[Alpine44]

I would like to make this purchase tonight if possible here are my concerns.


1. The Yamaha is cheaper as of now at newegg.com for $399.99 with free shipping while the Pioneer is running $484.49 and I would have to pay shipping.


2. Power differences, the Yamaha is 95watts per channel while the Pioneer has 120watts per channel. I am upgrading from my ancient Sony STR-DE935 which had 110watts per channel what will be the significance here?


3. Pioneer has a great CNET review while the Yamaha doesn't have a review yet, but most reviews from others seems good as well. My speaker setup is Polk all the way around 2 monitor 60's 2 30's and a CS1, with a Cerwin Vega 15" sub.


I have no doubt in my mind that both these are a huge step up from what I have now, but should I go with a name I can trust (Yamaha) at a cheaper price by almost $100 or go with the underdog?



edit: I will be equally playing video games and watching movies if this info is needed. Xbox360, Panasonic Blu-ray player, and soon to be Samsung 55" B7000 TV

 

[lmacmil]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpine44 /forum/post/18262627


I would like to make this purchase tonight if possible here are my concerns.


2. Power differences, the Yamaha is 95watts per channel while the Pioneer has 120watts per channel. I am upgrading from my ancient Sony STR-DE935 which had 110watts per channel what will be the significance here?

The Yamaha is rated 95wpc from 20-20khz, the Pioneer is 120wpc at 1khz. The Pioneer 20-20khz rating (per the manual) is 90wpc. No audible difference between 90 or 95 or 110wpc.


I was down to the same two choices a month ago. Went with the Yamaha at the Newegg sale price. Very happy with it.

 

[MichaelJHuman]

In any case, ignore power ratings, IMO, because they are not made in a way that you can ensure a comparison will be accurate (see the AVR FAQ for the details on why.)


Did you look at the threads in this forum on both receivers? More info than CNET will give you - their reviews are not usually in depth.

 

[Alpine44]

After reading the forums the past few hours I may even decide to go with the Onkyo 607.



Decisions decisions.

 

[Dragonfly47]

I loved my Onkyo 606 until the HDMI board fried after 9 months. Those suckers run HOT. Went with a Yamaha RX-V1065 after auditioning it with my Polk RTi series speakers at Fry's. Sounded sweet to my ears.


Pio 1019 prices should come down shortly. They intro'd new models recently.

 

[nixonrsx]

I am trying to decide between the 765 and 1065. I have an Emotiva XPA-3 running the fronts so power is not that big a deal. From what I can tell the only difference is HD Radio stuff and a USB port, also it says new GUI display. None of that stuff sounds to enticing for the big jump in price. Anything else I am missing? Why would someone go with the 1065 instead of the 765?

 

[lmacmil]



Quote:
Originally Posted by nixonrsx /forum/post/18263500


Why would someone go with the 1065 instead of the 765?

Because some people automatically equate more expensive with "better" even if they don't need the additional features or power.

 

[nixonrsx]

well just pulled the trigger on the 765 and the ipod dock from new egg, so we will see how everything goes. a couple months ago i bought and returned the onkyo 707 b/c i couldnt get it to play nice(nasty ground loop hum) with the rest of my system. So hopefully the new yammy will be just as good as my old yammy(never had a single problem over 7 years). im pretty excited.

 

[Dragonfly47]



Quote:
Originally Posted by nixonrsx /forum/post/18263500


Why would someone go with the 1065 instead of the 765?

Quote:
Originally Posted by lmacmil /forum/post/18263623


Because some people automatically equate more expensive with "better" even if they don't need the additional features or power.

Or in my case, it was the best SOUNDING avr I listened to, auditioned with the same speakers I have at home. For $599, it was worth it to me. If you're just looking for a pre/pro in the Yamaha line, the 665, feature-wise, is as good as the 765, and cheaper.

 

[nixonrsx]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragonfly47 /forum/post/18263847


Or in my case, it was the best SOUNDING avr I listened to, auditioned with the same speakers I have at home. For $599, it was worth it to me. If you're just looking for a pre/pro in the Yamaha line, the 665, feature-wise, is as good as the 765, and cheaper.

Sounds good dude, I didnt mean it to sound like "why would anyone buy a 1065?" I was just wondering if there was something else technical I was missing on the website to warrant the price jump. I just will not ever use the upgraded stuff on the 1065, but I definitely like the look of the 765 over the 665, so to me that was worth it, even if that sounds stupid, haha....plus it was such a good deal.

 

[Dragonfly47]

No problem, brother. I almost bought a Pio Elite on looks.


I have found the USB port is quite handy for firmware updates. Check your firmware revision when you get your receiver. The latest from Pioneer was August '09. The procedure for updating the 765 sans USB is described Here .

 

[nixonrsx]

Is it absolutely necessary to have the latest firmware updates if everything is working as it should be? I dont want to do anything unnecessary and then run into problems b/c of it. Has anyone had a problem doing firmware updates on there 765?

 

[Dragonfly47]

If you don't have any problems, then a firmware update is unnecessary. Yamaha posts a PDF with each firmware update which describes the issue that the update addresses. The latest firmware PDF for the 765 begins:

Quote:
When AV3, AV4, AUDIO1 or AUDIO2 is selected as the

input source, a video signal input from an external

component connected to the HDMI1-4, AV1-6 or V-AUX

jack can be output to the video monitor. This feature is

useful when you connect a component such as the

following.

Example 1: A game console that outputs an analog audio

signal and a video signal via component

video jacks.

Example 2: A set-top box that does not output an audio

signal at the HDMI output jack.

If this is not a feature you need, then pass on the update. Additionally, if your 765 was manufactured after August '09, you may already have the updated firmware installed.

 

[afrogt]



Quote:
If you're just looking for a pre/pro in the Yamaha line, the 665, feature-wise, is as good as the 765, and cheaper.

When the 765 comes on sale for $399 once a week, it is actually cheaper than the 665.

 

[nixonrsx]



Quote:
Originally Posted by afrogt /forum/post/18270837


When the 765 comes on sale for $399 once a week, it is actually cheaper than the 665.

yup, thats why i got the 765 from newegg, and i checked 8 hours later and it was back up to 600.

its in the mail right now, along with the ipod dock

 

[kbwilcox]

I bought my Yamaha 765 from New Egg for $399.00 also, a great bargain for what you get. I do plan on eventually getting an Emotiva 3 channel amp for the Front L, C, R channels. However, this amp has pretty good power out of the box.


I have a review of the 765 at my blog if anyone is interested.

hvhometheater dot blogspot dot com

Kevin

 

[kbwilcox]

Sounds like you have the same plan as me. I went through the same dilemma, but went with the 765 because the price difference didn't justify the features which you have listed. All of the features you will most likely use are already on the 765.


what have you got the Emotiva hooked up to now? How do you like the Emotiva? Same 3 channel amp I am planning on getting.

 

[nixonrsx]

I am gonna assume you were talking to me, but I duno. Right now I have the XPA-3 hooked up to my older Yamaha HTR-5760, which is about 7+ years old and still going strong, never had one problem with it. But decided for the price it was time for an upgrade. The 765 is in the mail right now, but the addition of the XPA-3 was nothing short of awesome! I have a Klipsch set up, RF-7 towers(dual 10" woofers in each, 102db sensitive), a massive RC-7 center, and some RB-61 rears, with and eD A5-350 sub. With just my Yamaha they played plenty loud for most people, but I knew I was missing something, so in came the XPA-3, the towers came alive at all volume levels, much fuller more dynamic sound. Movies, and music are just fantastic now. It was definitely the biggest and most dramatic additions to my systems, and I am 150% satisfied. And I cant wait to use the 12v output on the Yamaha so I dont have to get up everytime I want to turn the system on, and the hdmi pass through looks pretty darn neat to, cause I dont really use the stereo to watch normal tv. I had given the Onkyo 707 a shot, but it introduced a nasty ground loop hum into my system and I could not get it to go away, nothing would work. It did sound pretty nice and had a pretty sweet onscreen setup. I cant wait for the 765 to get here on Thursday! I work at the local university so I am on spring break for the whole week, good timing.