Does the Yammy 659 have phantom mode?

[TDubbs]

I'm looking at this receiver for a basement and may or may not use a center speaker. I understand that phantom mode can "produce" center speaker ability with some minor reduction in quality. If so, I would like to find an AVR under $500 that has phantom.
I am also interested in the Denon 1906

Both these receivers have what I want and I don't see a need for HDMI or DVI for 2 or 3 yrs.

Thanks
T

 

[Hi Ho]

I'm pretty sure that just about any receiver will do what you want. All you have to do is set the center channel to "none". Doing so will direct the center channel sound to the front mains.

 

[j_garcia]

ALL digital receivers have phantom center mode, as described by Hi Ho. The DO NOT "create" a phantom center however, they simply redirect the center information to the L and R speakers.

 

[Nick250]

As do ALL av receivers (digital or not) when you have the center set to "no" or "none" as described by HI HO.

 

[jcPanny]

Yamaha options

In your $500 budget you should also consider a refurbished Yamaha RX-V2500. The center channel is very important for the dialog in HT so you might consider placement options to allow for a center channel or make sure you have good mains that image well.

 

[Hi Ho]

I agree with jcPanny. I ran my system for a year without a center speaker. The sweet spot is extremely small this way. Adding a center speaker made a world of difference. I could now sit outside of the 1ft square zone that was the phantom center sweet spot.