Joined the Yamaha club, HTR5630 + NSP100 mini review

Well, finally got a system set up for the bedroom.

Bought a Yamaha HTR5630, and a set of Yamaha NSP100 speakers.

The main reasons for the purchase were a) something to move downstairs when the home cinema room is built next yr and the main equipment moves there, b) to equip the bedroom with some form of surround sound for any time the wife HAS to watch her girly programs and I want to watch a movie

Well,set up was quite quick and easy, there aren't really many inputs and outputs to worry about as the amp is very basic.

The first thing I was surprised with was the level of build quality for such a budget amp, it was quite solid. The connectors at the back do betray its budget origins though, spring clips for the centre and surround speakers, and very very cheap looking+feeling binding posts for the front main speakers.

The facia is a bit messy, and it isn't exactly a handsome looking machine either, but it is a secondary system so I'm not too bothered.

I managed to buy the amp for a bargain £94 in the Richer Sounds Open Box sale, it was brand new and fully boxed.

The Speakers were bought for £99, so for less than £200 I had a fairly decent surround sound set up.

The speakers were well packed, and suit the amp well. The centre is slightly larger than the sattelites and all items are magnetically shielded. The Sub has some decent weight to it, and was built quite well for the budget.

I used the same cables supplied with the speakers, as on a budget system like this, to be used only in the bedroom initially, I doubt I would hear any benefit from higher end cables. The only exception was the digital optical connector for the DVD player to the amp, used a Monster Cable for that. When the system moves to the living room after the home cinema room is built, I'll invest in some better cables.

The amp setup didn't take too long either, weren't that many functions to go through, although I did spy quite a few DSP modes which I have no doubt I will enjoy playing with later. There is no crossover setting for the sub, either on the sub itself or the amp. The only controls on the sub were to do with volume and auto detect (auto power on). I wasn't expecting much at this point, so far, my Marantz/Mordaunt Short/Kef setup currently in the living room (and moving to the home cinema room when finished) trounces this kit on build quality and tweakbilty, but that is to be expected when taking the price into account.

The next bit was switching it on, and you know what, I was pleasantly surprised. The sound was pleasant, quite warm for a Yamaha, and the speakers were a lot louder than they looked. The bass was a bit woolly, and there was a lack of control, but for the price, it was acceptable.

The surround steering was very accurate, and was a very enjoyable listen. The source is a Panasonic DVD-XV10, probably slightly higher end than what this kit was designed for, but the Yamaha coped well.

The wife liked the orange display, so WAF was achieved , no bangs on the wall from the neighbours so they approve too .

I haven't had a chance to go through my full range of test discs yet, but so far, I am very impressed. No, it isn't a patch on my main system, but for a secondary system, it isn't half bad I'll post back once I have tested the system some more

Now I have to get a decent TV to go with it 24" widescreen comes to mind

 

Hi Kazman
Ive just ordered this system for my lads 13 birthday it too will be going in his bedroom,It is called the av25 package from unbeatable and costs £230 delivered,Ive given him my old sony 900v dvd player and a 24'' widescreen tv so he should be pretty well set up when he has any sleep overs.
PS hes not allowed to touch my stuff though .
Cheers Gonzo.

 

A similar system to what I started with a couple of year ago. Yamaha RXV420 Receiver and NSP100 speakers, really gave me the bug and soon led to upgrades. I'm still impressed with the Yamaha stuff, I think the build quality is great. The speakers were definately the week link with this package and the best upgrade had to be to some better range speakers and a quality sub. The current Yamaha reciever that you bought is well capable of producing good results with much better speakers/subwoofer, but enjoy what you've got until the cinema rooms complete.

 

This is not my main system, it's only for the bedroom so the speakers are fine for it.

My main setup is a Marantz SR7400, Mordaunt Short 914, Mordaunt Short 905c, Mordaunt Short 903s, a pair of Elac Cinema 1s as the surround back channels, a Pioneer DV668 and a Toshiba 42WH36P television, all connected with high quality cables, oh, and a KEF PSW2500 subwoofer

This is the system that will move into the home cinema room when it is built next yr (new extension, so going to tag on another section purpose built for this project).

The Yamaha setup will then move into the living room for occasional use and Sky+.

I know there are weak links in the Yamaha combo, but for the money, and it's purpose, it is pretty darn good. Watched Paycheck on it last night, and it was impressive for such a low cost setup.

 

Thought id revive this thread as im currently looking into getting some surround sound going. However, the speakers i like are all extremely expensive, and i need to get an amp as well (plus cables and stands). So im thinking of getting a really smart amp now (maybe a Denon 2805 or maybe even a 3805 ), sticking some of these yamaha speakers with it for the time being, and then uprgading the speakers in future when i have more cash together and can afford to get the ones i really want (kef 5005 for istance).

Ive only got a smallish room at the moment anyway, and am unsure of my living arrangements for the enar future at least. So would this option be feasible? Would an amp of that spec blow these speakers up to easily? Do the Yamaha NSP 100's come with their own leads, and if so would i be able to use these with the high spec amp for now?

Or is this idea just supid?

 

Anybody?

 

Stupid double posting computer...