The biggest -ve about the Yammy is that it does not pass BTB/WTW.  I think it is a matter of taste, both are good. Onkyo 606 does not have any pre-outs, Yammy has preouts, pre outs are good to have if in the future you want to separate your music from your movies. Yamaha has less HDMI ins. I believe both can upconvert thru HDMI but not upscale. Compare here. It's your choice.

Yamaha 663 specs

Onkyo 606 Specs

hi.. thanks for the input.
I asked the shop sales man in CYM 1Utama and they told me the Onkyo606 got pre-out. I asked because i wanted to play vacumm tube amplifire.
And he also show me that when switch to music mode (which is stereo), the sounds will be better because it shut down the rest of the unuse component. He also said inside the 606 got 2 transformer... hmm.. since i am pretty new with AV, kinda blur now... he he he he lol

Pls double check about the Onkyo 606, the pictures on the web do not show a pre-out for the fronts. This is also what I recall when I was thinking of 605/606. I believe pre-outs for Onkyo start from the 70x series onwards to 90x series. There is only pre-outs for sub which is normal. On the pure audio that the salesman mentioned, yes the music would be better but compared to other dsp only. If you have a vacuum tube amp, the sound will be better if you send the CD output direct to the tube amp.

It is important to match your speakers to your music type too. What speakers are you planning to use? What is the rest of out setup? CD player, BD player?

i can confirm 606 got no pre-out.I once tested it and if it got pre out i may not return it to get my 876 now becos i had an extra power amp.(the ori 606 output not so cukup ummmmmph for me )

anfieldude used front pre-out to a Hofli intergrated amp if not mistaken,he should know more about that  ( btw,i doubt why not juz direct CD> int.amp but through Onkyo? ) 

pre-out for zone 2 only can connect to another different system(either an int.amp or power amp) which is not "front output" that mentioned earlier.

hope this helps 

Ikon6 is actually pretty good especially for wide range of music, since I listen to a wide range from classical to hard rock with a lot of jazz. It is also pretty good for HT, the reason being it has hybrid tweeters (high frequency and super high frequency) and 2 drivers for the lower frequencies. It is also easy to drive. I was actually amazed at the HT portion and Ikon6, Ikon Vokal2, Ikon OnWall and Ikon sub does a pretty decent job. If I have to look for the weak link in the system it would be the subs, but it is a compromise since I have to use it for my music as well, Velodyne and SVS is probably more punchy for movies but might not integrate too well with music.

I'm from Penang so got it at Wisma Audio in Island Plaza. I believe they have a branch in Ampang, City Square. They also stock Holfi amps that are a good match for the Dalis.

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Added on November 26, 2008, 1:41 pm

If you ever plan to use the vacuum tubes for music later on, then you have to get a AVR that has front pre-outs else you will be switching cables or you need separate speakers for music and AV. So in that case, the 663 might be a better choice for you. With this method, you do not need to switch cables. On your question whether the Onkyo would outperform the Yammy, it is hard to say. I believe the Onkyo's generally drive harder and were primarily desiged for HT, wherease Yammy's are designed with music in mind as well, so the movies portion might not satisfy some people who use it for movies only.

No it does not. Essentially, what is being done is that the AVR processes the raw signal and separates them into individual channels. When you send the fronts through the front pre-outs, the AVR applies the filters that are in AVR during setup and the signal is sent to your amp. If you listen to Blu Rays concerts that have no surround in them, you can use the pure Audio in the Onkyo or something similar in the Yammy and the full range of the signal will be sent through the pre-outs if you use them with no filters applied. So in essence, there should be no distortion/noise but it does sound different than sending an audion signal direct to the amp and using the AVR for movies primarily.

Hope this helps.