Yamaha Direct - RX-V385 5.1-channel AV receiver - Refurbished Free Shipping 269.95

Had the 383 for a few years. That was a solid unit, no issues at all and ran 4 ohm speakers without issue.

This is probably the best entry level AVR on the market. At $270, it should be a no brainer.

I like Yamaha products. Not the most user friendly but the hardware quality is good. Had a R-S700 for years.

Any experiences with the bluetooth phone pairing? I’m currently using a chromecast audio but would not mind a simpler setup.

AstonM wrote: ↑ Had the 383 for a few years. That was a solid unit, no issues at all and ran 4 ohm speakers without issue.

That sounds hard to believe. Perhaps at low volumes it might be doable. Which speakers?

I have this one non refurb. Costco had it for $299.99 for months. No big issues so far other than earc with Sony TVs (xbr900h) is glitchy and useless.

Kijiji is also lousy with used AVRs under $200.

SizzleChest wrote: ↑ That sounds hard to believe. Perhaps at low volumes it might be doable. Which speakers?

Nope, 0 issue - Elac UniFi all around, hard to drive speaker that will drop to 3.4ohms. volume for movies is usually -18db and can be heard in every room of the house and sitting 14 feet from the LCR. Most peoples comments on power are completely overblown, even at just 25w of power per channel for 5.1 you're looking at 92db, which is very loud
UF5 Slim x2
UC5 x1
UB5 x 2

kronos288 wrote: ↑ I have this one non refurb. Costco had it for $299.99 for months. No big issues so far other than earc with Sony TVs (xbr900h) is glitchy and useless.

I have that TV, does that mean I should pass on this?

jslabonte wrote: ↑ Any experiences with the bluetooth phone pairing? I’m currently using a chromecast audio but would not mind a simpler setup.

I don’t have experience with this specific receiver, but the Chromecast Audio will have superior sound quality over Bluetooth. Also, the distance your source player can be from your receiver is only limited by your wired/wireless network, so in most cases substantially better range than Bluetooth.

AstonM wrote: ↑ Nope, 0 issue - Elac UniFi all around, hard to drive speaker that will drop to 3.4ohms. volume for movies is usually -18db and can be heard in every room of the house and sitting 14 feet from the LCR. Most peoples comments on power are completely overblown, even at just 25w of power per channel for 5.1 you're looking at 92db, which is very loud
UF5 Slim x2
UC5 x1
UB5 x 2

Well, I certainly can't argue with your experience, but a 16lb $300 AVR driving five 4-ohm speakers just sounds like to me like pulling a semi trailer with a pickup truck. Have you tried a more substantial amplifier? I'd expect there to be a significant improvement.

fudge_u wrote: ↑ This is probably the best entry level AVR on the market. At $270, it should be a no brainer.

Yeah ..was originally going to go with the Denon AVR-S540BT at gibbys for 279.00 , but they wanted extra for shipping so went with the Yamaha

Still rockin my refurbished rxv375 from 15 years ago. Solid unit.

jblade44 wrote: ↑ Yeah ..was originally going to go with the Denon AVR-S540BT at gibbys for 279.00 , but they wanted extra for shipping so went with the Yamaha

That Denon isn't very good, and the version of Audyssey that comes with it isn't great either.

SizzleChest wrote: ↑ Well, I certainly can't argue with your experience, but a 16lb $300 AVR driving five 4-ohm speakers just sounds like to me like pulling a semi trailer with a pickup truck. Have you tried a more substantial amplifier? I'd expect there to be a significant improvement.

Used the UF5 with both a vintage 25wx2 tube amp and a Sonos amp (new version, 250w at 4ohm) and while there was maybe a minor difference nobody there could consistently pick out which was which (tidal masters as source material).

I ended up moving to a Onkyo 595 this year for 7.1, and it seems to be louder but at the same time I am driving 7 channels instead of 5 and didn’t do any real comparison.

Personally I think there is a very quick plateau in audio, where any substantial difference will start costing $1000s and I don’t think it’s worth it. My original point is that you should be fine driving almost any speaker with this setup and not have to worry but obviously to each their own!

Does this have zone 2 capabilities?
How about A/B . All I'm looking for is avr for my pair ceiling speakers in my living room and a pair of deck speakers

bleysX wrote: ↑ I have that TV, does that mean I should pass on this?

Personally for me its not a deal breaker given the cost of the receiver. You'll have to look up arc vs earc but...in any case if you use an optical cable for audio it's a moot point. Maybe in the future Yamaha or Sony will provide a firmware fix.

You can get this new from Visions for $280 any day of the week. Just need to find the right associate.

bg8055 wrote: ↑ You can get this new from Visions for $280 any day of the week. Just need to find the right associate.

Care to elaborate?