Yamaha HTR-5830 5.1-Channel A/V Surround Receiver (Silver) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am writing this as a review of the *receiver*, NOT the amazon listing, it obviously is misrepresented here as it is NOT XM-ready, but that's no reason to bash the product itself.
I got this receiver to replace my old Pro-Logic that has served me well but is way past its prime. I really like the Yamaha RX-V657, but as I'm not ready to spend $500 right now, I decided to "settle" on this as a stopgap receiver.
I was surprised when I got it - this receiver is beefy, very heavy and well constructed. Even for an "entry-level" there are tons of features, and the remote is programmable to control other things, such as my DVD player (which it did out of the box, since it's also a Yamaha) and my TV, which is an RCA, with codes included in the box. Presto-chango, now I can switch inputs on the TV, seek DVDs, and edit the soundfields all from my receiver remote, without having to pay for a universal! Very nice.
I won't recap the specs, but subjectively it has a great sound, noticeably less distortion than my old amp on instrumentals. I will point out a couple of flaws: It only has two optical inputs, which may be a limitation to some (but for me, to get it for my DVD and my digital cable is good enough), and it only has RCA inputs for video. This sucks, since you can't use it as an S-Video switch and connect your TV just to the Video output. But, I will just switch the input on my TV manually, oh well, not a big deal. The banana jacks don't have through-holes, so you just have to wedge the wire underneath it and crank it down. Again, slightly inconvenient, but not a deal killer.
I had to pick out a few things I don't like that knocked it down to a 4, but overall and *especially* for the price, I am very impressed with this receiver.
P.S. Just to clear up any ambiguity:
RCA Video = 640 x 480 resolution = Not that great.
S-Video = 800 x 600 resolution = Much better, and widely available on even inexpensive TVs.
Component = Best resolution, but not as widely available.
Update 2/6/06: The Amazon listing has now removed any references to XM, which is great. I've been pleased with the receiver thus far, I have it hooked up to my DVD player via the optical input and once a DVD starts playing, it automatically switches the soundfield to Dolby Digital, and back to the previous setting when it stops (which is usually Dolby PL2 Music for my use). Great sound in general.

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The Yamaha HTR-5830 digital home theater receiver is a full-featured home theater receiver that sports some serious features. Among them are five-channel discrete amplification (110 w x 5 at 6 ohms), 14 surround programs, and Silent Cinema--Yamaha's exclusive technology that allows private listening enjoyment of multichannel music or movie sound, including Dolby Digital and DTS Digital Surround, through ordinary headphones. The HTR-5830 provides Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby Pro Logic II decoding, and its digital-to-analog converters use an extremely high performance 192 kHz/24-bit operation type.
With the HTR-5830, discrete power transistors, rather than chips, are used in the amplifier section to provide the cleanest sound possible. The amp delivers 110 watts each to five channels. With two component video and three digital inputs, the HTR-5830 can accommodate digital sources such as DVD, CD, MC/CDR, and digital TV/cable. A five-band graphic equalizer keeps you on top of your audio, and the HTR features a wide-range audio frequency response for DVD-audio/super-audio CD compatibility. Also featured is an AM/FM digital tuner with 40-station presets.

What's in the Box HTR-5830 receiver, remote control, batteries, AM antenna, and FM antenna.

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