Very compact and high-quality AV receiver

I had long wondered whether I should take this receiver because he came only in mid-2013 out any reviews or reviews were available, the price was set at about 600 Euro significantly higher than the one I wanted to spend and I actually satisfied Onkyo owners am. When jetztigen price of 439 Euro I would choose fast for him.
The alternatives that fit into Lowboard were not very attractive to me and are countable on two fingers. They are made by Pioneer and Marantz. Then the alternatives were only left that do not fit into Lowboard, Denon AVR-X1000, Yamaha RX-V475, Onkyo TX-NR626 (This is a 7.2-AVR). Unfortunately, for all producers, the trend to plastic front panel, what I absolutely can not understand when you get a stereo amplifier from the same house for half the price with 5mm aluminum cover.
A friend had a few days earlier pulled the RX-V475 ashore. According to Yamaha brochure this is technically identical to the RX-S600 in many ways. Apart from the design, the more the premium series by Yamaha (RX-Axxx) is based, has the RX-S600 amplifiers with somewhat less power, more DSP programs and better speaker terminals. For the RX-V475, there were already test reports, including by Stiftung Warentest, certifying it a very good sound quality and functionality.

Sound / heat generation:
In conjunction with my devil Columa® 300 Mk2 "5.1-Set L" boxes of RX-S600 produces an excellent sound. Music from all available sources will be played clean. Even from the FM radio the result is more than useful. When operating in low volume (in my ad -30dB) no noticeable heat development is observed. I know that Onkyo different. When the light above -15dB comes, it is already so loud that you do not want to stay longer in the room. For movies it is mostly located around the -22dB and even here the housing top is only lukewarm.

Video / HDMI:
- All HDMI sources are not contaminated by the connected TV. While it will take about 3 seconds is switched to from a source to another, but this is an acceptable delay for me. Finally, the video processor must first identify which resolution and refresh rate the input source comes along and synchronize it to the output. Switching is connected to a distinct clunk. Probably the amplifier is switched off via a relay during the switching.
- 3D playback works fine
- ARC I do not use, but I use an optical cable

Features:
- Sources (not only HDMI) can be renamed and there are already some standard identifiers, such as Blu-ray, TV, SAT, ... available
- About USB music files can be played, no pictures or videos!
- Automatic calibration via YPAO function properly, although for my taste the bass were filmed too much back to what is in rock music far too little
- All the networking and streaming from mobile devices I have not yet been tested, but, there are experiences in other reviews

Negatives:
If anything, there are several reasons that could improve Yamaha here:
- Many settings are not self-explanatory and need a look at the manual, which unfortunately is not in printed form here. For example, the column boxes at a height of 1.20 m must be configured as small boxes, otherwise the subwoofer is not activated. Large boxes include this definition a separate woofer!
- The remote control is confusing and there are too many and too small keys it. It is not necessary to have for each source a dedicated button, especially as so much of renaming anyway remembers what device is connected to which input.
- An HDMI port on the front would not have been wrong, for example, to fast times to connect a laptop to it
- Unfortunately, there is at the speaker terminals no color coding (see Onkyo.)
- The designation of the rear USB port is misleading. I have not been recognized, whether it's just a 5V supply or a full USB host
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth can only be used with additional adapters

Conclusion:
The Yamaha RX-S600 gives a solid and compact AV receiver that delivers excellent sound and broadly the functional requirements that you met up at such a device in 2013. The build quality is high. If he is so durable, as both my Onkyo receiver (8 years and 20 years), I have made a bad purchase.