Yamaha RX-V363BL 500 Watt 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver

Well, this is my first Yamaha receiver and I am impressed! My 5 year old Onkyo was getting outdated, so I moved it to the bedroom and picked up this Yamaha RX-363 for $188 at BB (Reward Zone 10% coupon). I am very pleased with the sound quality & clarity! It plays ipod/MP3 thru the front jack (just get a simple $5.99 cable) OR you can go all out and buy the optional Bluetooth Yamaha ipod cradle ($99) and work the ipod thru the remote. Overall, this is a GREAT entry-level receiver that has the new HDMI pass-thru technology (still need an optical/coax audio cable) AND it plays your ipod/MP3!! 100 watts x 5 channels is perfect for a medium size room (might be too much for a small room and maybe not quite enough power for HUGE rooms).
Hook up was pretty straight forward, owners manual was clear, and the functions/settings are endless!! This receiver can do it all! Pick it up. You will be very happy!!

Great receiver! Easy to install, sounds great, and has a ton of options to maximize your listening. We have it hooked up to Polk surround sound speakers and we couldn't be happier. Plus the speakers and receiver combined cost under $400...an amazing deal!

I have owned Yamaha Natural Sound equipment for over a decade, and continue to love it. This receiver is an impressive value for the money -- and in some respects is actually superior to its more expensive counterparts. For example, this unit has the Night Listening mode, which makes watching movies at night much easier (easier on your spouse and neighbors, anyway) -- while the more expensive V463 does not! Because I don't care about XM/Sirius radio or 7.1 surround (the main features of the more expensive units), this one fits right where I want it.

The only downside I see to this unit is its relatively limited number of video inputs, and the inability to route all the video inputs together. For example, you only get two HDMI inputs and one output. In my case this is enough, but others may find it limiting. Also, the component inputs are not upconverted into HDMI -- you have to run component outs AND HDMI out into your TV if you're using both kinds of inputs. In my case this is okay, but again, if you have a lot of high definition devices this may be a pain (since to switch inputs you'll have to switch both on the receiver as well as the TV).

I currently own one of these units (attached to my computer), and am actually about to buy a second one for my home theater. I spent a bunch of time on the Yamaha site researching the higher end ones, but feel that this inexpensive one is what I actually want. Another bonus -- it fits perfectly in the 6" space in my IKEA Billy TV stand, where some of the higher end ones don't!

UPDATE: After two months of owning two of these units, I have one issue to report: the HDMI signal does not pass audio on these units. Originally I thought that wouldn't be a problem (since there are various digital audio inputs as well, and I had plenty of cable) -- but there is an issue with lip sync on my TV, as the HDMI and digital audio are slightly out of sync. What this means is, when I watch something via HDMI, the dialog seems to arrive a little later than the lips move onscreen, and I find it unwatchable. (This issue does NOT seem to exist with the component and other video inputs.) I ended up running the HDMI inputs directly to my TV because of this -- and it solved the issue -- but it makes the HDMI switching of this receiver useless. Oh well, it was only two HDMI inputs anyway.

Aside from that, I'm very pleased -- the units sound great, have plenty of power, have a decent remote, and have plenty of inputs for what I'm doing. I still highly recommend this model, though you'll want to consider the HDMI issues before buying. You'll also want to thoroughly check your various devices to make sure this unit has the proper inputs (for example, coaxial digital input for DVD) for what you have. You can workaround this in some cases (for example, using the "CD" optical digital input with your Blu-Ray player...) but you'll want to plan it out in advance.

I was initially considering the Onkyo TX-SR605 because it is capable of processing HDMI audio. Unfortunately the budget was a bit to tight for that so I decided to settle on this receiver. I was hoping I would be able to connect various game consoles and my DVD player using component cables and output the video via the HDMI port but it does not convert the signals. The sound is very nice with my old speakers. I am still waiting for the Yamaha NS-SP1600 speaker set to arrive, I think that will be a huge improvement over what I have connected now (right now my center channel is a torn speaker I pulled out of my car a few years ago;). For the price I think this is a lot more versatile than most home theater in a box setups.