Entered CNET Catalog: 09/06/2006
SKU: HTR-5960
Manufacturer: Yamaha Corp. of America
Manufacturer description
The 7.1 Channel Digital Home Theater Receiver is designed for high sound quality and features CINEMA DSP, XM Satellite Radio "Ready" with XM HD Surround, and iPod compatibility using the optional 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.User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 4 user reviews
Great, Dependable and Cost Efficient
Pros: This reciever does almost everything an audiophile wants with ease at an affordable price.
Cons: NO HDMI input or output
Review: I was as happy as a pig in mud until the day came that I wanted to hook up my new PS3 80Ghz and take full advantage of it's awesome BD prowess. Oops, no HDMI for audio. I had to run optical and go bitsteam. It sounded great but I really wanted HDMI inputs. No more component cables for me. Other than that this is the best deal for the money. Yamaha makes everything good from motorcycles to pianos........
User Rating:
3.5 stars
out of 4 user reviews
Great A/V amp for most people
Pros: Great sound, great remote
Cons: Fair manual and support
Review: I replaced my old Denon with this unit and am blown away buy the sound. The functionality is great and the remote is the most intuitive I’ve seen. The mic based set up seems to take a lot of the issues off the table. The manual, while better than the Denon I replaced, is still reminiscent of the documentation we got with PCs in the 70’s. Unless you are a stereo hobbyist, there are many gaps in the “why” and “what” that make this a challenge for most of us to get to know this unit. I don’t think that this issue is unique in any way to Yamaha. One issue has been the component connection to the monitor. The issue appears to be that the On Screen Display (OSD) is transmitted at low resolution which seems to conflict with the component connections of my HDTV. I’m trying to correspond with Yamaha, but they only have email support which makes it more difficult. I contrast that with my Samsung TV helpline which had me on the phone with a technician in about 3 minutes. I am sure this will be resolved and it is surely not a show stopper to anyone considering this unit. I think this is an outstanding choice for many people.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 4 user reviews
So many features, you could spend your life maximizing the potential of this product
Pros: Great sound clarity, does almost everything I could want an AV Receiver to do
Cons: No HDMI inputs
Review: I use this receiver to power my JBL Venue speaker system. It receives input from my Playstation 3 and my DirecTV Box through Monster Cable Fiber Optic cables. I have not witnessed any sound lag whatsoever. The volume range on the unit ranges from +10.5 to -80. The loudest possible setting I can use for TV watching and gaming is about -18, anything louder and I get to hear from my neighbors. There are so many different settings, that I have barely cracked the surface in learning all of this machine's capabilities. The unit has no HDMI Inputs, but the fiber optic connections work extremely well for sound conduction.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 4 user reviews
Powerful sound and easy setup features
Pros: Easy Setup, excellent sound and lots of features
Cons: No HDMI inputs/outputs
Review: I bought this receiver with Klipsch Quintet III satellite speakers and Klipsch SUB-12 woofer. The sound is amazing. The receiver features YPAO that automatically setups the receiver for the speakers. It detects the location and distance of the speaker from the listening position and adjusts the speakers output. You can manually edit them as well. I do not use 7.1 and so cannot really talk about it and also I do not use the receiver to convert Video. I use it only for audio. I also hooked up a DVD player DV-S5950. The sound is good from the Coax output. I also found the treble was not that great even after adjusting the tone balance. It could be the speakers. OVerall the sound is very good for all type of audion. I like the night cinema and night music feature as well.
