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

Got this unit to replace my older, burned out Sony amp, because I just bought a new HDTV and had purchased new speakers (ie: I was looking to build a nice theater system). My wife and I almost returned it because the set up is extremely confusing and we didn't think it was working properly! Ultimately, we did get it to work. And it seems to perform well now. Plus, I usually like Yamaha products because they work well and are durable!

But because of the difficult set up and poorly conceived remote device (way too complicated); I can only give this system a "3" when it could have been a "5" on quality alone.

Although made in China this unit is a great entry level amplifier, Yamaha reputation, has all the basic functions without the huge price tag. 5 speakers + a sub is more than enough for one big room. In addition, you get an A/B switch for the speakers meaning you can have another set of speakers in different room or outside. Outstanding sound quality even when connected to the internet. Remote works flaulessly but not the best when it comes to ergonomics. On a recent party, the amp was playing non-stop for 6 hours without any problems.

Yamaha does it again! Does every thing I want it to do, from cds,dvds,tuner, and tv. Sound source amplification is easy to control from the remote. Outstanding basic home theater receiver. I highly recommend it.

I bought this unit to replace an old Sony receiver I've owned for over 10 years. I wanted the HDMI capability and am so happy that I made the move. The Yamaha was not the easiest to hookup but I'm no tech-head and find it difficult to figure out proper connection. I would recommend reading the manual to minimize frustration. I have DirectTV so connecting that source to the unit was completely easy. Just sat box to HDMI in and from Yamaha HDMI out to TV. You must go through the instructions in the manual as to how to set up the speakers. I have 5 speakers and a sub so in order for all of them to work you must go through this procedure. Another critical aspect that I didn't discover until a few days after setting up the system was that you must go into the satellite box setup menu and enable the digital audio (that was turned off when DirectTV setup my initial installation). When I discovered this little item, wow, everything just sounded terrific. I find that having HDMI for the audio not a problem and would certainly not dismiss this unit because of that option. After getting everything hooked up properly and bearing a few days of scratching my head and wondering if I had done the right thing buying a new unit, I just could not be happier. The price is incredible and what a sweet system. I have not encountered any audio to video sync problems that others have discussed in other reviews. Everything is working just fine. I have found that in setting up the DirectTV remote for controlling the Yamaha that it is not possible to turn the unit on and off but you can control the volume with the DirectTV unit. That is not the best but not a deal breaker.

This works fine with the digital audio from Sony DVP-NS700H DVD player. With the low-frills comes a great price and Yamaha quality. Upgraded from my ancient 200W Kenmore; a unit so old it lacked digital audio as an input.