Home > Consumer Reviews > Yamaha HTR-6130BL 500 Watt 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver

First I confess. I am technically challenged--I have trouble working a cell phone. But the manual was VERY detailed, if somewhat overwhelming, and the connections were easy because of labels and diagrams. As mentioned, the HDMI connection only passes the audio through to the TV--will not route it to the surround sound speakers.

So I knew I needed a second audio connection for my dvd and cable inputs, but I still had trouble getting any sound from the speakers from my DVD player and had to call tech support. They explained that this unit was designed before HDMI and that the connections were added later as a pass-through for convenience. I wondered why they would have designed it that way to start with--turns out they didn't! But all is well that ends well.

Tech support was EXCELLENT. Although I had connected everything properly (digital coax audio cable for DVD), they walked me through the set up menu choices to get the sound working properly. They even helped me with the settings on my Sony blue ray player! Saving the setup via scene buttons will allow me to to recover the settings without remembering the details.

The first movie I watched, I thought I was in a theater!

Excellent clarity and sound reproduction. Very impressive audio modes (about 8 different modes to choose from).

Only video is passed out through HDMI port (dont know why audio was left out - thats why i gave it 4 stars). Need to input optical or coax in addition for digital audio. And also does not upconvert (they dont claim the feature exists either).

Not too hard to setup, happy with purchase!

Do notice that the video is HDMI pass-through only... even though HDMI is capable of carrying audio and video, as the instructions say "Audio signals input at the HDMI jack are not output from any speaker terminals but output from the connected video monitor"... which then has to be passed back to the receiver for surround sound. This isn't quite made clear by the box, or the description, so beware.

Before purchasing the unit, I did some research and listened to several models including the Panasonic and the Sony units; of all the units in its price range ($150-225), this one had the least distortion level at its rated output 100W per channel @ 1 Kh, with .9% THD at rated output.
(This means its actual output from 20-20KHZ is probably somewhere about 60-70 watts RMS per channel).

Its a little confusing to programme; though at least Yamaha includes a card that labels the front panel buttons and controls with a letter (if you use the owner's manual to set up the unit, the instructions say push button "G" or tuner/auto button...

The sound is generally very good; the remote is set up to use the Ipod (if you buy the optional Ipod dock for the unit), FM reception is good, AM reception is only fair at best.

Its really hard to fault at this price point; only two HDMI inputs, one output, but then again at this price point what do you expect.
I purchased mine for $125 new in the box, so no complaints here!

This receiver features something invaluable (and unusual in this price range) to a very small subset of receiver purchasers; multi-channel input. As a reward for accomplishing a certain goal (obtaining a Master's Degree) I decided to reward myself with a full upgrade of my computer's audio subsystem. New speakers (BIC DV62i fronts + Cerwin Vega VE-5C center + Yamaha NS-M225P surrounds)+ incorporation of my old much-loved Kenwood 5.1 receiver.

I set it up, and...

HISSSSS......

Oh no! My most feared curse of audio systems, the dreaded hiss factor. Headphones: hiss. Speakers: Hiss. I thought my 8-year-old receiver (sorry Kenwood) might be to blame, and, thankfully, I was right. It was time for it to be put to rest.

I bought an Onkyo receiver, brought it home, and realized to my horror that it did *not* feature six-channel input. I called up Onkyo's tech support and they told me that the 6-channel input I required was only available in their 'thousand dollar receiver models and above'; (!!) Mercifully, I was able to return it for a refund.

Thankfully, a local brick-and-mortar store had something for less than a fourth of the aforementioned ridiculous price that satisfied my needs; this Yamaha receiver. I introduced this new Yamaha STR-6130 into my computer system and the hiss was banished like a demon before the light.

For those of you with a wee bit of disposable income and a penchant for decent sound from your computer; ditch the 'all-in-one' speaker/amp combos sold by certain manufacturers and invest in some separates. For just a Benjamin or two more you will likely get some truly stellar sound out of your system. Playing Fallout 3 with my present rig is a night & day difference versus the $150 'all-in-one' computer-speaker setup I had before this investment.