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I bought this Amplifier to replace the equipment I had purchased in Germany 20+ years ago; while it was still functional, it did not have the surround sound characteristics I am looking ( listening ) for. This amplifier does everything I want and more. It not only does a 7.1 surround sound process, but has many other ' preset ' functions available at the front panel selection, such as 2 channel stereo, 7 channel stereo, Game setting, Entertainment ( sports ), Movie Theater, pop /rock, etc. It not only has the audio functions, but this is a AV - Amplifier, and that allow the selection on audio as well as video sources. The back of this amplifier is almost enough to be intimidating, but at the same time intriguing! The multiple inputs and output this amp supports is amazing! It's I-pod and XM satellite compatible. It's not the newest technology available, but for the price, it provides 100 watts X 7 channels and has a whole ton more technology than I am used to with the legacy equipment it replaced. It sounded GREAT with my existing speakers ( simple 4 channel stereo - LF + RF LR + RR ) and even better after adding the other channels to enjoy the 7.1 experience!! If you haven't witnesses the difference between stereo - 5.1 - 7.1 - etc. Head on down to BEST BUY and walk back to the AV area and ask someone for a demo... Just my 2 cents worth.Read full review
At 52, I thought I was done amassing stereo gear...Cerwin-Vega D-9's? Check. DBX 3BX-DS? Check. JVC TD-V541? Double Check!! Have a decent 100W Technics 5.1 Receiver (SA-AX540) with a tape monitor loop for digitizing tapes and LPs, but the integrated amp section was just OK quality-wise. Noise floor is audible from all inputs, but it does the job. Then, I thought: Maybe I need a better amp, you know, the home theater kind to also play back a few kickass soundtrack movies, like Do The Right Thing or Master and Commander. So I picked up this Yammy V659 for 42 bucks and 40 bucks shipping with a single line scratch on the LED display. It arrived three days later, wrapped in bubble wrap, and within an hour I had replaced the Technics with the Yamaha. First off, no noise...at all. You put any content on, including the Phono and you can't hear the amp driving the D-9's at the 6Ohm setting. That is, until you spin that fat volume dial and you are front stage, listening for a very faint hiss at rock concert levels. I've only owned only budget amps (Pioneer SX-6 in high school and the Technics SA-AX540, more recently) so I have tuned out that amp hiss, just not the typical clipping-style distortion. I took off a point for not having a tape monitor loop which is very inconvenient, considering the vast array of RCA, S-DIN, speaker outs, pre-amp outs, as well as composite and 3 color video jacks on the back and input options. I understand that either the Zone 2 or the pre-amp outs can be used as a tape monitor loop, but I haven't figured out how to engage it yet.There's also no HDMI but who cares, that's a technology compatibility race you can never win and never feel happy and satisfied with your purchases for more than a year. I'd rather have a kickass amp while I still can appreciate how it cranks!Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Love the sound performance especially the Enhancer option for most inputs excluding cable TV input. This receiver has the power and adjustments to deliver great performance at any level of volume. I purchased the RX-V659 because of the amount of optical inputs along with the Ipod input. I don’t use HD Television audio, instead I still use optical digital inputs so I don’t have to change out all of my components just so they can all be HD inputs. Although I do have a 1080i HD television I do us HD video input from cable to my TV and also HD video input from my HD dvd player but still use optical for audio, which this Yamaha delivers great sound with any input. Yamaha is very user friendly and is a snap to set up and has all the options you will need. I prefer the manual setup verses the YPAO Mic because I have more control using my own ears. I have tried Harman Kardon, Denon, Onkyo and others and they just dont cut it for me.Read full review
This is a great receiver packed with the same high end features as much higher priced recievers. The YPAO microphone works great, old yamaha receiver never sounded this good!! The only feature missing is HDMI video upconversion, my tv is still component video and the s-video upconversion from the VCR works great, too. Little extra work to program the remote for all the devices, but worth the effort. Now selecting source for the receiver is the only choice, no more TV display on one device and sound on another. Can also controll all the source devices with 1 remote.
The sound and the features are incredible. The first DVD I played was LOTR, The Two Towers. When the wall blows up at Helms Deep, the bass shook the whole house - without a subwoofer! It was great. Much, much better than my old HTR-5130. The options are awesome too. I was able to reassign the input ports to different names - VCR to CDR, etc. I liked the YPAO which automatically sets up the speakers. I can now listen to OTA HDTV in 5.1 - great! Using 7.1 stereo, I can listen to two channel stereo through all the speakers. As you can tell, I'm very happy with this receiver.
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