Pros: I think the rx-v365 is awsome for the price. Read other reviews and got real nervous about some issues like having a hard time with the remote, general set up difficulties and a hard to understand manual. Not at all true, just take your time, read the manual carefully and you'll get it in no time. As for no HDMI pass through, If your looking for a no frills way to hear great 5.1 surround, this is the ticket. Uprade if you want any more than that. For me it's perfect. Really worth the money. Newegg got the thing shipped ultra fast. Definitely not my last purchace from them.

Cons: Once in a while the volume down on the remote turns the thing up.

Other Thoughts: This things worth the money. Repaced a old kenwood unit that gave up after 10 years. I really like the Yamaha much better.

Pros: Bought from NewEgg during special pricing, so excellent value! Sounds great. If all you need is a 5.1 receiver that's solid, well designed at a good price, this is the only one I found that meets my need. My old failing Kenwood is out, and what a relief to finally be able to connect everything optimally.
Some of the "enhance'ing audio modes are actually useful, not just gimmicky. Not surprised that's it's listed as "sold out" today.

Cons: Many display elements are way too tiny to read, for an A/V receiver that's usually far away. Setup menus can be perplexing, esp. setting up inputs. Search for and download info, which is not inc. in oper. manual.
Comcast cable remote does not have a setup code for this receiver, digital cable now HD cable remotes. Sigh, still stuck having several remotes to control everything. Guess I'll have to find that one perfect universal remote.

Other Thoughts: HDMI audio passthru lacking is not a problem, since I don't use my displays' speakers at all. It seems to be a bizarre design choice, but it's workable for many setups. I use HDMI for video input to receiver, HDMI as video output, and optical audio in from sources and I'm fine.

Pros: Very simple to use.
Has 4 large buttons in front that can be Pre-set to go strait to the device of your choice. (Also it remembers the settings you select for these inputs)
Front Mini Jack for your Ipod, Zune or other Mp3 Player

Cons: No rear 120 volt outlet to power on other devices
Only a Mono output for Sub-woofer (But does a great Job)

Other Thoughts: I bought this unit for my basement TV. Its a 42inch plasma with 5 speaker surround and Bass. For the Price this unit has a lot to offer. It will give you enough power to run a full surround sound 5 speaker system with a powered sub-woofer. If you are looking for a cheap and simple unit that still has a Brand name, this is the one. I like it more than my $800 Yamaha unit on my main TV.

Pros: Does exactly what it says, runs speakers and links your HDMI, Component and Composite devices to your tv all for a little bit more money than a good HDMI switch box.

Cons: Remote is not laid out very well so it is hard at first to figure out how to select devices and change basic audio settings.
No audio pass-through via HDMI so you have to run separate digital or analog audio connections for each input device.

Other Thoughts: As you may have guessed from my comments above, I primarily needed a way of adding multiple component and HDMI to my HDTV which only has 2 HDMI's and one Component input.
As far as audio goes, I have two bose bookshelf speakers stacked on top of each other sitting to one side of the tv so the audio set up is less than ideal but that being said, the Yamaha has plenty of power to drive them and they sound much better, especially the base, than with my older receiver.
If price were no object I would have liked a unit with HDMI audio and 1080p video upscaling so my PS2 games would look a little better on my 1080p tv. The cheapest unit I saw with those features ran over 3x the cost of this unit and most were 4 to 6x.

Pros: 4 stars because it does everything i needed it to do. For the cost though it was a great deal, i got this for exactly $135.

Cons: Lost a start because i didn't realize that the HDMI part of this doesn't take in sound. How lame is that ?

Pros: Stylish, inexpensive, and functional 5.1 surround sound. Easily connects for Dolby Digital and DTS through 2 optical ports. Is capable of using with Blu-Ray but only through something like the PS3 (see other thoughts)

Cons: Only 2 optical ports. If you are like me you have a PS3, 360, TV and maybe something else. Had to buy a switch to accommodate. Some of the analog RCA plug ins were a little confusing as to what ran to what as far as the correct setting on the front to get both audio out of my speakers and video routed to my TV. Simple trial and error led to success though.

Other Thoughts: If the next model up that allows you to run audio out of your HDMI is too expensive and you want to settle for optical you can still enjoy Blu-Rays that use DTS-HD MA sound from your PlayStation 3. Simply go to the Audio/Video settings and choose BitStream for every option. You will be notified that the changes will compress the sound and offer it at a slightly lower quality. Your PS3 will then down convert the sound to DTS and send it along the optical line for you to still be able to enjoy it in surround. Most Blu-Rays are still written in Dolby Digital or have a Dolby Digital track on them. For the few exceptions such as Wall-E this is an acceptable compromise for not shelling out the big bucks on TruHD sound systems. Enjoy 5.1 now and simply wait for the price to drop on the more expensive models.

Pros: Does the job for me. I love to use low end (but new) gear in my home theater. I picked this up (which was an upgrade from my conventional zenith receiver which I got in a cheap Home Theater package) and noticed that the sound it delivers it great. I run the optical from the BD player to the receiver and get great sound with it.

This makes my small cheap speakers sound great!

Cons: No HDMI pass through, although I like optical better then HDMI sound.
Really no other cons to think of.

Other Thoughts: The reason I went with this receiver instead of the RX-V465 is because I like the way optical sounds over HDMI.

Otherwise this is the same thing as the V465.

I plan to pair this with some Sony floor standing speakers and a good (yet low end) center channel speaker.

If you are on a budget this is great selection for you.

Pros: Awesome power and sound.

Cons: Configuration can be a pain! Will not process HD Component input connections to HDTV thru the HDMI output either.

Other Thoughts: I'm not a fan of having to reassign the inputs (And not being able to rename things). Example: I had to set up my HTPC as the DTV, my DVD player as CD player (due to optical outputs) and my DTV receiver as DVD player (since it was only system to have coax-digital output and only coax digital input on receiver is for DVD player!).

Also, if you connect a device through the HD Component connections, be prepared to also connect the receiver to your HDTV with the same. It will not process component connections via the HDMI from receiver to HDTV.

But after the config has been set, I woke up a ten year old set of Bose Acoustimass 15's and they sound really awesome now! Depending on your level of knowledge, if it's not that great, I would go up one level to the RX-V465 and probably save yourself several hours of getting the system configured!

Pros: Affordable. I didn't feel as though it was much to risk at the time. It consumes less power than the unit I am replacing which was my purpose.

Cons: Fairly easy to set up but a little confusing to figure out. For example, I cannot get my HDMI DVD player to play through this unit. I have a component video DVD player that will play, but only when I connect component out to my TV and select that as my input source. So source type in = source type out. Okay, but what if I wanted to use both HDMI inputs? Can't really in this case. I connected my XBox360 to the DVD HDMI input and tried to play a DVD. "Secure HDCP link not found" is returned and won't play a DVD. Basically, I can't get what I want out of this device.

Other Thoughts: This device is destined to be replaced. I can make use of it, but not in the way I want to use it. It will have to be replaced but only after I have done my homework. This is a new experience for me -- a learning experience to be sure. If you already know what you want and how to use it, you are probably not going to buy this unit.

Pros: It sounds great, has tons of power, makes my speakers come alive. Has all the hookups I need. I am totally happy when I can get it working,

I have it hooked up with a rca cord from my computer output jack.

Cons: Its to difficult to change settings, when you read the manual its a joke.

I'm going to quote out of the manual.

"1. press 8 (amp) then press 11(menu) on the remote. Press 12 then press up or down.. Select sound menu then press 12 then press up or down repetitively. press enter on the desired one, then click return,"

first of all there is no 12 button there is no 11 button and the 8 button isn't labeled as (amp) I fallow these instructions and nothing happens. Oh wait I don't have these buttons?

so I go back to the stereo receiver because I know how to change the sound settings on there, there is a straight/effect button I click that it does straight, effect 2 channel effect 5 channel. That worked yesterday.

today the only sound i can get is on tuner off the center speaker nothing else works.

Other Thoughts: I ordered this as a NEW product from newegg and the box it got sent from says RMA warehouse. I'm starting to think I'm not confused by the settings but they sold me someone else broken junk.