Yamaha RX-V663BL 665 Watt 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver

I considered several receivers (Yamaha 663, Onkyo 606, Denon 1909) before choosing the mid-priced (of the 3) Yamaha. The Onkyo ran too hot and the sound seemed to have less depth and the Denon was a bit expensive although the feature that lowers volume of commercials seems great. After 2 weeks, I've been very impressed with the Yamaha's sound through my old Magnat speakers (stereo) and Polk surround speakers (5.1). Set up was easy with the automatic speaker calibration (YPAO); I played around with subwoofer placement and each time the calibration worked perfectly. The HDMI works great, converting and sending video/audio with a single cable from my component DVD, HDMI DirecTV HD, composite VCR, etc to my HDTV. The remote is weak so I would definitely upgrade to a Harmony-type remote. Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase.

Over the past few weeks I have been searching for a new a/v receiver to replace my Harman Kardon. I have added a bluray player and a new plasma. The H/K was running out of open connections. I began with the Onkyo 606 which I got at Circuit City for $379. It had a great power section, but ran very hot. The biggest issue was every time an explosion or a flash would go off on the screen, I would lose video signal to my projector. Returned it and purchased the Yamaha 663. Very clean and clear through my Jamo surround setup. I won't elaborate on details because much has already been said about the quality of the Yamaha. A week after I got the Yamaha, CC ran the Denon 988 for $650 on closeout (same as the Denon 2808). I had high expectations since it retails for $1200. Bottom line is it sounded about the same as the Yamaha. I got the Yamaha for $430 at Best Buy and can't justify the extra $$ for the Denon name. Also was not as user friendly as the Yamaha. With my particular setup, the Yamaha gave Denon performance at a much lower price. Hope this helps anyone decide as these 3 receivers are very close in features.

Just got this after reading all the reviews here plus checking around on-line. Hooked it up with a new set of KEF 3005s and it's currently blowing my socks off. I'm sure I'll learn a lot more about it as I get deeper into it, but first impression is, wow!

I live in a small apartment in Greenwich Village, so really can't play music/movies very loud. As soon as I set this up I noticed a vast improvement in the sound quality from my existing speakers in an 18X24 room. Without blowing out the windows, and my neighbors, I can hear the full surround effect; the sound track from movies surrounds us now, . Some nice features, including a max volume feature.
Has more than enough inpuits, and you can piggy back some. The scene feture is great, and easy to program. I set up 2 for TV, one for 5.1 HD programs and one for 2.0

A couple of small issues:
1. The remote does not control my Time Warner Cable box DVR, but I can live with that (until I get a new TIVO HD box with a 2 way cable card if they ever release them)
2. You can not save the auto setup and make small changes to it (or if you can I haven't figured it out yet - UPDATE: you can make those changes than "restore" the last auto setup.
3. Can't get it to upconvert my VCR past 420p (not that it matters much)

Wow! I've been putting off entering the Surround Sound world for many years, but with the purchase of my LCD TV and "HD" from Dish Network in January I began my search for the best Surround Sound receiver I could buy without sending myself to the "poor house". I certainly understand the phrase "Analysis leads to paralysis" now that I went through the process. With so many products to choose from and so much information available via the internet, it's easy to get squeamish about ACTUALLY MAKING THE PURCHASE. It all paid off with this Yamaha.
I had 2 Yamaha Tower speaker on my 2 channel amp that I loved; so I wanted to use them as my mains for Surround and I have. I bought a Yamaha Center speaker based on size and appearance (I had entertainment center measurement constraints) which sounds very nice and a Yamaha Sub that doesn't overwhelm everything. My Surround speakers are basic KLHs that are quite adequate.
It realy was "plug and play" for me and I did the whole installation myself (my KLHs were already in place as a 2nd set on my 2 channel, positioned for "rear" use in a Surround system). I turned the unit on once everything was connected and basically did nothing and it sounded spectacular. I'm using all HDMI with the Dish Receiver/DVR on one input and my Samsung Upconverting DVD on the other and obviously the HDMI Out to my Samsung LCD HD TV.
I've just touched the "tip of the iceberg" with programming features on this Receiver and yet I'm totally pleased. I added the Ipod Dock and that works perfectly too.
In the $400 range I cannot imagine how this thing can be beaten. If you are in "paralysis" right now over a Surround receiver - BUY THIS. You will not be disappointed.