I heard the Yamaha @ HE 2005 in NYC, it was pretty impressive for what it was, in the right room, it actually does have surround effects. The overall timbre of the unit was very nice as well given the price point. FWIW it also functions as you receiver, so all you need are your TV, cable box, DVD player etc...
I have a buddy who is a fellow AV junkie who needed something for his living room, and space was a real issue, we mounted one over his TV, and ran all the sources through it. Though his room has very odd side walls, so he doesn't get any real surround effects, it is an excellent LCR system for him in that situation.
His wife didn't even kill us when she came home to us drilling into the living room cabinets to mount the 'L' brackets....
I have a buddy who is a fellow AV junkie who needed something for his living room, and space was a real issue, we mounted one over his TV, and ran all the sources through it. Though his room has very odd side walls, so he doesn't get any real surround effects, it is an excellent LCR system for him in that situation.
His wife didn't even kill us when she came home to us drilling into the living room cabinets to mount the 'L' brackets....