Home > Consumer Reviews > Yamaha RX-497 75 Watt Natural Sound AM/FM Stereo Receiver

Despite the current fad for multi-channel audio/video receivers, many people -- including this reviewer -- still listen to music with two speakers and only need a two-channel stereo receiver to drive them. And Yamaha builds outstanding stereo receivers, including this new RX-497. Yamaha's power ratings are extremely conservative and this 75 watts per channel receiver will drive virtually any speakers to deafening levels -- which I don't recommend doing. More important than it's ample power is its very low distortion. Yamaha specializes in low distortion products for very clean sound. In addition to robust power and ultra-low distortion the RX-497 has a full complement of controls, including a versatile remote. As a fanatic audiophile, another feature, typical of Yamaha, which I particularly appreciate is a button which sends the signal from one's CD player (or any other non-phono cartridge input) directly to the amplifier -- bypassing the preamp circuitry, which is not needed except when playing LPs (which most people rarely do these days) -- for the lowest distortion and best signal to noise ratio. There are other slighty less expensive -- and less good -- stereo receivers available, but if you want suberb performance at a moderate price I highly recommend this Yamaha. Incidentally, this receiver is XM satellite radio ready for those who want this feature.

This Yamaha XR-497 replaces a 15-year old Denon stereo receiver that was too expensive to repair. I have 2-sets of speakers, 3 components to hook-up, including a turntable. Most receivers sold now are surround sound / home theater rather than a straightforward am/fm stereo receiver. Most also do not have a built-in pre-amp for a turntable. The Yamaha XR-497 is perfect and it's easy to set up. I'm not a techie and the reviews previously posted were very helpful. Be careful though to only buy from an authorized Yamaha dealer since the Yamaha warranty specifically excludes coverage from product purchased from any other source. I'm very pleased with my purchase.

We bought this receiver initially since we still have a turntable, and this was one of the few products that still has this capability. It turns out that we couldn't be happier with our choice. Besides having the ability to play LPs, it also can play audio tapes and videos, FM/AM radio, DVDs and CDs and it also has a connection for DVRs, satellite radio and an S-video cable. It's extremely easy to set up and use, and everything we've played so far sounds great. I highly recommend it.

I purchased Yamaha RX-497 because my old ONKYO stopped working. I decided to buy this stereo receiver because I listen to music CDs most of the time, and ONKYO's TX-8522 doesn't have a subwoofer output. I cannot be happier!

The purity and depth of the sound is just amazing! I love the "pure direct" button which allows me enjoy the music in its original form (the receiver still outputs to the subwoofer in "pure direct" mode). The headphone jack can drive my Sennheiser HD600 beautifully!

Hace apenas dos de semanas que me llego este receptor RX 497(es mi primer equipo Yamaha) el cual envia a la venta al Pioneer A-109 que tengo actualmente. En primera instancia buscaba un aparato con entrada de phono, al ver que este lo posee, y tras haber leido los comentarios muy positivos de este receptor en Amazon, no dudé en solicitarlo. Si bien es cierto que aun no he podido probar a plenitud todas sus funciones, debo decir que la potencia, la calidad del stereo y la baja distorsion le hacen merecedor que sea recomiendado de mi parte ampliamente. Siendo un poco quisquilloso, debo notar que si es cierto que suena muy bien, no llega a un nivel de High End, pero la relacion calidad precio esta mas que justificada, ya que hay equipos de mayor precio pero de inferior calidad de audio. Una cosa que no comprendo mucho es la funcionabilidad del control Loudness, el cual mas bien parece un control sobre los tonos medios y no un reforzador de tono como en los demas equipos. En resumen, recomiendo este receptor para quien desee un buen aparato, no se arrepentiran.

Just two weeks I get this receiver RX 497 (my first team Yamaha) who sent for sale to Pioneer A-109 I have today. In the first instance looking device with a phono input, seeing that owns it, and having read the very positive feedback from this receiver from Amazon, do not hesitate to ask. While I have not even been able to fully test all its functions, I must say that the power, quality and low distortion stereo him deserving to be widely recommended on my part. Being a bit fussy, I should note that if it is true that sounds very good, does not reach a level of high-end, but the value for money is more than justified, as there are teams of higher prices but lower quality audio. One thing I do not understand is much Loudness control function, which seems rather an on midtones and not as an enhancer of tone in the other teams. In summary, I recommend this receiver for anyone who wants a good machine, you will not regret.