YAMAHA RX-V681 7.2-Channel Network A/V Receiver with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi

I purchase an open box unit for $445.... WOW! What a great deal. The unit came in OEM packaging with all accessories, it looked brand new. Thank you IQ Home Entertainment. Edit: This receiver is now available for $350....a great price. My 5.1.2 setup: ELAC UF5 fronts (4 ohm impedance) NOTE: The unit allows you to tell it that 6 or 4 ohm speakers are connected. I did not change the setting. No issues thus far but your mileage may vary. I did lots of research on-line re. 4 ohm speakers and compatibility with receivers. My take: Some manufacturers seem to de-rate the power for 4 ohm speakers to protect the circuits and prevent overheating. Panasonic center and rears (6 ohm) Sub Woofer Edit: added 2 Panasonic front presence speakers 65 inch 1080p TV Samsung Bluray First impressions: The good: Sound quality is excellent, definite upgrade from a 3 year old Denon. Setup was easy, the unit did its own calibration effectively. NOTE: Setup did not set my speakers as small. So you have to do that part manually and then set your crossover for the sub woofer. Switching between sources is one touch and you can customize the names. My echo dot is connected and I named the source Alexa...cool. Scene mode is a nice touch. Set up your channel preferences then hold the scene button for a few seconds, the settings are memorized. The Bad: Remote is pretty busy with small buttons and text. The manual...wow its big and you don't get a printed version. Printed double sided its 1/2 an inch thick! I do recommend printing it though....you have to skip around to figure some functions out. I haven't tried out: - ATMOS Edit: Added 2 front presence speakers. Still assessing but these speakers certainly create a bigger sound stage up front. - 4K up-scaling - 2 zone - music cast - internet radio ( i have the dot for streaming) Edit: Now I have Pandora setup....works great - Smart phone app - web based control In summary, this is a feature packed receiver with great sound. At the price point I got it at....Highly recommended.

I have only had this receiver set up for a few days, and I will update as needed. I will write a "quick" review for the 1st paragraph, and go into some detail in the 2nd. :) I am upgrading from an older Sony "All in One" surround sound/DVD system, which might explain my pro and con things a little bit. Overall, this is a very nice receiver, and I absolutely love it. It does everything i need, and then some. I recommend it if its in the price range your looking for. Yamaha doesn't usually disappoint. *Quick: There are some amazing features, such as 4k support, Multicast, AirPlay, WiFi/Network & Bluetooth connectivity, YPAO (which is the Mic Calibration program) as well as a pretty awesome app that controls the system. I am using the App on an iPad, and love it. The receiver has a "quality" feel overall, with tons of connections, including and extra HDMI and USB on the front. The picture and sound quality is great. I do feel that the setup process was a little complicated. There are just SOOOO many types of "Sound Modes". The remote is also a little nutty, tons and tons of buttons. But once you get this setup, you can leave it alone, which does make it worth it in my opinion. *Little more: If you have been following the Surround Sound Scene, and stayed educated to the old and new formats over the years, you will be fine using this system. If your like me, and have some general knowledge, you might get a little overwhelmed with what you can pick from for sound modes, and what they will do, and Yamaha doesn't go into great detail, because its not their technology (meaning they don't develop Dolby or DTS), they just support it in their systems. So finding out exactly which Sound Mode does what is hard to find through Yamaha. You'd have to go to Dolby, or DTS's websites to learn more about it, or do what I did, and just start switching the modes around until its what you like... I know, real technical, right? lol. However, I will "complain" about the ease of use, which is why i knocked off 1 star. I would definitely say this is not an "Out of the box ready", user friendly type system. You will definitely need to set some time aside to set up everything. I would absolutely recommend using the Yamaha A/V Controller app, which I'm using on an iPad, and it makes it much easier to control. I will say that this is a perfect system for someone who has the knowledge of all the different types of Surround Sound Formats, or for a "secondary" surround sound system set up, again, because you would have the knowledge. however, don't be afraid to learn something about these technologies, because this receiver is a great way to have a nice home theater. I consider myself to be and "Advanced Amateur" Audiophile. I've been working with audio equipment for 20+ years. Just never dove full into it. I would gladly get a 2nd one of these if i needed it, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a decent surround sound receiver.

I love Yamaha receivers. They have a VAST array of settings to adjust, including a built in 7 band eq for each speaker as well as volume control for all speakers. The system also includes an automatic speaker set up system, which works pretty dang well. The system also includes a wonderful mode that increases dialog volume specifically for your center speaker, which has been a common issue in watching 5.1 and 7.1 movies late at night when people are sleeping. With newer blu ray movies, they aim to make the loud stuff LOUD and the quiet stuff quiet, which made dialog too low to hear clearly when listening at low volume. This system has several modes to balance that sound out for low volume enjoyment. Some of the low reviews for this product have said the system starts shutting off on its own and then eventually will not turn back on. If this happens to you, it is not because the system is malfunctioning. The system is sensitive to two things...Power surges and shorts in the wiring system. Either of these events will trigger the system to shut off. And if the problem persists, the system will enter a mode called protect mode, which will disable it from powering on or responding to commands. Correcting this issue is as simple as exiting protect mode by pushing and holding the tone button + the Power on button. So, if you buy this receiver, don't dog it for doing what is designed to protect your product. READ the manual so you are not using this product ignorantly. It is a complex system...but is delightful to anyone who is a stickler for great sound. They have added so many features to this receiver to try and make it adjustable for many different soundscapes and preferences. I highly recommend this system, but only if you are willing to invest time in reading the 150 page manual and know what the heck you are doing.

I am not a hobbyist. I have no great knowledge of or use for the vast features in this machine, so I won't be commenting on Dolby this or that, or what magic sound feats it can perform. I'll just say why I bought it and some of the features that are useful and even surprising. The reason I wanted to update my older (2000) 5/1 Harman receiver was to simplify. The old receiver lacked HDMI inputs for my half-dozen or so components including TV, resulting in miles of wires. The 6 inputs on the Yamaha should be more than enough for most purposes, although it's always possible to double up with switchers so I don't think the number of HDMI inputs in a receiver is such a big deal. With my old unit there was no easy way to coordinate the different systems without resorting to the half-dozen remotes or a universal remote that really didn't completely eliminate the need to occasionally hunt for the right remote. The Yamaha has more than satisfied these issues. Setup is a snap using the on-line auto configuration for speakers. The 5/1 surround sound is great, with enough filters to satisfy the most demanding listener; if anything, there are too many choices, most of which will likely never be used. Internet connection for internet radio in my case took mere seconds – a happy surprise. The on-screen menus completely eliminate the need to access any front-panel buttons on the unit -- ever. Everything is easily controlled with the remote. This remote is busy and takes a bit of learning, but its busyness means it can function like a universal. I am down to needing only two remotes: the Yamaha and the DirecTV. The "scene" feature is another surprise and terrific, and to me it would be the reason to buy this unit if others lacked it: it is a one-button control for any of the connected components -- radio, internet radio, Apple-TV, whatever -- turning them on with preset adjustments. The remote even accesses most of the features of the Blu-ray DVD player -- rewind, skip, fast forward, etc. The Yamaha app is another slick feature -- you can use your iPhone or an iPad instead of the remote, or use them as a second remote for someone watching/listening with you. I have only one negative comment to make which won't affect most people: I would have appreciated an internal on-off toggle for the speaker shutoff when you use the headphone jack, because sometimes I like headphones while others in the room want to listen via the speakers. I worked around the problem using zone 2, but it took some figuring out. If anyone is interested they can ask me for my solution and I'll respond. Yamaha customer service was helpful. I haven't scratched the surface of the capabilities of this amazing machine. It’s rather pricy compared to other household electronic gadgets. And I can't help but believe that receivers in general, along with gigantic floor loudspeakers, will go the way of the eight-track tape deck. As my son and his friends say, nobody buys receivers any more. Everything these days is wireless and consists of phones and mini-soundbars that sound fantastic and that you can carry in your pocket from dorm room to dorm room with ease. That being true, I still love my big speakers and heavy receiver. Fortunately I don't plan on changing dorm rooms any time soon.

The manual is a pdf file on a CD. Read that first. Once I got past the Japanese setup screens (the language is the icon with "ABC" on it), it was pretty simple. However, the sound was like an echo chamber on everything but stereo. Once I set up the WiFi, it downloaded a firmware update (it took 20 minutes) and all of that went away. The sound is superb and smooth across all the speakers in my 7.1 setup. Of all the possible sound settings, 7-channel stereo seems the best on everything but Blu-ray, where "Surround" allows for true 5.1 and 7.1 sound. That's to be expected since the source is typically stereo. The sound on movies like "Master and Commander" is startlingly accurate and realistic, and also for movies over WiFi, which likewise transmit 5.1. The remote is not a universal remote, although many of the functions for a CD or Blu-ray player can be handled with it. The TV button is not for the TV. I think it actually means "video out" and that's where some eccentricities show up. If you turn off the TV, it turns off the amp. That's normally a good thing; but not if you want to continue to listen to a CD and only had the TV on to change a setting. And if you turn on the amp first, and then turn on the TV, the TV will not play through the amp until you turn the amp off and back on. Cute. But I do have an older TV that requires me to use audio out (RCA plugs) linked to Audio1 on the amp. It's probably not a problem on newer TVs where the HDMI handles it. The amp produces the upper frequencies beautifully and cleanly, and the timber of the violins and cellos is exquisite. The bass is deep, rich, and smooth. I had an Onkyo which I thought handled those things really well until I heard this Yamaha. It noticeably outperforms it. I am VERY happy with it. 11/15 - I resolved the TV vs. amp issues (sound, power off). On the amp, choose setup, HDMI, and turn off HDMI control. Then they operate independently of each other, and the amp sound will auto-adjust to whatever the input is.

This unit is OK. It has a jillion features, many I'll never use. I could list all the features I use that work as expected but, you're interested in surpises not detailed in the manufacturer's specs. This unit is designed to link video equipment and output their associated audio. It's not designed for serious or even dedicated music listening. The unit offers a number of pre-configured sound-modifying selections, each adding fixed amounts of reverb along with slight fixed tonal adjustments to enhance your movie viewing or gaming experience. When you play music, if you're happy with whatever sound comes out, you'll be satisfied with this model. But if you're the type that tweaks controls to get the best sound out of each recording, then you might be in for disappointment. I was very surprised to discover (especially from a company known for music) to find only bass, treble and sub-woofer tonal adjustments. The controls offer only (+-)6 db of adjustment and are accessible only through menus. My old, free Winamp app included a 10 channel equalizer with (+-)12 db adjustment, with choice of visualizers to boot. Yamaha devoted a lot of hardware and firmware to decoders, special spatial effects and multi-room networking but left out the most important audio adjustments. As advertised, this unit does have internet radio capability. But you cannot listen to a streaming source by entering its url. You can listen only to stations offered through vTuner.com. And the manual adds, "This service may be discontinued without notice." The list of available stations are poorly organized, a pain to browse and some have location restrictions. If Yamaha discontinues its arrangement with vTuner.com, will they provide a firmware update to allow direct entry of url's?

This RX-V681BL is the 3rd Yamaha receiver I have owned. Upon arrival and setup I was more than pleased with the sound quality and like my other models, love the sound setup via the included microphone. We have a 5.1 surrround setup and the sound in movies was exceptional. The internet radio worked very well for us. Unfortunately after 5 months of use, this one went into "safety mode" and would not power up. My assumption was that with it being so new, that Yamaha would send me a refurbished unit and I would send this one back, the process used by many manufacturers with excellent quality customer service . This is far from the method Yamaha uses. Upon contacting them, they said to drive it into a local authorized repair shop, which upon checking there were none within 125 miles of my home. So I was told that I would shortly get an emailed prepaid mailing label. This was on Friday morning. The label finall arrived via email the next Tuesday. Since it was not a UPS pickup label I had to drive it 25 miles to a UPS store which would accept large parcels. That was now 5 weeks ago and the receiver is still at the authorized repair shop as they have had to order parts twice for it. I have tried to talk with anyone in a responsible position at Yamaha and apparently the only way that can be accomplished is writing a letter to their corporate office. It is very disappointing to see a company that I saw as a quality producing organization have such dismal customer support.

We recently moved into a new house that has a dedicated theater room but the equipment left by the previous owner was...to put it nicely...old. The projector didn't have HDMI and the receiver was as much of a dinosaur in weight as in age. We decided if we were going to buy a house with a theater, we needed to do it right. While I'm not new to A/V I am new to dedicated home theater equipment, so I immediately called around to a few local professionals who design and install this stuff for people to find out what kind of equipment they work with and recommend and this receiver was at the very top of the list for really good equipment on a budget. We took the "budget" part even further and bought this in new/used condition from a great Amazon seller and it arrived packaged, looking and behaving like brand new! Installation and set up was a breeze and within 30 minutes of opening the box, I was playing music from my phone through the speakers in the theater via bluetooth, watching TV from my Xfinity box, movies streamed via Plex to my Roku Ultra and played on my blueray DVD player and the receiver juggled it all like a champ! We currently have older but still very good Polk audio wall mounted speakers and the sound is just incredible! In case you're wondering, we paired this with a new/refurbished Epson 3000 home cinema HD 3D projector and are beside ourselves with how amazing the experience is! These two play very well together. My only complaint is that the remote has to be pointed right at the receiver, which is a pain if you're sitting on the front row of our theater seats and have to crane your arm up and backward to the back corner of the room where all the equipment is housed, but we plan to integrate to a single remote that doesn't rely on directional IR so that won't be a problem for long. All in all I am really pleased with this receiver for the price and while it has way more features than we will probably ever use, it does exactly what we want it to do, and very quickly and very well and we couldn't be happier! I HIGHLY recommend this receiver for use in a home theater setup! For the record I did not receive this for free or at a discount. Hope this helps!

Funciona excelente. Me llegó antes de lo acordado. Bien empacado y todo nuevo.

Buen equipo, justo lo que estaba buscando. La tecnología de music cast , buena idea. Y controlar el equipo desde la app muy cómodo