YAMAHA RXV650 or RXV1400 Which One?

[equinoxdreams]

Hello all - can anyone give me any hints as whether to buy the Yamaha RXV650 or RXV1400? I realise the 650 is a newer model, but does it basically have the same circuitary as the 1400 - or what are the differences? Is THX worth the extra bucks, if that's the major difference - please help, because I'm rather confused. Is the 1400 any better and worth the extra money or should I stick with the cheaper 650?

In conclusion - for the money, will the 1400 give me better sound (2 Speaker Stereo and multichannel) over the new 650 - or do they basically sound the same!!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

thanks Phil

[kpzbee]

IMO, I would recomend the 750 over the 650. There is an earlier thread about the difference between the two. When I bought mine, I opted for the 750 over the 1400. I figured for what I'm useing it for mostly HT) that the 750 was the way to go. I also need to upgrade some speakers, so the cost savings allowed me to spend more on speakers.

[F1]

Between 750 and 650, get 750 for learning remote control. Between 750 and 1400, I'm not so sure.

[kexodusc]

Hmm, I disagree, I think the 650 is a better value...You'd pick the 750 because of the learning remote? C'mon, chances are you won't need that, is it worth the extra money? Couldn't you buy a better one cheaper?
I went with the 1400...I use external power amps anyway, I kind of wish I went with the 650 or 750 now...or the HTR-5760. I hate the 1400's remote remote...no big deal.
No, the THX stuff isn't important at all.
They're all good, enjoy whichever one you end up with.

[agtpunx40]

do the rxv models below 1400 and the htr models have the full ypao feature? I remember reading previously that they do not have the full automatic parametric equalizer feature, but I don't remember if anyone ever had a definative answer. Thanks

[Wireworm5]

The 1400 and 2400 have a 'High Dynamic Power Low-imp Drive Capability' which the other models don't have.

[kexodusc]

The 1400 and 2400 have a 'High Dynamic Power Low-imp Drive Capability' which the other models don't have.

Naw, they use this marketing catch-phrase for the lower models too. Not sure about the YPAO features though, I think the 1400 and 2400 have a few more steps in theirs than the 750/650.
To be honest, I don't find YPAO to be a huge deal now that I have it.

[kpzbee]

Hmm, I disagree, I think the 650 is a better value...You'd pick the 750 because of the learning remote? C'mon, chances are you won't need that, is it worth the extra money?

I thought for the extra $100, it was worth it.
There are 4 basic differences between the 650 & the 750. The 750 has these features that the 650 don't:
1 - A little more power (5 watts - big deal)
2 - A learning remote which comes in handy & will go the distance for you, when the codes change.
3 - Video-up conversion to component level - If you have or are going to get HDTV, you'll want this. The 650 only goes up to s-video.
4 - A phono jack - if you need one. I still like vinyl.

[kexodusc]

Hmm, yeah I see your point. I have a solid pre with a phone input, and don't run video cables through my receiver anyway, just straight to TV0 so those features don't appeal to me.
But, for those of us who don't have separate stereo and HT systems, a phono jack is useful and the video-up conversion can be helpful.
So these 2 models are both fairly priced, the 5 watts is meaningless, but probably necessary to justify a "higher" model number.
Just be sure to choose the one that meets your current AND future needs.

[ibhim]

I went through the same thing, RSV 650/750/1400. I ruled out the HTR equivalent as they did not have the Zone 2 output jacks.

My RSV 650 arrived TODAY!!!Yeah!

Prior to the purchase I read the manuals online concerning YPAO. Looks like the same physical equiptment but Yamaha underprogramed it in the 657/750 to make the 1400 standout. All three evaluate Wiring level, Distance phase, and size/crossover. The YPAO for the 1400 includes and equalizer function where can adjust the tonality of speakers from the default in the 650/750 and 1400. This might be important if mixing different brands between front and rear, but where speaker manufacturers match the tonality within their line of speakers, the equalizer function may not be necessary.

Rather than hijack your thread, going to start a new one on programing the remote.

Hope the above helps.

[Woochifer]

Those models have very different internal designs. The 650 is basically at the upper end of Yamaha's entry level lineup, while the 1400 represents the lower end of their midrange lineup. The entry level receivers share the same chassis, basic design, and a lot of the same power supply components. They only differ in their power output and specific features.

The midlevel receivers use a larger chassis, more spacing between components, are built slightly better, and generally better isolate between the different functions within the box. Even though the power output might be rated similarly, the midlevel receivers use larger capacity power supply components, so in an actual bench test with all channels driven, the midlevel receiver will probably have a higher actual output (keep in mind that specs are not done with all channels driven, so it's easy for any receiver to claim that it's a "100 watt per channel" model). The THX certification is just a seal of approval that it meets certain performance standards. No need to pay extra for that. The cost difference between the 650 and 1400 basically buys you a higher level of build quality, higher capacity power supply components, and a few extra features.

[agtpunx40]

I was just looking at the manuals, and it seems that anything below the 1400 doesn't have the parametric eq. that's a pretty big difference.

[kexodusc]

I was just looking at the manuals, and it seems that anything below the 1400 doesn't have the parametric eq. that's a pretty big difference.

To clarify my earlier post about YPAO making little difference:

I bought the 1400 over a Denon 2803 almost completely because of the YPAO feature. If I copy the settings for distance, level, crossover, etc, and omit the equalization stage, I cannot tell much of a difference if any.

I have four Studio 20 surrounds and two Studio 40 mains with a Studio CC, so my speakers are reasonably well matched to each other as far as tonality goes.
My room is sort of an uneven rectangular shape, and I have a large area rug on the floor so I don't know how ideal my room acoustics are, they could be bad, they could be excellent.

I tried convincing my friend to go with the 1400. He came and demod the unit. We performed an amateur experiment on the YPAO function in particular, he couldn't tell a difference at all between the EQ'd setting and the manual setting. I must say, I couldn't either, and this was in my own home, after many hours of listening and familiarity.
For this reason, I am doing a complete 180 degrees on some of my older posts, I think the parametric eq is at least slightly over rated. I have no doubt it CAN make a difference in the right situation, but worth $100 to $200 bucks? I'm not so sure.

The amateur testing we did was only with our ears, no sensitive equipment looking for noticeable peaks in certain frequencies. If there were peaks present, it certainly wasn't noticeable or distracting.
For this reason, he decided to go with the HTR-5760 which he bought for $350 from an authorized dealer. That's almost $300 less than what I paid for the 1400. No phono, but he's got a Parasound pre-amp and amplifier for 2 channel anyway.

Now all that being said, I believe the best performance gain in the 1400 came from the level balancing, crossover selection and delay settings being set manually. No matter how hard I tried with my $200 dollar SPL meter, I could never get the system to sound as even as YPAO did. This was clearly noticeable. I believe every new receiver should as a minimum have a an auto-setup feature that includes these settings.

Because of our little experiment, I am a bit more hesitant to recommend the 1400. Even without YPAO it is a dynamite receiver. But I certainly wouldn't suggest anyone looking at the RX-V750 should drop another $150 or more based on YPAO and the power specs.
Just my 2 cents worth,
cheers!

[nick4433]

I think the 650/750 should make one hell of a prepro. However the 1400 offers a graphic EQ for all the channels while the 650/750 only offer it for the center channel. Also I believe that the graphic EQ is disabled if you select the YAPO with parametric EQ and vice versa.
A good feature the 1400 has is "Audio Lip Sync" which the 650/750 don't.