it will be very hard to compare one receiver to another directly but if the basis will the things that you need in a receiver, it will become simpler,
1. Built quality and aesthetics - different brands have different fascia presentation, take a look at both
models you are comparing and determine which apperance would fancy you more, Take into
consideration control locations, ease of navigation, display panel even color of the LCD inside the display
panel. Take a loof at the back panel as well and see for yourself which one would be eaier for you to
work at and understand.
2. Automatic Room Correction Feature - im not familiar with Yamaha in this aspect but the room correction
feature that allows you to do more than 2 mic positions in calibrating the system is better than just two
mic positions. Calibration allows you to enjoy movies closer to reference setting, or how the movie was
intended to be heard in your listening position.
3. Video Upscaling - if you are into using the receiver for video upscaling, the one that has it hands down
should be the choice. If you connect your sources directly to your TV, then this feature wouldnt matter.
4. Ease of Use including the remote control - there are times one model becomes better than the other
becasue fo the ease or difficulty of use both through the remote control or through the reciever's
control at the front panel. There are people who takes this into consideration as ease of use would avoid
confusion wiht the controls and the frustration in vaigating through each feautres when you make
adjustements. This also include the GUI, better GUI is a good attraction too.
5. Sound Quality that Suites you more - NO matter what they say, this will be the most important factor
that you need to consider. People may say a lot of things about a particular model but at the end of the
day, choose the one that sounds best to you. Features are just feautres but sometimes there are
feautres that does not contribute to how good the sound can be.
at the end of the day, each brand and model are very good in their own rights, one may be better in some aspects but if you dont need it, it has no value