confused by yamaha

[wileecoyote]

I think I have settled on yamaha for my new reciever but can someone explain better than yamaha`s site the difference between the RX-V line and the HTR ? Their site talks about same parts but rated differently but it looks like more than that. I am looking at RX-V 1400 or HTR5590 but not sure what is what. I want power, probly 70-30 as far as music vs movies, but want to be able to add an amp to mains later.
Thanks

[TinHere]

The RX-V line is sold through audio shops as opposed to the HTR line which is sold to mass mark outlets. They are of comparable quality, but I would suggest the RX-V1400 because it has YPAO [Yamaha Parametric Acustic Optimizer] which does automatic calibration and the DLPIIx upgrade which I don't think are available with the HTR series. FYI...I think it can be had from 6thAve.com [auth. dlr] for $529 [same price as the 1300?] if you call them on the phone and request the price. Worked for some people at AVSforum.com. Good luck. Gotta love the YPAO.

[mpm32]

And I have to say, it is all that it's cracked up to be. I just used the YPAO and it was amazing. I did three tests, One out of the box, one with me calibrating it manually, and one on automatic. The automatic sounded the best. I did up the sub volume a little as I like a little more thump then it programmed. It can be obtained at the prices quoted in other posts if you look around.

[Worf101]

With my various Onkyo HT receivers and here comes Yamaha with this YPAO or whatever that automatically calibrates your 5.1 systems.

Sigh... well, who knows, maybe Onkyo or some one will come up with an add on or aftermarket device that'll do the same thing for not equipped receivers... I'm not canning my Onkyou 898 or 797 for a new receiver just to get that function. Although I'm sure that that's what our dear friends at Yamaha want. :mad:

Da Wistfull Worfster

[Woochifer]

I think I have settled on yamaha for my new reciever but can someone explain better than yamaha`s site the difference between the RX-V line and the HTR ? Their site talks about same parts but rated differently but it looks like more than that. I am looking at RX-V 1400 or HTR5590 but not sure what is what. I want power, probly 70-30 as far as music vs movies, but want to be able to add an amp to mains later.
Thanks

As others have said, the main difference between the RX-V and HTR lines is the distribution. The RX-V line is not authorized for online sales or sales through mass merchants, while the HTR line is designated for those channels. The odd case with the HTR-5590 (equivalent to RX-V1300) is that Yamaha eliminated the preouts in that model, but kept them in the HTR-5560 (equivalent to RX-V630), even though the later model cost less and is one of thir entry level models. I haven't seen the HTR version of the 1400 in stores yet, and if you see it at Best Buy, I would check carefully. Before, Yamaha did not make any substantive changes between the RX-V and HTR lines, but if their bizarre decision to leave out the preouts in the 5590 is any indication, they might bemore serious about deliberately keeping certain features out of the HTR line to keep their specialty retailers happy (some of Yamaha's long-time retailers were not too happy when they introduced the HTR line and begtan selling those receivers at Best Buy and Sears). Just make sure that the HTR model has the preouts and the YPAO feature (that's really Yamaha's trumpcard right now; Pioneer's the only other company that offers anything similar, and Yamaha's implementation looks more advanced).

[wileecoyote]

Thanks you guys pretty much backed up what I thought I knew. Pre outs are a must and the YPAO sounds very cool. I`m thinking the RX-V is worth a little extra for something I hope will keep me happy for awhile. I don`t mind paying more for something better.

[Woochifer]

Thanks you guys pretty much backed up what I thought I knew. Pre outs are a must and the YPAO sounds very cool. I`m thinking the RX-V is worth a little extra for something I hope will keep me happy for awhile. I don`t mind paying more for something better.

The two series have identical list prices, so any price difference would be more on a case by case basis. The only difference is that the retail channels that the HTR series goes into are more likely to markdown the prices off of MSRP. And that's really the main reason why Yamaha split the series this way when they started sending their receivers into the mass merchandising channels, to keep them from directly competing with their long-time specialty retailers. They are the same products, but not all consumers know this. If Yamaha had started letting the Best Buys of the world start selling their entire RX-V lineup, they would have had a revolt from the rest of their dealer network. When JBL went mass market in the 80s, their long-time dealers dropped them in droves, and now the only way you can find JBL's higher end products is to go overseas where they have maintained better relations with their dealer networks.