Yamaha HTR-6130BL 500 Watt 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)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!


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High-value receiver with an impressive array of features and technologies to enhance the audio/video experience, including HDMI switching with 1080p video pass-through, iPod and Bluetooth audio compatibility, CINEMA DSP, Compressed Music Enhancer, and four SCENE buttons.

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The Cue Radio Model r1 iPod iPhone Dock with Model s1 Satellite Speaker (white) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you're looking for great sound in a compact system, look no further. The only thing small about this system is it's size. We have one of the model r1's with s1 satellite speaker in our main conference room at my company. The unit fills the large cavernous space of the conference room with deep, rich sound with relative ease. It doesn't matter what your taste in music is, this system delivers. It's audio performance is only rivaled by its attractive design. The professional looking aesthetics looks right at home, whether it's sitting on the credenza in your office or on your nightstand at home.

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Yamaha TSX-70BU Desktop Audio System for iPod/iPhone (Blue) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Well made item. Small and compact. Controls well thought out. Big issue for me - I don't want the lighted numerals of the clock to be so dang bright. I hate having a "clock radio" or whatever they are called these days that lights up the whole dang room. Those blue LED things - yuck. This Yamaha number, although more pricey, is perfect. Good sound, intuitive uses, small, seems very solid, and THE LIGHT CAN BE MADE VERY DIM. The "clock" part is yellow to orange, and when the power is off, you can't even see the clock section. Very happy with this.

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Styled for contemporary living but with a nod to classic retro design, the TSX-70 delivers concert-quality sound anywhere in the home.In addition to its AM/FM radio, the convenient built-in docking station supports all popular iPod and iPhone models including iPod (5th generation), iPod classic, iPod nano, iPod touch, iPhone, iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS.

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Sangean WR-5 Table-Top AM/FM/RDS with iPod Dock, Battery Back-Up and Passive Reflex Speakers Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I had never heard of Sangean and honestly was a bit skeptical buying this. I can't speak to the long term, but I can speak to my initial impression after getting it, setting it up, and listening for a few hours / comparing.
Good:
Appearance - It has a very sturdy and eye appealing look. The solid wood is very nice (though not as nice as Tivoli). It has a very classic look to it, but is clearly modern also.
Has 2 alarms, so you can set one for weekdays and one for weekends, etc. Also has a battery backup. (I don't know why any alarm clock wouldn't have this? but many don't)
Radio reception is excellent. I get lots of stations I don't get in my car and it comes through very clean.
Auto sets time/date from radio stations? Not sure how it did it, but it did and that was nice.
Very clear display - easy to read the time, date, radio station/song info from across the room. Dimmer allows multiple brightness settings including off (so if anyone has complained that the display is too bright obviously didn't notice this feature).
Remote - Seems to have good coverage from anywhere in my room. Has functions for everything I could need.. radio, ipod, dimmer, even can snooze by remote.
Sound quality of speakers - Those iHome and other table radio/alarms do not compare. Significantly better. Is it Tivoli or Bose equivalent? I think it's probably just slightly below those systems, but for 1/4 to 1/5 the price.... it's not that much below them. Bose never impressed me anyway. I'd have to do a side by side to tell for sure if it's any better. People like to hype up various table radios, but lets all be serious. You aren't going to get sound from something with a 3 inch speaker that rivals a full stereo not matter how nice it looks or how much they spend on marketing. If so, why would Bose also sell full stereo systems?
Price! - all the previous stuff leads to this. I paid $99 bucks and got every possible option I would ever want from a great sounding, great looking table radio/alarm. Very few offer all of the full options of this one with the sound quality and those that do cost many times the price. Don't be dumb and pay $400+ for a table radio/alarm clock.. please.Bad:
The volume knob seems oddly sensitive and will jump around a bit, but it gets you there and you can always use the remote which is pretty convenient too.
Slightly confusing setup. It is not particularly intuitive and the instructions seems to be a bit off from how it really works so if you are extremely un-tech savvy you might have some confusion setting it up. I got mine setup with alarms, radio presets, timing, etc in very short time.Conclusion:
Very glad I bought it and would recommend it to anyone else considering the tivoli, bose, cambridge, etc group of radios that feel that several hundred dollars is kind of crazy to spend on something like this. I'll update in the long run on reliability.


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Compatible with all ipod models with a 30-pin dock connector; docks & plays ipod; bass & trebel control; passive speaker with 3d expander provides exceptional sound quality; stored presets ; buzzer alarm; battery back-up for clock.

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