I noticed this same noise with all three of my HK’s too (7200, 7300, 745). I do not hear it from the Marantz or my Rotel set up. But honestly, other than that and the higher volume / head room, I just can’t tell if this cheap Yamaha sounds worse or better than any other receiver I’ve had hooked up. That would be in direct stereo mode, not to be confused with surround modes. For surround, I will have to give the nod to the Marantz and that’s probably due to the Audysey room correction.
I think for the budget minded crowd that buys Axiom speakers would do well with this receiver and any 8 or 6 ohm speaker. The HDMI switching and high def audio processing is as good as it gets right out of the box without needed a firmware fix. I think that is a first for any receiver with HDMI audio processing. Plus, it passes 1080P at all formats without any issue that I can see. And with the pre-outs, it would make a fine pre / pro to go along with the A-1400 (at least that’s what I’m thinking right now)
