I am about to buy a new system (budget around £2.5K) and have decided on the B&W 685s for stereo and front speakers. I have been advised to buy the B&W M1s as centre, surround and subwoofer but am open to suggestions as these are quite expensive. My plan is to buy a squeezebox and play uncompressed files through it, i'll also buy a reasonable quality (£250 ish) cd player which i have not yet decided on.
My priority is stereo sound but i also want surround sound. After reading many reviews i thought that the V667 would be a good receiver and to use the pre-out to a NAD C326BEE amp to power my stereo speakers.
But now after reading the above reviews i am wondering if there is any point in buying the NAD amp. At my hifi store the assistant said that you could not buy a receiver for less than £1K that would sound as good as the NAD amp. Is this receiver as good at stereo sound as is claimed? I am no audiophile but i know what i like and good stereo is my priority.
Obviously i'll be testing the various options but it'd be good to get more views on this.
For many years I had a Yamaha DSPE800 home cinema processor which, via pre-outs, used my old Linn Majik amplifier to drive my front speakers. This meant I could still use my Linn CD player with my Linn amp for stereo music.
Having bought a Plasma TV , Blu-ray player & Sky-HD , last year I bought a Pioneer VSX-919 with the aim of coming down to 1 amp, having HDMI functionality and using the new HD sound formats available on Blu-ray.
Big mistake! The stereo sound from the Pio was simply not as good as my Linn. Worst still, the Pio had no pre-outs - so I couldn't use the Linn for the front speakers like before. After 6 months I could no longer put up with it - and as I'd sold my old Yamaha I reverted to plain stereo through my Linn amp.
After 6 more months of it gathering dust, I've just sold the Pio and I've bought an RX-V667 as it's the only budget (?)(£299) surround-sound amp with pre-outs. (I't also coming down in price as it's being replaced).
Well, I have to say I'm delighted with the RX-V667 - turns out that the stereo performance from it is so good, I don't have to use the pre-outs and/or my Linn amp.
I've got my old Linn Karik CD player hooked up to the RX-V667 and stereo music sounds great! Movie surround sound is great too!
To anyone wanting to find the holy grail of an AV amp with good stereo music reproduction, I think the RX-V667 does a very good job. My Linn amp may soon be on ebay!
I have just bought one this past week but have been unable to fathom out how to connect my PC via HDMI or Audio 1 & 2 & get any sounds, did your test include connecting to a computer & also turntable?
I haven't tried the phono yet but spent days with the PC problem & so far Yamaha haven't helped?
About four months ago I decided to upgrade my home cinema system, the heart of which was a Yamaha RX-V420.
Naturally I wanted to replace with another Yamaha but my budget was between £400 and £500. I'd read the reviews about the RX-V667 but I was still undecided about which model to go for. Then Yamaha made up my mind for me. They dropped the price of the RX-V667 TO £350. I ordered it right away.
I won't bore you with the details except to say that my cd's dvd's and bd's sound fantastic. Just read the review in What Hi-Fi? I agree wholeheartedly with it. Go for it. You won't regret it. I don't.
The 667 is neither too warm or bright but has a neutral sound that's easy to listen to for many hours at a time without ever getting tiring. It has a very detailed and open sound with its own unique character. It sounds quite polite at low volumes which suits easy listening and general pop music well but can sound slightly reserved with rock or dance music. As soon as you turn it up to medium or high volumes though, it really comes alive with lots of energy and dynamics which sounds good with all types of music including rock and dance.
The 667 has a destinctive sound and should be auditioned to see if it's to your own taste but I'm very happy with it in every respect and would 100% recomend it.
Comments
Hi guys,
I am about to buy a new system (budget around £2.5K) and have decided on the B&W 685s for stereo and front speakers. I have been advised to buy the B&W M1s as centre, surround and subwoofer but am open to suggestions as these are quite expensive. My plan is to buy a squeezebox and play uncompressed files through it, i'll also buy a reasonable quality (£250 ish) cd player which i have not yet decided on.
My priority is stereo sound but i also want surround sound. After reading many reviews i thought that the V667 would be a good receiver and to use the pre-out to a NAD C326BEE amp to power my stereo speakers.
But now after reading the above reviews i am wondering if there is any point in buying the NAD amp. At my hifi store the assistant said that you could not buy a receiver for less than £1K that would sound as good as the NAD amp. Is this receiver as good at stereo sound as is claimed? I am no audiophile but i know what i like and good stereo is my priority.
Obviously i'll be testing the various options but it'd be good to get more views on this.
cheers
For many years I had a Yamaha DSPE800 home cinema processor which, via pre-outs, used my old Linn Majik amplifier to drive my front speakers. This meant I could still use my Linn CD player with my Linn amp for stereo music.
Having bought a Plasma TV , Blu-ray player & Sky-HD , last year I bought a Pioneer VSX-919 with the aim of coming down to 1 amp, having HDMI functionality and using the new HD sound formats available on Blu-ray.
Big mistake! The stereo sound from the Pio was simply not as good as my Linn. Worst still, the Pio had no pre-outs - so I couldn't use the Linn for the front speakers like before. After 6 months I could no longer put up with it - and as I'd sold my old Yamaha I reverted to plain stereo through my Linn amp.
After 6 more months of it gathering dust, I've just sold the Pio and I've bought an RX-V667 as it's the only budget (?)(£299) surround-sound amp with pre-outs. (I't also coming down in price as it's being replaced).
Well, I have to say I'm delighted with the RX-V667 - turns out that the stereo performance from it is so good, I don't have to use the pre-outs and/or my Linn amp.
I've got my old Linn Karik CD player hooked up to the RX-V667 and stereo music sounds great! Movie surround sound is great too!
To anyone wanting to find the holy grail of an AV amp with good stereo music reproduction, I think the RX-V667 does a very good job. My Linn amp may soon be on ebay!
I have just bought one this past week but have been unable to fathom out how to connect my PC via HDMI or Audio 1 & 2 & get any sounds, did your test include connecting to a computer & also turntable?
I haven't tried the phono yet but spent days with the PC problem & so far Yamaha haven't helped?
Thanks in advance
Lag
About four months ago I decided to upgrade my home cinema system, the heart of which was a Yamaha RX-V420.
Naturally I wanted to replace with another Yamaha but my budget was between £400 and £500. I'd read the reviews about the RX-V667 but I was still undecided about which model to go for. Then Yamaha made up my mind for me. They dropped the price of the RX-V667 TO £350. I ordered it right away.
I won't bore you with the details except to say that my cd's dvd's and bd's sound fantastic. Just read the review in What Hi-Fi? I agree wholeheartedly with it. Go for it. You won't regret it. I don't.
Thank you Yamaha.
The 667 is neither too warm or bright but has a neutral sound that's easy to listen to for many hours at a time without ever getting tiring. It has a very detailed and open sound with its own unique character. It sounds quite polite at low volumes which suits easy listening and general pop music well but can sound slightly reserved with rock or dance music. As soon as you turn it up to medium or high volumes though, it really comes alive with lots of energy and dynamics which sounds good with all types of music including rock and dance.
The 667 has a destinctive sound and should be auditioned to see if it's to your own taste but I'm very happy with it in every respect and would 100% recomend it.