YAMAHA R-S202BL Stereo Receiver

Not new to home audio and we just needed a very basic and yet powerful quality stereo receiver to power a pair of cerwin vega SL-12 towers for my movie/game projection setup. I feed it signal from an Xbox (handles streaming and audio/video source) to a dacx6 via optical audio which converts to rca line level and it does everything we need it to. The Bluetooth works very well and the sound quality is superb. I needed the simplicity of not having a room filled with speakers and subs so I went with large towers and it powers them with ease, the sound quality is stunning and uncompressed music sounds utterly amazing. The dimmable display is super helpful as it is mounted under the screen and it doesnt distract you. Typical a-b switching is nice to see still, I have my mains on a and a pair of indoor/outdoors on the deck on b for bbq listening. 10 of 10 yamaha delivers with this one.

Got this for my classroom. Not an audiophile by any means and certainly didn't need the latest greatest features (along with accompanying higher cost). For what I paid, $150 on Amazon before sales tax, I'm very impressed with what it offers and can do. Installed it in my classroom today. Connected it to a pair of old Sony bookshelf speakers which I got around 10 years ago. Specifically got this receiver because the old Onkyo I previously used (still working even though it must be from 1980s or 1990s) was unable to handle audio input from my classroom desktop computer even though I had gotten an adapter cable that had a 3.5mm jack on one end and two RCA (red/white) plugs on the other end. Wanted to use the bookshelf speakers instead of the weak external speakers provided by school for whenever I would need audio during a lesson, video clips, etc. to be heard by students at the back of the classroom. After setting up this receiver and putting it through its paces, I am pleased with its overall performance. I connected my classroom's desktop computer to the receiver using that adapter cable previously mentioned and this receiver had no problems at all picking up the signal and transmitting it to my bookshelf speakers. Tried out the radio tuner and was pleasantly surprised by both how clear the sound quality is for many local stations (compared to the Onkyo I had previously been using) and for even decoding signals from distant stations (I'm using a spare cheap external FM radio antenna, not the wire antenna provided with this unit) which the previous Onkyo receiver (and even my car radio) can't pick up clearly if at all. The Bluetooth feature is nice. There's a cheaper version of this receiver without the Bluetooth feature but I decided that the extra $20 was worth it for providing additional possibilities. Had no problem pairing this receiver with my Nexus 6 smartphone. No problems streaming music from my smartphone to the receiver. So far, I've only encountered one problem. I thought about docking one star off for this problem but in the end decided not to do so because the overall functionality and performance of the receiver isn't significantly impaired by this issue. When I first powered up this receiver (after making all the necessary audio connections to speakers and computer), I thought I might have had a defective unit because I couldn't hear anything even though the volume was clearly set at 40 (out of a 0-99 scale). After some trial and error, what I discovered was that any setting below 45 is practically impossible to hear coming out of my speakers. Once I cranked up the volume to 50-55, sound was clearly discernible to anyone near the speakers. From 55-65, sound fills up my entire classroom nicely. From 65-75, it gets loud in my classroom and when I walked out into the hallway (and then continued walking down the hallway) I could hear the sound clearly from several classrooms away. I can only imagine how loud it might be (and how far the sound may travel) if I cranked up the volume beyond 75. So, for all intents and practical purposes, the sound on this unit works but I'm essentially navigating between 45 (quiet) and 80 (really loud) instead of the full range of 0-99. Like I said, functionality and performance doesn't seem to be impaired by this discrepancy, so I ultimately decided not to knock off a star. Not sure if this issue is particular to the specific unit I received or a recurring pattern in more units beyond mine. Not a deal-breaker and not worth going through the hassle of a merchandise exchange since it gets the job done. Looking forward to seeing how well this unit works out for this coming school year (and hopefully for many years beyond). If anything should arise to warrant editing this review, then I'll update as needed.

I love this unit! No buzzers and bells, just high quality, hi-fidelity audio. Very easy installation and easy to use remote. Display is not cluttered with unnecessary information. It's sleek appearance make it an awesome unit for any indoor application.

Nice for the price. Very easy to setup everything. My Bluetooth devices works very well on this receiver. I hooked up the FM antenna output to my rabbit ears and the reception is great, and I don’t have to extend the antenna rods at all. Being that I’m at sea level, and no mountains around me, but surrounded by many high rises. The remote is easy to understand and works well. The sound quality is good but not that great. It has more of a warmer tone with the bass and mid-range being stronger, and the higher tones are very soft. The bass is strong and at times need to turn it low or in the negative settings which for both the treble and bass controls allows you to set it from -10 to 10. Even with the treble set at its highest 10 setting, the higher tones are very soft. So, I can’t hear the higher sounds of cymbals, and snare drums. I found in the manual that the highest setting for the treble is rated at 3.0kHz. The higher tones start at 6.0 kHz. So, this explains it. I have my old Bose speaker system that I had for over 25 years, the one with the right and left satellite speakers and the floor bass unit hooked up. For vocals, it sounds great. But if you want more individual control of the tones, especially the higher tones, this is not the receiver for you. With all this being said, everything else I would rate it at a 5 star. My 4-star rating is from this lack of higher tones. In conclusion, I’m satisfied with this receiver, as all other features and sound qualities check off for me. I may buy a stereo equalizer to boost up the higher tones.

This system is really nice and I mean it! Not a lot of information on this unit but what I can say is this system gets extremely loud to the point where you can lose your hearing from it. There is no distortion from this system even at max volume. I like music loud but this loud is on the next level and this is coming from a guy who has a lot of audio equipment and experience in the audio and FM broadcast industry! The nice thing is FM sounds wonderful on this unit. FM radio sensitivity is just wonderful like a high end receiver or like a good car FM radio. The wire provided to get radio reception wasn’t the best but a good tip is to put the wire next to the speaker wires to act like a ground plane but I highly recommend to get a good FM radio antenna that goes on your roof of your house for superior reception. AND no, the speaker wires don’t interfere with reception!!! I was skeptical due to the lack of information on this Yamaha, but I took that risk. I always knew Yamaha always been a very premium brand for audio and receivers but then you watch videos online about this unit they hate on it for being a cheap system when this isn’t true. This unit is for someone who wants a: Basic Semi Audiophile Stereo (Left and Right Sound) FM Radio, Line In or CD Playback, if you buy the cd reader separate. The video I provide is this stereo shaking my cheap old school 80s 8 inch bookshelf speakers. The only con is no sub out port. Irrelevant information starts here: The setup you see in the video is only temporary as we are remodeling the house and garage this stereo is currently in. Are new house is being currently being built in the country and after are new garage is built I’ll be putting this stereo in there and be setting this up with 2 outdoor Yamaha AW-350s on our back deck by the fire pit and the 2 old school 80s speakers in the garage. (Also a FM antenna mast for extreme FM radio reception.) The idea is the backyard would have good audio for music and are front yard would also get some good ported sound from the garage. Overall me and my family spends a lot of time outdoors no phones and little to no internet time just hanging out listening to music. The reason I am sharing this is because this is what I see a unit like this being used for.

First: YES, you can use this as an AV receiver *IF* you have a simple home theater setup and are willing and know how to run a digital to analog audio converter from your TV to the inputs of the receiver. BestBuy sells an inexpensive and intuitive unit. HOWEVER, if you have several devices associated with your home theater (i.e. more than 2 -- then this probably isn't a great option for you). I generally prefer Vintage Stereo equipment -- My ideal receiver was the Yamaha CR-2020. But sadly, those are hard to come by and have are more expensive and like a used car -- you don't really know what maintenance you have ahead of you. I had inherited a Sony AV receiver that pre-dated HDMI. It worked and I could even program my Logitech remotes with it. However, it really didn't bring the best sound out of my speakers -- a pair of original Large Advents. Plus, it seemed like it was starting to give up the proverbial ghost. My AV setup is pretty simple since I dumped Time Warner -- or whatever they are calling themselves these days. I have a TV, Roku Streaming stick and that's it! I don't have a living room that would accommodate 20 speakers and a sub without tripping over them (my cats and dog and kids shoes provide enough of an obstacle field). The downside -- this isn't really intended to be an AV receiver. No Optical Audio in... no HDMI ports... you have to make it work if you want to use it for your TV as well. I purchased an Insignia Digital to Analog Audio converter -- you plug in the HDMI cable from your TV into the input and use RCA cables as the output to plug into the receiver. This little gizmo was about 25 bucks so I was still saving quite a bit of money over "full-featured" AV receivers. The sound for the TV is fine -- You aren't going to be fooled into thinking you are in an IMax theater or anything. But that wasn't my primary concern. I really wanted my music to sound great. And playing music is where this receiver really shines! I *REALLY* like the Bluetooh connectivity so that I can play from my computer, cell phone without having to use a patch cable to plug into the receiver. It has a very simple interface -- mainly because there just isn't that much functionality. push a few buttons and you'll be able to figure it out without a manual. I know several reviewers have commented on the flimsy clips for the speaker wire but I have some fairly heavy gauge wire and it doesn't works just fine. I don't use banana plus -- just run the copper straight in. Once you get it set up, you shouldn't have a problem -- it isn't like you are constantly re-wiring your speakers. I was able to purchase this for less than 120 bucks and it drives my vintage Large Advents really well. It provides a beautiful full sound for a wide variety of musical genres. Maybe one of these days, I'll stumble across another great vintage receiver. But for the money and the convenience of a remote and bluetooth, this receiver can't be beat. [NECAR}

My Insignia NS-STR514 suddenly died after a year of glorious sound (device still turned on, switch inputs, etc, just no sound), and I had to find another stereo receiver to replace it. Yamaha seemed to be a pretty popular brand, especially among musicians and home theater enthusiasts, so I figured I couldn't go wrong. Wrong. From the minute I hooked this receiver up I noticed a significant drop in power, range, and overall quality. This device is advertised as having the same 100w of power per channel, so this is really surprising for a major brand. I used to have to turn the Insignia up to 20, but this device has to be turned up to 44 to get the same loudness. When you do get this device cranked up enough to hear something, the sound is very flat. There's no other way to describe it. There's no range. Even if bass cranked to max you can barely hear it. The treble is weak, flat, and distorts at high volume. This device is literally making my stereo speakers that cost $300.00 each sound like a boom box from the 90's. I was considering upgrading my turntable to a higher quality one, but now, what's the point? On the flip side, the sound is clean, crisp. But man oh man is it flat. These days I mostly listen to music on high grade headphones and watch movies and streaming on my projector so it's not a huge loss (high fidelity sound on video games and movies isn't a huge deal to me), but don't buy this for your entry-level audiophile needs. There's got to be better options out there than this. The weak bass especially is unforgivable. *Update 04/25/17* My wife finally grew so tired of this piece of junk that I got rid of it and bought another Insignia Stereo Receiver. Unreliable as it is (dead after 2 years) it's still better than this garbage. The bass response is absolutely horrible, and the neighbors started complaining about the "booming". That's pretty much the only bass you get from this device. A loud, cheap-sounding thumping. The frequency response of this device is so poor, and the sound so thin and tinny, that even my wife couldn't stand it! Do yourself a favor and avoid this one.

YAMAHA R-S202BL Stereo Receiver I bought this for my mother because she couldn’t manage operating the TEAC A/V Receiver I gave her. I needed something that was superb acoustically but had a simple layout and didn’t cost an arm and a leg, this receiver fills that build in ACES! The remote is simple and organized very well. The sound from this receiver matches the quality of sound systems 3 to 4 times it’s cost. If you’re on a budget and need something that just works, that you don’t need a BS degree to operate, this is the receiver for you. I’m an audiophile from the 60’s & 70’s era, remember Quadraphonics, I’ve bought and sold tons of gear and I must say this cheap Yamaha amp paired with the Klipsch Bookshelf speakers I got my mother, I really enjoy listening to her new system and I’m picky.