Yamaha
gary pearson
Was extremely easy to set up. The automatic sound balancing works good. Sound quality is good as is the surround sound feature. I personally feels it loses a bit of sound quality when connecting a Bluetooth item like my phone. Otherwise, I am satisfied.
Luis Tapia
I know next to nothing about speaker setup, but this receiver has been a blessing. It is very simple to connect speakers to the back and channels very high quality sound. It looks sleek despite having a little big, and the display screen on the front is very helpful. It never overheats and stays at a comfortable temperature.
random
Bought this as a 20 year refresh for my old Yamaha which I blew the sub channel on. It’s thrilling. The microphone set up feature takes the guesswork out of home theater set up. It’s kinda difficult figuring out all the features but once you get it things are fine. Thumping bass. Great channel separation. You can’t Bluetooth out and in at the same time but seems it’s not necessary. There’s no ground for my turntable but no hum on my turntable so it’s fine. If you’re not used to home theater done right this might give you a heart attack.
Nile Kroner
Doesn’t use surround sound speakers when using the auxiliary input like my Sony does. USB input charges my iPhone but doesn’t recognize it as a device for playing music like my sony does. very limited number of inputs for a receiver of this size and price. No subwoofer output. Buy anything else.
D.K. White
Both bummed & out-of-the-loop, the service tech was kind enough to help me pinpoint the Yamaha RX-V385 AVR here, with matching connections & features, along with state-of-the-art ones, but even smaller in size (see attached pic) & priced lower than the H-K was in 2013, which really saved the day for my budget during this very early part of the year (February).
With my prior experience, it was quick & easy for me to setup (other reviewers are right about that lousy manual!), & as a pro media composer in a small one bedroom with a corner music studio, I have no need for newer surround features like Dolby Atmos to blow away either myself, or the neighbors, so the standard Dolby features are fine with me. But with that, I was surprised just how jam-packed with extras this supposed "entry-level" AVR has, along with a calibration feature (YPAO) that actually works, unlike "the cone of silence" joke it was years ago.
So, while change can happen when you least want or expect it, this new budget Yamaha RX-V385 helped make my transition a smooth one!
Bobby
Awesome product from start to finish! Easy set up and I love all the controls for this receiver! Well worth more than I paid for it!
WPW
The AV receiver was fantastic, when it worked. Over time, the HDMI inputs progressively had more and more "static" or "sparkles." The HDMI defect is intermittent, so it wasn't easily diagnosed. Early on I could get the sparkles to go away by changing the input or turning the unit off and on again, presumably re-initiating the HDMI handshake. After about a month, this remedy didn't work anymore, and the HDMI artifacts happened more and more frequently, yet still intermittent. The little white sparkles on the screen are due to a defective HDMI board on the unit, confirmed by Yamaha. But, since I purchased this item used, I could not get warranty service from Yamaha.
So what was my recourse? Why would they charge me a fee to restock when the item is defective? Are they gonna sell it to someone else? Then when you try to return it once you figure out it's defective, they'll charge you a restocking fee, too.
Markrux
I was trying to turn it on but it didn't.
Update: shipping and/or bumps can and will dislodge connections inside the shroud. Look through the shroud to see if any cables were dislodged. A twisty cable on the right was dislodged from it's place causing it to not turn on. I removed the shroud to put it in place. Works great now.
Update v2: After a few days of usage, it is now broken. This is incredibly frustrating 🤬🤬🤬. It won't turn on now and I've tried resetting it multiple times to no avail. DO NOT BUY THIS, it is a piece of C R A P.
santos silva 3
There are so many adjustments, let you adjust the sounds you prefer, and It a repurchase, the sound is high quality, I highly recommend, this receiver, from Yamaha
Emidio Rossi
Sound is great even with old 70’s speakers.
Central and rear speakers are new for surround.
I haven’t figured out how to drive sound from Tv without optical cable, although I don’t mind.
Tried to use Bluetooth and couldn’t connect either, but I’m sure I did something wrong
Very good product
Shawn
Bluetooth connects easily to my iPhone. XBox sounds great and connects easily.
Capt Gus
I used it to Bluetooth music from my phone but this is the third Yamaha that has done this, different models . They just don’t make Quality products anymore. I will go to Onkyo or Sony and they’re Quality has also gone down. Maybe I’ll go for a Kenwood.
Sebastian Medina
Love my av received best one the market
PomMarantz
Hey....this stuff is complicated and takes some study...to choose an AV Receiver, TV, Speakers, etc...etc..etc.. I do own a Yamaha BluRay and an giant Yamaha Motorcyle...so...I am a fan...but I looked at EVERYTHING out there, honestly....
Alright, ...this is an inexpensive, up-to-date unit. I had to figure out what my needs were (not an easy task, actually...so many choices!), and if this would satisfy them, LOL! I have a good size TV..but I do not have a huge set of speakers (5.1 surround sound) and my room is not big.....All that being said..I was careful with my unit...did not tug HDMI once in the jacks, etc...Also....I really had to take my time and READ. Most of the complaining reviews I read here are from people not taking the time to READ, being thorough and not being careful. It takes time investment. I have had the unit for about a week ...and it took a LOT of tweaking to get things sounding GOOD!....
This AV Receiver is GREAT “at this price point”! Everything I need and nothing that I do not.....(well...actually I will never use half the capabilities of this piece of equipment). I have had no performance issues and the instructions, though complicated are just fine!
Claudio Correa Torres
el sonido y potencia es espectacular
Kevin Mock
This product solves a lot of the issues we had with our old onkyo system. We use it in a 5 speaker system (no subwoofer yet). Its user interface is easy to understand and I got it up and running in about an hour. One thing that was frustrating was a loss of signal between this and our Roku. Turned out to be an issue on Rokus end and a couple adjustments fixed it quickly. All in all great for the price
Raging45
This is a wonderful receiver! I can't believe all the features at this price point. Very easy to set up. It has yet to get hot in my cabinet, I haven't even needed to use the cabinet fans I intalled for my old Sony unit! It immediately recognized my fire tv, Nintendo switch, and PS4. It is running polk speakers and a sub, sounds fantastic!
Timothy N.
I Purchased This Receiver Because I've Owned a 2012 RX-V473 I Purchased in 2012 From Best Buy, It Lasted Me 7 Good Listening Years Before It Gave Up The Ghost. I Love The Sound Quality Of YAMAHA AVRs So I Had Know Doubt I Was Going To Purchased Another One When My Old One Died, I Chose This Model Because It Still Has a AUX Input In The Front Of the Receiver. I Don't Ever Use Bluetooth Audio Over An Actual "Physical" Connection Because I Believe You Give Up Sound Quality For The Convience Of Having a Wireless Connection. The Sound Quality For Listening To Movies Is Just As Important To Me As It Is For Music And This YAMAHA Doesn't Disappoint. I Put In HEAT (1995 Film) on Blu-Ray Disc To Test Out The Sound Quality - The Gunfight Scene Where Pacino and DeNiro Along With Val Kilmer Shoot-Out Sounds Fantastic!!! Granted I Have a 12" Klipsch Sub, Polk Audio Towers and Center Channel and Rear Surrounds But This RX-V385 Really Delivers The Goods!!!
UPDATE 2/2023
This AVR Is Still Going Strong, 3yrs Later. Hooked Up a 2022 Hisense U8H 55" UHD T.V. (It Has eARC HDMI Out) No "Handshake" Issues Between It and the YAMAHA. Recently Purchased a PANASONIC 4K Ultra-HD Blu-Ray Player and Since Re-Watched alot of My Blu-Ray Discs and The RX-V385 Continues To Shine When It Comes To Home Theatre Sound Formats Is Concerned. Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio While Watching The Island of Dr. Moreau (1995) and TOP GUN:Maverick (2022) Sounded Fantastic as Expected. I'm Looking To Upgrade To A ONKYO TX-RZ50 9.2ch AVR In The Near Future But Will Continue To Use and Enjoy My 5.1ch Setup Until Then.
Charles Wood
I recently wanted to replace my aging (10 years!), entry-level stereo receiver and selected this one. I've been happy with other Yamaha products for my music studio, so the combination of brand and features got me to pull the trigger.
The product was easy to setup with my TV and speakers. The bonus feature was the room optimizing microphone, which calibrated the sound for my living room in less than 2 minutes. The sound was instantly clear and warm. I spent the evening testing it on music and video, and the result was gorgeous. The bluetooth connection from my iPhone was easy and clean.
My old setup had some issues with feedback, so it's something I am sensitive to and wanted to test out right away.
Immediately after calibrating, I settled the case against feedback (against my old receiver). After 24 hours, I could not have expected more from the purchase. Now, we'll see how it does on durability...
(sorry the photo isn't particularly clear)
Logan Stearns
Extremely happy with this purchase. Supports full resolution 4K passthrough which easily allows for control over multiple devices. Comes with many presents that change the sound drastically. Allows for very precise customization of sound. A little pricey but still far cheaper than other similar quality recievers.
Ceesia
Very crisp clean sound with DEEP powerful bass. Awesome buy for a cinema quality home theater system. I use this receiver to power 5 Bose satellite speakers and 2 Polk audio 10 inch 100watt powered subs.
Josh Haggerty
I've had a non-HDMI Yamaha 5.1 receiver for a long time now. More and more consoles are ditching optical for 5.1 like the Wii U and Switch, so it was time for an upgrade.
Pros:
-You can use the on-screen display to set things up faster than the receiver's panel. I love this.
-Supports linear PCM, so 5.1 on the Switch is great.
-Tons of settings to configure like individual speaker volume levels. Old recivers probably had that, but they were buried within the front panel's menus.
- You can label inputs, as you'll see in my images.
-Everything just works. I didn't have to do anything other than switch everything to a straight encode.
Cons:
-Very little access to wire in the speaker connections, even with my small hands. Each connection is very close to another. Hooking it up was a battle. You only have to do it once so it's no big deal.
-Not a fan of the encoding effects and I'll always prefer a straight encode to hear the sound as intended by the mixers, but of course they can be disabled. No biggie.
-No dedicated input buttons. The BD/DVD, TV, CD and Radio buttons on the remote arren't what they were on previous Yamaha recivers. Now they set "scenes" instead of just inputs. Now you need to hit the options menu, go to input and change it in there. An odd choice and the only nagging issue.
Over all it's a sweet reciver. Yamaha always delivers. I'll update this review if it dies or something changes.
Kevin M.
Was very happy with my purchase found on ebat for 250. High quality again from Yamaha would recommend for sure clean quality power and sound +++++revised ++++++ Bluetooth doers not work on mine but not worth returning everything has bluetooth and I have a portable one so.........
Just the facts
Unpacked & immediately disappointed. Front display panel had sticky & gummy residue. Review is NOT on performance of unit. Could not keep unit as received & not worth investing time to disconnect & reconnect current stereo system.
Nathan Pretlow
This is the first time I brought a receiver in 30 years. I still had my old 1977 Marantz which still sound good.I was amazed at how the technology of receivers has changed 25+years. When setting up the Yamaha Rx-V385 I had to get familiar with no balance control,no hi or low filter buttons,no inputs for turntables or cassette players like the old days. Anyway, welcome to 2019. When I receive my Receiver I went right to work setting it up.I Connected my Edifier bookshelf speakers for my front and for the side I have Pyle drivers pip speakers and for that thundering low bass end, I connected my Polk Audio 10 inch speaker. Turn on my receiver and play the movie Heat when the machine gun scene came on it was like I had the machine gun fight right in my living room. This Yamaha Rx-385 receiver packs a wallop in the power department and having good high wattage surround sound speakers helps too.If you think about starting a Home theater.The Yamaha Rx-385 is good place to start with.
Mike Lowery
Caught this on sale Black Friday for $220.00 but would have paid original price worth it & sound is clear hooked to Xbox One X PS4 Pro & Fire Cube Everything In 4K ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Larry
Sound quality is better than my twelve-year-old unit that I replaced. It has a higher percentage of digital inputs then my old unit which meant I had to be a little creative in connecting my older stereo components using an audio mixer and video audio switching unit. However everything is functional and I appreciate not only the improved sound quality but the improved control over audio input and output.
