The new Yamaha stuff is pretty underwhelming as well delivering about half of what their advertised power output is. It looks like receiver manufacturers are moving backwards with their new stuff.
I have to agree, though I have no numbers or ABX testing to back me up. About a year ago I replaced a Yammy 5280 AVR that I got around 1997 with a Yammy 659. I chose the 659 based on a few criteria: cost (I didn't need HDMI, and still don't), reputation (I liked my old Yammy and the 659 got great reviews for what it is), and the fact that it was said to have really good amps for an AVR (not the best, granted, but pretty darned good compared to most).
I might have gotten a 661, but people more knowledgeable about audio than I am said that the 659's amp system was more robust than the 661's. Plus, I didn't need HDMI, so why pay for it?
While I've loved having current Dolby effects and other goodies, I'm not sure that this AVR is as powerful as my old 5280. Sometimes I like to listen to LOUD music. (Don't worry, I don't hurt my ears. I do it when I'm in the adjacent kitchen for a while cooking or doing dishes.) We don't have an open floor plan, so the music has to go from the living room through the dining room--those two room are open to each other--and then through a doorway into the kitchen. We have a second interior kitchen door, and the sound has to go living room>foyer>kitchen doorway.
It might just be my perception, but I have to turn the newer Yammy AVR higher than my old one. Here's the kicker: This summer I upgraded to speakers that are 4 dB more sensitive than my old ones, and I still have the same impression. (They're 3-way speakers with an open baffle for the mids and tweeter, so that might cause some loss of in-your-face sound. If so, that's a trade-off I'll accept, because these speakers--av123 x-statiks--have great soundstage and detail.)
I just ordered an external amp to solve the problem. I do not want to crank the AVR up high enough that it clips. Now I won't have to worry about that.
I'll use my 659 as a pre/pro. When our big CRT TV dies and we get a modern flat-panel TV, I'll get a modern, dedicated pre/pro to go with the external amp and the new TV. I'll then be done with AVRs, except for maybe an office or bedroom set-up using what I have now (I still have my 5280, as well).
Chris
