How good Is Yamaha RX-V3300? It's $599 now! (1 Viewer)

[Greg Thomas]

Cabreau,

I've already got a HK 325 and it has every feature of your 330 plus a larger power supply and it comes in black. I'm confused if the 330 was supposed to be a replacement for the 325. It doesn't seem better to me.

Everyone else,
You guys are right about the Yammy bashing. Since this is a former near top of a line receiver and I hadn't heard a Yamaha since the RX-V595a, I was wondering if the characteristics of the "yamaha sound" had changed. I was looking for more reviews of the RX-V3300, not all the bashing of the brand. It sounds like a great deal to me. I'm actually recommending it to a friend. But from the other comments, I guess Athena and Klipsch would not be recommended?

What would be considered warm speakers? I know I need to listen for myself but what brands should I start with? Would Energy be one of them?

 

[James W. Johnson]

You better hurry because they wont be around long at $599. Yamaha must have had alot of these because the Good Guys has been selling them at a discount for quite a long time, they were $999 periodically over the last several months.

Plus I have seen them on Ebay and Ecost for around $750 for several months...I think Yamaha mismarketed this poor guy or its just in no mans land...too much for the $1000 spenders and too cheap for the big spenders.

Even at $999 there is pretty much nothing that can touch it besides a 7200...

I wonder how many the Good Guys has available at this price?, you can ask in one store and they can look up the entire chain's stock. Usually when something is clearanced this low they have very few..I have seen 10 units available storewide for a clearance item before the add even came out!
They will get snatched up fast.

I paid $999 for my RX-V3300 from the Good Guys and 32 days after I bought it I happend to see a $799 sale price on it...I got back $216. So I paid $799 + tx and I am happier than could be. I hope some of you guys looking for a reciever jump on this smoking deal!

 

[Evan M.]

LOL!! Well said cabreau....and with 600 fewer words than me!!!!!

 

[RobCar]

$599?????? Where can I get one? I live in Colorado. I'd pull the trigger this instant if someone could point me in the right direction ...

 

[NickSP]

Rob, you can buy it at a store called "The Good Guys". They are in the states of WA,OR,NV and CA. You might want to call them and see if they can ship it out. http://corporateinfo.goodguys.com/stores.html

 

[RobCar]

Will give them a ring today. Thanks!

 

[Mike Veroukis]

I can't comment for the higher end lines, but the mainstream lines...hands on experience has spoken...

So then why are you commenting on this thread?!?

I really don't get this. A guy tries out a low-end Yamaha receiver and suddenly becomes an authority on their entire product line! Another guy remembers reading somewhere that Yammies are bright, so of course the 3300 is bright too. I see this all the time, and and it's just silly. It would be no more sillier then if I were to go around reminding everyone that HK receivers aren't built as well as Yammies because HK had some QC problems a few years back. Lucky for everyone here, I'm not that silly!

And as for the power rating vs the power consumtion rating, two words: capacitors and distortion. Capacistors store un-used power and release it when it's neaded. Unlike those useless benchmarks tests, music doesn't demand a constant full supply of juice from the power transformer. When it's not demanding full stream, the capacitors pick up what's left over. When more power is needed then the transformer can provide, the capacitors supply the extra juice. They're not just there to look cool you know. And as for distortion, well, I think we all know that the power rating goes up with the allowed distortion. No one measures the power with 0% distortion, it's always some arbitrary value greater then 0%. So it's understandable that a receiver can be measured to output more power then it consumes because it's measured with a certain tolerance for distortion.

And now, back to the question at hand... Is the 3300 a good receiver? Yes. Is it bright? As someone who HAS listened to it, I would say it's one of the most natural and musical sounding Yammies out there (although I can't compare it to the 2400 as I haven't listened to that one). I would say it's biggest draw back would be lack of adjustable bass cross-over point (I think it's stuck at 80Hz), but if you're okay with that, then it's a great deal. Oh yeah, it also lacks the YPAO (Yamaha Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer), which is a fancy way of saying it will automatically calibrate itself, and also lacks the THX Select processing - both found in the RX-V2400 (and possibly the 1400, can't remember). But aside from those, I can't think of anything else at that price range that would beat it.

- Mike

 

[Mike Veroukis]

Just as an aside, about this bright vs warm issue, a very close friend of mine (who is also my cousin) owns an RX-V995 and uses it to drive Paradigm Studio 100s, v2. Everything I've read here on HTF tells me that this should be a painfully bright experience that would make me want to constantly lower the volume, or even flee the premises. The truth is, it sounds amazing! I've watched many movies there and have listened to multi-channel audio tracks and have always been blown away by it's clarity and musical warmth. But here's the real shocker: he sets the treble to +3 or +4. Although I tend to prefer a flat response (and I've told him this a few times now), I have to admit it doesn't sound bad, and certainly not painful even with a boosted top-end. Now, of course, I keep telling him that he just happens to have a warm room that mysteriously smooths out the sound (it's a big room with lots of carpet and soft things all around), but still, it just goes to show that there are many factors involved in what makes for the final result; the sound in your ear.

- Mike

 

[Joe Thompson]

One thing you might consider is that the crossover setting is fixed at 80hz I believe....I purchased the 3300 at good guys & took it back because of this....if you have full range front speakers or larger speakers with a sub this might hinder you....I liked the sound...it had plenty of power but I didnt like the crossover setting. So I bought a Denon 4802....no real difference in power with the yamaha 3300 but it has a variable crossover that I set to 40hz for my fronts....it also sounds a bit warmer to me but all in all I would have kept the 3300 except for the crossover & I paid 999 for it!!

Joe

 

[Levesque]

I had a 3200 for a couple of months before going separate. before that, I had a Yamaha HTR-5150.

Yamaha is not bright anymore. I was using my 3200 with Paradigm Studio-100 and it was not brighter then my Anthem AVM20 and Rotel RMB-1095 combo.

The older Yamaha were ''brighter'', but not anymore.It's a myth.

For the price the original poster was stating, it would be a no brainer for me. A real bargain at that price for a 3300.

 

[Evan M.]

VERY WELL SAID MIKE V. I alway have liked your posts on Yamaha. Soooo many people take what they hear from forums and don't bother listening to the product. To me that is so completely wrong. Listen to what people say about the product if they actually HEARD that exact product. Not the people who heard about the product by surfing around here or heard a model 5 steps up or down from it. The number one thing you have to do is go listen to it. Let your ears be the judge. Not some guy who praises his purchase and wants the rest of the world to buy only that.

 

[Tim K]

There was mention of the HK AVR325 earlier....just thought I'd point out that onecall.com is clearing these out at $441.

 

[Mike Up]

I've had the Yamaha RX-V793, RX-V995, and still own the RX-V2095.

I currently am using a Denon AVR-3803 in my living room and the RX-V2095 is doing bedroom duties.

I also auditioned a Yamaha RX-V2300 in my home. I can say from my experiences the Denon was the best but the Yamahas weren't bright, just harsh.

Both the RX-V2095 and the RX-V2300 'cloned' each other's sound characteristic. They were essentially the same. The Denon's was far different.

The Yamahas got harsher/distorted at very loud volumes. The sound became strained with bass weakening and treble compressing and becoming shouty. Also, the sound-stage collapsed into a very narrow center image.This was only at loud levels over 40% of volume, very near half way mark. The Denon by comparison didn't become harsher. In fact it's sonic character didn't change all the way up to 70% volume control where my ears could take no more loudness. The Denon obviously providing a much more natural and less fatiguing sound to my ears.

Also at normal listening levels, the Denon had a wider sound-stage, more discrete imaging, and a more airy/dynamic treble which revealed more natural sound.

The Yamahas while not having a bad sound at all, were just not as good as the Denon.

Now I didn't hear what I define brightness as, which is an increase in the treble output. I feel others may be hearing the narrow sound-stage, less focused imaging, more compressed treble, and the amplifier strain associated at very loud levels. Perhaps they're labeling this as bright because when all this adds up, it's a definite thin and shouty sound that could be labeled bright for less than a better name.

I'm very happy with my Yamaha RX-V2095, it just has limitations and those limitations never were left out in the newer RX-V2300 that I auditioned.

With HK, I think any good receiver will sound bright compared to HK because I've always found HK receivers to have a compressed, rolled-off, and colored(read warm) sound characteristic. They just never impressed me with a natural sounding characterist as did Yamaha and especially Denon. While I know many like HK's sound, I do not find their sonic character desirable in the least. I personally feel that HK is trying to keep their sonic character similar to the tube amps of yesteryear, that they used to produce.

Have a good one.

 

[RobCar]

Wow. A little biased, no?

 

[Mike Up]

Wow. A little biased, no?

Absolutely not. I only stated what I actually heard. I had family members over also, and they made the same comments.

 

[RobCar]

Whatever.

The tread's about the 3300. I missed out on that $599 deal. Anyone else know where I can get one for that price?

 

[Chuck Schilling]

$599? I don't know anywhere you can get it at that price, but last week eCost had one in their inventory for $729. I don't think the shipping was free, though.

 

[LinhNT]

It was on sale at Good Guys. I think they marked it back up to 899.

 

[Greg Thomas]

It was on sale at Good Guys. I think they marked it back up to 899

That's weird because it was supposed to be a closeout. Last weeks ad said while supplies last or something like that. I bet there's probably negotiating room if they marked it back up.

 

[MuneebM]

Joe,

One thing you might consider is that the crossover setting is fixed at 80hz I believe....I purchased the 3300 at good guys & took it back because of this

Is this still the case with the RX-V1400 and/or RX-V2400 receivers? This would be a major concern to me as I am buying very large front speakers: JBL S310II floorstanding 10" beasts. I am really considering getting the V2400 or Denon 3803...