A good low cost intro to Yamaha's MusicCast series receivers.
This is a very nice receiver from Yamaha's lower end of stereo receivers. This one is a relatively inexpensive way to introduce yourself to the Yamaha network receiver line, and for many people, it's all you need. It sounds quite good, but it's not the top of the line. It has all the connectivity one could probably think of, including Bluetooth and Internet.
As far as the audio chain, if you have basic speakers and want a basic do-everything receiver that sounds great, I can highly recommend this. It pairs quite well with the better speakers in the $500 to $600 range. However, if you're more of an audiophile and want better specs (mainly in THD and other numbers audiophiles consider important), I would recommend you upgrade to Yamaha's R-N602 or higher, which has the same basic features but a much better amplifier system with lower distortion and less Digital Signal Processing (DSP).
As for Internet connectivity, the WiFi is only 2.4GHz, and you may have performance issues, especially since that band is often crowded in most homes. I would highly recommend using a direct Ethernet connection (Receiver does have an RJ-11 jack on the back.) I haven't had any problems receiving Internet radio or playing music from my NAS. In my house, the 2.4G WiFi is not reliable for streaming.
For you vinyl fans out there, this receiver also has Phono inputs, so you don't need to provide your own preamp. So you can use any turntable that has direct cartridge output. (You can always use one of the Line inputs if your turntable has a preamp.)
The receiver can also receive services like Sirius XM, Deezer, and lots of services I don't subscribe to. (Go to Yamaha's web site and download the owner's manual to see everything.)
I upgraded my speakers and so I needed to upgrade to the better Yamaha R-N602, and moved the R-N303 to another room. Using Yamaha's MusicCast app, you can, for instance, play a turntable on the R-N602 and broadcast it to the R-N303 in your bedroom!
I'm a big fan of Yamaha's network stereo receivers. They just do what they're supposed to do, and when it's time to upgrade, Yamaha still has you covered.
In a nutshell, if you want a basic low(ish) cost stereo receiver that does everything, I recommend this one. If you can afford to be an audiophile and have a bigger budget, I'd look for higher numbers in Yamaha's R-N line. Check the specs and the cost of moving up and decide from there.
Verified purchase: Yes