Yamaha RX-397 AM/FM Stereo Receiver

Even though if one were to look at the current offerings from most manufacturers you would be forgiven for thinking that almost everyone in the world was listening to all their recordings in 7.1 surround sound you an I know that this simply is not the case. As far as I know 99.99% of my CD and mp3 collection is still distinctly stereo. My old vinyl hasn’t suddenly upgraded itself to 7.1 surround while I was away on holiday and neither has my turntable. With this in mind may I present you with a short review of what is currently popularly seen as one of the best low end AM/FM Stereo Receivers on the market today, the nicely specified and well priced Yamaha RX-397.

Appearance and Build

Yamaha RX-397 is quite unassuming and would be almost “old school” in appearance if not for the slightly over zealously marked up bass, treble, balance and “loudness” knobs (More on that last knob later). The large volume knob has a nice easy drift to it and feels solid.В  Most of the other knobs are of decent quality and the bean and channel select buttons give a reasonably satisfying click when changing stations. The rears jacks and plugs are all solid and very usable, especially the “screw in” style speaker terminals. All in all the Yamaha RX-397s build quality is very good for a unit in this price range and it does look the part.

Check Current Pricing on Amazon

Specifications & Sound

As you would expect in a budget model like the Yamaha RX-397 this unit doesn’t have some of the balls and whistles you might expect from a higher end model (No multi zone functionality for example) but what it does have is a solid set of features and an extremely good sound quality. The unit boasts a decent 50 watts per channel (to be honest it actually sounds a lot louder than 50w being more comparable to75w amps). The quality of the circuity is extremely good for the price the sound is clear, has a very nice middle and top end, with an extremely low noise floor for the price. The tone and balance controls are more than adequate for most home use and the addition of a “loudness” control which is essentially a mid range trim may be useful to some. Extra additions include a “pure direct” button which bypasses the Yamaha RX-397s tone and gain circuits improving headroom and the overall percieved “air” the system produces.

Conclusions

If you are in the market for a simple stereo receiver for a mid sized room at home I challenge you to find anything this good for this kind of price. Quite frankly the quality of this unit makes me expect to pay at least $100 – $150 more. If you are looking for something in the $200 – $300 price range you cannot go wrong with the Yamaha RX-397.

Check Current Pricing on Amazon

Manufacturers Specifications

  • RMS Output Power 2x 50 Watts
  • Pure Direct Switch
  • Super Audio CD/DVD Audio Ready w/Extended Frequency Response
  • THD [0.04%]
  • Linear Damping Factor (Speaker A) 150
  • Continuously Variable Loudness Control
  • Motor-driven Remote Controllable Master Volume Control
  • 40-Station Preset Tuning
  • IR Ports
  • Low-Impedance Power Supply
  • Remote Control Input/Output Terminals
  • Tape Monitor Switch
  • 5 Audio Input Terminals with Phono Input Terminal
  • Front Panel Headphone Jack
  • Impedance Selector (8 ohms/4ohms)
  • Product Dimensions (W x H x D) / Weight (lbs.) 17-1/8” x 5-3/4” x 12-1/8” / 14.1
  • Shipping Dimensions (W x H x D) / Weight (lbs.) 21″ x 9″ x 14-1/2″ / 17.4
Be Sociable, Share!

March 9, 2010 В· Aiki В· One Comment
Tags: , ,  В· Posted in: Receivers

One Response

  1. Yamaha RX-397 AM/FM Stereo Receiver | Hi Fi Reviews Blog - October 26, 2010

    [...] Even though if one were to look at the current offerings from most manufacturers you would be forgiven for thinking that almost everyone in the world was listening to all their recordings in 7.1 surround sound you an I know that this simply is not the case. As far as I know 99.99% of my CD and mp3 collection is still distinctly stereo. My old vinyl hasn’t suddenly upgraded itself to 7.1 surround while I was away on holiday and neither has my turntable. With this in mind may I present you with a short review of what is currently popularly seen as one of the best low end AM/FM Stereo Receivers on the market today, the nicely specified and well priced Yamaha RX-397. [...]

Leave a Reply