Yamaha RX-V673

Dissapointed – After the warranty ran out the sound will cut out when used for a few days. Then a loud burst of sound almost deafening. Turn the receiver off for a few days then back on and after a few days starts again.

I love it but it's very difficult to set up – This is a pretty cool bit of technology. You can play music from any wireless device on your sound system, even playing different things in two seperate zones if you wish. You can use your smartphone or tablet to control volume, track, input, levels, turn power on/off, etc. It is however very time consuming and difficult to set up. Allow a good few hours. If you want to make use of any networking capability, you also need a nearby networking device to plug into, via a Cat 5 cable. You may be able to use a Netgear Gigabit Powerline device for this purpose if your router is on the same power circuit as your AV reciever, but is in a different part of the house (this arrangement has worked well for me in the past). Otherwise, if you are handy, you can run cable through the ceiling and install wall plates. If you are daunted by what I have just written, then this receiver is not for you. If you are good at following the user manual, then jump in...

Also, be prepared you may need to buy cables. Particularly optical audio cable for the TV. reasonably good sound quality, networking and playback from other devices, compatibility with multiple remote controls, compatibility with multiple device platforms, control centre app it needs more "apple-ness" to make it easier and more intuitive to set up and use - but then it would probably lose functionality and compatability

High quality, lots of features, but some issues – After many years of using an older model Yamaha receiver, I stumbled onto this unit for the very low price of $420. Honestly, with 6 HDMI inputs at that price, this unit could slap me in the face, and I would still love it. I haven't actually used the remote at all after setup, since I use a Logitech Harmony. This works well, since each input has a dedicated button, making swapping between inputs very reliable. Setup was pretty easy due to the microphone calibration, and the speaker terminals are all full size and easy to connect cables to. You can configure inputs and rename options as well.

Sound quality is typical Yamaha, but this will always depend on your exact setup, so, make your own mind up before purchasing. There is surplus power, but that is true of most AV receivers on the market today.

Still, it isn't perfect. It won't process 480p signals from component inputs and the AirPlay feature is unreliable enough that I don't bother with it anymore. The onscreen menus are sort of ugly, if you care about that stuff. Highly configurable, great sound quality, great value Issues with 480p, poor AirPlay