Griffinator Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Why is it that Yamaha seems to be the redheaded stepchild around here for A/V receivers? From my perspective, the Yammys stack up pretty favorably to similar priced Onkyo, Denon, and HK receivers, with the added advantage that the YSS-938's are far superior to their Crystal counterparts found in same-price-range receivers. All the sub-$1000 Yammys have all-channel 24/192 DAC, and all (with the release of the 56xx series) are 6.1 channel. High current amps? You bet. Discrete power transistors? You bet. HD component video routing? You bet. Video transcoding? Sure. But somehow no one here wants to talk about Yammy when the discussion turns to modest priced HT receivers... Is there something I'm not aware of here? Someone give me a clue... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 From what I have gathered, the Yammy sounds very bright with Klipsch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted May 27, 2003 Author Share Posted May 27, 2003 Really? We use HTR-5250's in all the speaker displays at work - the Klipsch sound smooth as silk on that amplifier. How strange... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hwatkins Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 I don't have an answer Griff - I was in a dead heat toss up audition with Denon and Yamaha a couple of years ago and went with the Denon. The decision was not based on the bright issue (I did notice the Yammie was did seem to offer a little more HF detail), but based on how the features were applied. If I had a reason to use the effects (simulated sound fields) I would have gone with Yamaha - it is more of an art form with them where the Denon folks seem to put it there because it is on their competition. I am also a little nostolgic and remember when Yammies were the 'best' mass market SS offering for high efficiency speakers in the seventies and early eighties as HK was trying to build a market. I do think they are the two best moderately priced SS solutions, but that opinion alone should raise a decent debate... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted May 27, 2003 Author Share Posted May 27, 2003 I'll concede immediately that Denon offers some high end solutions that go above and beyond the top of Yamaha's lineup (albeit the RX-Z1 at $2800 MSRP is one hell of an impressive machine) In the sub-$1000 category, however, it's really tough to justify going Onkyo, Harmon Kardon, or Denon over Yamaha considering features and price point. Interesting that you mention the DSP. For Yamaha, DSP is practically effortless - they've been doing top-drawer DSP on their world-class synthesizers for years (Yammy is still revered as one of the best three synths in the business, along with Akai and Korg) so the transition to DSP on their amplifiers was completely smooth. It's a lot easier to do great effects when you're working with chipsets you designed yourself, rather than something off-the-shelf. And yeah, I remember those days when Yammy was the best of the mid-price SS while Pioneer and Kenwood were the desperate also-rans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 I'm still trying to figure out what is wrong with the "redhead stepchild" ... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Griff, you must be referring to the 80s as far as calling Kenwood & Pioneer also-rans. My '76 Kenwood kr-9600 blows away anything Yammy made back then, as do some of the mega Pioneer SS receivers of the 70s. IMHO of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Griff, I have heard the same thing, bright. Add bright speakers and bright receiver together and you have sunlight . Ok I know corny, what can I say, first day back to work after a long weekend. I dunno buddy. Maybe it's just because there are not very many yammy users here to stand up for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wangdang Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Griff -- I have Yammy (2300) and Klipsch . The very fine audio store where I purchased them had them set as a demo. That's one reason I bought both -- the sound was and is great. The horsepoop about "Bright and Brighter" is one of those myths that pervade the WWW. Frankly, as I get older and have more trouble hearing high frequencies, a bit of brightness is desired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 I am just saying that is what I have heard, didn't say that it was fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyclonecj Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 My experience was that it was the Yamaha power amps that had the sound problem. In my pro-logic days, I used a Yam DSP-E300. It was the same processor as a few of their top receivers, but I did not like the sound of the Yamaha receivers at all. So the salesman talked me into trying the E-300 with my external amps, & I bought it on the spot. I had many very happy years with that processor. I would have went that way again, but Yamaha did not have a good pre-amp processor at the time. At the time, they were also pushing their "servo" drive-something speakers systems. That may have been part of the difference. I had to walk out of the room when he turned them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strabo Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Ok, I'll bite. Putting on my flame suit. Give me a Yammaha anyday over any Denon. I preferred the sound my old Yammy pro-logic (pre digital) over the new Denons. For two months I tried to like the Denon 4802 until I just couldn't take the pain anymore. That's right, it literally caused my ears to hurt. I cannot figure out how some think it sounds good with klipsch. At first I thought I was hearing increased detail in the upper frequencies and I continued to try to convince myself of it. But in reality it was too d.mn bright. There, I feel better. End of rant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avman Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 i'll step-up for yammy! we sell the rxv...series yamaha, and i'll tell 'ya, at their price point, they are an excellent value. the rxv740-and-up have easy to setup remotes to operate all your 'stuff',the power is clean(low distortion)w/good build quality,design and propriatary chips that are very good. i have klipsch hooked up to a number of different yammys and they work well together. jmo-my 2cents. avman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wireless Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 I completely agree with you about the Denon. I had a 4800 for 3 months and didn't care for it. Returned it for a Marantz SR-8000 which I'm very happy with. My problem with the newer (last 5 or 10 years) Yamaha stuff is they put too much junk on them. All those DSP modes - they must have hundreds by now. What ever happened to just reproducting the musical signal? It seems to me if they put so much effort into the other stuff then the regular circuitry is going to suffer or at least be cheaped out to pay for the DSP. With all that gee whiz stuff figuratively hangin' off the receiver, it's just tacky. I have an 80's Yamaha amp and preamp which I like very much. IMO Yamaha peaked back then. As far as the 24 bit/192Khz decoder, it's meaningless as far as the quality of sound goes. I bought a Toshiba DVD player the other day with same and musically it sounded like crap. My computer sound card had a much, yes much, better sound than it did. The Toshiba went back too. -David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invidiosulus Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 I have a yamaha HTR-5540, one of the cheaper amplifiers out there. I think the sound is rather nice for all the features in it's price range. One of the thing I have noticed about my little yamaha is that it seems to run considerably cooler then most of the other offerings I looked at in the same($300) price range. Could the sound stand to be "smoother" sure it could, I could also have spent a huge pile of loot. I like the yamaha and that's what I have so that's what matters. Really though, there are a lot of good brands out there when it comes to HT receivers. Peace, Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 i have a small yammy reciever for 2 channel in my bedroom and it sounds really good, i have wondered the same thing, about yammies, i think that once people begin talking, and experiencing, things might change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Griff, If it sounds good to you, that is all that counts! (reminds me of a 60's movie- (if it feels good, go for it.......)-Angie Dickenson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabulousfrankie Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 From my personal experiences, I find the current Yamaha's to be bright w/Klipsch, I prefer Harman Kardon to mate with Klipsch. When using it my last Yamaha as a pre/pro, there was no brightness, but I still prefered the HK. However, I used my same Yamaha receiver to power some JBL Northridge speakers and boy did it sound good. I don't think Yamaha receivers are bad, but I do think they are a bad match with Klipsch. I only believe this to be true to with the Yamaha RX-V**00 series and newer. I say this because when I had a RX-V995, it sounded sweeeet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo1 Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 My first surround sound receiver was a Yamaha RX-V2090 which I was very happy with, including the way the front surrounds expanded the soundstage in some modes. I shied away from Yamaha, however, when Dolby Digital EX came along and Yamaha chose to go with a proprietary 6.1 channel surround system rather than license EX from Dolby. Can't say anything about how Yamaha mates with Klipsch, but I'm happy with my H/K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted May 27, 2003 Author Share Posted May 27, 2003 Nice to see some Yammy users stepping up. I only started this thread because it seemed that Yammy was completely ignored by some people that were trying to find a great receiver in the low-cost (<$1000) bracket and it just seemed to me that to ignore Yamaha there is to cut off a major player from the mix. Granted, you may well find a better sounding receiver for $2800 than the RX-Z1, but it's tough to find a decent receiver for less than a grand that is as feature-rich and strong in the sound quality dept than a Yammy. [blockquote> ---------------- On 5/27/2003 1:01:02 PM wireless wrote: My problem with the newer (last 5 or 10 years) Yamaha stuff is they put too much junk on them. All those DSP modes - they must have hundreds by now. What ever happened to just reproducting the musical signal? It seems to me if they put so much effort into the other stuff then the regular circuitry is going to suffer or at least be cheaped out to pay for the DSP. With all that gee whiz stuff figuratively hangin' off the receiver, it's just tacky. I have an 80's Yamaha amp and preamp which I like very much. IMO Yamaha peaked back then. As far as the 24 bit/192Khz decoder, it's meaningless as far as the quality of sound goes. I bought a Toshiba DVD player the other day with same and musically it sounded like crap. My computer sound card had a much, yes much, better sound than it did. The Toshiba went back too. -David ---------------- LOL! I'll take that criticism, although I'll happily retort that DSP comes so easily to Yammy (on account of their pro audio work) that it's really no effort. My personal feeling is that yeah, I probably would never use half the soundfields they put on that sucker (TV News Broadcast?!) but just having a great 6-channel Stereo plus the MONO MOVIE preset (for all those DD English: Mono hack remaster jobs) makes it worthwhile. When you don't have to spend big bucks to get good DSP (since they already make stellar DSP in their pro audio department) you don't have to skimp anywhere else. Bill: Griff, If it sounds good to you, that is all that counts! I don't own one yet - I just figured that there had to be some reason why no one had any interest in Yamaha. Apparently, the fatal flaw that I was concerned about doesn't exist. Geo1: My first surround sound receiver was a Yamaha RX-V2090 which I was very happy with, including the way the front surrounds expanded the soundstage in some modes. I shied away from Yamaha, however, when Dolby Digital EX came along and Yamaha chose to go with a proprietary 6.1 channel surround system rather than license EX from Dolby. Can't say anything about how Yamaha mates with Klipsch, but I'm happy with my H/K. Indeed, in the price range you were working with, there's nothing wrong with going H/K over Yammy. It's a tough decision when you get up around $1500-2000. Hell, there's nothing better to mate with a JBL set than a Harmon-Kardon - they're made by the same company Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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