Yamaha HTR-5760 7.1-Channel Digital Home Theater Receiver

When hooked up with the digital-audio output from a DVD-Video player or digital satellite receiver, the 95-watts-per-channel HTR-5760 handles 5.1-channel surround decoding for both major formats, Dolby Digital and DTS. In addition, the receiver processes Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, DTS-ES Discrete 6.1, DTS Neo:6, and DTS 96/24. The extended-surround formats create even more expansive soundfields through a center-rear surround channel, for which THX suggests using two separate speakers. The result is seven discrete full-range channels in addition to the LFE (low-frequency effects) channel: front left/right, surround left/right, front center channel, and a pair of rear-center channels.

A key benefit from a Yamaha receiver, of course, is Yamaha's proprietary signal processing, including Cinema DSP (digital soundfield processing), which creates aural "imaging" that not only makes your home sound like a theater, but also sounds better than most movie theaters. Based on a wealth of measured data in real studios and halls, Cinema DSP is designed to bring out the full potential of movie sound mixes, reproducing them the way directors and sound engineers intended.

And, when you're listening to multichannel presentations late at night, you'll appreciate Silent Cinema, which simulates 5.1-channel listening through a pair of ordinary 2-channel headphones (not included). Silent Cinema uses unique parameters for each soundfield to ensure accurate headphone representations of each soundfield.

The receiver comes with YPAO (Yamaha Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer) and a dedicated microphone to help you establish the best possible sound at your primary listening position. The optimizer uses the microphone to "listen" to the sound from the speakers and determine, based on its test-signals, how best to equalize the sound for your room. Corrections include speaker/subwoofer phase relationships, speaker/subwoofer distance measurements (corrects for differences down to 5 cm), frequency response (measures and optimizes each speaker's response using a parametric equalizer), and speaker level (measures and aligns the relative volume levels of all speakers).

Then there's the eight-channel DVD-Audio/SACD-ready inputs mentioned above. Due to anti-piracy measures, DVD-Audio and SACD players perform their own digital-to-analog conversion, passing high-resolution analog signals on to your amplifier. (And analog, after all, is what your amp feeds your speakers.)

DVD-Audio and SACD can each deliver up to six channels of discrete, full-frequency sound at greater-than-CD resolution (in the case of DVD-A, that means 24 bits, 96 kHz sampling rate versus 16 bits, 44.1 kHz for CD). In stereo or surround, the sound from DVD-Audio and SACD is packed with detail, yet smoother and sweeter from than the sound from even the best standard CD players. The HTR-5760 accommodates decoded DVD-A/SACD signals and routes them to the appropriate speakers in your surround system.

The receiver offers five audio/video input connections (all with composite-/S-video, two with component-video), eight fixed and assignable digital-audio inputs (great for DSS, CD, laserdisc, gaming consoles, or minidisc), and front-panel input connections with digital-audio jacks for your camcorder or other spontaneous hookup. The receiver's video circuitry is high-definition ready, too (60 MHz bandwidth), and it will upconvert composite-video to an S-video signal to simplify TV hookup.

Last, but certainly not least, the HTR-5760 benefits from Yamaha's Digital ToP-ART (Total Purity Audio Reproduction Technology) build philosophy. The culmination of the best digital engineering and design possible, it brings together several key elements to create the best-sounding, easiest-to-use A/V components available.

What's in the Box
Receiver, remote control, four AAA batteries, microphone for YPAO, an AM loop antenna, an indoor FM antenna, a warranty card, and a user's manual.