Yamaha RX-N600

Intro of Yamaha RX-N600

Over the last past few years, the A/V receiver's role as a home-theater control center has expanded with the times. So while most buyers will hook up only their DVD player, cable box, and possibly a game console, an ever-increasing number of consumers would also like to use the receiver to play music from their ever-increasing digital audio collection--be it in the form of a satellite radio subscription, Internet radio, an MP3 collection on their PC hard drive, portable music player, or--of course--the iPod. That makes a lot of sense to us, since a home theater probably has higher-quality speakers than a computer's, and an A/V receiver's electronics are better and more powerful than a computer's sound card. With the RX-N600 receiver ($600), Yamaha covered those new connectivity requirements and didn't neglect sound quality. There are just two problems. First, serious digital music fans will lament some of the restrictions on the product's MP3-streaming capabilities. Secondly, the otherwise amply endowed Yamaha lacks HDMI switching, a feature that's growing increasingly critical for anyone who's serious about home theater.