Home > Consumer Reviews > Yamaha RX-V363BL 500 Watt 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver

UPDATE 2: November 3rd 2008
I've had no electrical problems since my previous update!

UPDATE 1: July 26th 2008
Warning, I've encountered an electrical problem with my unit. I Purchased it on May 2nd 2008 (almost 3 months ago), and as of yesterday my unit had 2 errors. The first caused my speakers to go silent, and the second caused the entire unit to freeze; I had to manually unplug the unit from the wall, and re-plug it to get it to respond again. During the past 3 months I have not been stressing the unit: I keep it at -38Db most of the time (low volume), and my apartment is usually below 72 degrees F (no environmental heat factors). I do not know the reason for these 2 errors, and it has preformed fine all day today. I will keep you advised as to the reliability of my unit.

PART 1:
I bought the Yamaha RX-V363 500 Watt 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver in May 2008 because my Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 burnt out after 3.5 years of use, and all I was left with were its 5 sataite speakers (the subwoofer was dead). So in order to make use of my satalite speakers I bought this Yamaha receiver.

I'm using this system for 5.1 surround, and it's been great. I've had NO problems what so ever with it. The receiver is customizable, allowing you to adjust the bass/trebble of your front left and right speakers. It allows you to test the systems tone in each speaker; however, it does not allow you to adjust the bass or trebble in the rear or center speakers... I don't know why they disallow this, but I'm assuming it's common to other receivers (which is a pitty). ...There is however a control that allows you to adjust the volume of each speaker.

The receiver (and remote control) comes with 4 handy "SCENE" buttons, which allows you to set each button for a different input. I have the 1st button customized so that it plays my PC's sound using "CinemaDSP" which allows the PC's sterio output to be heard from all 5 speakers! It's really awesome, since my laptop doesn't have a 5.1 sound card. I have the 2nd button customized so that it plays my Xbox 360's 5.1 surround sound out of all of my speakers using Dolby Digital!

One negative comment about the receiver is that the HDMI inputs do not transfer my Xbox 360's sound :( It makes no sense [to me] to have HDMI connections that only transfer the video portion of the signal. ...Can someone tell me WHY this is? It's not a huge problem, because the receiver has Optical Inputs that receive audio from my Xbox 360, so it's no big deal. In fact, I don't even send my Xbox 360's HDMI cable through the receiver, just it's optical cable (for sound).

The receiver is very cost effective, and an excellent product! I would recomend this to anyone who is looking to hook up their 5.1 system. Yamaha really knows how to make an excellent product.

PART 2:
Overall I give Yamaha's RX-V363 receiver 5 out of 5 stars for the great quality put into the system, and all the fucntions that come with it!

PROS:
+ Excellent price.
+ 5.1 functions work great with my Xbox 360.
+ Very customizable, and the "4 SCENE" buttons are very handy when switching inputs.
+ The unit is not: heavy or too big, nor does it get hot.
+ Easy to use.
+ Asthetically pleasing look.
+ I'd buy another if I had a use for it!

CONS:
- I dont understand why the Audio portion of the signal is not sent through the HDMI cables from my Xbox 360 (is this normal?).
- Can't specify detailed Bass & Tone output for the rear speakers (just the front 3). The reciever does allow you to set-it so that an "equal amount of bass" is output from the rear speakers as the front, however only the front can be adjusted higher.

Check out the pictures I uploaded!

AcidSnow

My husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer last summer. We didn't have a lot of money to play with after his illness; but he did have a "Bucket List" of things he wanted to have or do before his time comes. One of the the things on his list was a High Def TV. We got a Sony Bravia 42."

The problem was that once you get HDTV, you need accessories. For instance, my 18 year old Kenwood receiver no longer picked up the HD sound, which meant my 18 year old Bose towers no longer worked with the TV or new Panasonic Blu-Ray player.

The boy that helped me at local "geek" store tried to sell me a new home theater system, the cheapest good one being $1000.00. And then he said with a sigh "It still won't sound as good as your old Bose towers." At least he was honest and told me that all I needed was a new receiver!

I looked high and low for a decent receiver that would fit my empty wallet, and husbands desires. I purchased this one after researching reviews and crossed my fingers.

I could not be more happy. It was easy to set up, easy to work, and I have my old Bose towers back in full force pumping out the finest sound that I can imagine. I also got the dock for our I-Touch and I am happier than I can say, in that I have been able to make my husbands last wishes come true. I do believe that this receiver was cheaper than what I paid for my old Kenwood almost 20 years ago.

My son would tell you that his only problem with this receiver was that it stopped him from getting my Bose towers (he got the old system... minus the Bose).

Thank you Amazon reviewers for helping me make this wonderful purchase.

After reading the countless reviews about this Yamaha Receiver, i had my doubts about purchasing it. I heard the horrible stories about the HDMI video only. I have a 50 inch plasma, and wanted a good but inexpensive receiver for sound. Well, I purchased it anyway, and i'm glad I did! I was able to get the receiver $121 shipped, and was well worth the purchasing!

I'll get the cons out of the way:
1) No HDMI for sound, only video! So the HDMI is pretty useless folks! Don't bother buying it for this reason alone, unless you would like to use HDMI for video ONLY!
2) Only DTS!
3) Configuring up can be a pain for the novice!
4)Terrible manuel!

Pro's:
1) Cheap price!
2) Great sound for inexpensive receiver!
3) Was able to get it to work properly after using the optical digital connection!

Instructions: Hook up your dvd/blu-ray player directly to your television for HDMI video. For sound, I used an optical digital connection from the DVD player, to the "CD" optical digital connection on the back of the receiver.

For sound watching the television. I connected the optical digital connection from the receiver labeled "Sat/TV" to the opticial digital connection of the HD cable box.

After that, it worked like a charm. Had this receiver for a week now, and have no issues whatsoever. I currently have a HD Player, but will soon be in the market for a blu ray player. Once I get the PS3, or standalone player, i'll get the sound using the optical digital connection.Enjoy!

Great receiver! Easy to install, sounds great, and has a ton of options to maximize your listening. We have it hooked up to Polk surround sound speakers and we couldn't be happier. Plus the speakers and receiver combined cost under $400...an amazing deal!

After owning this for three weeks, I'd like to give it 3.5 stars. I'm super happy about the great sound quality for DVD's, CD's, and TV shows, but making this do what you want is a real headache.

The worst part about the remote control is that there is no control for treble and bass on it. That's right, you can only control treble and bass on the set itself, not from the remote. There is a "Night" switch that lowers overall bass for those times you don't want to disturb your neigbors, but that's it.

It does take a lot of study to learn the controls. It's hard to tweak the settings; instead, you have to create and sort many "scenes," which are basically programmed settings, then flip through your many scenes to find one that works with whatever you are listening to.

Let me be clear, the sound is phenomenal--on DVD's, CD's, and TV--for the price. (I am using four Sony speakers, a Polk center sound and subwoofer, a Sony DVD player, and a Samsung HDTV.) The connections are simple and plentiful (including three digital outs) for a home theater system.

And, to be fair, it is fairly easy to single out and set the volume for the 5.1 speakers. Center sound is excellent for dialogue.

But if you are listening in straight stereo, there is no simple "balance" control that I ever found.

Truly a pain learning how to use it. No way my wife will even attempt it. The manual is like an engineering text book.