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Yamaha always makes great sounding receivers, IMO. Always seem natural and detailed. This is my second 7.2 from them (my 1st one blew out due to perhaps a speaker wire crossing during a furniture move?), and although I bought it used, it works and sounds great. It appears to decode all of the newer HD audio codecs in Blu-rays, although sometimes it is finicky (and have to go deep into the settings to play all 7.2 speakers, it tends to want to shut the rears off depending on the source). Since this model is a few years old, I imagine newer ones come with more 4K capabilities, but since I don't own a 4K player yet, this works well enough for me. I set these up with a JBL E series voice-matching speakers at first and then a Polk Audio ES series voice-matching speakers and both sounded great (although the JBLs did sound a little louder, especially a more punchier bass, which is kind of what they're known for). It has many "effect" settings, but I find most of them too echoey (like too much reverb to simulate Dance halls or cellars or clubs... not my thing at all, especially for clarity, they are WAY overkill on it). I tend to stay with the basic ones: Either Stereo or Stereo 7 channel Enhancer for 2.0 sources, and either "Straight" for movies with 6 or 7 channel soundtracks or or 5.1 w/ DD ES expansion to activate the extra rears that shut off on just 5.1 soundtracks (as noted above, they turn on for 7 channel soundtracks found on some Blu-rays). Again, great, natural sounding receiver that can decode most 5-7 channel movie soundtracks or play 2 channel music sources.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
When you condsider the quality and quantity of features this receiver has for its truly modest price, it is a really great buy. The set-up was reasonably easy for a machine that can do so many different things. That being said, moderate level technical skills and an understandng of how multi-channel systems operate will come in very handy. If you are replacing a 20-year old 2-channel stereo receiver, you may need a teenager to help you get going. I was replacing a rather expensive 10-year old 5.1 receiver and was amazed at how much more advanced and competent the Yamaha is. If I had known how great an improvement the Yamaha would be in terms of the sophistication of the decoder soundfields, and the flexibility in installing and labeling a large number of a/v devices, I would have made this change months ago. One seemingly small thing I particularly enjoy is that I have a cable box and blu-ray player with HDMI connections to the Yamaha, a VHS player with an S-video connection, and a CD player with a video menu display with a yellow RCA plug connection. And all these different signals are translated and output as HDMI into one input on my TV. As a consequence I never need to worry about or mess with the input settings on the TV. I only have one complaint. The remote control will not and cannot operate any cable TV box. I have contacted Yamaha about this and they have confirmed that the remote was never designed to control cable TV boxes even though the owner's manual says it will. You have to upgrade to the Yamaha RXV683 to get a remote that will operate a cable TV box. The solution is to but a quality universal remote like the Logitech Harmony ONE. But that's a $175 solution, even on Ebay. Other than the remote, I don't think you will ever regret buying the RXV663. It seems to have been designed well enough that it will adapt to technological changes which come along for at least the next ten years, while being able to handle all existing equipment, new and old.Read full review
I recently upgraded my 17 year old JVC receiver that I loved to the Yamaha RX-V663. Although I am not an expert on A/V equipment in any way, I do know when something sounds good and this system has superior sound. This receiver allows you to use multiple input source types (i.e. composite, component, S-video, HDMI, etc) and have any of those signal types upcoonverted to HDMI which allows you to just use one cable to connect from your AVR to your television. This was one of the biggest reasons that I went with the 663 version of this unit. I bought last year's RX-V461 and used it for a week before I returned it to buy this one. The 461 requires you to use the same output type as the input. The problem with this is that if you have 3 different input types - say composite, component, and S-video - then you need to run each of those types of cables to your TV and then you have to switch your TV input to the corresponding source when you change the source on the receiver. The 663 eliminates the need for this. There are a whole lot of high-end codecs that this unit can handle, but since I don't know a whole lot about that, I will leave that detail to another reviewer or you can go to Yamaha's website to get their specs. One of the pitfalls of this system is the remote. My prior system had a LEARNING remote. The remote that comes with the 663 will allow you to plug in codes from other components that you have, but the list this year (663 vs last years 661) is significantly smaller. This was not much of an issue anyway since I went out to buy a new learning remote to handle all of my needs - I bought the X10 ICON Remote - see my review on that if you are interested. Many people use one of the many Logitech Harmony remotes and have been happy with them. Overall, this is an excellent receiver with plenty of power for most people. The sound is incredibly crisp and clear and the price is very fair. There are many connections in the back for connecting just about all of your devices and enough speaker connections to get the 7 channels in the main room as well as 2 more channels for another room. That reminds me of the only other downfall that I can think of. My old JVC had a tape 2 out that sent a line level signal out of it (the same signal that would come out of the speakers). I used this to connect a set of Recoton wireless headphones. Although there is a similar connection on the 663, unfortunately, if only works on some of the audio devices that are connected. I think it has something to do with what is going through the HDMI cable, but I am not sure. I could just plug this into the headphone jack, but I wanted something that was always connected. I hope this helps. Enjoy! JimRead full review
The Yamaha RX V663 is an excellent 7.2 channel receiver. It not only offers the usual multichannel decoders, but also has Yamaha's excellent DSP functionality. I have owned a Yamaha DSP unit for almost 20 years and when I decided to buy a new home theater receiver and integrate my video and audio systems into a single room, I had to have the DSP features for audio listening that I have had for all those years. Another primary requirement was for preamplifier outputs as I already had 8 external channels of THX certified amplification. The Yamaha unit provides extreme flexibility in configuring the inputs and outputs allowing me to easily mix internal and external amplifiers. Of course since this unit is last year's model and it is B stock, the price was extremely attractive. It arrived in perfect condition with all the accessories and documents properly packaged in the Yamaha box.Read full review
I bought this to replace an aging RX-V595A. A good older surround receiver, but lacking modern decoding capabilities like DTS-HD MA and DolbyHD. Lack of HDMI capability was also a hindrance with newer games consoles and Blu-Ray players starting to steer away from Optical audio. Optical and Coax are still well-supported, with all Blu-Rays having an optical-friendly Dolby Digital or DTS track on them, but they are no longer the best audio solution for home theater. The older receiver was also lower-powered, and my speakers love lots of power. It only made sense to move a few steps up in the Yamaha line. The improvements in sound quality and power capability are instantly apparent. I'm not a true audiophile, but I am in the beginning stages, haha. Everything run with 14ga wire and gold-plated banana plugs for convenience. The 95wpc rating is high enough to run my speakers pretty well, but the fronts really like the Bi-Amping feature and benefit a lot from it. The receiver has plenty of power, enough features, and sounds excellent. I have all of the digital audio/video inputs full. The deinterlacing works fairly well and the multi-passthrough to HDMI is great. I have my HTPC/Gaming machine hooked up to this receiver through analog 3.5- RCA and it works great as a basic multi-channel amp in Pure Direct mode. Very low noise and good sound. Have always liked Yamaha hardware and this is another fine example of what they do best. Shortage of HDMI inputs is a potential issue, but not for me. This receiver is a bit lacking in features vs its competition, but makes up for it in sheer capability and quality for the price. Overall it blows my old receiver out of the water, and delivers excellent sound and image quality for the anyone looking for an all-in-one solution. Yamaha's above average build quality means it delivers above average results. Good intro for the budding audiophile, and a solid core to any mid range home theater system. Stays relatively cool when playing movies, but when playing 5ch stereo with the front speakers bi-amped, it gets pretty hot. Put this in the open where it can get plenty of airflow if you intend to blast music through it with power hungry speakers. The price I got this for in used condition was insane by the way. An absolute steal.Read full review
Verified purchase: No
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