Yamaha HTR-5630 5.1 Channels Receiver
Out of stock |
Similar in Receivers
- Surround Sound: Dolby Digital® DTS® Dolby Pro Logic II
- THX Certification: No
- Number of Channels: 5.1 Channels
- Type: Receiver
- Surround Mode Power: 70 Watt @ 6 ohm, 1 kHz, THD: 0.1%
- Overview
-
Reviews
-
Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
393
Theatre Sound For Your Living Room
Pros
Awesome sound, many presets and it's inexpensive.
Cons
No input for turn table/phono.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
It's inexpensive and sounds awesome. Read the review then go listen to it at the store.
Sometimes in life it becomes necessary to let go of the past and embrace the 21st century. I was completely happy with my old Sansui TU-717 tuner and the AU-719 Integrated Amplifier I had been using since I was a child. My father bought the system new in the early 1970's and it was advanced technology for it's time. It had a bright, crisp clean sound and it was LOUD. So why would I ever want to replace it?
Well, being from the era it was, it didn't have surround sound and did not support video input or output. I have watched movies using it for the sound in stereo only and it was great. But, one day I was at a friend's house and we watched a movie on his Dolby 5.1 system and I was floored. The sound was so realistic you felt like you were "in" the movie. So my wife and I decided it was time to put the old out to pasture and step into the new era of audio technology.
The Yamaha HTR-5630
We decided to buy this one mainly because it was on sale for $149.99 at Best Buy a few weeks ago. When we got to the store we were torn between the Sony model of comparable features and this one but our pocket books won the battle in the end. The salesman told us that the new Yamaha's are just as good if not better than the Sony's. I had a hard time believing that but after using it for a few weeks... I really can't tell the difference.
Features
The receiver has a ton of attractive features that I have only begun to play with, so I may miss a few. Please forgive me if I omit anything.
Digital DTS and Dolby 5.1
I don't fully understand the difference between these two processes but there are several settings for each. You can set the Digital DTS for Pro Logic, Pro Logic II and other enhanced settings. I use the 5 Channel Stereo when listening to music because it seems to sound better when the music is not actually split into surround. This setting makes the music seem to come from all around you. When set to Dolby 5.1, stereo recorded music seems like it is missing something. I guess it is because regular stereo recordings don't have the 5.1 encoding to properly split the sound like it is supposed to be.
Dolby 5.1 is great for movies. You have to use the digital output from your cable box/digital satellite receiver or DVD player in order to get true 5.1 surround. The sound is unbelievable, or should I say way believable. We watched Star Wars Episode II and the sound of the battle in the stadium was simply awesome. The crowd sounds came from all around the room and the blaster and ship sound effects would swoop through the room like they were really in the house. You have several Dolby 5.1 settings to choose from and all can be fine tuned.
I don't have a 6 channel speaker system but you can set the receiver for 6.1 Matrix if you have the speakers for it. Maybe in the near future I'll pick up another speaker and set this up. If I do I will update this review.
Input/Output
The receiver can handle input/output from/to the following sources:
* DVD (audio/video)
* CD (audio)
* Tape (audio w/record out)
* VCR (audio/video w/record out)
* DTV/Cable (audio/video)
* MD/CD-R (audio w/record out)
The receiver has the following outputs:
* 4-Front speaker out (Channel A and B cannot be used at the same time)
* 2- surround speaker out
* 1- center channel speaker out
* 1- subwoofer out
* 1- video monitor out
* 1- S-video out
It does not have VGA or RGB component video output but I wasn't worried about that since my TV does not have component video or VGA support.
The only thing I was disappointed about was not having anywhere to plug in my turn table (Yes, I still have one of those). So I guess I'll have to break down and record all my old vinyl discs to CD so I can listen to them.
Presets
The built-in tuner is capable of storing 10 presets on each AM/FM tier. The tiers are labeled "A, B, C, D and E" so you have a total of 50 presets for radio stations. That's more than the amount of radio stations available in my area even including AM band.
Aside from the radio station presets, another feature I like is that the receiver "remembers" your setting for each individual source. If I set it to 5 channel stereo for FM radio and Dolby 5.1 (Sci-Fi setting) for DVD, it will automatically switch to the setting I last used for the source I am using. However, it does not retain the individual surround speaker volume settings for each source. So you may have to change the individual speaker volumes for different settings.
Volume and Tone
This receiver has a built-in equalizer but it was not easy to find. You can only access it through the remote control. Most of the advanced features are only accessible through the remote, so don't lose the remote! The equalizer adjusts 5 bands of the sound (sorry I don't remember the Hz). Aside from the equalizer there is also a Bass and Treble adjustment.
You can set each speaker's volume individually. After the speaker volume is set you can then set the percentage of sound to each speaker for fine volume tuning of the surround sound. This is really nice because sometimes it is hard to just turn it up because the surround speakers don't always have sound coming out of them if there isn't anything on the channel at the time. Sometimes turning down a surround speaker doesn't make the adjustment you want but changing the percentage of sound does. It's like a volume control inside the volume control.
Amplifier
The built-in amplifier is nice and loud. The receiver pumps 75 Watts per channel (X5) and that is more than enough for my living room (approx. 14'x 20'). It is crisp and clean like my old amp but not quite as loud. My old amp was 150 Watts per channel (X2) but it was only stereo. It is amazing that even though the new receiver is not as loud, it fills the room better even in stereo mode. Having the sound come from 5 directions makes all the difference in the world.
Warranty
You get a one year warranty with the receiver and if you have any trouble with it you can take it to Best Buy or Circuit City as well as many other retailers who service Yamaha equipment. You can also call Yamaha directly and ship it to them for service.
Conclusion
This is a great receiver for the price. I can't see paying more for Sony or Pioneer when this one sounds so good and has all these amazing features. My wife and I both love this receiver and my son (he's only four) loves the way the "spacechips fly tru da living roomb".
Thanks for reading,
Gr8ful :-)
Well, being from the era it was, it didn't have surround sound and did not support video input or output. I have watched movies using it for the sound in stereo only and it was great. But, one day I was at a friend's house and we watched a movie on his Dolby 5.1 system and I was floored. The sound was so realistic you felt like you were "in" the movie. So my wife and I decided it was time to put the old out to pasture and step into the new era of audio technology.
The Yamaha HTR-5630
We decided to buy this one mainly because it was on sale for $149.99 at Best Buy a few weeks ago. When we got to the store we were torn between the Sony model of comparable features and this one but our pocket books won the battle in the end. The salesman told us that the new Yamaha's are just as good if not better than the Sony's. I had a hard time believing that but after using it for a few weeks... I really can't tell the difference.
Features
The receiver has a ton of attractive features that I have only begun to play with, so I may miss a few. Please forgive me if I omit anything.
Digital DTS and Dolby 5.1
I don't fully understand the difference between these two processes but there are several settings for each. You can set the Digital DTS for Pro Logic, Pro Logic II and other enhanced settings. I use the 5 Channel Stereo when listening to music because it seems to sound better when the music is not actually split into surround. This setting makes the music seem to come from all around you. When set to Dolby 5.1, stereo recorded music seems like it is missing something. I guess it is because regular stereo recordings don't have the 5.1 encoding to properly split the sound like it is supposed to be.
Dolby 5.1 is great for movies. You have to use the digital output from your cable box/digital satellite receiver or DVD player in order to get true 5.1 surround. The sound is unbelievable, or should I say way believable. We watched Star Wars Episode II and the sound of the battle in the stadium was simply awesome. The crowd sounds came from all around the room and the blaster and ship sound effects would swoop through the room like they were really in the house. You have several Dolby 5.1 settings to choose from and all can be fine tuned.
I don't have a 6 channel speaker system but you can set the receiver for 6.1 Matrix if you have the speakers for it. Maybe in the near future I'll pick up another speaker and set this up. If I do I will update this review.
Input/Output
The receiver can handle input/output from/to the following sources:
* DVD (audio/video)
* CD (audio)
* Tape (audio w/record out)
* VCR (audio/video w/record out)
* DTV/Cable (audio/video)
* MD/CD-R (audio w/record out)
The receiver has the following outputs:
* 4-Front speaker out (Channel A and B cannot be used at the same time)
* 2- surround speaker out
* 1- center channel speaker out
* 1- subwoofer out
* 1- video monitor out
* 1- S-video out
It does not have VGA or RGB component video output but I wasn't worried about that since my TV does not have component video or VGA support.
The only thing I was disappointed about was not having anywhere to plug in my turn table (Yes, I still have one of those). So I guess I'll have to break down and record all my old vinyl discs to CD so I can listen to them.
Presets
The built-in tuner is capable of storing 10 presets on each AM/FM tier. The tiers are labeled "A, B, C, D and E" so you have a total of 50 presets for radio stations. That's more than the amount of radio stations available in my area even including AM band.
Aside from the radio station presets, another feature I like is that the receiver "remembers" your setting for each individual source. If I set it to 5 channel stereo for FM radio and Dolby 5.1 (Sci-Fi setting) for DVD, it will automatically switch to the setting I last used for the source I am using. However, it does not retain the individual surround speaker volume settings for each source. So you may have to change the individual speaker volumes for different settings.
Volume and Tone
This receiver has a built-in equalizer but it was not easy to find. You can only access it through the remote control. Most of the advanced features are only accessible through the remote, so don't lose the remote! The equalizer adjusts 5 bands of the sound (sorry I don't remember the Hz). Aside from the equalizer there is also a Bass and Treble adjustment.
You can set each speaker's volume individually. After the speaker volume is set you can then set the percentage of sound to each speaker for fine volume tuning of the surround sound. This is really nice because sometimes it is hard to just turn it up because the surround speakers don't always have sound coming out of them if there isn't anything on the channel at the time. Sometimes turning down a surround speaker doesn't make the adjustment you want but changing the percentage of sound does. It's like a volume control inside the volume control.
Amplifier
The built-in amplifier is nice and loud. The receiver pumps 75 Watts per channel (X5) and that is more than enough for my living room (approx. 14'x 20'). It is crisp and clean like my old amp but not quite as loud. My old amp was 150 Watts per channel (X2) but it was only stereo. It is amazing that even though the new receiver is not as loud, it fills the room better even in stereo mode. Having the sound come from 5 directions makes all the difference in the world.
Warranty
You get a one year warranty with the receiver and if you have any trouble with it you can take it to Best Buy or Circuit City as well as many other retailers who service Yamaha equipment. You can also call Yamaha directly and ship it to them for service.
Conclusion
This is a great receiver for the price. I can't see paying more for Sony or Pioneer when this one sounds so good and has all these amazing features. My wife and I both love this receiver and my son (he's only four) loves the way the "spacechips fly tru da living roomb".
Thanks for reading,
Gr8ful :-)
