New Receiver (56,000BPS = yeah why not)

[Howard]

Well she arrived today My shiny new Yamaha RX-V650 7.1 (not using all 7 channels though only 5.1) receiver.

Had a few free periods at college so I came home and set her up and had an initial play-about.

First impressions are WOW! Bloody hell this thing is HUGE! and HEAVY! Sound-wise as well I wasn't expecting quite such a brutal difference. The sound is so much more detailed, you hear bits of the surround mix you haven't heard before, and it's so much more spacious and well-seperated. Channel-to-channel steering is fantastic!

Music sounds awesome, too. I switched on my Freeview box and changed to The Hits or whatever it is and I was immediately impressed

The receiver comes with a little microphone you plug into the front when you're setting up the speakers and it then automatically calibrates your speaker levels, distances, delay etc. I had to give it a go despite reading on various forums that isn't terribly accurate. But it does work very well. I'm still gonna use my sound level meter and do it "properly" but the "YPAO" works very well indeed.

More details probably once I've had chance to have a proper play about at the weekend, and pics in the meantime:

New vs. Old:


What a beauty:


Whole system shot:



Edit: BTW for those who are wondering, it cost me £281 including shipping. RRP is around £450 or so but it's probably gonna be discontinued soon

[steve threlfall]

Very nice looks great

You just need a nice 32" flatscreen now (crt of course )

[kushtibari]

Very impressive looking piece of kit. What DVD player you running through it?

[Zedmeister]

Think you need some beafier front speakers now

[Howard]

Steve: Yeah in the future when I can afford a decent widescreen telly I'll get one.

Kushti: Toshiba SD220E

Zed: Never! THey're quite new anyway. And they're fantastic. Why do you need big speakers when you have a subwoofer?

[Raz316]

Ok, either you are a vampire, or a very intelligent talking chair!

[Howard]

I am crouched behind it holding the camera still

[Legin76]

Ok, either you are a vampire, or a very intelligent talking chair!

That had me giggling to my self for a couple of minutes.

[unrealrocks]

Looks good - see your still using that Alesis amp I suggested as well

[Howard]

Yeah the Alesis does a fantastic job as a power amp for my sub

[iMc]

lovely looking setup howard, as said just need a nice widescreen and it will be pukka, how much did it cost for the whole lot?

[Howard]

Christ knows. Didn't pay for the telly or VCR. Somewhere in the region of £1000 I gues