Yamaha aims high and low

As well as its usual array of high end gear, Yamaha's new range includes several products that should appeal to those wanting to take their first steps into home theatre. Leading the value pack is a sub-AU$500 receiver and new home theatre in a box kits that come with receivers instead of DVD players.

Yamaha has released five new receivers, starting with the AU$499 RX-V357B all the way up to the RX-V757B for AU$1399. The RX-V357B is a basic 5.1 channel unit, with the features improving with each step-up model. The RX-V557B, RX-V657B and RX-V757B, for example, have two zone outputs and IR ports.

Yamaha's 10 new home theatre kits have all ditched the DVD player and are now packaged with AV receivers. The YHT-165S 5.1 surround sound kit is the entry level model at AU$699, while the top pf the range YHT-840BG is a 6.1 system that retails for AU$2999.

If you're looking for a DVD, Yamaha will release in May its DVD-S657B universal DVD player. This unit, which will retail for AU$349, is a progressive scan player that can read DVD-Audio, SACD, DVD-VR, DVD+RW/+R, MP3, JPEG, DivX and much more.

At the high end of the spectrum, Yamaha is now selling in Australia the innovative YSP-1 Digital Sound Projector (AU$2499), which can recreate a full 5.1 speaker set-up all from the one unit (read our review here). It has also introduced an update to its DPX-1100 projector, the DPX-1200. The DPX-1200 (AU$19,999) boasts a contrast ratio of 5000:1, brightness of 800 ANSI lumens and has a high res lens.

For music enthusiasts, Yamaha is releasing the CDR-HD1500 digital recording unit (AU$1399), which sports a large 200Gb hard drive to store uncompressed music. This device comes with editing facilities, which allows you to edit stored music and then burn them onto CD.

Model Names	Cost	What's cool about it?
Yamaha YHT-165S home theatre package	AU$699	If you already have a decent DVD player and are keen to move into proper home theatre territory, then Yamaha's YHT-165S home theatre kit could be a good option.
Yamaha RX-V357B	AU$499	Yamaha breaks the sub-AU$500 barrier with its latest home theatre receiver, the RX-V357B.
Yamaha YSP-1 Digital Sound Projector	AU$2499	Yamaha promises less clutter and full surround sound from only one component with its new YSP-1 Digital Sound Projector.