Yamaha RX V663 7.2 channel 665 Watt Receiver

I recently upgraded my 17 year old JVC receiver that I loved to the Yamaha RX-V663. Although I am not an expert on A/V equipment in any way, I do know when something sounds good and this system has superior sound.

This receiver allows you to use multiple input source types (i.e. composite, component, S-video, HDMI, etc) and have any of those signal types upcoonverted to HDMI which allows you to just use one cable to connect from your AVR to your television. This was one of the biggest reasons that I went with the 663 version of this unit. I bought last year's RX-V461 and used it for a week before I returned it to buy this one. The 461 requires you to use the same output type as the input. The problem with this is that if you have 3 different input types - say composite, component, and S-video - then you need to run each of those types of cables to your TV and then you have to switch your TV input to the corresponding source when you change the source on the receiver. The 663 eliminates the need for this.

There are a whole lot of high-end codecs that this unit can handle, but since I don't know a whole lot about that, I will leave that detail to another reviewer or you can go to Yamaha's website to get their specs.

One of the pitfalls of this system is the remote. My prior system had a LEARNING remote. The remote that comes with the 663 will allow you to plug in codes from other components that you have, but the list this year (663 vs last years 661) is significantly smaller. This was not much of an issue anyway since I went out to buy a new learning remote to handle all of my needs - I bought the X10 ICON Remote - see my review on that if you are interested. Many people use one of the many Logitech Harmony remotes and have been happy with them.

Overall, this is an excellent receiver with plenty of power for most people. The sound is incredibly crisp and clear and the price is very fair. There are many connections in the back for connecting just about all of your devices and enough speaker connections to get the 7 channels in the main room as well as 2 more channels for another room. That reminds me of the only other downfall that I can think of. My old JVC had a tape 2 out that sent a line level signal out of it (the same signal that would come out of the speakers). I used this to connect a set of Recoton wireless headphones. Although there is a similar connection on the 663, unfortunately, if only works on some of the audio devices that are connected. I think it has something to do with what is going through the HDMI cable, but I am not sure. I could just plug this into the headphone jack, but I wanted something that was always connected.

I hope this helps. Enjoy!

Jim