Yamaha RX-596 2 Channels Receiver
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- THX Certification: No
- Number of Channels: 2 Channels
- Type: Receiver
- Stereo Mode Power: 80 Watt @ 8 ohm, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, THD: 0.025%
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Endangered Species
Pros
Great combination of price and quality, good reputation
Cons
No subwoofer output
Recommended it?
Yes
A good receiver? just like so many others.
In reviewing a pair of speakers recently, I pointed out how-ill equipped we are, as casual users, to provide a truly informative review because we lack the opportunity to compare several similar products side by side. When discussing speakers, we can at least make an attempt. Different speakers, even in the same price and size range, do sound different, and that difference is apparent even when we cannot switch from one pair directly to the other. With other components, the difficulties are magnified tenfold. I am convinced that the only possible way we can tell the difference between, say, two receivers, is to hook them up to the same pair of speakers, feed them from the same source, and rig the whole setup in such a way that we can switch between the amps literally at the touch of a button. Everyone who has a setup exactly like that at home, please raise your hands.
So, what's left? Once again, features, look and feel, and whatever other subjective things that give you warm fuzzies (not literally; they would be very bad in an audio component). Yamaha is considered by some to be a mass-market company with audiophile aspirations, putting them just a notch above Technics, JVC and the like. The RX-596 ($399) is the "second in command" in their line of four two-channel receivers. Basic features include:
- 80 watts per channel RMS into 8 ohms
- 5 line-level inputs (1 tape loop)
- 1 Moving Magnet phono input
- Defeatable tone, balance and loudness controls
- Dedicated CD amplifier
- 2 pairs of speaker outputs (binding posts)
- Remote control
Just the fact that this is a stereo receiver, as opposed to some variety of surround, makes it one of a disappearing breed. More and more companies, especially those that target the mass market, have gone ga-ga in recent years feeding all sorts of home-theater surround gear to the evermore feature-hungry dealers and ever-easier-to-dazzle consumers. Why this is bad has been discussed very well elsewhere, but the basic reason is common sense: splitting a finite amount of resources between two channels will yield more quality per channel than splitting the same amount among six (excuse me, 5.1). The two-channel world is still very much alive, of course, but tends to be populated with expensive separates (i.e. separate preamplifiers, amplifiers and tuners). Thus, for a DVD-less music purist on a budget, the choices are few and far between.
The most notable feature of the RX-596 is probably the dedicated CD amplifier. It is a completely separate amplifier that powers only the CD input. It bypasses all controls except volume and is ostensibly physically segregated from all other components inside the case. It is also the main feature that distinguishes the RX-596 from its less expensive siblings, the RX-396 ($249) and the RX-496 ($299). And you know what? I can hear the difference. Honest. It isn't much, but it is definitely audible. Hit the "CD direct" button while a disc is playing, and the sound becomes ever so slightly deeper and more spacious. For added purity (wait, doesn't "pure" mean things are not added? anyway?) while listening to other sources, tone and loudness controls are defeatable. Pressing the "pure direct" button will cause the signal to bypass them and go directly into the amplifier section. The loudness control, designed to compensate for the humans' inability to detect bass frequencies at low volume, is unusual. It is a knob rather than a switch, and instead of boosting the low end when your volume is low, it cuts everything else. What you actually do is turn the main volume up, then turn the loudness up also. This will cause the actual volume to go down, but the low end will stay full.
Another feature of note is the phono input - a species that is disappearing even faster than reasonably-priced two-channel receivers. Plenty of people out there still have turntables and listen to LPs, and record companies still release material on vinyl, but since the voltage level of a turntable signal is different from that of a CD player or cassette deck, you cannot plug it into just any input. A special phono input is required. If you do not have one on your receiver or preamp, you are stuck buying an outboard phono adapter for $150 or more. Not so with the RX-596. A phono input is included, putting the receiver on any vinyl afficionado's short list.
The warm fuzzies? There are a few. The build is very solid and the knobs have a nice weighted feel to them. The source selector is a knob rather than a panel of buttons, which I like, although I am not sure why. I just wish radio tuning was also accomplished with a knob. The display lights up in amber, which happens to match my old JVC CD player, and features a signal strength bar graph when radio is engaged. Finally, and this is the most subjective, the unit is manufactured in Malaysia. For reasons I will not get into, I try to avoid buying goods manufactured in the People's Republic of China, which is very difficult. Even companies like Adcom and Rotel have their manufacturing facilities in China now. With the RX-596, however, I have accomplished the last and smallest of my goals.
About the only negative comment - again, this is highly subjective - is that the RX-596 lacks a subwoofer output. This is actually normal for a two-channel receiver, but some of the newer ones do include them (the Nakamichi RE-10, for example), nominally making them three-channel devices. So, bass-mongers should think twice.
Some comparable receivers I checked out were the Nakamichi RE-10 I mentioned above ($499, subwoofer output, no phono input, 100 w/ch.), Denon DRA-375 ($399, 60 w/ch., has phono, no sub) and NAD C740 ($499, 35 w/ch., no phono, no sub). The Nakamichi didn't seem worth the extra money, and the Denon and the NAD both looked and felt cheap and flimsy (I was somewhat surprised by that as both companies have an excellent reputation). The RX-596 just seemed to have the best combination of price and features. I am sure all the others would have sounded just fine.
In reviewing a pair of speakers recently, I pointed out how-ill equipped we are, as casual users, to provide a truly informative review because we lack the opportunity to compare several similar products side by side. When discussing speakers, we can at least make an attempt. Different speakers, even in the same price and size range, do sound different, and that difference is apparent even when we cannot switch from one pair directly to the other. With other components, the difficulties are magnified tenfold. I am convinced that the only possible way we can tell the difference between, say, two receivers, is to hook them up to the same pair of speakers, feed them from the same source, and rig the whole setup in such a way that we can switch between the amps literally at the touch of a button. Everyone who has a setup exactly like that at home, please raise your hands.
So, what's left? Once again, features, look and feel, and whatever other subjective things that give you warm fuzzies (not literally; they would be very bad in an audio component). Yamaha is considered by some to be a mass-market company with audiophile aspirations, putting them just a notch above Technics, JVC and the like. The RX-596 ($399) is the "second in command" in their line of four two-channel receivers. Basic features include:
- 80 watts per channel RMS into 8 ohms
- 5 line-level inputs (1 tape loop)
- 1 Moving Magnet phono input
- Defeatable tone, balance and loudness controls
- Dedicated CD amplifier
- 2 pairs of speaker outputs (binding posts)
- Remote control
Just the fact that this is a stereo receiver, as opposed to some variety of surround, makes it one of a disappearing breed. More and more companies, especially those that target the mass market, have gone ga-ga in recent years feeding all sorts of home-theater surround gear to the evermore feature-hungry dealers and ever-easier-to-dazzle consumers. Why this is bad has been discussed very well elsewhere, but the basic reason is common sense: splitting a finite amount of resources between two channels will yield more quality per channel than splitting the same amount among six (excuse me, 5.1). The two-channel world is still very much alive, of course, but tends to be populated with expensive separates (i.e. separate preamplifiers, amplifiers and tuners). Thus, for a DVD-less music purist on a budget, the choices are few and far between.
The most notable feature of the RX-596 is probably the dedicated CD amplifier. It is a completely separate amplifier that powers only the CD input. It bypasses all controls except volume and is ostensibly physically segregated from all other components inside the case. It is also the main feature that distinguishes the RX-596 from its less expensive siblings, the RX-396 ($249) and the RX-496 ($299). And you know what? I can hear the difference. Honest. It isn't much, but it is definitely audible. Hit the "CD direct" button while a disc is playing, and the sound becomes ever so slightly deeper and more spacious. For added purity (wait, doesn't "pure" mean things are not added? anyway?) while listening to other sources, tone and loudness controls are defeatable. Pressing the "pure direct" button will cause the signal to bypass them and go directly into the amplifier section. The loudness control, designed to compensate for the humans' inability to detect bass frequencies at low volume, is unusual. It is a knob rather than a switch, and instead of boosting the low end when your volume is low, it cuts everything else. What you actually do is turn the main volume up, then turn the loudness up also. This will cause the actual volume to go down, but the low end will stay full.
Another feature of note is the phono input - a species that is disappearing even faster than reasonably-priced two-channel receivers. Plenty of people out there still have turntables and listen to LPs, and record companies still release material on vinyl, but since the voltage level of a turntable signal is different from that of a CD player or cassette deck, you cannot plug it into just any input. A special phono input is required. If you do not have one on your receiver or preamp, you are stuck buying an outboard phono adapter for $150 or more. Not so with the RX-596. A phono input is included, putting the receiver on any vinyl afficionado's short list.
The warm fuzzies? There are a few. The build is very solid and the knobs have a nice weighted feel to them. The source selector is a knob rather than a panel of buttons, which I like, although I am not sure why. I just wish radio tuning was also accomplished with a knob. The display lights up in amber, which happens to match my old JVC CD player, and features a signal strength bar graph when radio is engaged. Finally, and this is the most subjective, the unit is manufactured in Malaysia. For reasons I will not get into, I try to avoid buying goods manufactured in the People's Republic of China, which is very difficult. Even companies like Adcom and Rotel have their manufacturing facilities in China now. With the RX-596, however, I have accomplished the last and smallest of my goals.
About the only negative comment - again, this is highly subjective - is that the RX-596 lacks a subwoofer output. This is actually normal for a two-channel receiver, but some of the newer ones do include them (the Nakamichi RE-10, for example), nominally making them three-channel devices. So, bass-mongers should think twice.
Some comparable receivers I checked out were the Nakamichi RE-10 I mentioned above ($499, subwoofer output, no phono input, 100 w/ch.), Denon DRA-375 ($399, 60 w/ch., has phono, no sub) and NAD C740 ($499, 35 w/ch., no phono, no sub). The Nakamichi didn't seem worth the extra money, and the Denon and the NAD both looked and felt cheap and flimsy (I was somewhat surprised by that as both companies have an excellent reputation). The RX-596 just seemed to have the best combination of price and features. I am sure all the others would have sounded just fine.
