Yamaha RX-V671

Pros: + Nice looking design
+ On screen menus are good
+ Network connection worked perfect
+ Great sound quality
+ HD video is excellent
+ Lots of HDMI inputs

Cons: - It doesnt support Airplay
- Remote is complicated and has way too many buttons

Summary: Like other reviewers, I looked at similar Onkyo, Denon and other AVRs and the number of negative reviews of those products, along with the positive reviews of the Yamaha RX-V671 drove me to buy this one - and I'm sure glad I did. With the price occaisionally dipping below five hundred, I'd say it's a real bargain, price/performance wise.

You'll notice that with the competitors in this price range there are too many complaints about difficult setup, difficult configuration, software problems, need for constant updating, heating, etc. The RX-V671 has none of those issues. I haven't even bothered to update the firmware and the unit works great, right out of the box!

True, it doesnt support Airplay, as is, but CNET made too much of this missing feature - Apple users are not the majority, yet. Otherwise, it should have beat the Denon 1912 in their 2011 ratings, and CNET almost admits this.

Clearly, on-screen graphic menuing is the wave of the future and Yahama is the leader. Today's HT setup can be complex and tedious, dealing with all the different standards for audio and video and all the possible tweaks and configurations. Before the Yamaha, I was behind, technically, with an old pro-logic setup receiver and had to spend some time reading and getting up to date on all audio and video standards and features. Even if you are an expert, you still have to apply that knowledge to set up a new HT system and the Yamaha makes that part much easier.

The intiutive, on-screen menuing makes configuration and on-the-fly adjustments relatively quick and easy. There's always room for improvement in menuing and I can't say it's perfect, but it's far better than anything currently in this price category. One reviewer wished that adjustments per port and input/output sources were grouped together, adjustable all in one place. I agree, but I'm whining because it takes a bit more menu surfing than it should. Keep in mind, whatever configuration annoyance the RX-V671 has, the competition is far worse!

For those who don't want to slog through the manual, I suggest you locate the following buttons on the remote: Onscreen, Option and Display. These three will open the onscreen menus and displays for all the adjustments and configurations. The Info button will tell you the current configuration from the front panel if your TV isn't on.

That said, the YPAO does a great job of automatically setting up the speaker adjustments and you really don't have to do much configuring. Set your BD player to bitstream HDMI output and the Yamaha will adjust accordingly. Once you are settled watching video, you'll probably like to try repeat pressing these buttons: Movie, Music, Sur. Decode, Straight and Pure Direct to see what you like of the various sound settings. That's it!

I've had the unit about 10 weeks and and have explored over half the features and probably will stop there, that's all I need, and it's probably all most HT users will care about using.

*NOTE: for best deal of the Yamaha RX-V671 if you're will buy it, I suggest you have to check before you decide at: Avreceiverbestdeals.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/yamaha-rx-v671bl/

Hope my review is helpful.