Sony STR-DH810 or Yamaha RX-V667?

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Sony STR-DH810 or Yamaha RX V667?
I know that both of these can be had at around the same price at the moment and that the Yamaha has a lightly better spec.

But I just wanted some thoughts or advice as to which one would be best for a starter cinema system, with the aim of using it for music in stereo mode as well.

Thanks in advance.

Davin

 

[laserman16]

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Well I went for the 667 in the end over the Sony

Reasons being ,

1. Onscreen Gui.

2. To my eyes a better looking machine.

3. 6 HDMI inputs including one on the front.(good when my daughter brings her game machine round.)

4. HDMI passthrough in standby without having to enable HDMI control ( also which is switchable in standby.)

5. To my ears it sounded better with music, but really thats a personnel thing, you should listen yourself if you can.

6. Remote can be used for basic control of other devices. got 4 others through mine at the moment.( Not sure if the Sony remote does that or not)

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers mate, and thanks for the fast response.

All of the above is drawing me towards the Yamaha, and I didn't know about not having to enable HDMI control on the Yamaha - which is good to know.

Out of interest what speakers did you pair it with and how well do they handle music? Im considering the Jamo A102 HCS5 or the Boston Acoustics Soundware XS if I can find them cheap enough.

Opinions from others on these receivers are still welcome.

 

[ChrisWaller]

I went for the Yamaha and am really pleased with my decision. I've had two previous Yamaha A/V amps and their reliability has been stunning (as well as being great, versatile amps).

Also, I had a query over how best to output HD audio from my PS3 to my Amp (Bitstream vs PCM). I emailed Yamaha technical support and Sony technical support. Yamaha had a perfect answer for me within 24hrs. Sony simply reeled off some rubbish from the manual after 7 days.

 

[Anonymous]

Go for the Yamaha 667. No only is the processor + DAC is better, it also have 7.1 analogue inputs & pre-out.

Can be useful when upgrading with a power amp.

Also can buy a good BlueRay player with 7.1 analogue out (like the OPPO 93/95) - direct input.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the responses - the Yamaha seems to be the popular choice.

Any views on the speakers I mentioned above (Jamo or BA) - bearing in mind the £100 price difference? The size of the BA satellite speakers make me doubt their musical ability. Any other contenders around the same price bracket I should consider?

 

[Anonymous]

What is your budget for speakers?

The Kef eggs are well reviewed, and I really like the look of the new Cambridge Audio satelites (MINX?)

I have Monitor Audio radius which are superb, especially in the look and finish department (easy to blend with your decor!). These can be had cheaply off ebay, especially the pre "HD" range.

From memory the "90"'s can be had for £100 a pair and the 180 sometimes £50 if colour is not critical. The matching sub is not the best but adequate and comes up from time to time at dealers for under £200. So that's around £450 - possibly more than the sets you mentioned - not familiar with those.

Anyway, something to think about - just my experiences with my kit!

 

[Anonymous]

Hello there this is my first time on here also had the same decision to make on what amp to get yam 667 or sony 810 obviously main reason was price range didnt really wanna spend more than 300 was tempted on the sony but after reading whathifi reviews i went for the yamaha 667 originally had an old samsung 610 bought 4 years ago and decided to upgrade really happy with the amp still using the old tannoy fx5.1 speakers with it and to be honest it sounds rather good was thinking about getting the newer tannoy sfx5.1 center speaker as my other is just a satelite speaker that came with the deal so i was wondering if that would wrk ok as richer sounds said i couldnt just add another center to my setup can someone please help me out also wanting to no what speakers you would recomend and would there be a great difference.

 

[Anonymous]

take it from me; you want the 667. i just took back my 810 yesterday because the surround right channel was low compared to the rest so when they offered a replacement or a new amp i said, can you reccommend one and they showed me the WHAT? review of the 677 and i did some research and i decided to go for it. getting it home, unpacking it, it's so much easier to use thanks to the GUI on screen and as someone has said, music from stereo sources sound incredible really do. i had lost on blu ray blasting out through DTS HD MA and it sounded amazing. very good amp. so take it from someone who has had both amps, the 667 is the one to go for. this 667 is a high spec amp whereas the sony is a budget level entry amp.