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I have a question 🤔: What is the "too neutral "? I ask because I would think that if you play your content through a neutral system, signal in, signal amplified, signal out, and you don't like the sound, wouldn't that 🤔 speak more about the content than the system? Setting aside variables like nostalgia, system synergy, and personal taste, I don't understand how a system can be faulted for serving one exactly what the content creators made. That said, Dirac v. YPAO, yeah, right! That's comparison isn't fair, simply because it is widely recognized that Dirac is the superior room correction software. It would have been a better comparison, IMO, if you would have dialed both systems manually, utilizing the same EQ settings. With that off my chest, I await your response to my question, and sincerely thank you and Kristi for all that you do. Keep up the great work.
Also unless you have a qualified technician for various frequencies used in home theater AV and total neutral rooms to test them in, with data collated only then will you have a true representation of the system tested ,plus each theater room that most people have are so different that its impossible to say which is best for your type of theater room set up, unless you have a good mic and av which can read it 100% to set the speaker distances and angles of each speaker and then again like i said it depends on how good your ears are and what type of movies you like to watch is all relative to what you like, not what the manufacturer's claim it can do, put differant speakers like bowels and wiles diamond series for example to say yahamhas own ns serries speakers and there's a world of difference, so again buy with in your means and do as much research about the products you wish to by and get them to show you in a dedicated home theater set up with other av;s and speaker combos so you can listen to the same movie over and over again & NOT DEMO Blue rays as they are pure digital and made for AV receivers, plus ask what grade of speaker wires are set to the speakers as well in the demo rooms, i have seen monster cable used yet when you by a AV receiver they give you the little grey small cable to use for the av receiver think for a moment what frequency's can be transmitted via very small speaker connection cables? sorry for venting, but everything i have said is true as well, i have a CD which is the soundtrack to the movie midnight express it was a DDD Rafted CD, not blue ray DTS Dolby atmos etc etc, yet every cd on the market 98$ of them are recorded via AAA, or AAD which is (DDD) digital to digital to digital transferred onto the CD, the AAA is analog to analog to analog transferred, so you paying top dollar for music which in the late 1980's DDD cd's were top self recorded music and to this day when i play the cd even 4 k blue ray sound is nothing compared to the DDD cd, which tell you just how much control the music and CD manufacturers had over the sourcing of its music which is why people go home and are so dissatisfied once their hear the music on a cd / blue ray 4k players? Also were talking about Cd players from the 1980's and no amount of money is going to change how the music sounds even if you spend 50K just on a cd player, its about how the music was recorded sound was transferred onto the blue ray 4k and soon to be 8K, the movie industry is not stupid first we had venal, which people are going back to it, because its a totally different type of sound, also remember when the large 12" movie discs were out for sale, i bet someone has not done a sound test of one of those movies & compared it to to a 4k blue ray movie ?
Did you say you could not hear any sound coming from the rear speakers in a 7.1 set up, or was that because you could not have the AV receiver produce the atmos sound through them, i am confused, as it clearly states that it can make the rear speakers in a 7.1 and have those rear speakers produce the atmos sounds? 🦘🦘👌👌✌✌
Every Yamaha receiver I've ever had has lasted at least 15 years. Just my opinion but I will never buy anything but Yamaha ! I have the Rx a 3080 receiver it's awesome. Have a great day !
We have a Yamaha in our weight room at school that has been there since opening almost 30 years ago! And you know kids leave it on for days and days on end. Built tough!
I too have always been a YAMAHA FAN from the beginning with the 2070 to my favorite 🤩 looking 👀 one the DSP A1 in Gold 🥇, now I also have the RX A 3080…because of ANDREW’s recommendation…all are still in use by friends and family 👍…except one hit by lightning ⚡️💚💚💚
Good review, however I think some very important additional points need to be highlighted for consumers that in my opinion put the Yamaha ahead of the Onkyo etc. 1 - Yamaha provides a 5 year warranty on their receivers with local service centres, 2 - on tear down the Yamaha is designed with numerous heat sinks on all hdmi ports and cpu, with a overheat fan, I had a Yamaha htr 6080 for 13 yrs still running like new, so build quality needs to be compared. 3 the Yamaha remote is great - sealed - backlit buttons, with no fiddly bits to mess up settings. Also Yamaha MusicCast has been a great experience. Would like to see a deeper dive on these points. I am sure the rz50 is a great machine but Not so sure they have a comparable customer service and warranty record. Not intended to put down the competition just wanted to highlight some points that may be helpful for consumers like me.
You are absolutely right! I also don't know why no one speaks about the remote control and the options it gives you in the reviews. The remote controls of the competition are like from the 80s. Also, no ones speaks about the SCENE buttons of the Yamaha - no other competitor has these. And not to forget the possibility to have two absolutely different speaker configurations which can be loaded instantly with a press of one button.
@@VASKION marantz has the smart selector (4 smart settings) and 4 smart modes, it's more than enought. During standby you can change hdmi input, using it as an hdmi switch (hopefully other brands do the same). But, yes, remote is a bit from 80's speaking of build quality and lacks backlight.
Good point. I have an older Yamaha AV receiver (rxv-1800? if i recall off the top of my head) for one of my TVs that has been rock solid. I had lightning hit my house 4 years ago and My TV, apple tv, cable modem, PS3, TV, and multiple other electronics fried despite being plugged into surge protectors. But that old receiver didn't miss a beat. BTW, I have the A4A as well and it is a great receiver. Only thing disappointing is I thought I could use an external amp for 7.1.2 channels but I was mistaken. Completely my fault but now I have 2 rear speakers that rarely ever come on seeing the Yamaha promotes 5.1.2 over 7.1 with no option for 7.1.2
@@zibzer I am also a fan of Yamaha amps. I have an 115 watt integrated amp from 1988. And it has been used daily about 35 years. You mentioned lightning strikes. I had two consecutive tuners zapped while connected to that amp. The power surges that killed the tuners didn't phase the amp at all. And it still works powering four floor standing speakers. But the lack of HDMI inputs really limit it's usefulness today.
I've used the A4A for around a year. It took some patient tweaking with the PEQ along with disabling the ECO setting, now my video and audio from bl ray is fantastic. Close to perfect. Atmos delivers well. 2 channel music as well. I do advise for better sound quality, stream music through it's MusicCast from the LAN instead of wireless to wireless. Hi-Def music is much more defined through MusicCast than from any media player.
I got a Marantz SR7015 it was factory refurbished, true, but it fell apart in just 2.5 years. No FM/AM tuner, HDMIs blackout periodically and rear right surround channel isn’t working. The thing went in the dumpster Before that I had a cheap Yamaha that worked flawlessly for years so now I don’t want to ever consider anything else but Yamaha and I’m getting this one 👍🏼
Andfew, I always enjoy your top notch, honest revews! Here is a tip to solve your dialog clarity and impact. I own the RXA-3080 and use one "pattern" for music and a second "pattern" set for movies. For music I use the Natural EQ, and for movies I use the Flat EQ with the center channel volume sligbtly increased. The Flat EQ will give you ghe extra clarity and impact you're looking for. Joe C
I own a Yamaha RX A6A, and I'm from Denon, but I have to say that the Yamaha Aventage series, plus all its proprietary components, has one of the best DSP audio processors out there. It's a machine made with substance to last. I am delighted with Yamaha🖤
i wanted to buy the RX A4A but ANDREW gave me the impression it sounds flat and almost boring and i dont want to spend $2300AUD for a flat dull sounding rceiver
@@georgeb2085it does not sound flat. I recommend a pair of bookshelf speakers. I have mine hooked up to paradigm mini monitorv7’s and a 10” reference monitor 10 sub. The imaging is great. I replaced my old Cambridge azur 551 and it is superior to that. I enjoyed the cambridge.
I've been a fan of Yamaha for many years and have had an older model for the past ten years and have been looking to update my old one ~ My concern has always been that center channel ~ I thought maybe my hearing was failing me ~ Glad to know Christy is aware of that dialogue problem ~ I found that turning the treble up helped a little but not really to my satisfaction on my older receiver ~ I think what I'll be looking for if I decide on the A4A is to buy it from a dealer with a good return policy just in case I'm not satisfied ~ I don't want to get thrown under the bus and get stuck with something I can't live with ~ Thanks for the review ~ Glad to know I can get my feet wet if I want a new Yamaha ~ Trust you 2 a lot for your honesty ~ RS
I’ve had my A4A for a year now, love it with no regrets. Being a fairly patient person in general with these kinds of things, the wait for HDMI 2.1 gaming features did not bother me and I knew that Yamaha would deliver the goods with chips that didn’t suffer from the 2.1 bug.
@@chandrashekaravijaykumar Hello, I have SVS PB 2000 Pro. It’s fantastic for games and movies. I’m not really a bass head, so this provides plenty. I can shake the windows if I want to.
I purchased the A4A last summer to run a 5.1 system, LR were on a separate amp with C and Surrounds on the unit. This was a nice setup with Xbox Series X, PS5, and Gaming PC with 3080TI between 2 rooms sharing the same wall to have 4k120 on both TV's. Having a single receiver to run both rooms was a must. (having to wait on the Yamaha updates for VRR and stability updates was a pain till the December update) BUT after upgrading the main viewing room with a full set of Klipsch New Reference with 7.2.4 capabilities, I've since traded the unit out for the A6A with a smaller 4-channel amp running the 4x Ceiling speakers. I've been WAY happier with this setup and I should have got the A6A in the first place, as the idea was to always build out the main room into a nice movie room. That being said, I've been really happy with the sound quality of the Yamaha 4 & 6 with Klipsch New Reference, but with all channels driven, the A4A seemed to lack a lot of oomf. So much happier with the A6A and my setup. Hope this helps someone! (and thank you both for your continued support of the Home Audio and Theater enthusiasts, new and old) I see Marantz in the distant future for myself in the next upgrade though, based off your recommendations.
I have owned the A4A for about a year and have had good results. Yamaha did take some time to get the updates done but now that they finally did I don't have too many gripes. Compared to my older Marantz sr6008 the Yamaha is a more refined sound. When I first setup the Yamaha it had some strange sound to the dialog on tv content that my wife even commented on. Too many filters and options are turned on when letting the Yamaha YPAL do its thing. I basically turned off all the things Yamaha turns on and adjusted the settings myself. Sure this isn't for everybody and does take knowledge to do so but the result is superior to the Marantz and Yamaha's YPAL setup. I used the A4A to power Polk R700 and they did okay but could use more power to get the most of them when pushed but that would be the case with most AVR IMO. I also bi-amped the R700 and it made a notable difference and would likely satisfy most people. Currently I use a Mcintosh 7106 for the front 3 channels using the preouts and use the A4A for the surround and atmos channels. I am very satisfied with the Yamaha and I think it would be received better if the YPAL wasn't so wonky.
Almost at the same time as with your review, the RX-A4A arrived at my place. After 4 days of use I say I can't be happier with my choice. Everything is just perfect, I am pleased with the sound in all circumstances and I can't find any flaw. Coming from an old Marantz sr6007, my Klipsch RP got a new life. And Yamaha's build quality is light years ahead!
I own the Yamaha A6A. This is the Best receiver I have ever owned, I doubt there is another revived at that price point that gives you what Yamaha offers you both with A6A and A8A, It can easily pass a THX test. but Yamaha puts the money into the receivers instead of paying high-cost licensing fees.
i installed an RX-a1080 for a customer recently and was impressed. I had considered an a4 or a6 for myself but ultimately went with your recommended RZ-50 and have been very happy with it. i agree that yamaha could clean up their UI and make things more intuitive, i remember having to search quite a bit to figure out the dang airplay password on the 1080 for example. Yamaha feels very toyota to me, its reliable, and neutral, and vanilla, it always works, but its not exciting.
I appreciate Kristi's take on this as I have two people in my house that have some hearing loss, and would appreciate the extra pop or umph from the Onkyo TX-RZ50. Thank you both.
I guess it depends on what you pay for the Yamaha. I purchased my A4A though Walmart online from a third party seller for $1,000 along with a $100 4 year protection plan. At that price point you can't go wrong. The room correction software wanted to set my speakers as large and at 6 ohms and that really killed the sound. The only thing I used it for was to set the distances and then set them up to my liking for the rest. I really like the Yamaha A4A and highly recommend it.
@@IronCan88 The Yamaha is $1k more expensive, I wouldn't call that similar price. If the RZ50 suits your need, save the cash. If you need the extra 2 channels of processing, balanced outputs for the front 2 channels and better quality pre-outs..... Then get the Yamaha RX-A6A. But, between the A4A and the RZ50???? Get the cheaper of the two, they are both nice products. The A6A & A8A are just too big of a price jump unless there are specific features that you need. I actually use the Balanced outputs on the front R&L to drive 100W Class-A monoblocks so I required either the A6A or A8A and the A8A just wasn't worth the premium to me......
@@richarddortch6122 hi thank you. I can get a6a for $1650 which is almost the same as zr50, that's why it becomes difficult. Also I currently use the pioneer sc-91 to power my focal Aria 5.1 system, so hopefully this one will be as good or better in terms of sound quality and power.
@@IronCan88 Then go with the Yamaha. Just on weight alone the A6A weighs 11 pounds more, that's better build quality, bigger primary transformer, bigger primary power supply. The Yamaha also has a more powerful internal processor that can be feature upgraded on the fly. At the same price like that, it's a no brainer, get the Yammy.
Man…I love everything about your review channel: the information, presentation and inclusion of a secondary opinion at the end…awesome job. This is my go to source for AVR updates.
I still have a Yamaha receiver that I purchased in 93. I love it’s simplistic design. Although I was never a fan of the orange glow, I think it’s a much nicer looking piece than this new thing.
With the Yamaha surround AI on make compressed soundtracks come alive for all my video streaming apps a big difference in sound here compared to other AVR.
Thank you for the review of this amp, it was very interesting to hear your view and comparison to competitors. I bought the Yamaha A4A a year ago as Onkyo wasn’t available in Sweden at the time. I love my Yamaha, and a massive sound improvement over my old Marantz SR8002. I also love having a 5 year warranty since I don’t buy new stuff very often. I run the amp in 5.0 config but I bi-amp my massive Dali 40 fronts using two of the surround channels on the amp for the bi-amping.
I own a few 8002s and this comment is something that applies to me. Can you please give me examples of how it's a massive sound improvement over the 8002?
@@techsamurai11 Well, it was about a year ago that I made the comparison and I don't quite remember which adjectives I would use to describe it. But, "Control" is probably the word I would use I guess. My front speakers are not very kind to the amp as a load, but in bi-amp configuration the Yamaha amp gave me better clarity than the Marantz SR8002. The base was a lot muddier (and annoyingly heavy) on the Marantz compared to the Yamaha, although that might also be attributed to differences between the recent YPAO compared to an old Audessey tool. The conclusion is I simply enjoy listening to music way more on my Yamaha compared to the Marantz.
@@JHallberg I see - so it's in music that you hear the improvement. That's important. In terms of power the 8002 is an old AVR but it has the same toroidal power supply as the 8015 and is actually a bit more powerful than the 8015 which is used for 13 channels. I use it the same way as you bi-amping the left and right front channels (so I use 7 channels with 5 speakers). As for the Yamaha's power, I've only seen one benchmark of the more powerful A6A and it's very good in 1-4 channels but has a cliff once you hit 5 and 7 channels turning it that must be caused by limiters. Now this may have changed through firmware updates or the test may not be an indication of real life performance but it was a bit shocking to see the A6A only deliver 50 watts in 7 channels. I suspect in movies with loud scenes the 8002 should be much more authoritative as it can still offer 100 watts with all channels driven at 0.1% THD. But music is very, very important to me and even more important to me for movies (and even games) as I think the musicality of a movie is the reason people should spend build a high-end home theater.😃 The last Yamaha I auditioned is a very old model but it's also probably their best model - the RX-Z11. Yamaha has a history of AVRs and it's listed there with a picture and predates the Aventage line. It weighed 75lbs and cost $5,000! Today it would cost $10,000. I recall it playing Buble's Feeling Good on a Focal BE1028 and it sounded amazing in the bombastic intro but then again so did the 8002 with my B&Ws so I didn't feel I was missing much, if anything. And that makes sense as many professional reviewers owned the 8002 and used it when comparing the juggernauts of yesteryear from Denon, Rotel, Onkyo, and Yamaha. I think we can rule out power and source as being different (or an improvement) especially since the Atmos soundtracks are identical to DolbyTrueHD when you're not using the overhead speakers so you'd be playing the same source on both AVRs. Which then brings us to processing, room correction, and also component matching. Honestly, I personally don't know how much processing has evolved over the years in terms of audio quality. Have the DACs improved so much that an AVR from 2020 is demonstrably better than an AVR from 2010? Has the spatial processing improved so much that it's night and day? That's actually a good question for the Robinsons. Is it really worth upgrading if you have a high-end AVR that's 10 years old? Room correction is huge and like you I suspect this could be the biggest factor. If you see the values in my Audyssey EQ, you'll freak out. I try not to look at them but I'm always tempted to take out a SPL and start playing frequencies to see if it's really true that one speaker needs 10db more in a particular range. Over the years and owning so many of these, I've run Audyssey probably 900 times so I know it's not a mistake although Audyssey can fluctuate massively in its measurements😁 I'd love to try Dirac and I probably should have bought a professional mic and stand for the calibration by now as it's probably more important than choosing between Audyssey and Dirac as the guy from Audyssey or Dirac explained in a video. Never tried YPAO but it could be the sauce your system was missing. It could also be that the Yamaha was a much better match for your Dalis. In my case, the Marantz/B&W combination is a well-known one so I didn't have to try anything out. I may have to try a new AVR just to see what I'm missing. But every time I fire up my 8002, I totally understand why reviewers used it as their reference system.
@@techsamurai11 Well, I probably would have kept using the 8002 if it hadn't been for it breaking. I suspect a blown capacitor (that could potentially have been a simple fix) as I suddenly got a constant white-noise on every input/output. With a newborn I didn't feel I had the time to investigate a repair.
@@JHallberg Yeah, once an AV receiver fails in the US out of warranty, it cannot be repaired or makes no sense to repair. Europe is better as you may actually find a place that will fix a board and replace a transistor or capacitor that costs dollars. Here the amp is just thrown away. But it's still a headache so I totally understand. In your case, it sounds like you made the right choice as it sounds better. I'll eventually upgrade both my 8002s but I'm waiting for the new Class Ds to arrive with the kilowatt amplifiers. It seems they are the way to go and the only way to keep those amps from weighing 40 kilograms while fitting inside cabinets like the 8002 did. Hopefully, they may do a 200W * 3 and retain the rest of the power for the other channels. A lot of amps that we see from Emotiva, Monolith, D-Zone, Tonewinner are not symmetrical and are giving most of the power to the LCR. It took them 20 years but they finally realized that not all speakers in a home theater are created equal. I can't help but laugh when the Atmos bluetooth-sized speaker get the same power as the center or left and right channels which need 200-300 watts.
I have the A4A with Elac debut 2.0 bookshelf speakers, center and atmos front surrounds along w a 10" powered sub from Polk. I have my x box series s and Apple 4k, the sound especially the deep booming explosions from Ghost Recon Breakpoint or from watching Sicario's gun battles, I love it, the air pressure exiting my Elac speakers front port or how my Polk sub makes the carpet near it look like its floating in waves, *chefs kiss*.
I have a A6A which was an upgrade from RXV- 3079 (150 w x 9 channel) which I sold, it was 5 years old no problems. I have an issue like Kirsti where I can have problems hearing the centre channel. The 3079 and the A6A I have had no problems hearing the centre channel. I am in my fifties with a little bit of damage to my hearing😂 The A6A would be a better fit then the A4A, it has 9 powered channels @150w and can be up to 7.2.4 with an added 2 channel amp and is a lot cheaper then the A8A. I have a 5.1.4 set up, I am happy with this system. I enjoy watching your journey from your old house to this one and for future reviews this year.
FALSE. It is 150W per channel with only TWO channels driven. I reviewed specifications in the user's manual: the maximum power is only stated for one channel (no joke) and two channels driven.
The RX A4A is 110 wrms per channel two channels driven. If you talking about the RXV-3079 or the A6A they are both rated at 150 wrms two channels driven. IF you do not like your receiver? send it back and get a different one.@@michaels3003
I'm running A4A with Triangle Borea now. I upgraded from Denon X1600H that give me some random pop and shut off problem after 1 year of usage. Altho the Borea is a easy drive speakers, i added a emotiva 2 channel power amp and a tonewinner 5 channel amp (not necessary). The front channel power by the emotiva has significant improvement as you will hear more sound previously didn't notice. Anyway, can't wait for your Borea review!
I agree with Kristi, i got my v6a after Andrew's review in comparison with sonyDN1080, before i had a basic pioneer 5.1avr with 80w per channel and had connected with some decent speakers, my room is just 13x14ft, it was sounding wonderful with lot of details for both movies and music, i wanted to upgrade to a basic atoms Receiver thinking that I could feel the sound much more immersive but I was very disappointed with v6a i rather felt a big downgrade:(, then tried some manual setting with calibration was not happy, tried resetting my avr couple of times, tried with out calibration, some suggested me to upgrade my speakers finally even upgraded my speakers too, I know it is more powerful than my previous avr but lacks in quality of sound, I'm sure there are much better products out there but I can't afford to upgrade now but maybe in the long run, hoping for something better, but still trying different settings to see how can I make it sound better, so what i learnt is irrespective of whatever the reviews are just listen to your own ears, pls do an audition before making a decision:(
I have always been a Yamaha fan. My very old RX-V673 DSP processor finally failed. Looking at Dennon Marantz and Yamaha the only receiver in my price range which had the zone 2 option was Yamaha. This was a must for me for my backyard speakers. I set it up yesterday I'm in it more for the music than the TV surround option but I do love it. Especially with the new app that lets you customize the power on to a specific function be it TV pandora Spotify server ...etc
I just bought the A6A 3 weeks ago to replace my 3080. I wasn't going to buy it until the gaming features were live. Everything is working amazingly now with the PS5 and Series X. The channel separation is much clearer as well over my 3080. I am very happy with the purchase. I've also been pleasantly surprised with the music cast app and it's features
I think Yamaha's MusicCast app is very good and too often overlooked as one of Yamaha's best incentives for going with one of their AVRs. It just works without further thought of needing more out of the experience. While I like my Onkyo RZ-50, the Onkyo Controller app seems pieced-mill with and really requires the third-party Play-Fi app to get a better streaming experience.
Yamaha has always been reliable, and I can't say the same for the Marantz and Onkyo products I had. The only issue some may find with the Yamaha is it is not user friendly and when setting up automatically you may not get the sound signature you prefer. The good thing Yamaha has over the competitors is the ability to manually adjust the PEQ. It is a well built machine that runs cool and has been trouble free since I owned it shortly after release. I am considering expanding my home theater and the A8A is at the top of my list for the below reasons. Reliability runs cool features manual PEQ
This is well said. Very well said!👌I crossed over to Yamaha (RX-V6A) because Onkyo is just a terrible product! It’s in for repairs for the 3rd time in a space of about 12 months.😫 And it’s only about three years old. I’m loving the Yamaha better!
…and then my two-month old Yamaha RX-V6A died on me!🙆🏻♂️ And Yamaha is refusing to give me a new unit because they only replace a unit in the first month.🤔 After that the only option is to repair.😏 I don’t know what brand to trust anymore.😤
I've been using Yamaha ever since I bought my first AV receiver. At the moment I have the RX-V 685. Personally I just hope they will alter their design either back to the old style or more closely to the stereo amps.
All of the other receivers mentioned are at least $200 more than the A4A right now on Amazon NEW. That aside, I will argue I do NOT want my receiver adding anything to the sound. That's what sound field settings are for, if you are in to that. I want natural, clean, sound. I sure would love to be able to test those other receivers like you guys do. Now I have to figure out what to do with my RX-V2600 and V3900. Wish I had room and money for more towers.
I just replaced my Onkyo TX-NR585 this past weekend with this Yamaha model and what a difference it made so glad I made this change, though in my studies, I'm led to believe that AVR's go through a change in that we are left with a choice to upgrade every 5 years. The Onkyo let me down and thus I will not see any more of these units in my home in the future. For one I never liked the solid blue wall paper that it displayed and two it would on occasion not pickup the signal from my Nvidia RTX 3080 ATI video card passing through it, if powering it off and back on once I left the room and reentered leaving me to hard power (boot) my PC thus causing data loss. Onkyo has left a bitter taste in my mouth. As far as the Denon goes, I learned that the Yamaha is a better product but at a higher cost. AS of right now I am happy with my RX-A4A purchase.
I am not seeing the comment I posted yesterday down below for whatever reason. I am glad that Kristi could post the Amazon deal link. I had included it in my initial message. I enjoyed this review. I recently purchased an A4A, and I would say that my experience with it is closer to Andrew's. I do feel overwhelmed by all the customization though. I really love the look of it. I think it sounds fantastic, but having to exit out of what I am watching to tinker with settings is frustrating. I wonder if I might be better suited with something like the Integra drx-3.4.
Another great video, keep up the great work. Have been an Integra fan for years, bought an A2A to replace our dead Integra during the height of COVID when there wasn't much to chose from, does the job, but doesn't blow me away.
I would agree with Kristi too....my wife and I have struggled no matter how tuned to hear voices and speech via the Aventage, but when I got the Onkyo TX-RZ50 WOW. The voices are clear on Atmos and movies and sounds more powerful and projects more awesomeness. I love Yamaha and been a fan for 30 years but just not the same in output for the RZ50. The Yamaha software is better and app but the main reason for sound and clarity goes to Onkyo. I no longer have to rewind to try to hear what they said using the same speakers as hooked up to the Yamaha. That tells me all I need to know and Kristi right.
10:00 I'd like to know what sound program she was listening on. I have an A8A running a 7.2.4 setup and watched Ready Player One last night at -10db and it was incredible. Extremely detailed, no distortion whatsoever, and sound coming from everywhere. I don't know how it could get any better honestly. Edit: I was listening on the "Straight" sound program with Surround AI turned Off, Pure Direct turned Off, Balancer Off, YPAO volume On, Adaptive DRC On, and Extra Bass On. I also had Treble, Bass, and Subwoofer volume kicked up pretty well. Also was running the YPAO EQ that leans more towards bass enhancement.
I have to side with Kristi on her take / and honestly, I got refunded on mine, but there were many other reasons; 1 - from a style factor, the small screen interface can be difficult to read unless you're close: 2 - the UI is so outdated its literally a shame they didn't do something with the UI; 3 - from a value perspective, the RZ50 still rules - only thing the Onkyo is missing are independent subwoofer outputs / but Dirac Live is built in, so I can forgive Onkyo. Happy New Year Andrew and Kristi!!
Yamaha RX are the best-looking receivers hands down. I absolutely love the clean interface and the RX is something I can put in the living room without having to hide it. Just need to save my pennies to buy one.
Well, the Silver Marantz wins the looks department (as did the gold in the past) but it's not going to be offered in the US because Marantz hates us. 😄
I've had the A4A feeding Klipsch RP 8000F IIs...RP 504C...4 Pro-16RC and the R-120SW for about 8 months now and the system KILLS....The A4A also feeds my 2nd zone on the patio through some Klipsch AW-650s.....My neighbors love them... ;)
I had to choose Yamaha a2a because of the music cast option. It’s going to be a few years before I can install full ceiling speakers with hardwires. The music cast wireless surround sound speakers are a great option.
I’ve auditioned both the A4A and A2A at a Magnolia shop and I have to say your basically hearing the A4A. The slight difference is the A4A having a touch more of base, though it’s barely noticeable since the details and dynamics of both amps are the same. It’s something that truly shocked me, but left me impressed. I’m glad Yamaha didn’t skimp on the A2A and adding those large capacitors that help it elevate it from the regular Yamaha line. I’m close to picking up a A2A refurbished.
I must compliment you on your great UA-cam channel, really enjoy and value your opinion. I have Snell speakers, 4 ohm towers, and 8 ohm center and rears. They are a bit power-hungry. Also, I will be adding SVS Prime height speakers. I am going to purchase next month and have narrowed my choice to Onkyo RZ50, Integra DRX 5.4, and Yamaha A6A. Really like the 1st two because of Direc, and would choose Integra because of better power supply and amps. Between the Integra and Yamaha, I'm leaning towards the A6A. 30 more watts, 5 year warranty, and it's just built like a tank. It is 10+ lbs heavier than the Integra. I believe its internals are beefier and will just last longer. Talk me out of my thoughts.
Great review. I really like your friendly, commom sense style of see especially during your dialog clarity profile which I have had trouble with with other receivers in the past, again thanks and keep up the great reviews `
One major advantage A4A has over 2800 is preouts. Even A2A has 2 preouts. I have A6A (only for future upgrade of 9 channel) bought couple of months back. Upgraded from Yamaha 677. I was thinking about 3800 but I dont want more than 2 subs (currently have 1) and additional outlay for Dirac (dont know price of Dirac in our country yet) so A6A it was.
I purchased the A8A at launch and I was disappointed with the A8A with the lack of feature like 4K/120 and VRR support. However, I stuck with the A8A. After multiple firmware updates, I absolutely love it! The sound is incredible and I wasn’t getting that with Denon or Marantz. Yamaha delivered with 4K/120 and VRR. Now granted, I still have issues with Atmos audio delay and popping sound from time to time. It’s a great receiver. The only thing that is missing QMS.
I got the A8A last year. I have not had any issues with Atmos. Well, none that I noticed. I have experienced some random popping. It's happened a handful of times. Once it was repeatable with the PS5 using VRR (and or VLM). Disabling those features fixed it. Then a firmware update came out and I tried that, with VRR and VLM on, and the firmware fixed it correctly. The last time I tried to route my PS5 through the A8A to my LG CX, I was not able to get 4K/120. Instead I routed the PS5 through the LG CX, then eARC back to the A8A. But based on what you and the video says, it might be worth trying again. Though in general, using the A8A or my previous Denon 6700, as a video switcher for sources was slow and disappointing. Sometimes it wouldn't work. Using the LG CX was snappier and worked way better. Maybe that's been fixed?
Thanks for another great review-glad Andrew and Yamaha kissed and made up. I have the A2A running Klipsh bookshelves in the living room, which sound great. Keep up the great reviews.
Just today I went to the local magnolia shop and was able to test the Aventage A2A and the A4A then compared the Marantz Cinema 60 using Def Techs ProCinema 1000 speakers and subwoofer. What can I say, was somewhat surprised by how similar both the A4A and A2A sound. I first demo A4A using a scene from Elysium and the room rocked with wide open dynamics, and crisp details especially on the center channel with a nice oomph on the base. Then I had the salesperson switch it to A2A and I was pretty much shocked at how similar it sounded. I was expecting a mediocre sound since many dragged the A2A being just a V6 inside a nice box with a fifth foot lol! Though, intentionally ignoring the fact that A2A has beefier internals like 10,000uf capacitors vs the 8,2000uf on the V6 and more rugged construction to make the amp sound on par with the A4A. The only minute difference that I noticed is the base was more subdued on the A2A but the details and dynamics were there with its A4A sister. Then, compared the Cinema 60 to the A4A and I have to be honest they sounded almost the same with a slight difference the Marantz slightly colored the sound while the A4A was neutral. Knowing that I live in a small apartment the A2A should be my go-to, especially with what I listened it should suffice but that extra 10 watts to get more of that slight oomph is pushing me to the A4A but the price tag doesn’t justify it. So to be frank for those wanting to get an Aventage receiver but don’t have the cash to splurge on the A6A I’d just go with the A2A since whatever minute differences the A4A offers in the sound department are not worth the upcharge.
I'm thinking between Cinema 60 and Yamaha A4A...in my country Yamaha is at least 400 euros more expensive...I will use AV primarily for movies and gaming and sound quality is the most improtant thing to me. So you think that they pretty much have same sound and it is not worth paying that much extra for Yamaha? Thank you
@@libertalian_8415 having heard both amps, and the A4A in the sound department just had slightly more base than the A2A. But besides that the amps were indistinguishable for dynamics and sound detail. So if that A4A a bit pricy I’d pick up the A2A since at least it has the bigger 10,000ufs audio capacitors and suspect that’s the reason why both amps sound almost identical to each other.
Bro, Kristi is on point and who knows might do a review herself one of these days ! Btw, is it fair to say that forward and brighter sounding components seem to come across as clearer and or dynamic from our perception of hearing in those frequencies? 👍🏼✊🏼
I own a Yamaha RX A1080 and I agree with the dialogue clearity issues. I set dialogue level on 2 in the app and set the volume of my center speaker to 4 in the on screen menu..for me that solved the problem 😃
Positive trends include; fixed HDMI 2.1 support up to 40Gbps, taking gaming features and functionality very seriously, multiple ways to EQ, preamp outs being available at lower price points, App support, and general sound quality improvements (though some may differ). Negatives include; brands still playing games or not divulging true power ratings, crappy displays, crappy remotes, cheap plastic chassis, people still thinking AVRs are "not good enough" when in fact they are! Thank you for your support!
What I enjoy about your review site is that you take into consideration the various needs and knowledge of beginning hi-fi enthusiasts, like myself, plus you provide information on the latest products to enable one to make good purchase decisions. GREAT JOB! from RT
Thanks for educating us on these complex devices. I was told at a big box store the Marantz cinema 50 would Be adequate to power a 3.1 JBL HDI series setup (4 ohm ). But what I took from this video is receivers are not the best/good choice for 4 ohm speakers. That an external amp is needed or recommended to make such speakers shine to their full intended potential. Thank you, appreciate the knowledge/help.
I agree with Kristi and think Yamaha has to work on that slightly "muffled" sound with movies ... I the have a Yamaha TSR7850 in my family room running 5.2.1 and everyone always says that it seems hard to hear the center dialog clearly (I usually have to keep captions on). I had a run of the mill Sony 5.1 system (same speakers) that sounded much cleaner. I have always bought Yamaha - even back to the R-100 (still have that running in the garage!) but maybe it's time to try Onkyo or Marantz ...
Thanks for the review. I bought the A4A back in May 2022. I agree with Kristi when it comes to dialogue and the lack of "punch" in scenes with explosions and bullets, etc. With all of the capabilities to fine tune the receiver, are there any settings that could improve those issues? I also have a problem with Yamaha's ATMOS "terminology" when it comes to the front "Presence" speakers. I bought the Polk XT-90 Atmos speakers and they are placed on top of my trusty old Polk RTI 38's. I really don't "feel" the height related sounds. The room is 20 x 11 x 8 ft ceiling with the TV and speakers on the 20 ft wall, so we're watching and listening from about 8 to 9 feet. So, I have been considering mounting the XT-90's on the front wall. Can you confirm that I would keep the speakers as "Dolby Enabled" and not "front presence" setting?. Again, quite confusing. And, when it comes to distance settings for the ATMOS height speakers, I set the distance manually at 13 feet to account for the total distance from the speakers to the celing and then back to our ears. Sorry for the long winded comment,/questions. I really do appreciate you and Kristi. Thanks Again!
I didn't know that was an actual issue, the dialogue with AVs. I've been a Yamaha owner for ages, like others said, they last forever, but my wife and I both have issues hearing dialogue clearly through our current Yamaha receiver RXA3000 which has been great, but it does not have 4K HDMI so Im looking for a new receiver. After hearing this about dialogue in movies, is there a way to improve that? I'd like to stick with Yamaha, but using the DSP settings for "Drama" or "Adventure" requires the volume to be turned up high compared to 7.1 setting and the dialogue pales in comparison to the over the top special effects sounds. According to this video the Onkyo is better for dialogue, how about the Marantz?
My 3 year old SONY A80J TV and maybe most newer TV's have a dialog boost option in the audio setup area in your TV that you can turn on. Just connect your Blu-ray Player and whatever else you have into the TV using a highspeed HDMI cable. Plug the HDMI cable into the HDMI e-ARC out of your TV and then plug the other end into the HDMI e-ARC of your AVR. Doing this will make the dialog a lot easier to understand.
@ Thanks for the tip. The day after I wrote that, I saw a "dialogue" setting on the receiver, but haven't seen one on the tv. I went out and picked up a Yamaha rx A6A I'll see if it has anything like that when it arrives. Thanks again.
This is an older video but thought that I'd add that I have a slightly older entry level Yamaha receiver and clean is also the main word here in describing it, but the real surprise happens when connecting an older pair of LS 50's to it, and simply using a Firestick as a source listening to internet radio such as Jazz Groove and this is about as good as these speakers get, I need to add that the little Sony's do not work at all with this receiver, that's how the KEF's ended up there, although way above the Sony price range, the KEF's speakers that I've had for some time, were a natural match with the clean Yamaha, the best that've heard them.
All recievers mentioned in the review are amazing modern machines and I'd be happy to own any of them. Which means I'd probably go for the cheaper Onkyo and spend the savings on music and movies or on upgrading another component.
I like your channel very much Andrew! I find a lot off home theater receiver reviews, but I'm looking for a receiver with 2 channel output that can play internet radio. Can you advice me on that one? Thanks and keep up the good work!!
Happy New Year, Andrew and Kristie, from Belize! Great review as usual! I just wanna say that Yamaha is great, but the focus should be on pairing/collaboration between speaker manufacturers and AVR manufacturers. Personally, for whatever it's worth, an outright admittance to a Klipsch + Onkyo setup has never been unliked/ disproved. I am glad that you gave the Yamaha a chance in all fairness though. Perhaps the new focus on AVRs' marketing/selling point should be collaboration with speaker makers??? anyways, merry new year!
The amp in the Yamaha A6A and A8A is significantly better than the A4A, and has more channels as well. It is a huge price jump though. For any receiver I've used in past 15 years or so I use a separate amp for my main front speakers and like to reserve the receivers amp for center and surrounds/zones.
I'm running this receiver with my neumi bookshelf speakers front center and surrounds! Emotiva A3 and two svs pb 2000s 12s ! Good enough for me 💪sounds nice
@andrew not to sound disrespectful but nowadays i am more keen to reach the end where kristy gives her comments.it sounds more like a common person would describe the receiver ..the conparison..its totally great.totally love the way she places her comments and the way she justifies why she said so.
Andrew are you going to do a review of the Anthem MRX lineup at any point? I'd love to know how you and Kristi think it stacks up. I used to have an RXA 800 and recently moved to the MRX1140 and have been completely blown away
I'm looking to replace a RX A3070. I'm not so sure I'm going to go back with Yamaha this time as I have lost 4 receivers in 7 years. I don't feel I'm getting a very long life out of these units. I have been using Yamaha equipment since around 1973 or 4 as I started out with a Yamaha B2 amplifier and C2 preamp and have been using their equipment over all these years but I think it's time for a change. The Onkyo sounds very appealing, I'm going to check it out. Thanks for the videos, they were very helpful.
Was wondering if you could do AVR reviews without room correction to see how good the amp section is without the filters/EQ. Love the channel and you guys are great!
Great review! I really enjoyed it! I like your channel and come very often. Awesome work! I think it is good to show the remote controls of the units you review and tings you could do with them. Or least explain a thing or two. I know the time is limited but still this is something that can make the difference between unit a and b. Probably it is good idea to make a separate review on the remote control apps of these AVRs. This one would be interesting to see. :)
Impressive Review Andrew and Christie, I have an old top end mid-tier Yamaha RX-V683BL. Have had it for almost 4 years now. Love the sound, trust the build quality, Remote could be better. Will love you guys to review the RX-A6A and see if it's as neutral. I know for a fact that the RX-A6A and RX-A8A have features exclusive to the top 2 flagship Receivers not in the entry level Aventage series, curious to see if the Sound processing in the top tier models sound any different and addresses Christie's concerns and some of us Yamaha lovers
Spot on. I own the A4A, use external power, the B&K 7250, with the receiver for the atmos speakers. The receiver set up is not geared for the casual DIY person! The app is just ok, but the internet access to the settings is excellent, once you get a feel for it. The YPAO is an OK first step, but the access to the actual YPAO data through the internet is where the unit shines. Ive had it for a couple of weeks and still learning things every day. The internet firmware updates are especially convenient. I love your show and thx.
Going back and forth between receivers to buy..been looking at Denon, onkyo and yamaha..just saw thos unit for a screaming good deal price. My setup will be either a 7.1 or 5.1.2. I currently have and older yamaha receiver, 17yrs old, that I love and works great on my current 5.1 setup. Only problem is it is only optical and I need to upgrade, fot atmos also. I do like the power rating in this one. But actually I dont want go through tons of manual settings. I was looking at 2 other models..1 was the onkyo nr-6100 and the other was the Denon avr2700h..trying to stay around $1000 which the sale price on this yamaha is now in this range. So thank you for reviewing this model. And Kristi, and can't stand the look of the marantz cinema or these new a4a type models. I think they are ugly as hell and thats why I have been steering away from them. Give me a good, old school looking full display for godsakes..and yea i know i can do that off the tv or app as well...BUT not the same!
I've been a Yamaha fan for a long time and bought the A4A last year when I was upgrading to 4K. I've stayed up on the firmware upgrades and have been very happy with the performance. So, Kristi & Andrew, when you just want to listen to vinyl, what do you do? Leave it on the A4A or move to the Decware or Technics SU-R1000? Inquiring minds...
You used to be able to get into the Aventage line for around $800. Now they have jacked up the entry level and made it into a plasticated, cheap looking case. I’ve had Yamahas since the 80’s and I am looking for a new receiver. Onkyo is looking better and better.
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You Can tell me if Cinema 50 can do reference levels? And if so who is more powerful he or the Onkyo TXRZ50?
I have a question 🤔: What is the "too neutral "? I ask because I would think that if you play your content through a neutral system, signal in, signal amplified, signal out, and you don't like the sound, wouldn't that 🤔 speak more about the content than the system? Setting aside variables like nostalgia, system synergy, and personal taste, I don't understand how a system can be faulted for serving one exactly what the content creators made. That said, Dirac v. YPAO, yeah, right! That's comparison isn't fair, simply because it is widely recognized that Dirac is the superior room correction software. It would have been a better comparison, IMO, if you would have dialed both systems manually, utilizing the same EQ settings. With that off my chest, I await your response to my question, and sincerely thank you and Kristi for all that you do. Keep up the great work.
you say cheap, but in AU its over 2.5K? why when you can get a marantz nr 1711 or pioneer vsx 935 for just over 1K . :)
Also unless you have a qualified technician for various frequencies used in home theater AV and total neutral rooms to test them in, with data collated only then will you have a true representation of the system tested ,plus each theater room that most people have are so different that its impossible to say which is best for your type of theater room set up, unless you have a good mic and av which can read it 100% to set the speaker distances and angles of each speaker and then again like i said it depends on how good your ears are and what type of movies you like to watch is all relative to what you like, not what the manufacturer's claim it can do, put differant speakers like bowels and wiles diamond series for example to say yahamhas own ns serries speakers and there's a world of difference, so again buy with in your means and do as much research about the products you wish to by and get them to show you in a dedicated home theater set up with other av;s and speaker combos so you can listen to the same movie over and over again & NOT DEMO Blue rays as they are pure digital and made for AV receivers, plus ask what grade of speaker wires are set to the speakers as well in the demo rooms, i have seen monster cable used yet when you by a AV receiver they give you the little grey small cable to use for the av receiver think for a moment what frequency's can be transmitted via very small speaker connection cables?
sorry for venting, but everything i have said is true as well, i have a CD which is the soundtrack to the movie midnight express it was a DDD Rafted CD, not blue ray DTS Dolby atmos etc etc, yet every cd on the market 98$ of them are recorded via AAA, or AAD which is (DDD) digital to digital to digital transferred onto the CD, the AAA is analog to analog to analog transferred, so you paying top dollar for music which in the late 1980's DDD cd's were top self recorded music and to this day when i play the cd even 4 k blue ray sound is nothing compared to the DDD cd, which tell you just how much control the music and CD manufacturers had over the sourcing of its music which is why people go home and are so dissatisfied once their hear the music on a cd / blue ray 4k players?
Also were talking about Cd players from the 1980's and no amount of money is going to change how the music sounds even if you spend 50K just on a cd player, its about how the music was recorded sound was transferred onto the blue ray 4k and soon to be 8K, the movie industry is not stupid first we had venal, which people are going back to it, because its a totally different type of sound, also remember when the large 12" movie discs were out for sale, i bet someone has not done a sound test of one of those movies & compared it to to a 4k blue ray movie ?
Did you say you could not hear any sound coming from the rear speakers in a 7.1 set up, or was that because you could not have the AV receiver produce the atmos sound through them, i am confused, as it clearly states that it can make the rear speakers in a 7.1 and have those rear speakers produce the atmos sounds? 🦘🦘👌👌✌✌
Every Yamaha receiver I've ever had has lasted at least 15 years. Just my opinion but I will never buy anything but Yamaha ! I have the Rx a 3080 receiver it's awesome. Have a great day !
I have my 3080 too.
For HT, cannot be beat for me... but in my other room...tv and music, I did switch to arcam avr21. New king to me.
We have a Yamaha in our weight room at school that has been there since opening almost 30 years ago! And you know kids leave it on for days and days on end. Built tough!
I too have always been a YAMAHA FAN from the beginning with the 2070 to my favorite 🤩 looking 👀 one the DSP A1 in Gold 🥇, now I also have the RX A 3080…because of ANDREW’s recommendation…all are still in use by friends and family 👍…except one hit by lightning ⚡️💚💚💚
I’ve never had issues with Yamaha ever
@@stevenoconnor5693 THANKS STEVEN 🤗 for sharing your story, and I can say the same… with over half a dozen receivers😁💚💚💚
Good review, however I think some very important additional points need to be highlighted for consumers that in my opinion put the Yamaha ahead of the Onkyo etc. 1 - Yamaha provides a 5 year warranty on their receivers with local service centres, 2 - on tear down the Yamaha is designed with numerous heat sinks on all hdmi ports and cpu, with a overheat fan, I had a Yamaha htr 6080 for 13 yrs still running like new, so build quality needs to be compared. 3 the Yamaha remote is great - sealed - backlit buttons, with no fiddly bits to mess up settings. Also Yamaha MusicCast has been a great experience. Would like to see a deeper dive on these points. I am sure the rz50 is a great machine but Not so sure they have a comparable customer service and warranty record. Not intended to put down the competition just wanted to highlight some points that may be helpful for consumers like me.
You are absolutely right! I also don't know why no one speaks about the remote control and the options it gives you in the reviews. The remote controls of the competition are like from the 80s. Also, no ones speaks about the SCENE buttons of the Yamaha - no other competitor has these. And not to forget the possibility to have two absolutely different speaker configurations which can be loaded instantly with a press of one button.
@@VASKION marantz has the smart selector (4 smart settings) and 4 smart modes, it's more than enought.
During standby you can change hdmi input, using it as an hdmi switch (hopefully other brands do the same).
But, yes, remote is a bit from 80's speaking of build quality and lacks backlight.
Good point. I have an older Yamaha AV receiver (rxv-1800? if i recall off the top of my head) for one of my TVs that has been rock solid. I had lightning hit my house 4 years ago and My TV, apple tv, cable modem, PS3, TV, and multiple other electronics fried despite being plugged into surge protectors. But that old receiver didn't miss a beat.
BTW, I have the A4A as well and it is a great receiver. Only thing disappointing is I thought I could use an external amp for 7.1.2 channels but I was mistaken. Completely my fault but now I have 2 rear speakers that rarely ever come on seeing the Yamaha promotes 5.1.2 over 7.1 with no option for 7.1.2
@@zibzer I am also a fan of Yamaha amps. I have an 115 watt integrated amp from 1988. And it has been used daily about 35 years. You mentioned lightning strikes. I had two consecutive tuners zapped while connected to that amp. The power surges that killed the tuners didn't phase the amp at all. And it still works powering four floor standing speakers. But the lack of HDMI inputs really limit it's usefulness today.
I've used the A4A for around a year. It took some patient tweaking with the PEQ along with disabling the ECO setting, now my video and audio from bl ray is fantastic. Close to perfect. Atmos delivers well. 2 channel music as well. I do advise for better sound quality, stream music through it's MusicCast from the LAN instead of wireless to wireless. Hi-Def music is much more defined through MusicCast than from any media player.
I've said it for years - those piano tunes make a mighty nice home stereo and some damn fast motorcycles.
I got a Marantz SR7015 it was factory refurbished, true, but it fell apart in just 2.5 years. No FM/AM tuner, HDMIs blackout periodically and rear right surround channel isn’t working.
The thing went in the dumpster
Before that I had a cheap Yamaha that worked flawlessly for years so now I don’t want to ever consider anything else but Yamaha and I’m getting this one 👍🏼
Andfew, I always enjoy your top notch, honest revews! Here is a tip to solve your dialog clarity and impact. I own the RXA-3080 and use one "pattern" for music and a second "pattern" set for movies. For music I use the Natural EQ, and for movies I use the Flat EQ with the center channel volume sligbtly increased. The Flat EQ will give you ghe extra clarity and impact you're looking for. Joe C
I own a Yamaha RX A6A, and I'm from Denon, but I have to say that the Yamaha Aventage series, plus all its proprietary components, has one of the best DSP audio processors out there. It's a machine made with substance to last. I am delighted with Yamaha🖤
i wanted to buy the RX A4A but ANDREW gave me the impression it sounds flat and almost boring and i dont want to spend $2300AUD for a flat dull sounding rceiver
@@georgeb2085it does not sound flat. I recommend a pair of bookshelf speakers. I have mine hooked up to paradigm mini monitorv7’s and a 10” reference monitor 10 sub.
The imaging is great. I replaced my old Cambridge azur 551 and it is superior to that. I enjoyed the cambridge.
@@georgeb2085 Don’t listen to the so called audiophiles or reviewers. Trust your own ears. I’m enjoying my RX-V6A. 🤓👍🏼
I've been a fan of Yamaha for many years and have had an older model for the past ten years and have been looking to update my old one ~ My concern has always been that center channel ~ I thought maybe my hearing was failing me ~ Glad to know Christy is aware of that dialogue problem ~ I found that turning the treble up helped a little but not really to my satisfaction on my older receiver ~ I think what I'll be looking for if I decide on the A4A is to buy it from a dealer with a good return policy just in case I'm not satisfied ~ I don't want to get thrown under the bus and get stuck with something I can't live with ~ Thanks for the review ~ Glad to know I can get my feet wet if I want a new Yamaha ~ Trust you 2 a lot for your honesty ~ RS
I’ve had my A4A for a year now, love it with no regrets. Being a fairly patient person in general with these kinds of things, the wait for HDMI 2.1 gaming features did not bother me and I knew that Yamaha would deliver the goods with chips that didn’t suffer from the 2.1 bug.
Hi, subwoofer you use with your A4A
@@chandrashekaravijaykumar Hello, I have SVS PB 2000 Pro. It’s fantastic for games and movies. I’m not really a bass head, so this provides plenty. I can shake the windows if I want to.
I purchased the A4A last summer to run a 5.1 system, LR were on a separate amp with C and Surrounds on the unit. This was a nice setup with Xbox Series X, PS5, and Gaming PC with 3080TI between 2 rooms sharing the same wall to have 4k120 on both TV's. Having a single receiver to run both rooms was a must. (having to wait on the Yamaha updates for VRR and stability updates was a pain till the December update) BUT after upgrading the main viewing room with a full set of Klipsch New Reference with 7.2.4 capabilities, I've since traded the unit out for the A6A with a smaller 4-channel amp running the 4x Ceiling speakers. I've been WAY happier with this setup and I should have got the A6A in the first place, as the idea was to always build out the main room into a nice movie room. That being said, I've been really happy with the sound quality of the Yamaha 4 & 6 with Klipsch New Reference, but with all channels driven, the A4A seemed to lack a lot of oomf. So much happier with the A6A and my setup. Hope this helps someone! (and thank you both for your continued support of the Home Audio and Theater enthusiasts, new and old) I see Marantz in the distant future for myself in the next upgrade though, based off your recommendations.
I have owned the A4A for about a year and have had good results. Yamaha did take some time to get the updates done but now that they finally did I don't have too many gripes. Compared to my older Marantz sr6008 the Yamaha is a more refined sound. When I first setup the Yamaha it had some strange sound to the dialog on tv content that my wife even commented on. Too many filters and options are turned on when letting the Yamaha YPAL do its thing. I basically turned off all the things Yamaha turns on and adjusted the settings myself. Sure this isn't for everybody and does take knowledge to do so but the result is superior to the Marantz and Yamaha's YPAL setup. I used the A4A to power Polk R700 and they did okay but could use more power to get the most of them when pushed but that would be the case with most AVR IMO. I also bi-amped the R700 and it made a notable difference and would likely satisfy most people. Currently I use a Mcintosh 7106 for the front 3 channels using the preouts and use the A4A for the surround and atmos channels. I am very satisfied with the Yamaha and I think it would be received better if the YPAL wasn't so wonky.
Hi, which subwoofer you use for your A4A setup
I’m using a Rythmik FV18 subwoofer. If you have the means you won’t be disappointed.
Almost at the same time as with your review, the RX-A4A arrived at my place. After 4 days of use I say I can't be happier with my choice. Everything is just perfect, I am pleased with the sound in all circumstances and I can't find any flaw. Coming from an old Marantz sr6007, my Klipsch RP got a new life. And Yamaha's build quality is light years ahead!
Hi, which subwoofer you are using with your A4A setup?
@@chandrashekaravijaykumar Hi. It is the Klipsch R-112SW
I own the Yamaha A6A. This is the Best receiver I have ever owned, I doubt there is another revived at that price point that gives you what Yamaha offers you both with A6A and A8A, It can easily pass a THX test. but Yamaha puts the money into the receivers instead of paying high-cost licensing fees.
I like Yamaha for allowing manual equalizer adjustment not relying on the auto setup
i installed an RX-a1080 for a customer recently and was impressed. I had considered an a4 or a6 for myself but ultimately went with your recommended RZ-50 and have been very happy with it. i agree that yamaha could clean up their UI and make things more intuitive, i remember having to search quite a bit to figure out the dang airplay password on the 1080 for example. Yamaha feels very toyota to me, its reliable, and neutral, and vanilla, it always works, but its not exciting.
So sonically you prefer the rz50 or 1080?
Some Toyota engines are tuned by Yamaha :)
YAMAHA AVRs were exciting... until 2020 !
Then they changed the whole AVR line with an UGLY look and everything went south.
I'm looking at the rz50 has it worked well for u and are u happy with it,using sr5008 now 5.1 bookshelf in ceiling speakers. upgrading to 5.1.4 soon
thanks
I appreciate Kristi's take on this as I have two people in my house that have some hearing loss, and would appreciate the extra pop or umph from the Onkyo TX-RZ50. Thank you both.
I guess it depends on what you pay for the Yamaha. I purchased my A4A though Walmart online from a third party seller for $1,000 along with a $100 4 year protection plan. At that price point you can't go wrong. The room correction software wanted to set my speakers as large and at 6 ohms and that really killed the sound. The only thing I used it for was to set the distances and then set them up to my liking for the rest. I really like the Yamaha A4A and highly recommend it.
Hi, which subwoofer you are using for your A4A setup?
@@chandrashekaravijaykumar 2 Klipsch R-12SW
I have the RX-A6A and I love it!
It has all of the features that I needed all rolled up into one.
Hi Richard, how does a6a compare with Onkyo RZ50? I have trouble deciding. Can you help? The price is similar. Thank you
@@IronCan88 The Yamaha is $1k more expensive, I wouldn't call that similar price.
If the RZ50 suits your need, save the cash.
If you need the extra 2 channels of processing, balanced outputs for the front 2 channels and better quality pre-outs..... Then get the Yamaha RX-A6A.
But, between the A4A and the RZ50????
Get the cheaper of the two, they are both nice products.
The A6A & A8A are just too big of a price jump unless there are specific features that you need.
I actually use the Balanced outputs on the front R&L to drive 100W Class-A monoblocks so I required either the A6A or A8A and the A8A just wasn't worth the premium to me......
@@richarddortch6122 hi thank you. I can get a6a for $1650 which is almost the same as zr50, that's why it becomes difficult. Also I currently use the pioneer sc-91 to power my focal Aria 5.1 system, so hopefully this one will be as good or better in terms of sound quality and power.
@@IronCan88 Then go with the Yamaha.
Just on weight alone the A6A weighs 11 pounds more, that's better build quality, bigger primary transformer, bigger primary power supply.
The Yamaha also has a more powerful internal processor that can be feature upgraded on the fly.
At the same price like that, it's a no brainer, get the Yammy.
@@richarddortch6122 thank you so much. Have a wonderful day.
Man…I love everything about your review channel: the information, presentation and inclusion of a secondary opinion at the end…awesome job. This is my go to source for AVR updates.
I still have a Yamaha receiver that I purchased in 93. I love it’s simplistic design. Although I was never a fan of the orange glow, I think it’s a much nicer looking piece than this new thing.
I bought the Onkyo TX-RZ50, am happy with it, and good to see it still reigns supreme 🙂.
With the Yamaha surround AI on make compressed soundtracks come alive for all my video streaming apps a big difference in sound here compared to other AVR.
Bought an Onkyo years ago and it developed a fault with one channel output failing. Changed to Yamaha 3070 and has been super reliable
Thank you for the review of this amp, it was very interesting to hear your view and comparison to competitors. I bought the Yamaha A4A a year ago as Onkyo wasn’t available in Sweden at the time. I love my Yamaha, and a massive sound improvement over my old Marantz SR8002. I also love having a 5 year warranty since I don’t buy new stuff very often. I run the amp in 5.0 config but I bi-amp my massive Dali 40 fronts using two of the surround channels on the amp for the bi-amping.
I own a few 8002s and this comment is something that applies to me. Can you please give me examples of how it's a massive sound improvement over the 8002?
@@techsamurai11 Well, it was about a year ago that I made the comparison and I don't quite remember which adjectives I would use to describe it. But, "Control" is probably the word I would use I guess. My front speakers are not very kind to the amp as a load, but in bi-amp configuration the Yamaha amp gave me better clarity than the Marantz SR8002. The base was a lot muddier (and annoyingly heavy) on the Marantz compared to the Yamaha, although that might also be attributed to differences between the recent YPAO compared to an old Audessey tool. The conclusion is I simply enjoy listening to music way more on my Yamaha compared to the Marantz.
@@JHallberg I see - so it's in music that you hear the improvement. That's important.
In terms of power the 8002 is an old AVR but it has the same toroidal power supply as the 8015 and is actually a bit more powerful than the 8015 which is used for 13 channels. I use it the same way as you bi-amping the left and right front channels (so I use 7 channels with 5 speakers). As for the Yamaha's power, I've only seen one benchmark of the more powerful A6A and it's very good in 1-4 channels but has a cliff once you hit 5 and 7 channels turning it that must be caused by limiters. Now this may have changed through firmware updates or the test may not be an indication of real life performance but it was a bit shocking to see the A6A only deliver 50 watts in 7 channels. I suspect in movies with loud scenes the 8002 should be much more authoritative as it can still offer 100 watts with all channels driven at 0.1% THD.
But music is very, very important to me and even more important to me for movies (and even games) as I think the musicality of a movie is the reason people should spend build a high-end home theater.😃 The last Yamaha I auditioned is a very old model but it's also probably their best model - the RX-Z11. Yamaha has a history of AVRs and it's listed there with a picture and predates the Aventage line. It weighed 75lbs and cost $5,000! Today it would cost $10,000. I recall it playing Buble's Feeling Good on a Focal BE1028 and it sounded amazing in the bombastic intro but then again so did the 8002 with my B&Ws so I didn't feel I was missing much, if anything. And that makes sense as many professional reviewers owned the 8002 and used it when comparing the juggernauts of yesteryear from Denon, Rotel, Onkyo, and Yamaha.
I think we can rule out power and source as being different (or an improvement) especially since the Atmos soundtracks are identical to DolbyTrueHD when you're not using the overhead speakers so you'd be playing the same source on both AVRs.
Which then brings us to processing, room correction, and also component matching.
Honestly, I personally don't know how much processing has evolved over the years in terms of audio quality. Have the DACs improved so much that an AVR from 2020 is demonstrably better than an AVR from 2010? Has the spatial processing improved so much that it's night and day? That's actually a good question for the Robinsons. Is it really worth upgrading if you have a high-end AVR that's 10 years old?
Room correction is huge and like you I suspect this could be the biggest factor. If you see the values in my Audyssey EQ, you'll freak out. I try not to look at them but I'm always tempted to take out a SPL and start playing frequencies to see if it's really true that one speaker needs 10db more in a particular range. Over the years and owning so many of these, I've run Audyssey probably 900 times so I know it's not a mistake although Audyssey can fluctuate massively in its measurements😁 I'd love to try Dirac and I probably should have bought a professional mic and stand for the calibration by now as it's probably more important than choosing between Audyssey and Dirac as the guy from Audyssey or Dirac explained in a video. Never tried YPAO but it could be the sauce your system was missing.
It could also be that the Yamaha was a much better match for your Dalis. In my case, the Marantz/B&W combination is a well-known one so I didn't have to try anything out.
I may have to try a new AVR just to see what I'm missing. But every time I fire up my 8002, I totally understand why reviewers used it as their reference system.
@@techsamurai11 Well, I probably would have kept using the 8002 if it hadn't been for it breaking. I suspect a blown capacitor (that could potentially have been a simple fix) as I suddenly got a constant white-noise on every input/output. With a newborn I didn't feel I had the time to investigate a repair.
@@JHallberg Yeah, once an AV receiver fails in the US out of warranty, it cannot be repaired or makes no sense to repair. Europe is better as you may actually find a place that will fix a board and replace a transistor or capacitor that costs dollars. Here the amp is just thrown away.
But it's still a headache so I totally understand. In your case, it sounds like you made the right choice as it sounds better.
I'll eventually upgrade both my 8002s but I'm waiting for the new Class Ds to arrive with the kilowatt amplifiers. It seems they are the way to go and the only way to keep those amps from weighing 40 kilograms while fitting inside cabinets like the 8002 did.
Hopefully, they may do a 200W * 3 and retain the rest of the power for the other channels. A lot of amps that we see from Emotiva, Monolith, D-Zone, Tonewinner are not symmetrical and are giving most of the power to the LCR. It took them 20 years but they finally realized that not all speakers in a home theater are created equal. I can't help but laugh when the Atmos bluetooth-sized speaker get the same power as the center or left and right channels which need 200-300 watts.
I have the A4A with Elac debut 2.0 bookshelf speakers, center and atmos front surrounds along w a 10" powered sub from Polk. I have my x box series s and Apple 4k, the sound especially the deep booming explosions from Ghost Recon Breakpoint or from watching Sicario's gun battles, I love it, the air pressure exiting my Elac speakers front port or how my Polk sub makes the carpet near it look like its floating in waves, *chefs kiss*.
I have a A6A which was an upgrade from RXV- 3079 (150 w x 9 channel) which I sold, it was 5 years old no problems. I have an issue like Kirsti where I can have problems hearing the centre channel. The 3079 and the A6A I have had no problems hearing the centre channel. I am in my fifties with a little bit of damage to my hearing😂 The A6A would be a better fit then the A4A, it has 9 powered channels @150w and can be up to 7.2.4 with an added 2 channel amp and is a lot cheaper then the A8A. I have a 5.1.4 set up, I am happy with this system. I enjoy watching your journey from your old house to this one and for future reviews this year.
FALSE. It is 150W per channel with only TWO channels driven. I reviewed specifications in the user's manual: the maximum power is only stated for one channel (no joke) and two channels driven.
The RX A4A is 110 wrms per channel two channels driven. If you talking about the RXV-3079 or the A6A they are both rated at 150 wrms two channels driven. IF you do not like your receiver? send it back and get a different one.@@michaels3003
I'm running A4A with Triangle Borea now. I upgraded from Denon X1600H that give me some random pop and shut off problem after 1 year of usage. Altho the Borea is a easy drive speakers, i added a emotiva 2 channel power amp and a tonewinner 5 channel amp (not necessary). The front channel power by the emotiva has significant improvement as you will hear more sound previously didn't notice. Anyway, can't wait for your Borea review!
I agree with Kristi, i got my v6a after Andrew's review in comparison with sonyDN1080, before i had a basic pioneer 5.1avr with 80w per channel and had connected with some decent speakers, my room is just 13x14ft, it was sounding wonderful with lot of details for both movies and music, i wanted to upgrade to a basic atoms Receiver thinking that I could feel the sound much more immersive but I was very disappointed with v6a i rather felt a big downgrade:(, then tried some manual setting with calibration was not happy, tried resetting my avr couple of times, tried with out calibration, some suggested me to upgrade my speakers finally even upgraded my speakers too, I know it is more powerful than my previous avr but lacks in quality of sound, I'm sure there are much better products out there but I can't afford to upgrade now but maybe in the long run, hoping for something better, but still trying different settings to see how can I make it sound better, so what i learnt is irrespective of whatever the reviews are just listen to your own ears, pls do an audition before making a decision:(
Since I am based in the EU, the review of the Nakamichi DRAGON 11.4.6 would be great one day! Awesome Video as unsual!
I have always been a Yamaha fan. My very old RX-V673 DSP processor finally failed. Looking at Dennon Marantz and Yamaha the only receiver in my price range which had the zone 2 option was Yamaha. This was a must for me for my backyard speakers. I set it up yesterday I'm in it more for the music than the TV surround option but I do love it. Especially with the new app that lets you customize the power on to a specific function be it TV pandora Spotify server ...etc
@@anthonydargenio3536 I currently have the rv-v673. Going strong for 12 years and man do I love it. Did you get the A4A?
I just bought the A6A 3 weeks ago to replace my 3080. I wasn't going to buy it until the gaming features were live. Everything is working amazingly now with the PS5 and Series X. The channel separation is much clearer as well over my 3080. I am very happy with the purchase. I've also been pleasantly surprised with the music cast app and it's features
Now that the updates are all complete, Yamaha receivers are competitive again, and definitely worth their asking price!
@@andrewrobinsonreviews Agreed. Your channel is great. Always appreciate the content
I think Yamaha's MusicCast app is very good and too often overlooked as one of Yamaha's best incentives for going with one of their AVRs. It just works without further thought of needing more out of the experience. While I like my Onkyo RZ-50, the Onkyo Controller app seems pieced-mill with and really requires the third-party Play-Fi app to get a better streaming experience.
Thanks!
Yamaha has always been reliable, and I can't say the same for the Marantz and Onkyo products I had. The only issue some may find with the Yamaha is it is not user friendly and when setting up automatically you may not get the sound signature you prefer. The good thing Yamaha has over the competitors is the ability to manually adjust the PEQ. It is a well built machine that runs cool and has been trouble free since I owned it shortly after release. I am considering expanding my home theater and the A8A is at the top of my list for the below reasons.
Reliability
runs cool
features
manual PEQ
This is well said. Very well said!👌I crossed over to Yamaha (RX-V6A) because Onkyo is just a terrible product! It’s in for repairs for the 3rd time in a space of about 12 months.😫 And it’s only about three years old. I’m loving the Yamaha better!
In the past I know Marantz has had a ton of issues on their receivers.
…and then my two-month old Yamaha RX-V6A died on me!🙆🏻♂️ And Yamaha is refusing to give me a new unit because they only replace a unit in the first month.🤔 After that the only option is to repair.😏 I don’t know what brand to trust anymore.😤
I've been using Yamaha ever since I bought my first AV receiver. At the moment I have the RX-V 685. Personally I just hope they will alter their design either back to the old style or more closely to the stereo amps.
All of the other receivers mentioned are at least $200 more than the A4A right now on Amazon NEW. That aside, I will argue I do NOT want my receiver adding anything to the sound. That's what sound field settings are for, if you are in to that. I want natural, clean, sound. I sure would love to be able to test those other receivers like you guys do. Now I have to figure out what to do with my RX-V2600 and V3900. Wish I had room and money for more towers.
I just replaced my Onkyo TX-NR585 this past weekend with this Yamaha model and what a difference it made so glad I made this change, though in my studies, I'm led to believe that AVR's go through a change in that we are left with a choice to upgrade every 5 years.
The Onkyo let me down and thus I will not see any more of these units in my home in the future. For one I never liked the solid blue wall paper that it displayed and two it would on occasion not pickup the signal from my Nvidia RTX 3080 ATI video card passing through it, if powering it off and back on once I left the room and reentered leaving me to hard power (boot) my PC thus causing data loss. Onkyo has left a bitter taste in my mouth.
As far as the Denon goes, I learned that the Yamaha is a better product but at a higher cost. AS of right now I am happy with my RX-A4A purchase.
I am not seeing the comment I posted yesterday down below for whatever reason. I am glad that Kristi could post the Amazon deal link. I had included it in my initial message. I enjoyed this review. I recently purchased an A4A, and I would say that my experience with it is closer to Andrew's. I do feel overwhelmed by all the customization though. I really love the look of it. I think it sounds fantastic, but having to exit out of what I am watching to tinker with settings is frustrating. I wonder if I might be better suited with something like the Integra drx-3.4.
Another great video, keep up the great work. Have been an Integra fan for years, bought an A2A to replace our dead Integra during the height of COVID when there wasn't much to chose from, does the job, but doesn't blow me away.
I would agree with Kristi too....my wife and I have struggled no matter how tuned to hear voices and speech via the Aventage, but when I got the Onkyo TX-RZ50 WOW. The voices are clear on Atmos and movies and sounds more powerful and projects more awesomeness. I love Yamaha and been a fan for 30 years but just not the same in output for the RZ50. The Yamaha software is better and app but the main reason for sound and clarity goes to Onkyo. I no longer have to rewind to try to hear what they said using the same speakers as hooked up to the Yamaha. That tells me all I need to know and Kristi right.
10:00 I'd like to know what sound program she was listening on. I have an A8A running a 7.2.4 setup and watched Ready Player One last night at -10db and it was incredible. Extremely detailed, no distortion whatsoever, and sound coming from everywhere. I don't know how it could get any better honestly.
Edit: I was listening on the "Straight" sound program with Surround AI turned Off, Pure Direct turned Off, Balancer Off, YPAO volume On, Adaptive DRC On, and Extra Bass On. I also had Treble, Bass, and Subwoofer volume kicked up pretty well. Also was running the YPAO EQ that leans more towards bass enhancement.
I have to side with Kristi on her take / and honestly, I got refunded on mine, but there were many other reasons;
1 - from a style factor, the small screen interface can be difficult to read unless you're close:
2 - the UI is so outdated its literally a shame they didn't do something with the UI;
3 - from a value perspective, the RZ50 still rules - only thing the Onkyo is missing are independent subwoofer outputs / but Dirac Live is built in, so I can forgive Onkyo.
Happy New Year Andrew and Kristi!!
Yamaha RX are the best-looking receivers hands down. I absolutely love the clean interface and the RX is something I can put in the living room without having to hide it. Just need to save my pennies to buy one.
Yes indeed. I have RXV-385. Best receiver I ever own. Yamaha build for last. I don't need music streaming. Therefore RXV 385 work for me.
Well, the Silver Marantz wins the looks department (as did the gold in the past) but it's not going to be offered in the US because Marantz hates us. 😄
I've had the A4A feeding Klipsch RP 8000F IIs...RP 504C...4 Pro-16RC and the R-120SW for about 8 months now and the system KILLS....The A4A also feeds my 2nd zone on the patio through some Klipsch AW-650s.....My neighbors love them... ;)
Great review, guys. Those Triangles look REALLY good in your current home set up. Looking forward to the review.
I had to choose Yamaha a2a because of the music cast option. It’s going to be a few years before I can install full ceiling speakers with hardwires. The music cast wireless surround sound speakers are a great option.
I’ve auditioned both the A4A and A2A at a Magnolia shop and I have to say your basically hearing the A4A. The slight difference is the A4A having a touch more of base, though it’s barely noticeable since the details and dynamics of both amps are the same. It’s something that truly shocked me, but left me impressed. I’m glad Yamaha didn’t skimp on the A2A and adding those large capacitors that help it elevate it from the regular Yamaha line. I’m close to picking up a A2A refurbished.
I must compliment you on your great UA-cam channel, really enjoy and value your opinion. I have Snell speakers, 4 ohm towers, and 8 ohm center and rears. They are a bit power-hungry. Also, I will be adding SVS Prime height speakers. I am going to purchase next month and have narrowed my choice to Onkyo RZ50, Integra DRX 5.4, and Yamaha A6A. Really like the 1st two because of Direc, and would choose Integra because of better power supply and amps. Between the Integra and Yamaha, I'm leaning towards the A6A. 30 more watts, 5 year warranty, and it's just built like a tank. It is 10+ lbs heavier than the Integra. I believe its internals are beefier and will just last longer. Talk me out of my thoughts.
Great review. I really like your friendly, commom sense style of see especially during your dialog clarity profile which I have had trouble with with other receivers in the past, again thanks and keep up the great reviews `
Gotta love Kristi's frank alternative view. I too struggle with dialogue clarity so appreciate your preference in amplification.
One major advantage A4A has over 2800 is preouts. Even A2A has 2 preouts. I have A6A (only for future upgrade of 9 channel) bought couple of months back. Upgraded from Yamaha 677. I was thinking about 3800 but I dont want more than 2 subs (currently have 1) and additional outlay for Dirac (dont know price of Dirac in our country yet) so A6A it was.
Hi have you considered Onkyo RZ50 when making purchase decision? I can't decide between a6a and the rz50. Can you help me? Thank you
I purchased the A8A at launch and I was disappointed with the A8A with the lack of feature like 4K/120 and VRR support. However, I stuck with the A8A. After multiple firmware updates, I absolutely love it! The sound is incredible and I wasn’t getting that with Denon or Marantz. Yamaha delivered with 4K/120 and VRR. Now granted, I still have issues with Atmos audio delay and popping sound from time to time. It’s a great receiver. The only thing that is missing QMS.
i have also A8A and i heared lots of about atmos delay but frankly i never heared any delay on my own ... what you think?
I got the A8A last year. I have not had any issues with Atmos. Well, none that I noticed. I have experienced some random popping. It's happened a handful of times. Once it was repeatable with the PS5 using VRR (and or VLM). Disabling those features fixed it. Then a firmware update came out and I tried that, with VRR and VLM on, and the firmware fixed it correctly.
The last time I tried to route my PS5 through the A8A to my LG CX, I was not able to get 4K/120. Instead I routed the PS5 through the LG CX, then eARC back to the A8A. But based on what you and the video says, it might be worth trying again. Though in general, using the A8A or my previous Denon 6700, as a video switcher for sources was slow and disappointing. Sometimes it wouldn't work. Using the LG CX was snappier and worked way better. Maybe that's been fixed?
Hey I just got my A6A 2 days ago and was wondering if you knew whether or not they have added QMS and/or QFT yet ?
Thanks for another great review-glad Andrew and Yamaha kissed and made up. I have the A2A running Klipsh bookshelves in the living room, which sound great. Keep up the great reviews.
Just today I went to the local magnolia shop and was able to test the Aventage A2A and the A4A then compared the Marantz Cinema 60 using Def Techs ProCinema 1000 speakers and subwoofer. What can I say, was somewhat surprised by how similar both the A4A and A2A sound. I first demo A4A using a scene from Elysium and the room rocked with wide open dynamics, and crisp details especially on the center channel with a nice oomph on the base. Then I had the salesperson switch it to A2A and I was pretty much shocked at how similar it sounded. I was expecting a mediocre sound since many dragged the A2A being just a V6 inside a nice box with a fifth foot lol! Though, intentionally ignoring the fact that A2A has beefier internals like 10,000uf capacitors vs the 8,2000uf on the V6 and more rugged construction to make the amp sound on par with the A4A. The only minute difference that I noticed is the base was more subdued on the A2A but the details and dynamics were there with its A4A sister. Then, compared the Cinema 60 to the A4A and I have to be honest they sounded almost the same with a slight difference the Marantz slightly colored the sound while the A4A was neutral. Knowing that I live in a small apartment the A2A should be my go-to, especially with what I listened it should suffice but that extra 10 watts to get more of that slight oomph is pushing me to the A4A but the price tag doesn’t justify it. So to be frank for those wanting to get an Aventage receiver but don’t have the cash to splurge on the A6A I’d just go with the A2A since whatever minute differences the A4A offers in the sound department are not worth the upcharge.
I'm thinking between Cinema 60 and Yamaha A4A...in my country Yamaha is at least 400 euros more expensive...I will use AV primarily for movies and gaming and sound quality is the most improtant thing to me. So you think that they pretty much have same sound and it is not worth paying that much extra for Yamaha? Thank you
@@libertalian_8415 having heard both amps, and the A4A in the sound department just had slightly more base than the A2A. But besides that the amps were indistinguishable for dynamics and sound detail. So if that A4A a bit pricy I’d pick up the A2A since at least it has the bigger 10,000ufs audio capacitors and suspect that’s the reason why both amps sound almost identical to each other.
Bro, Kristi is on point and who knows might do a review herself one of these days ! Btw, is it fair to say that forward and brighter sounding components seem to come across as clearer and or dynamic from our perception of hearing in those frequencies? 👍🏼✊🏼
I own a Yamaha RX A1080 and I agree with the dialogue clearity issues. I set dialogue level on 2 in the app and set the volume of my center speaker to 4 in the on screen menu..for me that solved the problem 😃
what are the most positive trends that you have seen in the av receiver market in the last few years and conversely, have you noticed any negatives?
Positive trends include; fixed HDMI 2.1 support up to 40Gbps, taking gaming features and functionality very seriously, multiple ways to EQ, preamp outs being available at lower price points, App support, and general sound quality improvements (though some may differ).
Negatives include; brands still playing games or not divulging true power ratings, crappy displays, crappy remotes, cheap plastic chassis, people still thinking AVRs are "not good enough" when in fact they are!
Thank you for your support!
@@andrewrobinsonreviews Wow! Time to replace that old Kenwood THX receiver of mine! :)
What I enjoy about your review site is that you take into consideration the various needs and knowledge of beginning hi-fi enthusiasts, like myself, plus you provide information on the latest products to enable one to make good purchase decisions. GREAT JOB! from RT
I got the A6A before the price hikes and will use it until it dies.
Thanks for educating us on these complex devices. I was told at a big box store the Marantz cinema 50 would
Be adequate to power a 3.1 JBL HDI series setup (4 ohm ). But what I took from this video is receivers are not the best/good choice for 4 ohm speakers. That an external amp is needed or recommended to make such speakers shine to their full intended potential. Thank you, appreciate the knowledge/help.
To me Yamaha receivers are truly beautiful specially the A8A.
I agree with Kristi and think Yamaha has to work on that slightly "muffled" sound with movies ... I the have a Yamaha TSR7850 in my family room running 5.2.1 and everyone always says that it seems hard to hear the center dialog clearly (I usually have to keep captions on). I had a run of the mill Sony 5.1 system (same speakers) that sounded much cleaner. I have always bought Yamaha - even back to the R-100 (still have that running in the garage!) but maybe it's time to try Onkyo or Marantz ...
Thanks for the review. I bought the A4A back in May 2022. I agree with Kristi when it comes to dialogue and the lack of "punch" in scenes with explosions and bullets, etc. With all of the capabilities to fine tune the receiver, are there any settings that could improve those issues? I also have a problem with Yamaha's ATMOS "terminology" when it comes to the front "Presence" speakers. I bought the Polk XT-90 Atmos speakers and they are placed on top of my trusty old Polk RTI 38's. I really don't "feel" the height related sounds. The room is 20 x 11 x 8 ft ceiling with the TV and speakers on the 20 ft wall, so we're watching and listening from about 8 to 9 feet. So, I have been considering mounting the XT-90's on the front wall. Can you confirm that I would keep the speakers as "Dolby Enabled" and not "front presence" setting?. Again, quite confusing. And, when it comes to distance settings for the ATMOS height speakers, I set the distance manually at 13 feet to account for the total distance from the speakers to the celing and then back to our ears. Sorry for the long winded comment,/questions. I really do appreciate you and Kristi. Thanks Again!
Hi Tom. Which subwoofer you are using for your A4A?
Thanks! Having the Marantz 8015 I will stick with my Swiss Army Knife receiver but love the fact that Yamaha came through on their updates!
That's the real MVP.
The 8015 is still KING IMHO --but it's likely getting an update soon and no doubt will be made even better.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews When it comes to movies, is the dynamics of the Cinema 50 less than the 8015?
Great review, actually helped clear up a lot of analysis paralysis in my head lol
So glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching!
Great AV receiver loaded with so many features 🤩
It's finally loaded with all the features Yamaha has promised for nearly 2 years!
It’s 2023, why do receivers still have displays from the 80’s still? I’m not asking for a lot am I?
I didn't know that was an actual issue, the dialogue with AVs. I've been a Yamaha owner for ages, like others said, they last forever, but my wife and I both have issues hearing dialogue clearly through our current Yamaha receiver RXA3000 which has been great, but it does not have 4K HDMI so Im looking for a new receiver.
After hearing this about dialogue in movies, is there a way to improve that? I'd like to stick with Yamaha, but using the DSP settings for "Drama" or "Adventure" requires the volume to be turned up high compared to 7.1 setting and the dialogue pales in comparison to the over the top special effects sounds. According to this video the Onkyo is better for dialogue, how about the Marantz?
My 3 year old SONY A80J TV and maybe most newer TV's have a dialog boost option in the audio setup area in your TV that you can turn on. Just connect your Blu-ray Player and whatever else you have into the TV using a highspeed HDMI cable. Plug the HDMI cable into the HDMI e-ARC out of your TV and then plug the other end into the HDMI e-ARC of your AVR. Doing this will make the dialog a lot easier to understand.
@ Thanks for the tip. The day after I wrote that, I saw a "dialogue" setting on the receiver, but haven't seen one on the tv. I went out and picked up a Yamaha rx A6A I'll see if it has anything like that when it arrives. Thanks again.
This is an older video but thought that I'd add that I have a slightly older entry level Yamaha receiver and clean is also the main word here in describing it, but the real surprise happens when connecting an older pair of LS 50's to it, and simply using a Firestick as a source listening to internet radio such as Jazz Groove and this is about as good as these speakers get, I need to add that the little Sony's do not work at all with this receiver, that's how the KEF's ended up there, although way above the Sony price range, the KEF's speakers that I've had for some time, were a natural match with the clean Yamaha, the best that've heard them.
All recievers mentioned in the review are amazing modern machines and I'd be happy to own any of them. Which means I'd probably go for the cheaper Onkyo and spend the savings on music and movies or on upgrading another component.
“cheaper” Onkyo died on me 3 times in a space of about 12 months. Just keep that in mind.
WOW, those Triangle's color combo look awesome in your room. As is custom made for you two. BTW, hope the review comes out soon.
I can not take you seriously Kristi, when you put Onkyo over Aventage:-)
I like your channel very much Andrew! I find a lot off home theater receiver reviews, but I'm looking for a receiver with 2 channel output that can play internet radio. Can you advice me on that one? Thanks and keep up the good work!!
Happy New Year, Andrew and Kristie, from Belize! Great review as usual! I just wanna say that Yamaha is great, but the focus should be on pairing/collaboration between speaker manufacturers and AVR manufacturers. Personally, for whatever it's worth, an outright admittance to a Klipsch + Onkyo setup has never been unliked/ disproved. I am glad that you gave the Yamaha a chance in all fairness though. Perhaps the new focus on AVRs' marketing/selling point should be collaboration with speaker makers??? anyways, merry new year!
Onkyo and Klipsch is a disaster for your ears.
@@tonyt.5771 why so? Are u the neighbor they’ve been pissing off since ‘46 as advertised?
@@Renan_Cas wtf?
The amp in the Yamaha A6A and A8A is significantly better than the A4A, and has more channels as well. It is a huge price jump though. For any receiver I've used in past 15 years or so I use a separate amp for my main front speakers and like to reserve the receivers amp for center and surrounds/zones.
I'm running this receiver with my neumi bookshelf speakers front center and surrounds! Emotiva A3 and two svs pb 2000s 12s ! Good enough for me 💪sounds nice
@andrew not to sound disrespectful but nowadays i am more keen to reach the end where kristy gives her comments.it sounds more like a common person would describe the receiver ..the conparison..its totally great.totally love the way she places her comments and the way she justifies why she said so.
HIGHLY anticipating the review of those gorgeous Triangle Borea BR09s! 0:55
Can I run this AVR by 5.2.2 configuration instead of 7.2😊😊
Andrew are you going to do a review of the Anthem MRX lineup at any point? I'd love to know how you and Kristi think it stacks up. I used to have an RXA 800 and recently moved to the MRX1140 and have been completely blown away
I'm looking to replace a RX A3070. I'm not so sure I'm going to go back with Yamaha this time as I have lost 4 receivers in 7 years. I don't feel I'm getting a very long life out of these units. I have been using Yamaha equipment since around 1973 or 4 as I started out with a Yamaha B2 amplifier and C2 preamp and have been using their equipment over all these years but I think it's time for a change. The Onkyo sounds very appealing, I'm going to check it out. Thanks for the videos, they were very helpful.
I just bought this receiver and hooked up the dali oberon 7 with the dali subwoofer e 9f and it's amazing . Let me know what you think . Thanks
Love my a4a! Now if I could just listen to the eternally back ordered R700’s.
Im running the a6a with balanced inputs 5.2.2 Elac unifi uf5 speakers with two 12in monolith subs and 7ch Tone winner amplifier.... sounds fantastic 👌
Great review as always! Hilarious comment 'Full Mad Scientist' 😂🤣 yep thats me with my old RX-A3060
Was wondering if you could do AVR reviews without room correction to see how good the amp section is without the filters/EQ. Love the channel and you guys are great!
Great review! I really enjoyed it! I like your channel and come very often. Awesome work!
I think it is good to show the remote controls of the units you review and tings you could do with them. Or least explain a thing or two. I know the time is limited but still this is something that can make the difference between unit a and b.
Probably it is good idea to make a separate review on the remote control apps of these AVRs. This one would be interesting to see. :)
Would the Yamaha A2A be a good pairing for dali oberon 5.1?
Impressive Review Andrew and Christie, I have an old top end mid-tier Yamaha RX-V683BL. Have had it for almost 4 years now. Love the sound, trust the build quality, Remote could be better. Will love you guys to review the RX-A6A and see if it's as neutral. I know for a fact that the RX-A6A and RX-A8A have features exclusive to the top 2 flagship Receivers not in the entry level Aventage series, curious to see if the Sound processing in the top tier models sound any different and addresses Christie's concerns and some of us Yamaha lovers
Spot on. I own the A4A, use external power, the B&K 7250, with the receiver for the atmos speakers. The receiver set up is not geared for the casual DIY person! The app is just ok, but the internet access to the settings is excellent, once you get a feel for it. The YPAO is an OK first step, but the access to the actual YPAO data through the internet is where the unit shines. Ive had it for a couple of weeks and still learning things every day. The internet firmware updates are especially convenient. I love your show and thx.
What do you mean that you have access to the actual YPAO data through the internet?
I have an A8A and would like to learn how to do this.
@@LichaelMewis
Yamaha it’s build to last 😊
I got this one 2 months ago, for music and movies perfect for the price , really good sound
I have a 4 yo Yamaha AV Receiver. I have never been happy with the vocals coming from the center channel. I agree w/ Kristi's take.
A4A looks great. Thanks Andrew and Kristi for your reviews and greetings from Minsk, Belarus
Going back and forth between receivers to buy..been looking at Denon, onkyo and yamaha..just saw thos unit for a screaming good deal price. My setup will be either a 7.1 or 5.1.2. I currently have and older yamaha receiver, 17yrs old, that I love and works great on my current 5.1 setup. Only problem is it is only optical and I need to upgrade, fot atmos also. I do like the power rating in this one. But actually I dont want go through tons of manual settings. I was looking at 2 other models..1 was the onkyo nr-6100 and the other was the Denon avr2700h..trying to stay around $1000 which the sale price on this yamaha is now in this range. So thank you for reviewing this model. And Kristi, and can't stand the look of the marantz cinema or these new a4a type models. I think they are ugly as hell and thats why I have been steering away from them. Give me a good, old school looking full display for godsakes..and yea i know i can do that off the tv or app as well...BUT not the same!
I've been a Yamaha fan for a long time and bought the A4A last year when I was upgrading to 4K. I've stayed up on the firmware upgrades and have been very happy with the performance. So, Kristi & Andrew, when you just want to listen to vinyl, what do you do? Leave it on the A4A or move to the Decware or Technics SU-R1000? Inquiring minds...
I have the A4a and pre-pro 5200, and love their PEQ system. So neutral and love setting my speakers to large
Onkyo, Yamaha, Denon, Sony they are all good it just comes down to personal preferences, for me I love the sound of Pioneer.
You used to be able to get into the Aventage line for around $800. Now they have jacked up the entry level and made it into a plasticated, cheap looking case. I’ve had Yamahas since the 80’s and I am looking for a new receiver. Onkyo is looking better and better.
Would love to see a review of the Beosound Balance!
I just got the Yamaha A6A. Love it!!!
Nice!!
Team Yamaha here! That Onkyo looks great tho, and does seem like a great value. But I love my Yamaha Aventage rx-a780.