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

I've had this receiver a couple of weeks now and I love it. For me third time was the charm. It was time to upgrade my 11 year old Sony STR-DE915 with a HDMI receiver to go with my PS3. I tried the Sony STR-DG720 and it sounded nice but did not have switched AC outlets so I went with the STR-DG910. I was not impressed with the power of that receiver at all. I did a lot of research after those two didn't work out and came across this receiver.

I knew Yamaha made quality products so that wasn't my concern. I was mainly worried about the power ratings. Well I can tell you that I was worrying for no reason. This receiver has plenty of power, and clean power to boot. I know I have a bit of a redundancy in that this receiver decodes True HD and DTS-HD MA but my PS3 already decodes it into LPCM but I got a really good deal on this unit and I couldn't pass it up. The SCENE function is cool though I have not set mine yet and I like the way it automatically detects when I switch sources. I did not use the auto mic calibration, figured I'd set it by ear since that's the only mic that really counts. I just picked up my new 50" 1080p Panny plasma and the picture quality through this receiver is superb. By the way I'm NOT using overpriced/hyped monster cables. With a pair of $10 HDMI cables the picture is stunning and the TV info states a full 1080p signal.

The bottom line is that this receiver is freakin' sweet. Plenty of power, nice HDMI switching, HD audio decoding, on screen display is a big plus. The only minus would be only two HDMI inputs but if that's all you need then do not hesitate in picking this bad boy up.

I got this for its HDMI capability, but it is a great choice for a lot of other reasons as well.

As one can expect from Yamaha, the sound is clean and powerful. My old Yamaha receiver was made in 1999, and the A/D decoders on this one sound dramatically better. Dolby Digital and DTS sources sound a lot sweeter than they used to. Also, the various surround sound enhancement programs actually sound good (in contrast to the ones on the previous receiver). They're very cool for my kids' PS2 games, among other things.

The receiver is a little difficult to set up in that assigning the source inputs to what Yamaha calls "Scenes" is a little difficult to figure out. In fact, it's still not clear to me why some of the "Scene" channels limit the possible assignable sources. However, I did manage to get it set up for my four primary sources (DVD, HD-DVD, game console and television), so I'm good to go. I do like the fact that you can mix and match the various inputs and assign them your own descriptive titles.

In January 2008 I tried the Onkyo receiver everyone likes because it was, at the time, one of the few with HDMI. I ended up returning it because the sound of the amplifier was so inferior to my Yamaha. I'm glad I waited for this to come out, because the sound is far, far superior.

The RX-V663 is an outstanding unit and a true audiophile bargain. With the ability to decode the latest HD sound formats, flawlessly route HDMI signals, and perform a top-notch room EQ adjustment automatically at such a low price point, it is nothing short of amazing. The automatic room EQ adjustment function (using the supplied microphone and the YPAO - Yamaha Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer) also correctly picked up on the fact that I had wired the center channel speaker out of phase and alerted me to this error -- amazing!

It also boasts preamp outputs that allow me to use my two hefty NAD THX amps to power my Front L/R and Center Dynaudio loudspeakers. I use the RX-V663 for powering the rear channels only (a pair of Athena AS-B1's). I also have a Dynaudio powered subwoofer that plugs into one of the TWO available subwoofer outputs.

Granted, the unit does not have all of the inputs one might desire, but at this price, what it does have is done to a very high level of quality. It lacks a phono preamp, for example, but this was quickly worked around by plugging the nifty (and very inexpensive) Behringer Ultra-Compact Phono Preamp PP400 into one of the available line level inputs. Voila! Instant excellent phono action.

The manual, like any manual for such a complex piece of equipment, definitely takes some time to work through, but the needed info is all there. I am not much interested in the various DSP schemes, so I use the thoughtfully conceived "Pure Direct" mode for CD or phono listening. For DVD watching, HDMI audio signals from my Sony PS3/Blu-Ray player are processed correctly, and video signals from both the PS3 and my Oppo upscaling DVD player are passed through to my Panasonic High Definition projector with no degradation whatsoever. (As an aside, I am using way inexpensive HDMI cables obtained from monoprice dot com* -- they're every bit as good as that expensive Monster-hype stuff!)

Bottom line: A high quality, state-of-the-art unit that is very flexible in a fairly high-end setup and processes the latest high-def audio and video signals flawlessly at a bargain-basement price. I won't even go into all of the other features that I presently do not utilize.

So, what are you waiting for?

* Make sure you get HDMI 1.3a Category 2 cables, which are required for the new HD audio formats.

This Yamaha kit saves you $ you get the RX-V663BL and YDS-10 Universal iPod Dock for less money then the RX-V663BL,

I purchased this Yamaha RX-V663BL to replace my aging Yamaha HTR-5840, during my recent entertainment upgrade. It's was easy to setup and program the large number of features. It's working great with my other electronic equipment Samsung DVDR,DirecTV receiver(H-21)and my Samsung 46" LCD HDTV, great sound, no problems great buy.