PhilMays

This is the first Yamaha I have owned and I love it. I have a second system featuring an Onkyo TXDS 797 that the Yamy wipes out. I have experience with Denon as well and while I liked the system I think the Yamaha in a dollars to dollars comparison is a better value. The thing I do not like is the 6.1 set-up. I really like the 7.1 set-ups. Yamaha is realeasing a new model (RX-Z8 I think) that is 7.1 and 170 watts per channel. It is in the $4,400 range and was made to be the ultimate reciever making people second guess the seperates route. While I have front effects in my system I can really not tell they do much and have thought about dropping them...

I bi-wire with Kimber Kable. It is soooooo clumsy at the reciever for such little gain. I have actually thought about eliminating this. I'm not so sure I havn't screwed up a binding post on one of my previous recievers by doing this.

HT Rookie, Is there a reason you are not hooking up your system yourself. For that much money seems like you could give it a shot. If it worked just think of the upgrade potential.

In my second system, which is a Onkyo TX-DS 797, I use a 10 band Yamaha EQ-550 for music on the CD player. I find the Onkyo to have a more flat responce than the Yamaha on my main system. I used to have a Denon that made the music sound different than the previously two mentioned systems. The EQ really lets me hear music the way I want to hear it. BTW, CD player never changed. I know this is contraversial, however, different systems sound different thereby altering the original recording in and of itself. I have never had the pleasure of owning tube equipment and music could sound completely different going that route. But for solid state, I prefer to EQ my music. For Dolby or DTS I do not EQ.

Another option is the Yamaha 2300 universal player. However it is in the same price range as the Denon 2900 and from what I can tell no worse or no better. I have heard rumors that Denon will release a new DVD universal player soon and the cost is about $400 less than the 2900.

Some people will perhaps disagree, but, I think the Yamaha RXV-3300 is a greta deal and can be had for around $1,150. I used to have (bedroom system now) Onkyo TX-DS 797 with a AMC 150 watt x 5 channel amp and the Yamaha at 130 watts was as good. The only problem is they are only 6.1. I undersatnd that Yamaha is producing a RZ-X8 that will be 175 watts per channel and 7.1. They are touting it as good as seperates.

Get the RC-7 and don't look back. It is night and day difference from the RC-3II. While it may not completely match up with the RF-3II's, I don't think it matters as much for home theater as most speaking goes through the center and the mains produce more "effects".

Set it to both and test fro yourself. I find that in my system if I set them to what the speaker actually is works best for me.

I went from a RC-3 to a RC-7 and am loving every minute of it. Because home theater puts most output to the center channel I do not see a problem with it. You may need to get a SP meter form radio shack to adjust SP levels.

Just brainstorming..... What about static electricity, grounding, or the sub amp. Is it even possible for an external amp to somehow "push juice" back into the unit????

Well they are now both "broken" whereas in the past only one was "broken". Faulty current can ruin electronics over time. However, they both could be bad units. Checking current at a circuit is certainly cheap and well worth it. If you do have a problem with that it will only manifest itself again and again. What else is on the line? Many people use Power Conditioners for the very reason of line noise and fluctuating current. How long did your friend have his HK in his house operating with no problems?

I had a similar problem. The problem is the effeciency difference between the 7's and 3's. I solved my problem by by purchasing a cheap SP meter from Radio Shack. Basically what you will do is adjust your sp levels to make up for the difference. Not alot of adjustment needs to be made unlike if a person has mismatched speakers like Klipsch and Polk running together that would require major adjustment. I also tried my hand at Bi-amping even if running two channels on one speaker is not true bi-amping. For me it simply wasn't worth the expense for the minimal gains. The Yamaha product is extremely clean power and 130 watts is all my speaker need to really sing. However if I were to outboad amp again in the future I would get some sort of high quality 200 watt amp and simply single amp each speaker.

---------------- On 8/20/2003 4:44:23 PM marksdad wrote: no, electrical is either all or nothing, if it were a prob with the surge protection it would be obvious, it definatly sounds like a bad run like i had with my rotel gear ---------------- In my business we use alot of incrimental HVAC units. If for some reason we are getting less current at an outlet or the main run from the city it can burn out the compressors, which has happened many times. Power still gets to the area, simply reduced. I don't really know if that would be a problem with a home AV system but if two units went out on that line it does point to either poor production runs, driving them too hard, or a power problem. Of course I reserve the right to discredit myself as I am not an expert in these matters

Agreed!!!

I have experimented with both solutions. Currently I have one RS-7 for the rear speaker. For movies I feel it does give 180 degree dispersion and does a better job than the single floor standing speaker. However when I had a system that allowed for 7.1 setup I did have two RF-3's for the rears that I thought worked better. For those who like multi-channel music, like me, then the floor standing speaker has a far superior response to me. I would far prefer 2 RF-3's over one RS-7. m00n, nice system.

If it were me, I would spend everything I had availiable for what I could get now, eventially spending three times the amount of what I wanted in the end for minor upgrades along the way. However I'm sure your smarter than I am about these things

Jwadd21, Were the two units at your house using the same circuit. Perhaps you should test the current output at your outlet. Maybe you have a surge protector that has been damaged by lightening or a power spike/surge. It seems that could be the most obvious area if you have had the unit checked twice and your friends on loan now does it. Perhaps a speaker has grounded out somewhere. Maybe check your speaker connections to see if any stary wires are connecting. That's wierd. BTW, nice set-up.

LynnM, 40 1/2 years? Like Rabbits? I've been married for only 17 years and I only wish she would put a dent in my cone....pehaps I would get some sympothy attention. No doubt we are best friends...but like a rabbit....

It just happened to hit me, what about the cable from the wall to your reciever? I've had those degrade over time.

The titles are limited now. However being a baby boomer I can find many titles I would enjoy. I think the reason they have those types of titles is that that age group has more disposable income so they have to apeal to their taste. I have to admit that I want it just for Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album. I understand that Emilou Harris has a great title as well.

Yea, boosing a crappy signal will give you more crap. I had the same problem at my house in Richmond. The local company replaced the lines and no more problem. Another option is a defective splitter. If you have split the signal to more than one are in your home then the splitter could be bad or of low quality, thats pretty easy and cheap to trouble shoot. As Bruinsrme was saying, get them to come out and replace the lines to your house. Maybe you could get several neighbors together to talk with the repair person when they arrive so he will know it is not just you.

I also believe that the universal player is the way to go. I'm just waiting for the price to come down. My target date to purchase is November/December. I'm not sure if these units will come down in price by then. Maybe the new Denon 2200. I hope Yamaha lowers the price on theirs as I want to stay with the Yamaha product.

Another thought I had while reading this thread is do you have any dimmer switches or flouresant lights on this circuit. They sometimes can manifest through your speakers if sharing a circuit.

LanceStorm, I have my RF-3II's on my second system. They are being pushed by a Onkyo 797 using a 150watt external 5 channel amp. I crank this system as it is close to my deck and we like to JAM. I have never had a problem with them, ever. I think they are soooooooooo smoooooooooth!

You were fine, unless the distortion on that reciever was too much. Also I doubt that the reciever actually pushes that much power while all channels are driven. I think you made a wise choice by upgrading your speakers anyway.