Just ordered a new AV Receiver today

[Dean McManis]

I had been working on other projects over the years and I had not spent much on my AV equipment in a while. But a few weeks ago I finally got a 1080p projector, and today I ordered a YAMAHA RX-V473BL AV receiver.

My HT audio currently evolved from a music-first background. And as I mentioned I haven't updated equipment for a while, so I have been using a Golden Theater preamp (company LONG out of business), hooked up to a Carver power amp and Carver speakers. But the preamp manual has been lost many moves ago, and the remote is far from intuitive.

That is compounded by the fact that everything that I have upgraded in recent years has HDMI output. So I finally bit the bullet to get a 21st century receiver. Plus it was on sale. :T

I did move up from the base model to get networking capability in this unit.
I do like the features like integrated Airplay and iPhone/iPad apps for system and media control and playback. It also has 4K and 3D video pass through, which is nice but it may be a while before I upgrade my equipment again (never say never).

I'll chime back in with first impressions after I've had the new receiver delivered and I've set it up.

[Ovation]

The iPhone app is great for Yamaha receivers (I have an RX-A1000 receiver and the app is lightning fast, as well as far easier to use in the dark).

[Dean McManis]

That's good to hear. After getting everything wired up and configured, I'm looking forward to playing with many of the cool features like the AirPlay and iPhone/iPad control software. Plus it will be nice to listen to my MP3 music and Internet audio like Pandora also through the good sound system now. Plus I'll be able to again set up my PC/Mac/Roku systems with the new projector. 8)

[Lex]

congrats Dean. It's nice to have an update or two! I updated my power conditioning/surge protection for my components this year to protect what I have.

I would love toe have HDMI switching, but I won't give up my MC-12 for it, and well, to upgrade it, even if possible would be cost ineffective.

[Dean McManis]

I really debated this move. Mostly because I have other things that I need to spend money on, and my current preamp still sounds great. It's just relatively inconvenient on many levels, from setup/configuration, to usability, to connectivity and control.

I went into a local home theater store because I had some time to burn (and it's frankly fun) and I spoke with them about getting an AV receiver. Since I currently have a pre-amp/bi-amp setup, their suggestions went to AV models that had full pre-amp outputs, which all cost well over $1,000. And I thought that I could get along fine with just buying a $35 HDMI switcher to handle the new video inputs.

I still do have a 37" 1080p LCD display that I'd also like to connect the PS3, PC/Mac, ROKU to when I'm not firing up the projector. So I wish that they had provisions for 2 HDMI outputs, but hopefully the Yamaha can alternately switch outputs to the progressive component outputs for the 2nd display.

I'm thinking of setting up my current pre-amp/amp system as a stereo upstairs as I have the extra speakers to use.
The RX-V473BL does look like it has enough power to drive my HT speakers without problems. We shall see.

[Dean McManis]

Well I got the Yamaha receiver and I did the initial setup with the front 3 speakers, but I'm still working on placement of my surround speakers in the new theater, and I need to run an ethernet line down there as well because there is no built-in WIFI for the network features in the receiver. Plus I need to connect my subwoofer as well.

So far it does sound a little sharper and fuller than my previous setup relative to movies and music. I got sucked into the movies that I was demoing, which is always a good sign. I installed the iPhone/iPad app and it looks very usable in demo modes, but I'll need to configure/connect the network before I can use it.

I also need to get more HDMI cables to connect up all of my peripherals and try out the HDMI switching.

[PewterTA]

I think you'll be pretty impressed, the Yamaha's are a little bit bright, but the imaging and sound stage really come into play after about 70hrs of use. There's definitely a change after that time.

[Dean McManis]

That's good to hear. It already sounds quite good with just the front speakers hooked up, and when I add the surrounds and sub, and then the receiver gets broken it it will be even better still.

[John Holmes]

Glad to hear you're satisfied with your purchase. I must admit, the processing power of receivers over the last few years, has made it really difficult to argue a stand-alone unit anymore.

[Dean McManis]

Yeah, I just hooked up the network to this unit last night and there are some cool added features like internet radio and the tie-in/control to my iPhone and iPad.
Admittedly the low res display overlay for the receiver controls on my 1080p projector looks crude (and you need to control it using the remote), but the graphics and control is far better with the free iPad app, so that is what I'm using. The receiver spotted my server upstairs for even more music access. The convenience of the HDMI source switching is great as well. :T