receiver question

[pwh03]

I almost feel bad asking this because there are so many similar questions to this on the board right now but it will help me with my purchase so I guess I have to

I am moving to a home theater system and I have narrowed it down to
yamaha
htr-5760
htr-5790
rxv-650
rxv- 1400

I understand the difference between the two lines (basically there isn't one to speak of according to yamaha;s site) and I was under the belief that the 5760 is nearly the same as the 650 as are the 1400 and the 5790 ( I'm not sure if the later two were as similar or not)

I run B&W 602s2;s as the fronts klipsch rears and a soon to be b&W center. The setup is about 60 percent music 40 home theater. There will be no turntables or records used with the system ever and I really could care less about the tunners. The YPAO feature is a beautiful thing but I wasn't sure of the differences in the feature on these differentn models and what those differences might mean for me. I currently only listen to cds but I'll soon move to a dvdA SACD player, but I doubt that should matter much. I can afford the 5790 but I could also easily use the 200 bucks I saved else where if it turns out I'm spending my money on things I'll never use, and reading the reviews and the comparison charts its pretty much is looking that way (in my situation at least). I don;t plan on adding a 6 or 7 speaker anytime soon as 5.1 one should be fine for now. I guess i was wondreing if there is any reason I should go with the RXV receivers if they are as similar as I have been lead to believe or if I should just buy which ever line I can find the best deal on, and if there was any reason I should get the 5790 that I had been missing.

might the 1400 be the comprimise in price and features that I am looking for. Looking at it quickly now I do like the direct stereo mode it offers (although this may very well be available in the other models I just don't remember off the top of my head)
I would like IIx though and I have herd that only newer receivers of this model come with it, older ones must be sent back to yamaha (which means I would have to buy from a verified dealer correct) I wouldn't mind buying used is the reason I bring this up

kexodusc you usually have good things to say about things like this I was hoping you (or anyone) else could clear some of it up for me

thanks in advance
PH

[kexodusc]

Well, I'm quite familiar with the RX-V1400 (I own) and the HTR-5760 (next door neighbor owns). I bought the 1400 for one reason basically. YPAO. At the time it was the only unit (well, the 2400 as well, but no thanks) that offered this feature. I had witnessed first hand the differences parametric EQ's can make in a system. The 1400 has all the bells and whistles I need too, but then again, so did the RX-V640 and HTR-5660 I was looking at. I felt it was better to have the headroom for 7-channels (which I eventually ended up using). I also looked at the Denon 2803 (beautiful unit I had in my home for a week) but no YPAO was a minus. The 1400 is a very nice receiver, but it cost me more than $600.

Is it worth $250 extra over the HTR-5760...In my humble opinion, no. The extra $250-$300 buys you a beefier amplifier, which might not be a real asset in your room. How loud will you really play movies or music? Both receivers are probably adequate. The 5760 handles my neighbor's Mirage HT pretty well. I use Adcom power amps because my room is over 500 square ft. If you don't have a record player the phono stage on the 1400 is useless to you, the THX stuff doesn't impress me much, and the slightly better remote isn't a deal breaker either.

So you're basically left with more power and the Parametric EQ...In my setup, any adjustments made by YPAO in terms of equalization are not very noticeable to me. In fact, I tell everyone that the auto-setup feature actually does more towards improving the systems sound than the EQ does in my setup. No matter how much effort I put in, I could never get the delays or the levels set as well as YPAO does, even with my SPL meter. I even copied the level and delays from YPAO settings and manually programmed them into my receiver to see if I could tell if the Parametric EQ actually made a noticeable difference. I'd have to say no for the most part...maybe a bit better blend with the sub-woofer, but that's it. Nothing substantial, and I can't say I'd enjoy movies $200-$300 more because of the equalization.

I have no way of knowing if my room acoustics just make YPAO a somewhat less useful feature, or if the parametric eq done by these receivers is only a second-rate job. Like I keep saying, my experiences are based on my room alone. But if I had to buy all over again, I would have bought the 650 or 5760 and saved some money. I bought into the marketing hype and caught a spell of "upgrade-itis". I think after my demos I was more impressed with all the "bleeps and bloops" the 1400 made, and the potential I had imagined the 1400 could offer me, rather than real world performance. But I can't say I regret my purchase because the 1400 is a fine receiver.

Oh, as for video conversion, I don't run my video cables through my receiver, so this wasn't a feature I wanted or needed, but if you're looking for up-conversion, I have to admit the 1400 offers component up-conversion while the 650/5760 only offer S-video up-conversion. Not sure if that's a big deal for you, but maybe down the road it could be. Definitely something to consider.

Now all that being said, you may place higher value on some of the extra features the higher models have than I do. That's perfectly valid. But don't believe for one minute that the 1400 is a higher quality unit than the 650/5760. It's just a bigger unit with a few more toys. Both receivers will perform their jobs within their design limitations quite well. I've actually looked inside both units, and it's clear to even the most amateur idiot, that these receivers use an aweful lot of the same parts. A slightly heavier chassis is only good during an earthquake as far as I'm concerned. My point is I doubt one will seriously "outlast" the other, or be more durable. We're comparing very similar receivers, not a Ford to a Lexus.

All 4 units have PLIIx and a direct stereo mode. There's no functional advantage to chosing an RX-V model over an HTR model with the four units you're considering. Price might be different.

Just ask yourself what you really need, what you want, and how much you're willing to pay for those features. Consider how often you expect you'll use them. The money you save on the cheaper units might be better allocated elsewhere in your system, yielding superior results overall.

Since you have different model fronts and rears, the Parametric EQ in the 1400 might help you a bit more than it seems to help me...I have all Paradigm Studios. But then again, you might be able to put the money you save towards matching rears? Or, since you listen to 60% music, maybe you could invest that money into better gear specifically for music? I'll leave it to you to know what's best for your needs.

Hope this helps, let us know what you end up deciding to do. I'm sure you'll be happy either way. Cheers!

[pwh03]

just what I was looking for

thankyou

I'll let you know how it goes