichever one gives you a better deal. In my experience, the HTR series was less expensive than the RXV series.
2) When deciding between the HTR-5660 or the HTR-5650 or the HTR-5640, be careful. The sound quality of the HTR-5640 and the HTR-5650 should be identical, and I'm sure very good. But the HTR-5660 steps up in output power and it uses a more powerful amplifier section. Apparently, this new amplifier also improves a little on sound quality. As far as requiring a powerful receiver, I thought I wouldn't really need the output power of the HTR-5660. But I find that I usually turn it up to -30db (it goes from -60db to 0). It's always good not to have to stress your amplifier. So with a HTR-5650 or HTR-5640, I'd probably have to turn the volume up even more - and I don't really listen to anything that loud. My room dimensions may have something to do with this, but still - choosing a more powerful receiver may be more important than you think.
3) Yamaha (and perhaps other manufacturers too) come out with new models around the summer. So retailers may start to try and get these HTR or RXV series off their shelves, should result in a price drop. Hope this helps - if you ever see a good sale on this receiver, go for it. You'll be really glad you did!
Rating:
Summary: Yamaha quality
Review: The HTR 5660 furthers the Yamaha reputation of delivering maximum value. With robust clean power to spare, and switching that is logical and well labled, even a fairly large living room can be transformed into an adventure theater or your favorite music venue. This was my first foray into the digital receiver world and I was replacing a high priced analog Pro Logic system.
Mine sounds great in every mode---and there are many, with numerous adjustable parameters. The "Zone B" independently switched output is a convenient touch, and FM reception is much above average. Six channel direct inputs and six channel line- level outputs(plus sub out)put the HTR 5660 in a whole different league of flexibility. The lack of on-screen display is the one trivial annoyance.
Add good efficient speakers and a powered sub that will reach 30 hz and you will have a system that will thrill for years.
Rating:
Summary: TYTIGER
Review: This receiver is 2nd to none for sound quaility and price...I have had Dennon and Kenwood receivers but none can compare!! For richness of sound and bass this is a great receiver..and if you have Bose speakers this is the way to go..in this other review the guy can't figure out the remote..he is not very smart! And it takes two seconds to adjust the volume of the speakers!! There is simply no other receiver under 1000.00 dollars that is better than this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Receiver, Bad Remote
Review: This receiver must have spent a good deal of time on this product in 2 ways: 1) to make a very good stereo and 2) to make the worst remote and menu system ever devised. The other review spends time explaining the good features of the stereo, so I'll spend my time explaining what's wrong with the remote and menu system. First, there are features to the stereo that can only be adjusted using the remote and not the buttons and knobs on the front. So drop your remote or run out of batteries and oh, well, I guess you'll just have to watch all the big games in Sci-Fi stereo mode. Second, it's not intuitive at all. I'm sure that the makers of the product might tell me to find a manual, but good remotes and good web browsers have one thing in common: they should be intuitive enough to use without refering to the manual. It took me 3 months before I figured out how to adjust the volume on individual speakers and now I seem to have gotten it into 6 ch mode and cannot get it back to normal. Arrgghhh! So you're going to ask me - is it fair that I've downgraded this item all the way to one star, just because of a remote. Yes. Would you buy a luxury car if it didn't have a cupholder? I consider it a good lesson for Yamaha: your customers should determine the design of your product, not your engineers. No customer would ever design such a convoluted remote and menu system, but I can imagine a number of engineers that would.
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