In the early days of HTIB, I was generally unimpressed with the quality (or lack thereof) of packages on the market—there was more demand than there was competition, so consumers generally accepted whatever came in the box. Speakers tended to be the worst of the components, followed closely by the receiver and DVD player.
Today that noise has changed, as consumers are placing more of a demand on manufacturers and competition for their dollar. One look at the feature-set and host of quality components in the Yamaha YHT-670 and you’ll soon realize the results of this demand.
First up, the YHT-670 is anchored by a real A/V receiver—Yamaha 5950. The 5950 is not only powerful (110-watts x 6 channels), but also offers iPod compatibility through the addition of the optional YDS-10 dock and is XM Ready with the addition of the XM Mini-tuner package. The YDS-10 dock also allows you to view the video library through your home theater system.
I’ll save the “walk-thru” of the entire list of features for the spec box at the end of the review so that we can get down to details on the actual performance. In short, let’s just say that the HTR-5950 is loaded and a welcome surprise to a HTIB system.
Moving right along we get to the DV-C6860 5-Disc DVD changer. Here again, a full-featured component completely “loaded” with features like progressive scan and multimedia compatibility, including recorded CDs and DVDs, MP3 and WMA CDs, and even JPEG playback from CDs.
Lastly, we have the speaker package included with the YHT-670. Effectively a mini sub/satellite speaker system, the five satellites include a dedicated center-channel speaker and the subwoofer is a compact eight inches.
After unpacking the A/V receiver and the 5-disc DVD changer, I was somewhat disappointed with the size and feel of the speaker package. However, with the aforementioned components in-hand, it’s easy to forget that this is a $599 (street price) HTIB.
Setup and installation will be a snap for first-timers using the detailed pictures and instructions provided with the 670 HTIB. Kudos to Yamaha for the careful detail that went into this up-front customer service.
The package includes enough speaker wire for a modest size room and A/V RCA cable to allow connectivity of the DVD player to the receiver. That said, I feel that Yamaha should have at least included another basic RCA pair as those purchasing or receiving this unit will likely be disappointed when they realize they can’t connect it to their TV without a trip to the store.
I connected the unit to my Fujitsu plasma using Monster THX component video cables to allow for switching and was ready to rock within minutes.
Right away I noted that the sound quality from the Yamaha speakers was a radical departure from my RBH ensemble. This took some getting used to and after living with the system for a week, I found the Yamaha speakers to be rather pronounced on the top end, flat in the mid-range and the bass to be lacking the extra “umph.” I like the first pair of attributes, as it provided clear dialogue for music and movies and understand that my 600 square foot living room with vaulted ceilings is two or three times larger than the volume Yamaha intended for this system.
Between XM Radio, iPod and the 5 Disc DVD changer, the Yamaha YHT-670 proves to be a modern day jukebox. Here, the power of the amplifier combined with the matched speaker ensemble resulted in awesome musical performance which had increased depth at higher volume levels. Loading the subwoofer in the corner strengthened the bass, balancing the bottom end with the dynamic top end.
The feature set, ease of operation and picture quality of the DVD changer was equally outstanding. The colors were rich and processing of complex scenes remarkable.
With a street price of $599 the Yamaha YHT-670 is impossible to beat and offers users the flexibility of upgrading to a larger or higher-quality speaker system down the road as room or budget allow. My hats off to Yamaha for offering consumers such an outstanding value with a short list of options that make this a perfect choice for the iPod generation.
Yamaha YHT-670 Home Theater System
$599
5-disc DVD/CD changer
Six-channel amplifier (110 x 6)
Dolby Digital, DTS, Pro Logic II
6-channel amplifier (110 watts x 6)
Digital ToP-ART design
192kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog converters
for all channels
Adjustable subwoofer crossover
XM Satellite Radio Ready (requires XM subscription
and optional XM Mini-Tuner package)
Component video switching (3 in, 1 out)
Front-panel minijack audio input for connecting
an iPod or MP3 player
iPod compatible with optional YDS-10 iPod dock
www.yamaha.com
Today that noise has changed, as consumers are placing more of a demand on manufacturers and competition for their dollar. One look at the feature-set and host of quality components in the Yamaha YHT-670 and you’ll soon realize the results of this demand.
First up, the YHT-670 is anchored by a real A/V receiver—Yamaha 5950. The 5950 is not only powerful (110-watts x 6 channels), but also offers iPod compatibility through the addition of the optional YDS-10 dock and is XM Ready with the addition of the XM Mini-tuner package. The YDS-10 dock also allows you to view the video library through your home theater system.
I’ll save the “walk-thru” of the entire list of features for the spec box at the end of the review so that we can get down to details on the actual performance. In short, let’s just say that the HTR-5950 is loaded and a welcome surprise to a HTIB system.
Moving right along we get to the DV-C6860 5-Disc DVD changer. Here again, a full-featured component completely “loaded” with features like progressive scan and multimedia compatibility, including recorded CDs and DVDs, MP3 and WMA CDs, and even JPEG playback from CDs.
Lastly, we have the speaker package included with the YHT-670. Effectively a mini sub/satellite speaker system, the five satellites include a dedicated center-channel speaker and the subwoofer is a compact eight inches.
After unpacking the A/V receiver and the 5-disc DVD changer, I was somewhat disappointed with the size and feel of the speaker package. However, with the aforementioned components in-hand, it’s easy to forget that this is a $599 (street price) HTIB.
Setup and installation will be a snap for first-timers using the detailed pictures and instructions provided with the 670 HTIB. Kudos to Yamaha for the careful detail that went into this up-front customer service.
The package includes enough speaker wire for a modest size room and A/V RCA cable to allow connectivity of the DVD player to the receiver. That said, I feel that Yamaha should have at least included another basic RCA pair as those purchasing or receiving this unit will likely be disappointed when they realize they can’t connect it to their TV without a trip to the store.
I connected the unit to my Fujitsu plasma using Monster THX component video cables to allow for switching and was ready to rock within minutes.
Right away I noted that the sound quality from the Yamaha speakers was a radical departure from my RBH ensemble. This took some getting used to and after living with the system for a week, I found the Yamaha speakers to be rather pronounced on the top end, flat in the mid-range and the bass to be lacking the extra “umph.” I like the first pair of attributes, as it provided clear dialogue for music and movies and understand that my 600 square foot living room with vaulted ceilings is two or three times larger than the volume Yamaha intended for this system.
Between XM Radio, iPod and the 5 Disc DVD changer, the Yamaha YHT-670 proves to be a modern day jukebox. Here, the power of the amplifier combined with the matched speaker ensemble resulted in awesome musical performance which had increased depth at higher volume levels. Loading the subwoofer in the corner strengthened the bass, balancing the bottom end with the dynamic top end.
The feature set, ease of operation and picture quality of the DVD changer was equally outstanding. The colors were rich and processing of complex scenes remarkable.
With a street price of $599 the Yamaha YHT-670 is impossible to beat and offers users the flexibility of upgrading to a larger or higher-quality speaker system down the road as room or budget allow. My hats off to Yamaha for offering consumers such an outstanding value with a short list of options that make this a perfect choice for the iPod generation.
Yamaha YHT-670 Home Theater System
$599
5-disc DVD/CD changer
Six-channel amplifier (110 x 6)
Dolby Digital, DTS, Pro Logic II
6-channel amplifier (110 watts x 6)
Digital ToP-ART design
192kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog converters
for all channels
Adjustable subwoofer crossover
XM Satellite Radio Ready (requires XM subscription
and optional XM Mini-Tuner package)
Component video switching (3 in, 1 out)
Front-panel minijack audio input for connecting
an iPod or MP3 player
iPod compatible with optional YDS-10 iPod dock
www.yamaha.com
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