When Pure Direct engaged, the signal bypasses the tone, loudness, balance controls, and other circuit, being fed directly to the discrete power amplifier. It travels in a straight line from the volume control, through the high-gain short, direct path is maximum signal purity.The CD buffer amplifier, volume control amplifier and power amplifier are all constructed from carefully selected discrete parts. This configuration provides superior signal quality.Rather than the usual 20Hz - 20kHz frequency response, Yamaha has given the RX-497 the ability to handle frequencies from 10Hz to100kHz (1dB). Although the ear cannot hear the higher frequencies, it has been proven that these harmonics can affect sound reproduction quality. Super Audio CD, DVD-Audio and other new formats will be able to output sound over this range, so the RX-497 is fully compatible with products using these formats.Level variations due to high amp impedance tend to reduce an amplifier's damping factor, and frequency variations cause it to fluctuate. This circuit cancels the effect of these variations, maintaining a high, stable damping factor, for superior articulation of all sounds and better frequency response.The RX-497 is capable of delivering large amounts of reserve power for accurate reproduction of high-energy peaks. This emphasizes the music's dynamic qualities and provides a sharper sound image.As befits a high performance receiver, the RX-497 is designed to be suitable for use in custom installations. It has a Zone 2 out so the audio signal can be output in a second room. In addition, you can enjoy audio in 3 different zones in your home by using main zone speaker output, Speaker B output, and zone 2audio/video output. There is also a Main/Zone 2-power switch and 2-in/1-out remote terminals.ls.