Yamaha HTR-620 - is there a better receiver for ME for the money?

[millsryno]

It's been a while since I upgrade my home theater and was thinking of upgrading a few pieces at a time, starting with the receiver. Here is what I think I want, but I'm fairly green when it comes to this and was hoping to get your feedback. Here are the features I think I want, kind of like my must have list. Am I missing anything here that I should be looking for?

- Minimum of 4x HDMI 1.3 inputs, 1x output (I want to run everything on HDMI and will likely have Blu-Ray and DVR for sure, plus thought a couple extra ports would be nice incase I get anything else)
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio processing (assuming this is the best you can get?)
- HDMI upconversion with upscaling to 1080p (noticed that the higher end Yamaha's have HDMI passthrough, is this important?)
- IR Ports (assuming this is so I can store my components behind a door in my entertainment center and still use the remote??)

Now, that being said...please correct me if anything above is not what I should be looking for or if I am missing any "must have" features. I see I can get the HTR-6260 on eBay for $340 shipped and it appears to have all those features I think I want. I have not found much info here on the forums with regards to this receiver, though. For the most part, Yamaha receivers seem to get a thumbs up...along with Onkyo, Denon and Pioneer.

Assuming that I think I can get what I want for $340 on ebay...do you guys have any other recommendations? Is there a feature out there that is worth paying more for? I don't mind spending up to $500 if it is worth it. What Onkyo, Denon and Pioneer would be the equivalent of the HTR-6260? I should also mention that I am a casual movie enthusiast and by no means am I an expert. I like a good picture and hearing good surround sound.

Please....guide me here. THANKS!

 

[Adam]

Hi! Pretty exciting to be back in the upgrade game, isn't it?

I like the idea of getting some extra HDMI ports. You can always get an external HDMI switch later on, but getting enough inputs on the receiver just makes life a bit simpler.

Video upscaling in the receiver itself isn't really for me, but others like it. The key is this - you want to do the video conversion in the component that does it the best, be that your source, your display, or your receiver. If you have a great upscaler/deinterlacer in your display, then getting that feature in your receiver isn't all that valuable, IMO.

Something that I'd say to research a bit are the auto setup/calibration routines. If you haven't updated your receiver since those features came out, it's a real treat! They'll do the speaker levels and will also equalize the system. My two Pioneers have done a great job with their MCACC system. Other manufacturers have other systems.

 

[Knucklehead90]

For up to $500 I'd look at the Denon and Onkyo models with Audyssey Multi EQ as the least I would accept. I have no experience with Yamaha's setup program but I like the Audyssey. I had it with an Onkyo SC885 - I sold it because the HDMI switching wasn't very good.

The Onkyo SR707 and Denon 1910 are about the same price and either would be an excellent choice.

For a bit less try an Onkyo RC160 or SR607. Identical in most respects except the RC160 has a few less features. Both have Audyssey 2EQ - a big step down in room correction - but you get what you pay for.

You mentioned video pass-through. I wish every maker would put that option on their AVRs. All displays made today can do this - and often do a better job.

 

[Tizeye]

Wish I had seen this yesterday, but I see was posted late. Upgrading my Rx-v650 and just ordered from that Egg Company the Rx-V765 which processor wise is the equivalent of my old one. Normally 599 was on sale for 449 yesterday only and included the ipod attachment which was a Yamaha nationwide promotion over the holidays ending yesterday. That model is one step up from the RX-v665/HTR-6360 twins which was also on sale around $375. The big difference between the egg company and ebay is that the first is an authorized internet dealer so it comes with the Yamaha warranty where ebay probably doesn't depending on who the underlying vendor is.

While I considered the 665, I felt the 765 was worth the extra $$ with the more powerful and different class/design processor. Other than that all features were the same. Reading the reviews, if there was a negative reference it typically was about the perceived lack of power in the 665. All three have the HDMI passthrough standard. What that does is allow tou to watch TV "old style" with the receiver and HT turned off. It passes direct through the receiver so you don't have to have a second HDMI (or component cables) from the cable box to a different TV input. I think Yamaha is the only one that has it standard, while may be able to program it with Pioneer and one or two others.

Incidently, all "authorized dealers" stick to full MSRP, but picked up in some of the reviews that Egg would occasionally have a sale. Just checked daily and yesterday got lucky as back to full MSRP today. The seem to have Onkyo on sale regurally but wanted the Yamaha. Also BB/Magnolia had it all last week for $100 off and had intended to get it there yesterday until was pleasantly surprised.

Here is the comparison of the three. http://www.yamaha.com/yec/compare/Detail.html?compitem1=5028422&compitem2=5028057&compitem3=5028502&CTID=5000200&VNM=LIVE&comp_items=5028422&comp_items=5028057&comp_items=5028502&B_compare.x=56&B_compare.y=10

Good luck.

 

[pzaur]

Yamaha RX-V863 $470.00

There are only 3 HDMI (comparison to 765 and 1065) in but it will push all video through the HDMI out and do scaling. It's better than all the aforementioned devices (IMHO).

-pat