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The Yamaha RX-V663BL - A Perfect Entry Level Home Theater Receiver

I get inundated with questions about receivers all the time. If there is one thing people are shopping for these days, it’s entry level home theater receivers. Home entertainment is big business. With game consoles like the Xbox 360 and PS3 doubling as full fledged media playback devices, it has introduced a whole new audience to the world of home theater. Naturally, this kind of shopper won’t be shopping for $5,000 flag ship receivers, or a dedicated pre-amplifier and multi-channel amp configuration. They want something relatively affordable, while being easy to set-up.

One receiver that is ideal for a home theater neophyte is the Yamaha RX-V663BL. It’s a great bang for the buck receiver. It’s a 7.1 channel receiver that provides 95 watts per channel. Of course, if you don’t have seven channels, then 5.1 would work perfectly. It decodes the lossless audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, so if you make the jump to blu-ray, you’re all covered. Satellite radio and iPod connectivity via an optional dock is also here. It has two HDMI inputs, and one HDMI out. I know a bit skimpy, but it is entry level for a reason. If you have more than 2 HDMI devices, then you could look into an HDMI switcher.

All in all, it’s a great receiver that any newcomer to home theater will thoroughly enjoy for many years.

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Published by Atane on January 28th, 2009 and listed in Home Entertainment.

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E 02/05/2009 03:08 PM 1 point
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I'll second that. I just set up my first home theater and did a ton of research before I purchased this receiver. It's the BOMB! It's easy to set up, I have my DVR, VCR, Blu-Ray player, Zune and Wii all set up to run through the receiver then to my 46" plasma. It's a gorgeous set up. Music is wonderful. Movies look and sound gorgeous. It does not seem to get hot. And best of all (for me) the receiver's remote can be programmed to control all of my devices except my cable-provided cable-box/DVR and the Zune. I'm down to three remotes for all of my gear -- DVR, Zune & Receiver. Unless you are looking for HD Radio or have some serious speakers to power, this is the best bang for your buck!

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Atane 02/05/2009 03:19 PM 1 point
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Hey bud, you said you're down to 3 remotes. Perhaps it's time you stepped up to a harmony universal remote, that way you'll be down to one remote only.

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