recieved my new RX-V659 today

[dominic42]

hi
i just recieved my new rx-v659 today and thought i would ask for any tips before unpacking it tomorrow and setting it up. i spent the evening reading thrue the manual and it seems pretty straight forward. ill only be using three speakers to start with, two bostons T1000-II and a center channel.
thanks
Dom

 

[Kai]

Hi dominic,
I too have the 659. I love it.
It is as straight forward as it seems.
Connect the mic, set it at your "sweet spot" and let it calibrate itself.
I found it did a decent job but did make some errors, such as setting my front speakers to large though my sub was connected. I remedied this by using my Radio Shack spl meter and resetting the speakers. I did leave the auto eq alone as I felt it did a good job.
I have had the receiver for several months and still play around with the different sound fields here and there though generally allow the receiver to have its' way.

I think it is one of the best manuals I have read.
I also like the remote. It is quite easy to use as well.

Enjoy your receiver.

 

[dominic42]

thanks ill report back after i get it up and running.

Dom

 

[Deathwish238]

What other receivers did you consider? Why'd you choose the RX-V659? I'm in quite a dillema trying to figure out what receiver to get...I'm leaning towards the RX-V659 and the SA-XR57

 

[Kai]

When I bought mine I listened to Pioneer and Denon. The Pioneer was a bit lower priced and another was comparable thought I forget which models. The Denon, again don't remember which model though it was $600 at Tweeter, was similar but I preferred the sound of the Yamaha a bit better and my budget was maxed at $500.

My primary reasons for buying the Yamaha were the overall sound, power, features and low distortion. The other brands are very nice but to my ears I just preferred the Yamaha.

Once I got it home and set it up I was glad I got the Yamaha. It set up quite easily and the YPAO did a very good job on the equalization but not a great job with the speakers. It set the fronts to large and the sub was quite subdued. I set the fronts to small and used my SPL meter to rebalance the speakers. Much better sounding.
The Yamaha has more than enough power for me for I no longer need to listen at a level that makes my ears bleed...though it is fun now and again hehehe...It is very user friendly and has plenty of tweak features to keep the average tweaker happpy though I usually let it do the thinking for the audio signal.

 

[billy p]

Ah

your Bostons did you do both subs because you mentioned in a earlier thread about fixing them or having them repaired? Just,curious didn't hear back from you!!

 

[dominic42]

your Bostons did you do both subs because you mentioned in a earlier thread about fixing them or having them repaired? Just,curious didn't hear back from you!!

hi Bill
to answer your question briefly is no, i just replaced one of the drivers with a dayton shielded woofer. i wanted to check fit and hear what it sounded like first.

brief history:
last year i bought these bostons from a fellow going thrue a divorce for 125 bucks for the pair. he did tell me one of the woofers needed to be replaced at the time.

what i found when i got them home here was that the suround was torn and the second speaker suround in the same cab was starting to degrade also.
did a search on the internet for replacement drivers and found Simply Speakers in Florida had replacement surounds for a decent price, so i purchased them and did the install which i thought went smooth till i discovered that i did not center them properley and the voice coil is rubbing on one side. this is the case with both drivers.

so this is what prompted me to look into replacments or rebuilding these, and yes my intent was to rebuild or replace all four drivers.

this last week:
i have been doing alot of reading on a DIY speaker project for some rear speakers and that got me to thinking that even if i did replace the drivers how do i know if they will be a match to the crossover that the originals where designed for since i dont have the specs on them.

looking thru parts express website i came across surround kits with a big difference, the kits include a new dust cap and shims to center the cone when replcing the surround.

so now im thinking that this is the way to go, one more attempt at replacing the surrounds and keeping the speakers intact to the original specs.

so this is where i stand at the moment.
any input would be appreciated.
thanks
Dom

 

[hemiram]

hi
i just recieved my new rx-v659 today and thought i would ask for any tips before unpacking it tomorrow and setting it up. i spent the evening reading thrue the manual and it seems pretty straight forward. ill only be using three speakers to start with, two bostons T1000-II and a center channel.
thanks
Dom

I just got mine yesterday, and so far, I'm very happy. I've had really good results in the past with Yamaha equipment, and hope it continues. I have a 25year old Yamaha receiver that still works great. The only problem it ever had was the nut holding the volume control loosened up after 10 years of heavy use.

I've only got the left, center, right and sub connected so far, and listened to a couple of CDs was pretty impressive. I will hook up my surrounds today and run the auto setup and see what it sounds like. I am putting sound absorption panels on the wall and so far, with 4 12"x12" panels surrounding each front speaker, it's helped tame the high end of my SVS SBS-01 2.0 Stereo Pair and SCS-01 Center Channel speakers to the point I think I will be able to live with them for a while.

 

[Ace Deprave]

Keep us updated on how you like it. I'm currently in the market for a new receiver, and have narrowed it down to the Yamaha 659 and the Onkyo 703.

 

[hemiram]

The 703 was one I was looking at really closely, at first, but the Onkyo was more than I wanted to spend, so I bought a Yamaha 5890 (Price was great), but they were out, so I got offered the 659 for not much more, so I jumped on it.

 

[Ace Deprave]

I found the 703 for $39 more than the 659 from an authorized retailer, so I'm leaning towards the Onkyo, currently.

 

[hemiram]

If I could have gotten an 703 for $389, $39 more than I paid for the 659, I probably would have gone for it instead. Oh well, it's no big deal anyway. Unless a receiver has problems, or has some quirk that drives me nuts, one's as good as another, pretty much.

 

[Ace Deprave]

You can get a 659 for $350 from an authorized retailer? I'm looking at $499 for the Yammie, and $539 for the Onkyo. So, $40 difference.

 

[dominic42]

well so far i have been really happy with the 659, i still dont know its full potential but im learning. so far all i have hooked up are the two bostons and a center channel, im going to purchase some drivers and crossover from madison sound and make some rears then some surounds.

i really wanted to buy the unit locally but my local hi-fi shop wanted the full msrp of 499 so i just dont get it, if it was a matter of 40 dollars difference i would have purchased from them.

 

[hemiram]

You can get a 659 for $350 from an authorized retailer? I'm looking at $499 for the Yammie, and $539 for the Onkyo. So, $40 difference.

Yep, you can get it from a couple places for about $350, I got mine from 6th Ave, Yamaha says on their webpage it is an authorized dealer. It's not listed on their website at all, as far as I can tell. I don't know why. It had a US warranty card inside, and was definitely not refurbed. It had that "new" smell stuff has only when it's been turned on for the first time.

 

[dominic42]

i purchased mine from park ave. for 335.00 however there wasnt a warranty card in the box and i couldnt find a link at yamaha to register it. maybe i missed it somewhere.

 

[Ace Deprave]

Thanks, it looks like I'm going to have to give 6th Ave. a call...

 

[hemiram]

You may not be able to get the same deal, since they were out of the 5890 I originally ordered, then the Denon I switched the order to didn't have the Pre-out jacks I needed, so, then, after a while on hold, the sales guy offered me the 659, and I jumped.

 

[Ace Deprave]

Thanks for the heads up. I've still got a month or so before I'll order anything anyway. We'll see what's available when the time comes!