Yamaha RX V463BL 525 Watt 5 1 Channel Home Theater Receiver
The RX-V463BL 5.1-Channel Digital Home Theater Receiver offers an impressive array of features and technologies to enhance the audio/video experience, including HDMI switching with 1080p video pass-through, iPod and Bluetooth audio compatibility, CINEMA DSP, Compressed Music Enhancer, and four SCENE buttons. Four SCENE buttons make operating the receiver easier than ever. Two volume-setting functions are included on this receiver for additional convenience. Initial Volume Setting allows you to set the volume level that will be heard each time the power is turned on. Maximum Volume Setting prevents unexpected loud sounds. You have a choice of eight unique CINEMA DSP surround programs to bring out the full audio potential of your entertainment sources. The RX-V463BL receiver is capable of delivering large amounts of reserve power for accurate reproduction of high-energy peaks that are especially prevalent in digital audio sources. Bluetooth A2DP compatibility with optional YBA-10 Wireless Audio Receiver Front panel mini jack for connecting portable audio player On-screen display with iPod song title display 5-channel 525W powerful surround sound (105W x 5) Direct mode for high quality sound reproduction Burr-Brown 192kHz/24-bit DACs used in all channels 1080p-compatible HDMI switching (2 inputs, 1 output) including 1080p/24Hz repeat Cinema DSP with 8 DSP programs Compressed Music Enhancer to improve compressed music sources Night Listening Enhancer (Cinema/Music) and SILENT CINEMA 40-station preset tuning / Auto preset tuning HD Audio LPCM 5.1-channel reception (up to 96kHz) Audio Delay for adjusting lip-sync (0-160ms) 9 selectable subwoofer crossover frequencies Subwoofer phase select Front panel video auxiliary input with mini jack Subwoofer out 6-channel external input Speaker A or B selection Preset remote unit Frequency Response – 10Hz-100kHz Signal to Noise Ratio – 10
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Excellent Unit
This thing does everything you expect it to. As a newby to the home theatre world, I took alot of time to figure out which one I wanted. This was it. I am not disappointed. You will not be either. Enjoy, my friends.
5 Stars Good product for the price
I bought this one to replace for my prior-purchased Sony’s theater receiver which had an intermitten problem. So far, this Yamaha receiver works very well and meets all of my expectations such as sound quality, easy setup… This unit is substantially cheap comparing to the other receivers with the same functions in the current market. I highly recommend this device to verybody.
5 Stars The end of my Broken Road
I purchased this receiver after I finally broke down and bought an HD TV (Samsung 46 inch), because my old 26 inch TV set died. I also bought this receiver because my previous Yamaha, an ACV-50 purchased twenty years ago when I first got into AV, stopped adjusting volume via the remote. Entropy catches up with everything sooner or later. The problem was with the remote sensor on the receiver, and a trip to the shop to do any repair would have been almost as much as the price of a new receiver. The AVC-50 still sounds great, and works fine but it was time for my son to inherit the AVC-50 and for me to buy an HDMI capable unit. Both my son and I are very happy with this new purchase.
It has been a broken road that led me to where I knew I should have been in the first place, that is to say, with another Yamaha AV receiver. I first purchased a Denon 1909 ($600) because I wanted upscaling for my collection of Laser Discs, which would otherwise be obsolete (425 lines look BAD to my eye on a 46 inch screen). I purchased the first Denon from DAK who said it was “in stock”. Two weeks later, it hadn’t shipped, and DAK issued a refund, after I called to complain. I then tried again with an Amazon vendor (much better idea). That unit arrived the NEXT DAY after I purchased it, GREAT service.
Unfortunately, the upscaler simply did not work. I expect an upscaler to interpolate between lines of resolution in lower resolution sources, and improve the input lines of resolution to a higher quality video output signal. For instance, I expected it to convert 425 lines from the Laser Disc to 720 or 1880 p or i. There was no difference in the video resolution whether the scaler was on or off. I don’t know if the unit was defective, or whether “upscaling” to Denon means something else. For more detail, if you are interested in upscaling, see my review of the Altona.
The Denon manual, as I was warned by Amazon reviews, was HORRIBLE, as was the remote that had buttons on both sides (buttons on the back side are under a cover). I sent the Denon back, the Amazon vendor was great and refunded the price and sent a return shipping label.
I decided to go with a stand alone upscaler, the Atlona Video and S-Video + Audio to HDMI Converter Scaler up to 1080p, also purchased from Amazon. This unit does improve the output quality of my Laser Discs, but it won’t turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse. I will review this unit separately. I figured I could return the upscaler if it didn’t work (it does work), and that perhaps in the future I could upgrade it if upscalers improve over time.
In the interim, I had been researching Yamahas on Amazon and had chosen this one. I was not concerned that the HDMI audio was not decoded, I could run analog cables or digital optical. I was pleasantly surprised to find this unit DOES decode and switch HDMI audio.
Compared to the Denon, the Yamaha manual is much better. It isn’t perfect, a menu map would be great for any AV receiver, but the manual is still quite usable. I have needed to call Yamaha support a couple of times and their support is THE BEST I HAVE ENCOUNTERED IN YEARS. No huge hold times, and the support people are actually excited about the product and very helpful. On my first call, the tech volunteered how to get true 5 channel out of my Blu Ray player (I didn’t even ask, and didn’t realize I wasn’t getting 5.1 until he showed me how to check it). I called today for help setting up “scenes” and found out that user error was the problem as it so often is. You can choose the scene name, the input, the sound field, and the night version, on each scene.
I now have the unit set up exactly as I want it, and from the remote I can choose scenes for Blu Ray viewing, Laser Disc viewing (you can name the scenes any name you choose), TV viewing, and iTunes listening, and all stored parameters are in place. I purchased the optional Yamaha blue tooth dock and now stream all my music to the receiver out of iTunes on my Mac, VERY cool. I won’t even bother connecting a CD player, all my music is on iTunes, and this receiver has an enhancer mode for MP3 music (yes iTunes fans, AAC is still MP3).
One reviewer stated this unit introduced noise in the HDMI. Not so with mine. The picture is perfect with no detectable difference between straight connection to my TV and running the HDMI through the Yamaha.
And the tuner, which is icing on the cake for me as my previous AVC-50 was an amp and switcher only, works FAR better than the Denon. I live in a suburban area, but behind a ridge that blocks TV and radio signals pretty effectively. The Denon, using the included antenna, scanned and found about a half dozen stations, most were unlistenable. The Yamaha, with the included antenna, brought in dozens of listenable stations.
I don’t think I could be more pleased with this Yamaha receiver. The sound is great (of course, it’s a Yamaha), and the feature set is astounding at this price. Compared to the 20 year old unit which cost twice as much twenty years ago, not even adjusting for inflation, the feature set is astonishing. I guess I just wasted time on the other receiver, or perhaps that’s the point to the song: you don’t really appreciate where you end up unless you travel a broken road getting there. Take the easy road, by a Yamaha.
4 Stars Yamaha 463 – Very good receiver for the price.
Others have given the highlights for this receiver already – I’ll just touch on a few items that I’ve noted over the month I’ve owned this receiver.
- The 463 can extract audio from the HDMI inputs, unlike the lower model 363. However, this receiver is not quite future-proof as it will not decode the newest Dolby TrueHD soundtracks on Blu-ray discs. I’ve decided this is not a deal breaker for my setup (Dolby Digital still sounds awfully good), but if Dolby TrueHD is a requirement for you then consider stepping up to the 663 model (or check out the new 2009 models just starting to come out).
- Also note that there is no upconversion in this model, do any video input on the video/component inputs will have to be fed to the TV through the video or component outputs. Not a big deal, just perhaps a few extra wires to run to the TV.
- I wish I had one extra digital input (optical or coax) for my Roku movie player, but again this would require stepping up to a much more expensive receiver.
- All new 2009 Yamaha receivers from the 465 on up have 4 HDMI inputs, vs. only two for the 463. This is a no-op for me as I run my video outputs directly to my Sony TV, but you may want to wait for the new models if you plan to use those inputs. Note that most of the 2009 models also have 4 digital inputs – but lose a component input vs. the 2008 models and have changed their status screen from amber to blue. (I prefer the amber.)
- I like how configurable the 463 is – the available digital audio inputs can be switched around to support any component, and all of the inputs can be renamed (for example I renamed “MD/CD-R” to “iPod” for my iPod dock). The negative of this is that setting up this receiver is fairly complicated – it took me a bit to figure out exactly how to switch the digital audio inputs around.
- Don’t forget to go into the special settings to set your receiver impedance to 6 ohms if necessary.
Overall I’m happy with my purchase. There are a few missing features I might have liked, but at this price point the 463 is still a bargain.
4 Stars Great receiver for the price
I’ve had my unit for a couple of weeks and have been very happy with it. The sound is far above my old Sony, which was several years old, but cost almost twice what the Yamaha did. The automatic set-up is awesome and really tweaked the system well for my room. I was surprised that there were no electrical outlets on the back of the unit for other components. I had plugged my subwoofer into my last receiver so it powered down when the receiver did. The menus and how the manual and displays refer to sound and technical details can be baffling even to the most tech savvy, so that is something of which to be wary. All in all, though, I would suggest this receiver if it’s in your price range and you don’t need to do a bunch of hdmi switching!
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