Recently took delivery of the m60v2 speakers, love them. Next is to replace my 15year old pioneer receiver. I have my eye on the yamaha HTR-5990. It has the features i want, and i like the price (around 700).
A friend has a yamaha paired with paradigm speakers--i think the combo sounds pretty good. Also the yamaha stuff seems to be well received around other forums--(audioholics.com)

My concern is that many axiom owners seem to not prefer yamaha equipment.
I should say that the long term goal is for 7.1 home theater and i am not opposed to getting external amplification down the road, if needed. So it will be 80%movies and 20% music when i am finished.

I appreciate any advice from Axiom owners on the Axiom-Yamaha pairing.

That Yamaha will do just fine with the m60's. Some people have had problems with driving m80's (4ohm design) in the past with older Yammy's, but have had better success with newer models. You will have no problems at all.

Jason, welcome. The statement that many Axiom owners don't prefer _____ could be said about any brand. Modern receivers typically provide excellent transparent amplification, including those available at relatively low cost, and Yamaha certainly is included in that category. If the features meet your needs and the price fits your budget you can buy with confidence.

Thanks to both of you for the advice. I have updated my signature to reflect the result. Purchased the Yamaha 1600 as the specs are the same as the 5990. Also had to place an order for the vp150 center channel. Choosing axiom for the center channel felt like a no-brainer given how happy i have been with the m60s.

Now i think i may have to keep quiet for a while as the purchasing of more toys is not likely to be smiled upon by the wife. Even with the new dining room table and tickets to Eric Clapton, i am starting to push it--did i mention the Panasonic plasma.

Again thanks, this has to be one of the more helpful and supportive forums, especially for newbs.

Just a note about going with the HTR series of receivers in that the amps are not as clean as the RX-V series. I beleive the RX-V659 is a little cheaper and has the better amps in it. You do get more bells and whistles, HDMI switching etc., with the HTR, but the quality of the amplification is much better with the RX-V's. And do you really need HDMI switching when the sound is going to be from this receiver? If possible I would stay with their RX-V series of receivers.

I was considering yamaha before I went with Denon, and researched the HTR vs RX-V question. The Yamaha site says lines are the same, it is just a marketing isssue concerning the model numbers. There is a lot of FUD propagated out there that says otherwise, I am guessing it is generated by the high end retailers that are authorized to carry the RX-V line. I of course dont have the definitive answer.

I do think Denon does the same thing, and thats why the 4 digit model number of Denon equipment are not carried in the best buy store itself, but in the "Magnolia" store located inside the best buy store.

Yamaha HTR-xxxx = big box retailers and online sales
Yamaha RX-V = high end audio video stores, limited authorized online sales.

Denon 3 digit models = big box retailers and online sales
denon 4 digit models = high end audio video stores, limited authorized online sales.

I may be generalizing a bit on the model numbers, but you get the idea.
i imagine this really keeps the "price match guarantees" to a minimum.

as far as the wattage, they are quoted differently. i think one is quoted at 1000 hz and the other over an entire audio range. the gist of it is the big box retailers quote a higher wattage to be comparable to the way wattage is calculated from other manufacturers they are competing against in the big box stores. I also imagine the THD is higher as the wattage goes up, so I can see where the inference of "cleaner" power can come from.

Randy

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Just a note about going with the HTR series of receivers in that the amps are not as clean as the RX-V series. I

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