I'm assuming the newer 5850 is similar to your 5650.


The specs are as follows on the 5850:

90wx2 at 20-20,000Hz

24.2 lbs


The 659 specs are:

100wx2 at 20-20,000Hz

27.1 lbs


You'll never hear a difference in 10 watts. You'd have to step up to the RXV1600 IMHO to realize a sizable difference (and even that may be marginal).

120wx2 at 20-20,000Hz

38.3 lbs (there's your difference -> larger power supply, caps, and heat sink)


One other thing - never go by the volume setting. It means nothing unless the unit is rated THX, then "0" should be reference level, and able to play without distortion for long periods of time (an entire movie) without thermal shutdown. Speaker sensitivity and room size will also play a large role in the dB output of your system.

 

I understand that. I guess I was just trying to figure out why there is such a difference in loudness between the two. I know the power outputs are relatively close to each other, so I really wasn't expecting to see a big difference, but I most definately wasn't expecting it to be quieter, which it is by quite a large margin. I'm out of town right now and my wife was trying to watch a movie. It was her first time using the new 659. She called and said she could hardly hear the movie. The problem ended up being she set the volume to roughly where she would've on the 5650 (which was around -50, at about the half-way point). When I told her to keep turning it up, it got better, but she was asking why she would have to do that with a better, newer receiver. I had no answer for her. It makes no sense to me either.

 

It also depends on the sound processing mode that was set with 5650 vs 659. Perhaps the 659 is less sensitive to input level. Unless the 659 needs -10 to +10 for a normal tv/movie listening level I wouldn't worry too much. Also different movies have different vol. setting requirements even though are 5.1. You'd have to do a direct comparison of the avr's with same movie & sound mode etc.

 

I kind of did. Tonight, while I was gone, my wife watched "Eight Below" with my daughter. No sound fields were selected, she said the 659 simply said "dolby digital". She had to set the volume to -34 to get the same volume level that she was used to using on the 5650 at -49. She never used soundfields while I'm away, go figure. To me, that is a huge difference. To me, it would seem that something is not quite right with either the setup or the receiver itself. I swear I've checked everything in manual, several times.

 

-34 is ok, I wouldn't worry.

 

OK. I know that I might be freaking out a little, all for nothing, but I just want to be sure it's ok. I'll be home tomorrow and will play some more with the settings. Hopefully I can put my mind completely at ease.

Thanks for the help.


Shawn

 

If you want a wide difference in sound levels, try OTA (analog and digital stations) channel surfing. One station is quiet & another is very loud. I'm adjusting the vol level almost with each channel. BTW - Yamaha V1500.

 

Hi!


I bought my V659 to "update" my V540 last friday and made the same observations after i changed the machines. The V659 was *much* quieter than the V540 at the same dB-setting: I liked to listen at ca. -35 to -30 on my 520. On the V659 I have000 to turn up to like -20 to -15 to get the same (subjective) result.

The I saw, that the maximum volume is +0 at my V540 and +16 on my V659.


And if you connect a TV-Set, you'll see a "meter" when you change the volume. And at -20 it is barely about 25% full. So it seems to me that the "reserves" of the 659 lie well above 0dB.

I wouldn't worry.

 

Yep, I got home this afternoon and tested. I used the HTR-5650 and the 659, swapped them out several times. The 5650 at -50 is the 659 at -34. But, the 5650 goes from -100 to 0, where as the 659 goes from -80 to +9.5 on the volume scale. It would seem that everything is fairly normal and scaled ok. I was worrying for nothing.


Thanks for all the help!


Shawn