|   Anyone have problems with Yamaha receivers? | KyleY
Nov 28, 2001 5:07 PM | | I'm comparing the Denon 2802 and onkyo 696 and Yamaha 1200/5490. The Denon's seem to have good quality, but hass anyone ever received a defect from Yamaha? Or any other problems with Yamaha receivers? |
| re: Anyone have problems with Yamaha receivers? | BillB
Nov 28, 2001 5:32 PM | | A friend of mine has burned out a couple Denon receivers as well as Sony ES models but said he could never get a Yamaha to shut down (he works at a HiFi shop). |
| re: Anyone have problems with Yamaha receivers? | Spiky
Nov 29, 2001 1:37 PM | | "A friend of mine has burned out a couple Denon receivers as well as Sony ES models but said he could never get a Yamaha to shut down (he works at a HiFi shop)."
I got my RX-V850 (c. 1988) to shut down many times. Never damaged it, though. I'm selling it now for $100 to a family member, still in perfect condition. |
| re: Anyone have problems with Yamaha receivers? | Woochifer
Nov 28, 2001 5:47 PM | | Over the years, a number of my friends wound up working in AV equipment sales for mid to high end stores. Almost consistently, they rate Yamaha among their most reliable and best built models. Everyone I know who's owned Yamaha equipment has never needed servicing. In the past, that's been one of the main justifications for why Yamaha charged more for their products than the other mass market companies. I've owned two Yamaha receivers and never had a problem with either one (one unit got almost daily usage for 14 years, and it's still in perfect working order). When I was choosing between Yamaha and Denon, this was my deciding criteria since their performance and features were very comparable.
I also generally hear good things about Denon, though two of my friends who've owned Denon receivers have needed service on their units (not necessarily a slam on Denon's quality since they were over five years old when they broke down). I steered away from Denon when it came time to buy my receiver because I was not too impressed with the build quality on my Denon DVD player (Denon's current models had numerous problems when they were first introduced); performance is great, but it feels flimsy.
I've read more mixed reviews of Onkyo's build quality and reliability. FYI, my girlfriend has one of Onkyo's Pro Logic receivers, and that thing has shorted out twice and the headphone jack broke off (not frequently used either, just a cheap plastic assembly that snapped). |
| Kyle, there are a few myths... | nick4433
Nov 28, 2001 6:28 PM | | Kyle, Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo are very reliable products. Almost any of these receivers could be very good or need service on any given day.
I hear a lot that the Yamaha is built like a tank and this or that about Denon or Onkyo. Nothing like that!
I have a friend who owns the RXV-1 that needed servicing twice in the last one year. I have owned Denon equipment for the last 12 years and not one single receiver or amplifier I owned needed servicing.
Its all a matter of luck and also how you treat your equipment. I looked at my woofer on the RF3 and wondered how one would tear that up but believe me, I was back at my dealer for some work where I saw a RF3 with a torn up woofer. Guess what ideas the owner of that speaker had?
When you buy a receiver you base your purchase on the following;
Receiver decoding capabilities,
How it sounds for music/HT to your ears,
And always get it from an authorized dealer and
Negotiate a good extended warranty if possible. |
| I second this post - pretty consistent with my experience | googoo
Nov 28, 2001 8:31 PM | | |
| ...or any other retired TV repairman out there...(nt) | googoo
Nov 28, 2001 8:35 PM | | |
| re: WOODMAN! This one is for you! (nt) | woodman
Nov 28, 2001 11:20 PM | | Over the years, I've not only found Yamaha products to be better built than their competition - perhaps even more importantly is the way the company steps up to the plate when one of their customers needs help with a problem. This quality is quite rare in today's electronics world, and getting more so by the day.
To those who've stated in this thread that Denon, Onkyo, and Yamaha are all equal in quality simply don't know what they're talking about. Equal in performance? OK, sure. But in build quality? No contest. If I were in the market for a new receiver today, I'd buy a Yamaha without even considering any other brand! Now is that a recommendation or what?
woodman
P.S. Don't ask just any retired TV repairman (bad term) to compare these receivers. Most of them have had little if any experience with these products. |
| re: WOODMAN! This one is for you! (nt) | Will C
Nov 29, 2001 7:23 AM | | I was interested you said Yamaha step up to the plate. I am not sure that is true. I have a problem with my low end Yamaha RVX420RDS receiver. The hiss is so bad on the speakers that even my wife complains about it! Can I get it sorted? Not likely. I have contacted my supplier Empire Direct in the UK and Yamaha directly. Empire Direct tell me that it works as it ought to and Yamaha don't know what the matter is and seem to be washing their hands. It has taken me numerous calls and I am still no nearer to solving it.
I think the product has good potential but if after sales service is this appalling then I for one cannot currently do other than tell people to avoid Yamaha |
| WOODMAN, for the record... | nick4433
Nov 29, 2001 8:24 AM | | I'll admit that I simply don't know anything about HT and HT equipment. So in your 50 years or so of service, you have concluded that Yamaha is the best brand because of their build quality then so be it. It's your opinion!
But I too have owned a variety of equipment over the past 12 years and have known friends who have owned equipment for many more years than I have.
I have never heard a single friend complaining about their Denon or Onkyo equipment. I truly believe that the Onkyos, Denons and Yamahs built today are built very tough. Maybe the Yamahas are built tougher but that may be an overkill.
I keep on hearing the Yamahas are builtlike a tank. Oh then why don't we send them to Afghanistan instead of doing mundane HT here? So if the Yammys are built like tanks then in comparison the Denons and the Onkyos must be built like Honda Accords because they too seem to run forever and without being an overkill. Thats the point!
"If I were in the market for a new receiver today, I'd buy a Yamaha without even considering any other brand! Now is that a recommendation or what? "
I was thinking you were more deeper than that as I would not give that kind of buying advice to anyone out there. I would ask them to listen and compare and then buy from an authorized dealer the brand that there ears liked most.
Every time I needed any help with my Denon or Onkyo products, the Dealers and the manufacturer has always stepped up to the plate. I currently own the 898 and had all my questions answered by Onkyo.
I have never suggested brand A over brand B or C but have always advised people to compare and listen and buy authorized and swing the extended warranty. If they did all that then had they even bought the SR-7200, they would have been OK.
People should buy what they like and yes if what they like is built like a tank then fine, but, not buy something just because it's built like a tank. Enough said!!
NICK. |
| Tanks? I dunno... | Woochifer
Nov 29, 2001 10:25 AM | | Lemme see, a Honda Accord or an M-1 tank??? Something tells me that although those M-1s are pretty good at going over rugged desert terrain, they would probably have more than their fair share of mechanical problems if asked to go through bumper to bumper city traffic, fight for parking spots at the mall, and drive 100,000 miles between tune ups! Besides, although I haven't seen any evidence to back up this assumption, I would guess that the gas consumption on an M-1 is pretty extreme! |
| re: WOODMAN, for the record... | woodman
Dec 1, 2001 10:49 AM | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
nick:
You begin your post by saying - "I'll admit that I simply don't know anything about HT and HT equipment". Then, you go on to criticize MY advice, knowing that I've spent my entire lifetime working with this stuff? Doesn't that strike you as a bit strange?
Then, when I made the following statement:
"If I were in the market for a new receiver today, I'd buy a Yamaha without even considering any other brand! Now is that a recommendation or what? "
You responded with:
"I was thinking you were more deeper than that as I would not give that kind of buying advice to anyone out there. I would ask them to listen and compare and then buy from an authorized dealer the brand that there ears liked most".
This would be good advice if it weren't for those nasty ABEs of ours which make "trust your ears" a hollow and empty phrase, devoid of it's implied meaning. The stark reality is that when you think you're "trusting your ears" you're kidding yourself, thinking that you're being truly objective and un-biased, when in fact - such a thing is impossible (unless you were doing this as a child - before being inundated with "messages" that get stored in your memory banks). Your conscious mind has forgotten all about these messages, but they play an important role in "filtering" whatever input comes in from any of our 5 senses - especially hearing.
woodman |
| Respectfully disagreeing once again.. | googoo
Nov 29, 2001 9:31 PM | | If may be a recommendation, but neccessarily an informed one. And your continuing suggestion that the company you buy from rather than the dealer you buy from being more important with service after the sale is less applicable today than in your glory days. Woodman, I respect your opinions greatly, but in the long run I feel this board is better served by disagreement than acquiescence, and though I cannot possibly keep up with the sheer volume of your posts, I respectfully reserve the right to disagreee with you at any time, such as now. Sure Yamahas are built solidly, but I wouldn't say that about the entire model line. There entry-level HT receivers (RXV420 and 520 for example) leave a lot to be desired in their build quality and processing power. And sure their flagship stuff (RXV3000, RXV1) is great stuff, and very competitive at the price point. But your suggestion that a $400 Yamaha HT receiver offers build quality advantages over an equivalently price Denon or Onkyo seems to be a bit of a stretch for me. So again I'm disagreeing with you, but with a little more respect this time out (sorry about the retired TV repairman crack). |
| re: Anyone have problems with Yamaha receivers? | RobS
Nov 29, 2001 7:17 AM | | I bought a RV-1103 3 yrs ago and had a problem with the Tape Monitor function. Brought it back to the dealer who gave me a new one, no questions asked. Same problem. Took it to authorized service center who couldn't find anything wrong with the unit. Got Yamaha on the horn and talked to Peter, who took a look at the schematic and told me the reason for my problem was a misprogrammed chip (he admitted the rushed the model into production to get a DD model on the market), not a failure of the unit for any quality reason. After talking with Bruce Bernstien, I came out of it with a RX-V2095 for around $1000, a steal at that time.
Conclusion:
1. As complicated as these things are, every once in a while, a chip isn't designed perfectly
2. Peter and Bruce at Yamaha know their s**t
3. They stand behind their product
BTW, I have has no problems whatsoever with my 2095
My .02 |
| One of the better, if not one of the best in industry for reliab | spacedeckman
Nov 30, 2001 8:53 PM | | If you can, play the Yamaha 1200 head to head with a Denon 5800. You will shorten your list. Guaranteed. Seen it done. |
| why compare those two? | carp
Dec 1, 2001 1:02 PM | | That would be like comparing the 3802 with the rx-v1 - again, no contest. |
| Why not? Denon doesn't make a more expensive one. | spacedeckman
Dec 1, 2001 4:12 PM | | The only other choice would be a smaller Yamaha, but, that smaller Yamaha isn't nearly as nice.
I thought it was a good comparison. Opens up $3000 to spend on other stuff like speakers, and ...blech!!!...video.
Did you have a better one? The comparison you offered made no sense at all. If you can do the comparison, you will figure out what I am talking about. You need to find both the 1200 and the 5800 in the same room on a switcher with decent speakers. I've done it at a couple of Ultimate stores. Same results every time, and for every person I've shown. In all honesty, the 3802 does sound a bit better than the 5800. |
| ohhh I misunderstood you.. | carp
Dec 1, 2001 4:25 PM | | Quickly reading through your post I thought you were saying that the Denon was much better, and I thought given the price difference that would be obvious. Now I get ya, in all honesty I have never heard the 5800, I just assumed it would kill the 1200. I own the rx-v3000 and I couldn't be happier.
Sorry about that. |
| It isn't even as close as you think it would be... | spacedeckman
Dec 1, 2001 9:13 PM | | it ain't a pretty sight. |
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