Yamaha RX-V659 Receiver Review!

[Kai]

One of the keys to comparisons in reviews is what they are comparing it to.

The 659 is a $500 dollar receiver and in the stereo society that is a "blue collar" receiver. It should not be compared to a $1000 or more costly receiver unless there are some components to it that are similar in sound, quality of construction etc. Generally you will not get $1000 worth of receiver for $500 period. I would expect a $1000 to sound and be twice, or nearly so, as good as a $500 receiver and be out of its' class.

I find the specs of the 659 to be superior to other receivers in its' cost class. I also find that it sounded much better than others in its class and quite close to other receivers at $100 to $200 more expensive when I was comparing prior to my purchase.

I also responded to you pm anonymouse.
Good luck with your search and purchase.

 

[anonymouse99]

Kai:

Thanks for your responses .... I agree that there are bound to be technical differences, quality of construction, etc.

I am trying to understand is what would be missing in terms of sound quality between a $500 and a $1000 receiver. Looking back at the CNet review, they said that the sound was "lacking the sense of depth and richness". What does that mean (that is what I have been trying to decipher) ?

 

[gene]

"After we got through the speed tempo issue of the Porcupine DTS DVD, we had a very enjoyable listening session. The RX-V659 had no problems delivering clean and dynamic sound to fill his living room unlike he ever experienced on his Panasonic receiver. In a non-scientific comparison, the Yamaha sounded cleaner and less strained, especially at loud listening levels."

How does this non-scientific comparison rate with other receivers that you have heard as part of your higher-end unit reviews (for example say compared to Audioholic's Denon AVR-4306 review) ? Your response will help me decide if I should buy this Yamaha unit or choose the more expensive Denon AVR-2807. For example, CNET's reviewer Steve Guttenberg said in his review:

"CD sound on the Yamaha RX-V659 was crisp and clear, though lacking the sense of depth and richness we get from higher-end receivers."

The slow DTS playback was NOT a function of the Yamaha receiver. It was the el cheapo Sony DVD/VCR combo unit as I clearly stated in the review.

I am not sure why you are trying to compare a $550 receiver (RX-V659) to a $1100 receiver (AVR-2807). Its not a fair comparison with the obvious advantage going to the 2807 b/c of its feature set including HDMI and Audyssey.

 

[John M.]

Decisions...decisions...

The RXV 659 sounds like a sweet receiver but I am drawn to the RXV 2600. Although I am in a quandary as it has given shutdown problems to some. Its keeping me away from the buy button.

I'd like to get a consensus about the reliability of the 2600. Obviously some have had no issue with it as this thread and others give it great reviews for the most part. This being said, I notice that Yamaha gets little respect in many domains even though the performance and specs seem quite solid. Are we speaking of the reliability issue here eroding reputation?

I currently have an old but awesome Onkyo TX-SV525 Dolby Pro Logic which performs very well for music and especially movies...nary a problem for the living room. A home theater is ahead for a new 24' x 28'x 8' room. Many decisions are about to take place.

My plan is for these items first...

Yam 2600
SVS PB 12
Aperion 532's all around
Aperion 533 VAC
DVD??
Sony A2000

 

[gene]

Guys;

I had a math error in my Damping Factor calculations. The 659 is actually better than I reported in this regard. I have since then updated the graph, rating in the table and related commentary.

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/YamahaRX-V659p4.php

very impressive at this price!

 

[dominic42]

i have a 659 also and i am overjoyed with it so far, i do have a question though that maybe some one can answer.

when i first set it up i used the yapo and it set all the speakers to optim levels im assuming. anyways i switched the analog inputs to optic and now the volume is alot louder, is this normal or should i reuse the yapo to correct this or is this just the way it is.

about the loudest i can set the volume now is about -25 db with out breaking my eardrums.

 

[chas_w]

DACs

Gene,

Do you know which Burr Brown DACs are used in the 659? Do receivers typically use one DAC per channel (including the sub)?

 

[chas_w]

Do you know which Burr Brown DACs are used in the 659?

From the pics on the brochure linked below, it appears to be the PCM1803...

http://www.yamaha.ca/av/Receivers/Brochures/RXV659.jsp