An A/V receiver with the WOW factor

Advantages: Looks great, sounds awesome, feels awesome
Disadvantages: Detailed set up can be tricky - just as well it comes idiot proof!

...Ok then, so I'm a lucky boy.... On my last birthday my wife decided that she wanted to treat me to a home cinema system so off we went to our local Richer Sounds store (they are VERY cheap and VERY helpful - recommended everyone pays them a visit!) with cash in hand an wangled a deal. I got this Marantz A/V Receiver , A Yamaha surround sound speaker package and a Panasonic DVD recorder for the princly sum of £350 - a bit of a discount from the £900 RRP! I'll be reviewing each product in turn so check out my other reviews if you want a full system checkup! So into the review of the A/V Receiver: 1) The Theory I wanted a reciever that not only looked good, but that also provided the output and poer to match. I've long been a fan of the Marantz range as they not only look and feel good to use, they also have the reputation...

Durahm.Dazzler 24.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of Marantz SR 4400 A/V Receiver

Yamaha Home Cinema Rules

Advantages: Numerous movie settings,
Disadvantages: Flimsey rear speaker connections

...After doing a significant bit of research, I recently purchased a Yamaha RX-V596RDS home cinema receiver. The reason i chose Yamaha was that i had been told on numerous occasions how excellent these home cinema products were at recreating the cinema experience. I wasn't let down. Films such as Lost In Space and Blade sound amazing. With Pro logic, Dolby Digital and DTS decoding and the latest in movie sound settings, as well as RDS, this piece of kit has everything. All you need to do is sit back and enjoy....

michaelcraven 28.08.2000 · Read review
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Review of Yamaha RX-V795 RDS A/V Receiver

The Yamaha Blaster - The small contender

Advantages: Lightweight, powerful 200cc two-stroke motor, proven over time
Disadvantages: Wheel base and width cause instability in some situations.

...The Yamaha Blaster is a legend in its own right. It has been in production for many a year now and has sold in large numbers worldwide. Its success has mainly been down to the large spread of potential buyers that it caters for. Although its main target is the rookie rider, it has sufficient power to thrill most users while providing good value for money and great reliability. I have had my Blaster now for 7 years and had very few mechanical issues with her. Of course i have had to change tyres and top up fuel and oil levels when needed. I do as a matter of good maintenance, keep the chain and other moving parts oiled and greased, but this level of maintenance is expected on all such machines. I have recently rebuilt the top-end of my blaster engine and was very pleased to see that the condition of most of the internal waer parts was...

01ict587 16.12.2006 (01.09.2009) · Read review
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Review of Yamaha Blaster

Very Good all round AV Receiver

Advantages: Price, Quality, Sound, Looks
Disadvantages: Remote a bit fiddily

...This receiver forms the main part of my home cinema system and having only recently purchased it I am still getting used to it. However, first impressions usually account for a lot and I like it. I like it a lot. It is basically a DSP-A5 as mentioned by another reviewer, but has an RDS tuner built in. (It cost £290) The Amp is heavy, and you really feel like you are getting a quality item, which of course you are. It has several surround modes and if the DVD you are watching broadcasts in dts then this amp will make the most of it. For home cinema it is superb and seemlessly separates the surround sounds. The lobby scene in Matrix is handled very well. I decided on this amp because I also wanted to listen to normal 2 channel music and get rid of my Hi-Fi system. I wasn't disappointed as it acts just like a standard amp when listening...

groomoid 12.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of Yamaha RX-V596RDS

Yamaha Stage Custom Drumkit

Advantages: GREAT DRUM KIT 4 OUTSTANDING PRICE!
Disadvantages: NONE?

...This Drum kit is amazing. If your a beginer or even really good this drum kit will suit you this kit is awsome if your looking for a reasonibly priced drum kit this is for you. I bought this kit about 2 years ago ive only made 3 adjustments like putting remo pinstripe skins on it and buying anew cymbal pack and buyong a mapex double bass pedal but thats what ive done this is a great kit and i would recomend this product to nearly anyone. The most affordable all-birch Yamaha drumset ever! An incredible value, the legendary tone of an all-birch Yamaha drumset is now available in the Stage Custom series. The low fundamental and warm tone of Yamaha's birch drums have been the top choice of drummers for over 30 years. The Stage Custom Birch series is great for the beginner or the working professional. The staggered diagonal seam allows us to...

ReviewDude12345 04.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Yamaha Stage Custom Drumkit

Break open the popcorn

Advantages: Great cinema sound at a decent price; easy to set up
Disadvantages: Large

.... The subwoofer is quite big so that's had to go behind the sofa out of sight. This needs its own power supply by the way, but it also has a clever power-save mode and will switch on and off when it's not needed (i.e. it isn't receiving signals from the Yamaha). The main receiver is quite big also (about 6" high), and looks a little out of place with the slimline DVD and Sky+ boxes. It provides various setup menus that you can navigate with the remote, but fear not - the default settings are fine for all but the most hardened hi-fi fanatics. I'm fairly "au fait" with technology and audio, but haven't had to change any of the settings. The only other step was to wire up the Sky+ box and DVD player to the receiver, so that the sound comes out of the new system (having remembered to switch off the TV's own speakers). If you have Sky+ for best...

tall_andy 07.01.2007 · Read review
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Review of Yamaha AV 59

Surround Sound with Attitude

Advantages: Does exactly what it says on the box !
Disadvantages: So far, none ! Although even I find that difficult to believe

...I started off my surround sound adventure with an older Marantz, but the call of DVD Audio proved to be too strong once I had actually heard (and felt) it. I take great pride in my HC system, and it has taken several years to get it right. Some earlier components did not match sonically with others, and it took about 4 years of juggling to get the setup I now have. This currently comprises the following, and this is the system as reviewed : The Denon 1803 AV receiver Pioneer 656A DVD player Thompson 32" WS 100Hz TV Sony VHS recorder Sky TV Speakers : Fronts : Acoustic Energy Aegis EVO3's Rears : KEF Coda 7's Centre : Tannoy MXC Sub : Yamaha YST-SW320 All speaker cabling is bi-wired where possible, with as chunky a cable as my house furnishings will allow ! Interconnects are generally optical where possible, or QED...

g8ina 06.05.2004 · Read review
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Review of Denon AVR-1803 AV Receiver

Yamaha CP300 Stage PIano

Advantages: reasonable price, reasonable sound, portable, built-in amplification & speakers, USB port
Disadvantages: no music rest supplied, a few dodgy-sounding notes around D4

...Other than from an economic angle, I was never a fan of Yamaha acoustic pianos. So back in the 1980s it came as no surprise when their digital instruments failed to impress me. In my opinion Yamaha pianos sounded too 'wooden' at the top end. They had none of the 'singing' tones common to European pianos like Blüthner, Bösendorfer or Bechstein. However, after moving into an apartment in 1996 I was obliged to get a piano that took cans and chose a Technics PR900, which in my view was the nearest thing to an acoustic piano. It sounded like some of the best German pianos I had played. Early incarnations of this model had a very annoying background 'static', only noticeable when the piano was silent. By 1998 this static had been fixed by Technics. But in 1996 it was driving me so crazy that I sent the PR900 back to the store and got...

jasonford 31.12.2008 (09.04.2009) · Read review
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Review of Yamaha CP300

Yamaha Grizzly 125

Advantages: easy to operate, good second hand value
Disadvantages: key in wrong position

...Yamaha Grizzly 125 ATV. Firstly a bit of history to show how opinions are formed. We operate a company in Scotland offering Quad Bike Treks for anybody over the age of sixteen, in other words the bikes are used a lot and by anybody from beginners to more experienced riders. Whatever bikes we use have to be mechanically reliable and be able to withstand some abuse. Up until the beginning of this year we used the Breeze model, mostly because its small and light, not too small but still light enough that one person can lift the bike ? pretty useful when you are on your own with a bogged down bike! Another reason for the choice being they are Semi-Automatic put it in forward gear push throttle and it goes, no gear changes to worry about. Anyway back to the review if you are thinking about buying a quad, you can?t go far wrong...

euan.ferguson68 16.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of Yamaha Grizzly 125

yamaha descant recorder

Advantages: easy to learn
Disadvantages: none

...it as a kids instrument, but I still like to play the recorder even now. You can buy a descant recorder in toy shops or from a music shop, for approx £10, this includes a begginners guide to get you started, also they come in a range of different colours. There is loads of interesting music you can play on a recorder, I remember looking at a book in the music shop and there were songs that Boyzone sang in it. They music books vary in price, (£5.00 upwards) In my opinion a Yamaha recorder is the best one to by, well thats my opinion anyway I have done this review on Dooyoo Thanks for reading...

jenny967 08.12.2007 (24.12.2007) · Read review
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Review of Yamaha Recorder