Great Stereo Receiver! Don't let the power button function detour you! Yes you have to manually function it to turn the unit off but the stand by function works great and really makes no substantial difference in the product and definitely not the performance!!! I am running a pair of polk monitor 65's and a psw505 subwoofer in a small living room (approx 15'x15') and all I can say is wow, it is a night and day from my previous receiver, for sound and power. I was a bit worried it would be lacking power due to my listening preferences at high levels and would not drive the medium sized towers without breaking up or loosing clarity but those worries faded away within an hour of listening upon arrival. It is true that a quality Yamaha amp provides a better sound and I now speak from experience. As for the other functions this receiver provides I have 0 complaints up to this point. The network abilities were high on my list and lead me to spend a large amount of time researching and comparing products and options. I was not interested in any A/V solutions being this is strictly a hi-fi set up meaning two channel stereo music from multiple sources and the occasional TV and Movie (let me correct that, youtube and Netflix haha). There is a million routes one can take to arrive at the same options and functions this receiver provides but none I found did it quite as well as Yamaha has for a budget price and packaged it quite like this unit. It is unique in that sense but provides great quality and sound, connectivity to pretty much everything one could want, and looks right sharp doing it!!! So far all of the media I use on the receiver has been wireless by either streaming music from bluetooth, my laptap (which is flawless), sirius and spotify (works great), and the net radio that is built in (which is more convenient then I anticipated!). Haven't used the phono input as of yet, still researching and looking for the right turn table to suit my budget and needs, and haven't used the digital inputs but will be soon used when the proper TV finds its way to my home. As for the MusicCast app I have to say I like it, even though that specific condition was where i spent a lot of time researching, and comparing. I'm not a huge fan of being required to use an app to control certain functions of the receiver (spotify, sirius, and for those using pandora/rhapsody, which i do not but maybe you do) but the app works great and makes life pretty hassle being able to carry your phone anywhere with you through out the house and have full control on the tunes (as that is not always possible via bluetooth!!!). And on that point, that leads me to the fact that I have a Crackberry Z10, and yes it is possible to get the app through a little googling and back door routing (*cough*apk4blackberry*ahem* for fellow blackberry's out there). Basically the only complaint I can find after 2 months of owning this unit is there is no adjustable crossover for the sub out. I have yet to contact yamaha for this issue but plan to in the immediate future. Not a huge issue but still nothing can be perfect. Maybe a software update can solve that, not sure, but other than that very happy with the product and everything it has to offer! So for anyone looking for a budget stereo receiver that offers connectivity via all the common sources (spotify, sirius, bluetooth, etc.), DAC, Phono input, network streaming, strong amplifier power, and a sharp clean look, look no further!!! This receiver is for you!!!
|