Yamaha HTR-5850 6.1 Channels Receiver
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- Surround Sound: Dolby Digital® DTS ES® Dolby Pro Logic II
- THX Certification: No
- Number of Channels: 6.1 Channels
- Type: Receiver
- Surround Mode Power: 90 Watt @ 8 ohm, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, THD: 0.06%
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Yamaha's HTR-5850 is Home Theater Champagne on a Beer Budget
Pros
Quality home theater with amazing sound for very little money.
Cons
Awkward remote, limited component video connections, otherwise flawless.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The Yamaha HTR-5850 is an amazing value. You will be hard pressed to find these features and high quality sound reproduction for a better price.
Audio/Video Heaven for Less
I've had my Yamaha HTR-5850 6.1 channel home theater receiver for a couple of weeks now. For its low price of $249 I don't think you can beat this machine for its combined champagne features, stellar performance and beer budget value.
This is my third Yamaha receiver as I have them in other houses. I am extremely impressed by Yamaha's dedication to quality construction and sound reproduction. Now I'm floored by the value their line offers as well.
Full Component Video Up Conversion for Less Than $300!
This is Yamaha's least expensive home theater receiver that provides full video up conversion. What this means is that any and all inputs from vhs, dvd, etc. that are not native s-video or component video are automatically converted by the HTR-5850 to s-video and component video quality.
This was the deal maker for me. I couldn't find a less expensive home theater receiver with full video up conversion. And this is a must have feature these days if you want to have only one hd capable output to your large screen television. No matter what the source, all video gets automatically upgraded and output in the highest possible resolution to a single component video output connected directly to the colorstream inputs on my monitor. For $249. Wow.
Flawless Sound Reproduction
Forget how inexpensive the HTR-5850 is. Regardless of price, its ability to recreate the musicality of both musical performances and the presence of film soundtracks is amazing.
Like other Yamaha receivers, the striking feature of sound created by the HTR-5850 is how clean the reproduction is.
Never a hint of distortion regardless of volume level or tone adjustments made. No hum, no buzz, just pure clean music and voice with ample power for a nyc apartment. My front speakers are Wharfedale Diamond 8.2's that have never sounded better. I used to drive them with a dedicated Carver TFM-25. The Yamaha actually sounds sweeter and drives them more musically and with warmer bass.
The digital signal processing sound stages available via the remote or by adjusting the rocker buttons on the face of the receiver presents an array of ambiances for reproduction. Acoustics simulate famous locales like NY's The Bottom Line.
And yet again, regardless of the sound field selected, reproduction is faithful and clean. I've literally spent thousands of dollars more on electronics to end up with inferior sound. I just don't think anything sounds better for the money than the home theater receivers Yamaha is turning out these days.
Reproduction is natural and warm without artificial coloring on the bass notes or the highs. A straight option offers full tone bypass for pretty much the cleanest uncolored stereo reproduction available for the money.
XM-Ready Tuner
If, like me, you enjoy the radio, you'll really love this receiver. It accepts dozens of preset stations and, once programmed, they "autotune" flawlessly with almost no drift (and I'm not using an external antenna.)
Also, the Yamaha HTR-5850 is completely XM satellite radio ready. Just buy a $40 audiovox XM antenna, plug it in and subscribe and you're good to go.
Input/Output Flexibility
One of the mains attractions of the HTR-5850 was the full video up conversion and the flexibility of inputs and outputs. As someone with multiple dvds, lds, and who knows what the future will bring, this is the kind of flexibility and future growth I wanted to see built in.
One nice touch is the ability to override the shipping defaults and reassign outputs to link them to other outputs as needed. Therefore if you use a dvd recorder as a vcr instead of a regular dvd player and a vcr, you can link the dtr component video outputs to the vcr circuit and connect the dvd-r to function both as your dvd player and vcr in/out for recording and monitoring and still have component video inputs for another device. Sweet.
Speaker Smorgasbord & Virtual Surround
The Yamaha HTR-5850 is amazingly flexible in the combination of speakers that you can use to set up your surround system. It can even drive all speakers as stereo with 6-channel stereo.
And if you only have 2 front speakers, the HTR-5850 will use its 'virtual cinema dsp' circuits to automatically simulate various digital surround experiences using only 2 speakers. Amazing at this price point.
The speaker terminals are large, strong and easily accept thick monster cable or banana plugs. All connections are easy to reach and use.
There are even thoughtful front mounted auxiliary rca jack inputs for quick connection of a camcorder or computer.
Easy Installation
Installation is extremely simple considering the complexity and flexibility offered by this amazing receiver.
The instruction book is well written and is must reading if you wish to take full advantage of all the features. It should be kept handy for reference.
Speakers connected, their size, dynamic range, bass abilities and distances from each other can all be set manually and the surround experience enhanced by these calibrations.
Simple, Solid Construction
For a powerful high quality electronic device that is capable of so much, the Yamaha HTR-5850 is surprisingly inexpensive to buy and simple and elegant in design.
Controls are solid in feel and satisfying to the touch. Knobs feel substantial, turn easily yet are sensitive for precise control.
Heavy, solid, dependable. This is an amazing receiver for the money.
Very Highly Recommended
I highly recommend the Yamaha HTR-5850. I got mine at BH Photo for $249. Having owned Carver, Adcom, KEF, Denon, Bose and many other high-end "audiophile" names, I can honestly say to seriously shop Yamaha and find their receiver that meets your needs for i/o and power.
You won't be disappointed. This receiver delivers perhaps the best sound you will ever hear at this price point in a solid, well-designed machine. For even more power and features, see my review on the HTR-5790.
I can't recommend Yamaha's receivers enough. I seriously think they represent the best sound available in home theater today. You can pay more, but why?
I've had my Yamaha HTR-5850 6.1 channel home theater receiver for a couple of weeks now. For its low price of $249 I don't think you can beat this machine for its combined champagne features, stellar performance and beer budget value.
This is my third Yamaha receiver as I have them in other houses. I am extremely impressed by Yamaha's dedication to quality construction and sound reproduction. Now I'm floored by the value their line offers as well.
Full Component Video Up Conversion for Less Than $300!
This is Yamaha's least expensive home theater receiver that provides full video up conversion. What this means is that any and all inputs from vhs, dvd, etc. that are not native s-video or component video are automatically converted by the HTR-5850 to s-video and component video quality.
This was the deal maker for me. I couldn't find a less expensive home theater receiver with full video up conversion. And this is a must have feature these days if you want to have only one hd capable output to your large screen television. No matter what the source, all video gets automatically upgraded and output in the highest possible resolution to a single component video output connected directly to the colorstream inputs on my monitor. For $249. Wow.
Flawless Sound Reproduction
Forget how inexpensive the HTR-5850 is. Regardless of price, its ability to recreate the musicality of both musical performances and the presence of film soundtracks is amazing.
Like other Yamaha receivers, the striking feature of sound created by the HTR-5850 is how clean the reproduction is.
Never a hint of distortion regardless of volume level or tone adjustments made. No hum, no buzz, just pure clean music and voice with ample power for a nyc apartment. My front speakers are Wharfedale Diamond 8.2's that have never sounded better. I used to drive them with a dedicated Carver TFM-25. The Yamaha actually sounds sweeter and drives them more musically and with warmer bass.
The digital signal processing sound stages available via the remote or by adjusting the rocker buttons on the face of the receiver presents an array of ambiances for reproduction. Acoustics simulate famous locales like NY's The Bottom Line.
And yet again, regardless of the sound field selected, reproduction is faithful and clean. I've literally spent thousands of dollars more on electronics to end up with inferior sound. I just don't think anything sounds better for the money than the home theater receivers Yamaha is turning out these days.
Reproduction is natural and warm without artificial coloring on the bass notes or the highs. A straight option offers full tone bypass for pretty much the cleanest uncolored stereo reproduction available for the money.
XM-Ready Tuner
If, like me, you enjoy the radio, you'll really love this receiver. It accepts dozens of preset stations and, once programmed, they "autotune" flawlessly with almost no drift (and I'm not using an external antenna.)
Also, the Yamaha HTR-5850 is completely XM satellite radio ready. Just buy a $40 audiovox XM antenna, plug it in and subscribe and you're good to go.
Input/Output Flexibility
One of the mains attractions of the HTR-5850 was the full video up conversion and the flexibility of inputs and outputs. As someone with multiple dvds, lds, and who knows what the future will bring, this is the kind of flexibility and future growth I wanted to see built in.
One nice touch is the ability to override the shipping defaults and reassign outputs to link them to other outputs as needed. Therefore if you use a dvd recorder as a vcr instead of a regular dvd player and a vcr, you can link the dtr component video outputs to the vcr circuit and connect the dvd-r to function both as your dvd player and vcr in/out for recording and monitoring and still have component video inputs for another device. Sweet.
Speaker Smorgasbord & Virtual Surround
The Yamaha HTR-5850 is amazingly flexible in the combination of speakers that you can use to set up your surround system. It can even drive all speakers as stereo with 6-channel stereo.
And if you only have 2 front speakers, the HTR-5850 will use its 'virtual cinema dsp' circuits to automatically simulate various digital surround experiences using only 2 speakers. Amazing at this price point.
The speaker terminals are large, strong and easily accept thick monster cable or banana plugs. All connections are easy to reach and use.
There are even thoughtful front mounted auxiliary rca jack inputs for quick connection of a camcorder or computer.
Easy Installation
Installation is extremely simple considering the complexity and flexibility offered by this amazing receiver.
The instruction book is well written and is must reading if you wish to take full advantage of all the features. It should be kept handy for reference.
Speakers connected, their size, dynamic range, bass abilities and distances from each other can all be set manually and the surround experience enhanced by these calibrations.
Simple, Solid Construction
For a powerful high quality electronic device that is capable of so much, the Yamaha HTR-5850 is surprisingly inexpensive to buy and simple and elegant in design.
Controls are solid in feel and satisfying to the touch. Knobs feel substantial, turn easily yet are sensitive for precise control.
Heavy, solid, dependable. This is an amazing receiver for the money.
Very Highly Recommended
I highly recommend the Yamaha HTR-5850. I got mine at BH Photo for $249. Having owned Carver, Adcom, KEF, Denon, Bose and many other high-end "audiophile" names, I can honestly say to seriously shop Yamaha and find their receiver that meets your needs for i/o and power.
You won't be disappointed. This receiver delivers perhaps the best sound you will ever hear at this price point in a solid, well-designed machine. For even more power and features, see my review on the HTR-5790.
I can't recommend Yamaha's receivers enough. I seriously think they represent the best sound available in home theater today. You can pay more, but why?
