Entered CNET Catalog: 09/06/2006
SKU: HTR-5950BL
Manufacturer: Yamaha Corp. of America
Manufacturer description
High performance 6.1-channel receiver Yamaha HTR-5950 offers a wide range of entertainment possibilities including CINEMA DSP for realistic movie sound, XM Satellite Radio "Ready" with XM HD Surround and iPod compatibility using the optional Yamaha YDS-10. Conventional multichannel audio reproduction systems base their sound on Dolby Digital and DTS decoding, using matrix and steering technologies to create surround sound effects. Yamaha CINEMA DSP is much more advanced, actually creating richly realized independent sound fields that envelop you in an unmatched surround sound experience. With dialog, music and effects from ideally located in these separate sound fields, you will hear sound with accurate placement, smooth movement, exceptional clarity and richness, and startlingly realistic presence. It will seem as if the walls of your room have disappeared and you are in the middle of your own immense theater! The decoding circuitry performs Dolby Pro Logic IIx, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, DTS Digital Surround, DTS-ES (DTS-ES Matrix 6.1 and DTS-ES Discrete 6.1), DTS Neo: 6 and DTS 96/24 decoding with extreme accuracy, as well as all digital sound field processing. A THX Select mode is provided as an extra listening option. Digital ToP-ART (Total Purity Audio Reproduction Technology) is the name Yamaha has given to a design philosophy whose goal is to maximize digital quality while minimizing analog circuitry. The culmination of Yamaha's long experience in digital engineering and design, it brings together several key elements to create the best-sounding, A/V components available on the market. Yamaha employs sophisticated digital signal processing with exclusive algorithms to enable playback that improves the performance of compressed music formats, including MP3 and WMA. With the Compressed Music Enhancer, highs and especially lows are richer and smoother, bringing music back to life to be as close to the original as possible.Product summary
The good: The Yamaha HTR-5950 is an affordable, 110-watt-per-channel 6.1 A/V receiver that offers component-video conversion, front panel A/V and minijack inputs, an onscreen display, and compatibility with XM-ready satellite radio tuners as well as Yamaha's optional iPod dock.
The bad: The HTR-5950 lacks automatic speaker calibration and HDMI connectivity. Its three rear-panel A/V inputs may be too limiting for many home theater setups, which often feature four or more A/V sources.
The bottom line: Yamaha's midprice HTR-5950 A/V receiver might not have the most up-to-date features lineup, but it's a solid performer.
Average user rating: from 6 users
3.5 stars
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 6 user reviews
Terrific surround sound. Very clear dialogue.
Pros: Great sound when playing DVDs. Very clear dialogue. Unbelievable sound through ‘Dolby Pro Logic II Movie’ when playing back movies I have recorded on my DVD recorder.
Cons: None - If you don’t need automatic speaker calibration and HDMI connection.
Review: The HTR-5950’s appear to be superseded and I picked this one up a couple of months ago for a little over half of the original retail cost. If you don’t need automatic speaker calibration and HDMI connection, this would have to be the best value receiver that I have heard. My last receiver that cost three times as much had automatic speaker calibration which I found useless. After setting the speakers up through the automatic calibration process I had to then manually adjust each of the speaker levels including the subwoofer to suit my hearing so why bother using the automatic process in the first place. In short, I am of the view that automatic speaker calibration is the most useless thing that has been introduced in years. Also, even though both my Panasonic plasma and DVD player have HDMI I don’t route it through the receiver. I go direct via HDMI from the player to the plasma which gives me a terrific upscaled picture and I do not want to take the chance of compromising picture quality by going through the receiver. Therefore, even though my previous receiver had HDMI I didn’t use it. For sound I use audio optical from the DVD player to the receiver. But that just suits my needs. I can understand why someone may want HDMI connection through their receiver.
However, getting back to the HTR-5950, if you don’t want automatic speaker calibration and HDMI this receiver would have to be one of the best sounding low cost units on the market. I have it hooked up to the KEF KHT3005 5.1 system and it is the best receiver that I have had (and I have had quite a few). Playing music DVDs such as The Eagles as well as movies are the best that I have had. Dialogue in movies is the clearest that I have encountered. The one problem I did encounter was the amount of base the receiver produces. I don’t like the base to be overbearing and I had to adjust the settings a few times to continually cut back on the base to suit my needs. All that aside, the main use that the receiver gets at our place is when we are playing back one of the many movies we have recorded off Foxtel pay/cable TV onto our DVD recorder. The first time I played back a recorded movie with the HTR-5950 set to ‘Dolby Pro Logic II Movie’ I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The sound was equal to Dolby Digital straight off a DVD. And from then on it has been just as good. All receivers that I have had in the past have been good when playing DVDs but none of them ever produced sound through Dolby Pro Logic II like this one can. The HTR-5950 throws the sound around the room just as good as straight Dolby Digital. As I mentioned above, dialogue is very clear which is of particular importance to us due the number of recorded movies we watch.
The receiver has three optical inputs and one coaxial which suits my needs. One optical each for Foxtel, Digital TV, and DVD recorder. I had to run a video cable from the unit to the plasma so that I could use the receiver’s on screen set up which is easy to use and has a lot of options. The Tuner in the unit is also good on both FM and AM radio. The remote is easy to use.
The HTR-5950 is one of Yamaha’s mid range receivers and has some of their advanced sound facilities such as Digital ToP-ART.
I notice that these receivers are going very cheap at the present time. In summary, if you don’t need HDMI (don’t worry about automatic speaker calibration because it is useless) you won’t be disappointed if you purchase one of these units. The sound (DTS and Dolby Digital) is excellent when playing DVDs, and if you also use your receiver for playing back movies you have recorded yourself, you will be absolutely delighted.
After taking into account the terrific sound that comes from such a low cost unit, together with the fact that the lack of HDMI does not worry me, I didn’t hesitate to give it top marks. No doubt there is something better out there but certainly not at the price these units are going for at the moment.
However, getting back to the HTR-5950, if you don’t want automatic speaker calibration and HDMI this receiver would have to be one of the best sounding low cost units on the market. I have it hooked up to the KEF KHT3005 5.1 system and it is the best receiver that I have had (and I have had quite a few). Playing music DVDs such as The Eagles as well as movies are the best that I have had. Dialogue in movies is the clearest that I have encountered. The one problem I did encounter was the amount of base the receiver produces. I don’t like the base to be overbearing and I had to adjust the settings a few times to continually cut back on the base to suit my needs. All that aside, the main use that the receiver gets at our place is when we are playing back one of the many movies we have recorded off Foxtel pay/cable TV onto our DVD recorder. The first time I played back a recorded movie with the HTR-5950 set to ‘Dolby Pro Logic II Movie’ I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The sound was equal to Dolby Digital straight off a DVD. And from then on it has been just as good. All receivers that I have had in the past have been good when playing DVDs but none of them ever produced sound through Dolby Pro Logic II like this one can. The HTR-5950 throws the sound around the room just as good as straight Dolby Digital. As I mentioned above, dialogue is very clear which is of particular importance to us due the number of recorded movies we watch.
The receiver has three optical inputs and one coaxial which suits my needs. One optical each for Foxtel, Digital TV, and DVD recorder. I had to run a video cable from the unit to the plasma so that I could use the receiver’s on screen set up which is easy to use and has a lot of options. The Tuner in the unit is also good on both FM and AM radio. The remote is easy to use.
The HTR-5950 is one of Yamaha’s mid range receivers and has some of their advanced sound facilities such as Digital ToP-ART.
I notice that these receivers are going very cheap at the present time. In summary, if you don’t need HDMI (don’t worry about automatic speaker calibration because it is useless) you won’t be disappointed if you purchase one of these units. The sound (DTS and Dolby Digital) is excellent when playing DVDs, and if you also use your receiver for playing back movies you have recorded yourself, you will be absolutely delighted.
After taking into account the terrific sound that comes from such a low cost unit, together with the fact that the lack of HDMI does not worry me, I didn’t hesitate to give it top marks. No doubt there is something better out there but certainly not at the price these units are going for at the moment.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 6 user reviews
great reciever
Pros: user friendly and all the inputs
Cons: no hdmi but not a big deal
Review: i have had this reciever for about 2 months now.it handles my xbox 360 well.only draw back is the hdmi but that really not a big deal.if i need fullHD my tv can handle that.all in all 660 watts of excellent sound.i got my for 160 at radioshack.
User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 6 user reviews
Great Reciver for todays technology
Pros: 6.1 system that isn't costly/great sound/110 watt per cnnl
Cons: No HDMI and there is no auto set up.
Review: This is a great mid-price reciver. The sound imputs I use are purly optical for dvd, cable box, hd dvd, and PS3. I have to say I love it. The sound quality engulfs me. Too bad there is no HDMI input/output. It also needs a better gauge for speaker wire. Mine came with 24 or 26. I changed it to 18 gauge and could instantly hear the diffrence.
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 6 user reviews
A good basic receiver to add to your house
Pros: Good sound, Connections work well, iPod connection is cool (if overpriced, like every Apple product)
Cons: Only 3 inputs makes a basic home theater system complicated
Review: The receiver and its remote are very user friendly. The connections however are lacking, especially if you want to run your hometheater through this receiver because your 26" samsung only has one compoonent input...But once you upgrade to HDMI cables and run an optical cable to this receiver, the sound you get out of this machine is great. The iPod dock is a nice add on, though it looks a bit primitive.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 6 user reviews
Excellent value
Pros: High current, clean sound, inputs/outputs
Cons: I can't think of any
Review: I have owned this receiver for nearly four months. It has everything one would want except for HDMI and auto eq. Personally, HDMI is very overrated and component cable signal is just as good as HDMI (don't believe all that hype about HDMI). Auto EQ is not all that great either, having owned numerous DBX equalizers and computer analyzers, auto eq cannot standardize your speakers to your room and I don't care what anyone says.
This Yamaha is a high current receiver/amp which can drive 4, 6 or 8 ohm speakers, or a mix of all three; and it does it with ease. The remote is a bit tricky but with patience, you will be able to program most, if not all, your other A/V appliances.
I have owned Pioneer, Sony, Carver, JVC, and Onkyo - I like this Yamaha the best.
Please don't just pay attention to one review. Go to Best Buy and listen to one for yourself. Denon and Onkyo wish they could make a receiver this good, and frankly, it makes a run at HK as well.
What a steal at $300.00!
This Yamaha is a high current receiver/amp which can drive 4, 6 or 8 ohm speakers, or a mix of all three; and it does it with ease. The remote is a bit tricky but with patience, you will be able to program most, if not all, your other A/V appliances.
I have owned Pioneer, Sony, Carver, JVC, and Onkyo - I like this Yamaha the best.
Please don't just pay attention to one review. Go to Best Buy and listen to one for yourself. Denon and Onkyo wish they could make a receiver this good, and frankly, it makes a run at HK as well.
What a steal at $300.00!
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 6 user reviews
Very good av receiver for the money.
Pros: Good clean power,video up-conversion to component, 3 component video inputs, on-screen display.
Cons: No hdmi, no auto setup, global speaker level.
Review: I bought this yamaha from j&r for $269.99.Good company to deal with. When I unpacked it I noticed the good build quailty.It would be nice if the remote were a learning type, but it will control many components. This yamaha replaced a pioneer vsx-816, I returned the pioneer because of it`s lack of decent bass, bass on this yamaha is deep and tight. Each group of surround modes can have their own settings. I like the ability to go foward or backwards through surround modes. I wish it had two coaxial inputs instead of just one, but this is minor. To sum up , for the money this yamaha has great sound quality even in two channel stereo, and yamaha has some of the best surround modes in the business. Two thumbs up!
