My first AVR - a used Yamaha

[mjcmt]

FYI: YPAO on the RX-V659 will measure speaker distances on its own, you do not have to input it manually to make it work correctly.
In your case, when either or both these signals are part of the source material, such as a DVD or Bluray (plus some MC music disks), the low portions of these signals will be sent to your front speakers as long as you ensure the BASS OUT is set to "FRNT" (vice SWFR or BOTH).

Thanks again.
I set the speaker distance and levels so I can use until I use a mic for auto set-up. Seems well balanced. Does 'auto' adjust eq for the speakers as there is not adjustment except for the center in 'manual'.

I set the sub to 'front' assuming that is Yamaha's way of saying sub off.

Guess I cool.

 

[mjcmt]

I am still amazed at the wonderful sound of this AVR - and better yet with pure direct...better than I ever expected, especially coming from a 2 channel audiophile background. Makes me want to try their A-S1000 integrated amp and CD-S1000 cd player for a little 2 channel system in a spare room.

As far a source playback for cds with the rx-v659, my Denon universal player (not one of their top models either) sounds slightly better playing cds w/ the analogue outputs vs. digital output to the avr. It exhibits greater clarity, air, depth, and space between the musicians. Only slightly, but enough to play cds that way.
The FM tuner of this receiver is also quite good picking up weak stations quite well and having a very musical sound, especially on the pure direct setting again.

 

[timoteo]

Nice! Glad to hear your getting good results from your Yamaha. Ive been extremely impressed with my RX-A2000. Not just the great quality audio but soo much user adjustability!! The Parametric EQ & network features have been absolutely top notch for sure!

I previously had a Denon, yes only a midrange model but now that ive experienced what Yamaha offers ill be hard pressed to go another route next time im in the market for a new avr. Denon is still a great product no doubt. The nice thing is that, with Yamaha's reputation of longevity, i shouldnt be in need of a new receiver for a while....hopefully!!

 

[mjcmt]

A big thanks!

I would like to publicly thank all for the input, especially to XEagleDriver and timoteo. XEagleDriver offered me to borrow his own YAPO mic for a day to set-up my rvx659. Timoteo had an extra mic he had received from a friend, and he passed it on to me, so I now have a YAPO mic to 'auto' set-up. A Big Hearty Thanx to these two above average Audioholics' members. They are a credit to this forum.

I received the mic today and used it to do the auto set-up and it worked flawlessly. In fact my system sounds better as if it is eq-ing the system and room together. I compared it to my setting and learned a lot from the comparison. There was one minor error on 'auto', setting the L surround distance incorrectly by .5' so I made the adjustment.

I noticed that I don't own a sub yet that 'auto' set the LFE xover at 100hz, while I used the lowest 40hz setting, thinking it may cut off the main speakers prematurely. Well in reality it adds low end body to the speakers as if it is using some type of eq as well.

I'm even more impressed w/ Yamaha than I was before. Thanx all!

 

[timoteo]

Mike:
Im really very happy to hear that the YPAO mic worked for you!!! I had no use for it & almost tossed it out a month ago. So glad i didnt. I figured i may find a use for it someday & you were that use!! ENJOY!!

Also, as far as the LowPass, this is what is happening. The low pass # is how HIGH it will allow the signal to pass. When you had it set to 40hz you were stopping the bass ABOVE 40hz from being heard. That created a big hole of audio not being heard. You always want to set that as high as it will go so you get all the bass & lower midbass. Now that its set to 100hz you just GAINED over a whole octave of sound (40hz-100hz). There isnt any EQ applied to the signal its just that it was set wrong before. Just part of the learning process!

So glad i could help you Mike!!

 

[mjcmt]

You would think that with no sub chosen that the Yamaha would have sent full range signal to the fronts which are set to large. Doesn't make sense why the avr would have don't anything different with full range speakers and no sub. Quirky to me, but it sounds fine now. I may play with xover other settings.

 

[LAB3]

Nice! Glad to hear your getting good results from your Yamaha. Ive been extremely impressed with my RX-A2000. Not just the great quality audio but soo much user adjustability!! The Parametric EQ & network features have been absolutely top notch for sure!

I previously had a Denon, yes only a midrange model but now that ive experienced what Yamaha offers ill be hard pressed to go another route next time im in the market for a new avr. Denon is still a great product no doubt. The nice thing is that, with Yamaha's reputation of longevity, i shouldnt be in need of a new receiver for a while....hopefully!!

I was looking at the then new A-2000 and now a A2010 but I got a great deal on a left over new/old RX-V1900 HD AVR with about the same specs..... if and when you do change AVR I would stay away from the models that goline. I see more HDMI switching problems with all the different brands... firmware updates.... when I purchased my 1900 I looked on the Yamaha site for any updates...NONE. The 3900 model like mine that has the internet feature has a update now. The A-3000 and now A3010 is the updated 3900. I do Bitstream A/V from Bluray (HDMI) to the 1900 have it decode the movies etc...I have been super happy with it and hope it lastes as long as my 2003 2400 (no HDMI or HD) my Onkyo TX-SR805 HD was super but it had bad problems 3 times in 20 months... sold it for parts to a memeber here. Nice of you to give that extra mic to a member here.... thumbs Up Bro.
Louis

 

[mjcmt]

I've been playing around with the settings after I did the auto set-up with the mic. I lowered the lfe xover from 100hz to 90hz for less mid-bass boom, and custom adjusted the center channel eq for better clarity and match to the LR speakers. By tweaking the sound to my taste the sound is clearer, more airy, with less boominess. I'm new the HT, so is it common to fine tune the adjustments to our own liking after an auto set-up?

 

[avnetguy]

I'm new the HT, so is it common to fine tune the adjustments to our own liking after an auto set-up?

Auto configuration provides a good baseline and making manual fine adjustments is a good thing if done right. Just try not to stray too far from the auto configuration, as in making major changes (high db changes) to the PEQ adjustments, as this could lead to problems.

Steve

 

[mjcmt]

Bi-Amping L&R main speakers

Thanks for your input Avnetguy. Yep, I only tweaked the sound to suite my tastes. I suppose coming from a 2-channel audiophile background I've developed a sense of what sound works for me. I like the added clarity w/ less boom-bast on music. When I finally get a sub it will be a musical one and my adjustments will change.

For what it's worth, since I'm only using 5.0 with a 7.1 AVR, I decided to bi-amp the LR Front/Main speakers. I made the changes in the AVR to use the amp section dedicated for the surround/back speakers to power the Front/Main low frequencies, while the front RL amp section only powers the Front/Main speakers highs. I can't say I've noticed too much of a difference, but it is not an easy task to A/B them, so it is what it is.

I'm having fun w/ the tweaking, as it is keepin' me busy.

 

[avnetguy]

Tweaking the system if definitely part of the fun and if the end result adds to your listening pleasure it's all good. Doing comparisons is sometimes difficult and I'm glad to see some AVRs include multiple selections for configuration settings (level, PEQ, etc) as it makes it easier to compare.

Steve

 

[timoteo]

By all means tweak away!! Haha but avnetguy has it dead on, make some changes to taste but dont go too crazy because YPAO gets things at a great baseline.

One thing to note about bi-amping using only the receiver. You will gain no audible improvement. The power increase is minimal at best. Since youve already done it then no worries. Ive even called Yamaha & inquired about what the benefits are of bi-amping with the spare channels. I was told from Yamaha that there really are no improvements. MAYBE a 10watt difference but you need to DOUBLE your watts just for a 3dB increase. Its definately not hurting anything (except maybe your wallet if you bought more wire or banana plugs).

Not all speakers benefit from bi-amping & the ones that do would need 2 seperate amps that have 2 seperate power sources. In other words each of the 2 amps used to bi-amp would need to plug into the wall seperately.

I think manufacturers use bi-amping as a sales gimmick. Just another example of "snake oil" in the audio industry, oh well

Dont get me wrong, a few years back i tried bi-amping with my old Denon 889. What improvements did I notice? Absolutely NONE. So i unhooked it & used 1 of the channels to add a surround back channel to make it 6.1. I benefited much more from that extra rear speaker than bi-amping. We all learn!!

 

[mjcmt]

The reason for my bi-amping madness.

I built these speakers with bi-wire x-overs and bi-wired them in the past with improved sonics. This 7 channel AVR gave me an opportunity to separate the highs and lows with separate amplification. I'd didn't do it to increase the power or volume, but to improve on the clarity and the drivers reaching there full potential.

With the restriction of one power supply for all 7 channels in the amp, it is may be only slightly better than bi-wiring. But since 2 of the 7 channels are only driving the tweeters which don't draw much current I'm not really taxing the power supply like if I was using 7 speakers if I was running 7.1.

Now, if I really want to bi-amp I would vertical bi-amp with one stereo amp per channel. Even one mono block amp per speaker, but that is for another time when money is flowing freely. I'm dreamin' out of control...can you tell? LOL

 

[mjcmt]

I'm disappointed in HT

I purchase a used '06 Yamaha RX-V659 (100w x 7) for pretty cheap. It sounds better than I expected, and I'm really enjoying it.

After using my home theater system for almost 4 months, I'm less impressed than I was at first.

It seems that there is less sonic information from the rear speakers than I expected from the type of movies we watch, and TV programing seems to have most of the info coming from the center channel, with sports being better across the front 3 channels.

I was enjoying movies and TV as well with a good 2 channel system as with my HT system. Plus, after these many months I'm missing the higher resolution I was getting with a good 2 channel system. I'd like to try stepping up to an Anthem AVR but lack of funds makes this a dream and not reality. This weekend I may switch to Kimber Kable speaker cable that I have in storage for the front 3 channels to hear if I notice added clarity and dynamics.

These are just my observations and others may not agree.

 

[mjcmt]

I replaced the generic speaker wire for the front 3 speakers with Kimber Kable and there is a noticeable improvement in dynamics, clarity, soundstage size and air.