Yamaha RX-V2700 - AV network receiver - 7.1 channel Review

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(More customer reviews)The RX-V2700 has more features than any receiver I know of in any category. The main features that distinguish it are:
* Play MP3s (off PC running the proper software)/Internet Radio
* High Power (140x7 - One channel driven into 8ohm from 20hz-20khz)
* Handles 7.1 multi-channel PCM over HDMI, helpful for Blu-ray and HDMI
* YPAO (Automatically adjusts levels, and bass management features; I believe it also has some basic equalization features)
* Three HDMI inputs (not a common feature of AVRs)
* Can pass 1080P
Cons:
* Remote control longer than usual; controlling network features a pain
* Clunky GUI for network capaibilities
I connected a number of component video sources and audio sources and ran a single HDMI cable to my display. I have no video issues with this setup. I used YPAO to do the initial setup. When that was done I set all speakers to small and the LFE/Bass crossover to 80hz. There's no good reason to let your speakers handle bass if your subwoofer can do it. 80hz is what THX has reccommended. Everything worked fine. The diagrams in the manual of the back panel were hard for me to read. This made it harder for me to try to wire it up with less than two feet between it, and the back wall. There are some photos online of the back panel that might be easier to use.Sound quality is good. If you already had a good receiver, don't expect amazing improvements. Amps tend to sound very much alike. Processing modes are typical. Select straight mode, and it should do the right thing most of the time. I prefer 7-channel stereo for normal music listening, though.
As for video, because I have a plasma, and I feel it does a good job deinterlacing (480i -> 480p) and scaling (to it's native 1024x780,) I only use HDMI conversion. I did play around with the 2700's deinterlacer and scaler options. I saw no improvement. I also see no degradation, which is what I expect. I use the 2700 to convert component to HDMI for a DVD player/Tivo box and my XBox 360.
The network features work ok. I see usual problems with disconnects, etc. To stream MP3's from your computer to the RX, you will need Microsoft Media Connect, or Windows Media Player 11 (which comes with Media Connect.) You don't need to run Win Media, Media Connect will run as a background process, which is nice. Setting it up was easy enough, but I have spent my life working with computers. You will need to go into Win Media Player or Media Connect and add the 2700 so you can share music to it. The ability to play internet radio is one I quite like. You can't add stations, and are limited to MP3 (I think.) The 2700 uses the vTuner database, which is extensive, and you can suggest stations to it. The GUI for the network capaibilities is painful. It's slow for one thing. It will stop displaying with no keypress in 5 seconds or so. However long it is, it's not always long enough forcing you to hit the display button on the remote again. Very dissapointing for a product with a suggested retail of $1700.
As mentioned above sound quality is good. It's powerful enough that I can turn it up as loud as I want without audible distress, and I can't say that about other receivers I have owned. Like most receivers, it's only rated with one channel driven, but don't let that concern you. If it's not loud enough for you, you either have a big room, inefficient speakers or a need to damage your hearing. As for it's sound quality being better than other receivers, I can't say that it is. Most receivers sound pretty close (in tests, even trained listeners have trouble picking out one amp vs. another.)
A brief note about Blu-ray and HD DVD. This receiver will handle 7.1 multi-channel PCM at 96khz/24bits. That allows you to take advantage of the lossless audio formats available on the new high def media formats, such as TrueHD. You will need to set your player to output multi-channel PCM over HDMI. Some people have reported diminished LFE (low frequency channel) when PCM was used rather than bitstream. I don't have room for a full discussion of this alleged issue. It is unconfirmed by any formal review, and some people have reported that LFE over HDMI/PCM works fine. This is only a potential issue if you want to hear the best quality from uncompressed audio on Blu-ray or HD DVD. You always have the option to let the player convert to DTS or Dolby Digital and send that via bitstream over HDMI (or S/PDIF.)
As for video quality, all I asked of it that was it converted component to HDMI, which it does with no obvious degradation.
Why would you spend over $1000 on a receiver? Probably for the feature set, and high power. Yamaha also has a reputation for quality. It's my fifth Yamaha receiver, so I am obviously a fan.

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Denon AVR-1611 7.1 Channel A/V Home Theater Multi-Source / Multi-Zone Receiver with HDMI 1.4a supporting 1080p and 3D (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)After having an unfortunate incident with a lightning strike at my home, my Denon AVR-1908 suffered irreparable damage. Within a few weeks my insurance company sent the check to replace it and the hunt for a new receiver was on.
Having owned a Denon, I was very familiar with the quality and outstanding sound their receivers can produce - but made the decision to research other brands such as Onkyo, Yamaha, Pioneer and of course the new line of Denon AV receivers. I have a 7.1 surround sound Home Theater so my future purchase had to meet that criteria. After some research I had narrowed my search down to the Denon AVR-1611 and the Onkyo TX-SR508 receivers, then visited a local electronics store to compare the two receivers in functionality and sound. After comparing the two I found that the Denon delivered a more rich, deep sound reproduction with outstanding surround sound imagery as compared to the Onkyo, at least in my opinion.
The Denon AVR-1611 offers some features that I definitely wanted, and some that I may want to utilize should I decide to upgrade my Home Theater. It offers HDMI 1.4a inputs and output for 3D movie features (still on the fence with 3D), if I decide to upgrade to a 3D capable Home Theater this receiver will accommodate this option. The rear I/O panel is extremely clean compared to older AV receivers, due to HDMI. There are 4 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output eliminating the need for multiple component inputs, this made for a much quicker and cleaner equipment setup. The various available sound formats, i.e., DTS Master, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus encoded with this receiver switch very efficiently with the source material - to date I have not had to adjust this manually. The receiver is very pleasing aesthetically, and fits in well with the rest of my components but does have some heft to it. The Denon AVR-1611 also offers ARC (audio return channel) via the HDMI output to allow for both sending and receiving an audio signal, but please note that your television must also have the ARC feature. The other plus with this receiver is the upconversion of standard definition DVD's due to the HDMI upconversion feature, althought it now sounds cliche - it truly makes my older movies look like new again with near HD resolution. The only criticism I have that prevented my awarding this receiver a perfect 5 stars is the lack of an AC Power Outlet in the back of the receiver. I found this to be a real convenience option for plugging in my JBL PB10 powered subwoofer. I wonder if this has been eliminated due to reducing the overall power draw for electronics in meeting with "GREEN TECHNOLOGY"? Regardless, I found that I missed having the outlet and wish they would incorporate it back into the design.
The owners manual can be intimidating, with its overview of all the features and functions designed in the AVR-1611 - this is where the AUDYSSEY AUTO SETUP feature shines! Denon included a specialized microphone to allow owners the convenience of letting the receiver setup your surround parameters without hours of manual work. Not only did this feature effectively set the surround sound parameters of all 7 speakers and my subwoofer, it also measured the distance from each speaker to the listening area, as well as decibel/gain setting for each individual speaker. It even determined the size of my speakers from small to large! To gauge the accuracy, I took out my tape measure and my Radio Shack sound level meter and began testing, and found the accuracy of Audyssey to be remarkable! For the novice setting up their Home Theater this feature would be invaluable.
To date I can offer no complaints, save for the missing AC power outlet. The surround sound imaging is outstanding, music CD's sound amazing, and the Denon AVR-1611 has real ease of use. It supports all of the most popular sound formats and upconverts my standard definition DVD's beautifully. I would highly recommend this receiver to anyone who is on a budget looking for an AV Receiver that offers a multitude of features and is as close to audiophile reproduction as you can get. It certainly pleases this movie buff.


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A versatile A/V surround receiver with a 7.1-channel amplifier, the Denon AVR-1611 is designed to be the centerpiece of an exciting home theater system. It supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding and it includes the latest HDMI 1.4a technology, which provides for 3D pass-through capabilities to your HDTV (broadcast and Blu-ray). It also features Dolby Pro Logic IIz, a technology that adds a vertical dimension at the front for a more exciting surround sound experience. Last, but not least, the high-performance AVR-1611 includes Audyssey MultEQ, Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume for optimum tonal balance, with no volume jump due to commercial interruptions.

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Harman Kardon AVR-254 7x50W 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver with HDMI 1.3a Repeater Review

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(More customer reviews)I spent several months researching my new receiver for my home theater. I spent countless hours hanging out on the avsforum, read everything I could about receivers. I was looking for a receiver that would have the following features:
- at least 2 HDMI inputs
- great sound quality for music as well as movies
- HD audio codecs (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA) support
- would cost $650 MSRP or less
The choice is clear:
- Onkyo 606 or 705
- Yamaha 663
- Sony 820 or 920
- HK 254
- Pioneer 1018
- Denon 1909 or 988
I didn't even try the Onkyos, because I was afraid of the overheating problems and the humming noise reported on many units. Plus, they are downright ugly. The Yamaha had only 2 HDMI, and did not pass BTB/WTW, the Sonys are notorious for having the worst sound quality (unless you tap into the really high end models) across the board, so I didn't consider those either.
I was then left with the HK, Pioneer and Denon receivers.
I first bought the HK 254. All the users on avsforum swore by the HK sound. Well, they were right. The sound is nothing short of outstanding. The GUI is light-years ahead of the competition too. And finally, it is by far the slickest looking receiver of all.
Now, on the negative. HK is notorious for releasing products that haven't been thoroughly tested, and that don't work properly until the firmware update is released, and even at that point, it doesn't always work right. Well, they got that right too...
1 - the fan noise on 2 different units was unbearably loud, and not only was it loud, it wasn't a constant noise: it was pulsating. Crappy quality control from HK, can't afford more than $2 on a decent fan!
2 - if you connect your PS3 to the HK receiver using HDMI audio out + Linear PCM (the only way to take advantage of the HD audio codecs), here's what happens: you get sound drop outs that last for several minutes in many bluray movies (There Will Be Blood is a good example). Also, in GTA IV, you cannot hear the dialogs from the person you talk to on your cell phone. When I say "you cannot hear the dialogs", I mean: there is NO sound at all, it's not that the volume is low.
3 - the surround sound never "locks" on the one you want, it always reverts to Logic 7 eventually, and even if you can sometimes get it back by cycling through the surround sounds, it doesn't always work and it is a major hassle.
4 - it can't pass HDMI video with video processing turned OFF (it's always on!), and it won't pass BTB/WTW either.
I don't want to go into the details of all these bugs, but they completely kill all the enjoyment you could get from the unit. I exchanged my first unit, thinking I got a lemon, but the 2nd unit showed exactly the same problems, all of them. I finally returned the unit, disgusted with HK's quality control.
I then tried the Pioneer 1018, the Denon 1909 and the Denon 988. All 3 of them performed flawlessly, without a single hickup.
The Pioneer worked great but sounded a little weak, lacked punch and attack compared to the HK. It also had a very annoying bright blue LED that you can't turn off, and the worst remote I've ever seen.
The Denon 1909 and 988 were very similar, the 988 having a very slight edge in terms of SQ for music, but lacked the extra HDMI input and didn't have the Audyssey Dynamic EQ and Volume features. The 1909 was the only receiver I tried that could maintain the surround field perfect at any time and any given volume.
I ended up keeping the 1909, because of its great sound quality and of its superb handling of surround field, thanks to the Audyssey Dynamic EQ and Volume. Oh, and did I mention that it just works? ;)
After my disastrous experience with the HK, I wouldn't touch that receiver with a 10ft pole. If you consider this unit, wait until HK comes up with a firmware update, and make sure that it actually fixed all the problems. For more info about these problems, visit the avsforum dot com forum, and search for "Official Harman/Kardon AVR x54: Problems and Solutions Thread".

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The Harman Kardon AVR-254 7x50W 7.1-channel home theater receiver with HDMI 1.3a repeater is an affordable home theater system that gives you more bang for your buck. 7.1-Channel A/V receiver includes HDMI' switching and audio/video processing. With 350 watts (50 watts x 7 channels) at your fingertips, movies will put you into the heart of the action. This is upscale video without an upscale price. The AVR-254 is Harman Kardon's most affordable receiver and allows you to upscale incoming analog video signals to high-resolution 720p output or select two HDMI' inputs for audio processing -all with a Simplay HD'-verified, single-wire connection to an HDMI-equipped display. And the sound? Pure Harman Kardon audio, with the clarity possible only with EzSet/EQ' technology and our high-current, ultrawide-bandwidth amplifier design.

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