Home > Consumer Reviews > Yamaha RX-397 100 Watt Natural Sound AM/FM Stereo Receiver

I've had this reciever for two days now and I'm thrilled with it's performance. It took the place of a Pioneer 110watt 5 channel unit. I don't have time to listen to it during the day, so I bought a set of headphones for night listening.(didn"t want to wake the wife). The Yamaha rx-397 fits the bill with it"s two channels and headphones. I don't need more then 50watts, but it will drive speakers with aplumb!. AM and FM are very good also. And I like the knobs. Would recommend it to anyone.

I'm very satisfied with the performance of this receiver. I was looking for a receiver with medium power and one which did not have all the extras such as surround sound, etc. The Yamaha RX-397 design is simple but yet provides everything I need. I especially like the continuous adjustable loudness control which allows for low power settings without sacrificing bass or treble.

FM signal performance is outstanding even with the simple single wire antenna that's provided with the receiver.

Another feature of the RX-397 which is difficult to find nowadays is its tape monitor circuit. Since I have a set of Bose 901 speakers with an active equalizer, a tape monitor which provides a continous signal is a must as the equalizer is hooked into the monitor loop. Most receivers do not make this provision. (The 901s will sound flat without the active equalizer hooked up.)

The RX-397 has plenty of power to drive two sets of speakers and also features an output impedance switch to match your speakers.

A very good buy for the price. Highly recommended.

I have been very pleased with the overall quality and functionality of this receiver. Yes, I am old school and I still need a phono input with a preamp section in the receiver, but I also am new school with digital input from a CD player, and a Linksys wireless music bridge that allows you to stream output (mp3, wav, etc) from your computer to your receiver. The RX-397 handles both old school and new school to perfection.

I purchased this receiver because we have two speakers (not 5, not 7), and an enclosed cabinet in which it must live (kids, you know). I wanted an efficient unit that wouldn't toast itself, but sounded great (we listen to a lot of acoustic stuff). The RX-397 fits the bill - driving my 6-ohm speakers (thank you, Yamaha, for the switch to set this), the sound is very clean and open, with plenty of power to capture the full resonance of an acoustic bass without muddying the rasp of fingers on strings. Our listening room is small (~15' square), and this unit has more than enough power to fill it. Yet, it only gets warm in its cabinet - not hot.

If you are in the market for a classic two-channel stereo receiver (and on a budget) the Yamaha RX-397 would be the one to get. The sound from this unit is crystal-clear and distortion-free, even when played at a high volume through my cheap old speakers.

As for the service, I placed the order on a Sunday night and the item was delivered the following Tuesday.

A pleasant shopping experience in every way.