Yamaha AV Receivers any good?

I have been using a Yamaha 2600 for 12 years w/no problems

 

The 4310 is an excellent AVR! I have the 4311 and it's very similar to the 4310. Have it stored away but will hold on to it as a back up processor.

 

Good to hear from you my dear friend...if you ever decide to get rid of the 4311, let me know...I'll even throw a couple of SACDs as a complementary payment...j/k

 

Good to hear from you as well . Hope all is well down in Santiago. The 4311 is yours if I ever decide to part with it! Payment in SACDs will work just fine .

 

I can vouch with a similar story. I recently bought an RX-A1060 (exact same product class just two years newer) and can say without a doubt the musical nuance provided by this amp is quite good.

I did a lot of in home testing with various brands of the higher end units $1,000+ and found the Yamaha to be the best of the bunch in both features and sound. Tried (Onkyo, Sony, Denon and a few others that I don't recall.) Other brands had their perks etc. but hands down I would buy this unit again.

This is going from a fairly high quality all analogue two channel amp to a multichannel AVR and I feel it actually sounds better in many respects.

Of course ymmv but I have been very very pleased with my purchase.

that said, sure there IS better out there but for the price, its absolutely good enough for modestly critical listeners.

someday I hope to use the pre-outs and hook up a nice 2 channel amp but with how good this already sounds its not a pressing issue.

 

I have a Yamaha RX-V781. With the EQ for individual speakers you can make your speakers sound the way you prefer them. I don't like the sound of any of the presets after adjusting to my taste.
RX-V781 - Overview - AV Receivers - Audio & Visual - Products - Yamaha - United States

 

Yes Dennis, you are quite right with what you say. The more recent Denon stuff (last 10 years or so) pales in comparison to the older gear they used to make. The Denon AVR I had was from 2003. Was a solid performer but massively outclassed in sound quality by the Yamaha Aventage I bought a couple years ago.

 

I have the RX-A3060 and love it. Powers my 5.1 in-wall Sunfires with authority.

 

I started with a RX-V990. Still a very musical receiver. Next was a DSP-A3090, then a RX-V3000, and now a RX-A3030. All problem free, and fantastic units. Now, if I could swing a deal on a RX-Z9, that would be awesome, as that's an epic piece!

 

Yamaha is a reliable brand, but this pretty well sums it up!

I may be bias, cause I got a Yamaha in my TV (theatre) room.

 

Anyone running an A3070? Trying to decide if it would be a worthwhile upgrade from a Pioneer Sc-25 that I do like with my B&W CM10S2. I haven't crossed into the 4k video realm yet... yet... I do like the balanced XLR input for my incoming Oppo 205 though.

 

I believe this model is in their "Aventage" line, I have an earlier model RXA-1000 and I love it as much today as when I first bought it eight yrs. ago. This model (3070) looks really nice.

 

It does look nice, and giving it some consideration. But wondering how much of an upgrade over my Pioneer Elite. The B&Ws need a lot of power to drive them and I thought I read that the measured output of Yamaha receivers drop considerably compared to the paper specs.

 

I have used a Yamaha RX-V775 for about three years. Right now it’s duty is for multichannel and movies. When it is time for me to replace it, I will likely buy another Yamaha if I can’t afford an Anthem. I like the YPAO, pass through feature, and ease of use for my family members. Lots of tweakability for me, if I choose to.

I have two gripes with my specific model:

1. It overloads when I use Pure Direct (haven’t figured out why)

2. It doesn’t have 5.1 analog inputs for my Oppo like my old Denon has.

 

I have Yamaha Aventage 1070 and find it to be excellent.

 

Same here. Very nice unit.

 

just picked this one up for 10 bucks in perfect order. didn't need it, but couldn't leave it.

 

Nice score for a tenner.

 

I know! my first question I had was what was wrong with it?
being Mr. sceptical haha, they said nothing, and if it didn't work I could
bring it back. I would have used it for parts if nothing else, but it shines!!

 

I used multiple Yammy receivers over the years. Great build quality and features for the money.

Regards

 

Yamaha's output into 2 channels is always strong. Usually at rated spec. It's when powering surround sound, is where output drops. And that's by design. Yamaha gets aggressive with current limiting, in order to protect the receiver, so power drops faster, the more channels involved. Even my former TOTL RX-A3030 outputs 150 watts into stereo, but 'only' 100 X 5 in surround.

 

I don't think any Yamaha has multichannel inputs any longer. Even the top receivers. Yamaha dropped that feature several models back. Unfortunately! That's why I hang onto my RX-A3030, since it has preamp outputs for all channels, and multichannel inputs. I'll keep it until it does.

 

Back in 2007 my cousin and I were looking to buy new AVRs and audited side by side receivers from Denon, Onkyo and Yamaha. We had a Denon 3808, a Yamaha 2600 and I confess I can't remember the model for the Onkyo AVR but it was a model more or less equivalent to the 3808. We brought our own music and commandeered the dealer's listening room for a whole hour.

We both came to the conclusion that the Yamaha receiver gave the most detailed and faithful sound for two channel audio. It was better, more crisp and alive than the Denon and had better stereo separation and staging than the Onkyo. But we were more interested in listening to 5.1 movie soundtracks and that's where the Yamaha wasn't as good as the Denon, which is why I ended with a Denon 4308 that I still own. What tipped the balance was the room correction and the YPAO wasn't as good as the Audyssey offered on the Onkyo and Denon receivers.

I don't know how the build quality of the Yamaha 2600 can compare to the one of the Denon 4308. I assume it should be at least as good and I really can't complain about the 4308. Recent models from Denon are built like crap but mine is from an area when they still knew how to build quality products.

 

no multichannel analog inputs on the 3070. you are correct. That's a big trade off for me as well as the Pioneer SC-25 and 35 have them. But the addition of the XLR input for my incoming Oppo 205 makes it attractive for 2ch (but I have a wonderful SimAudio amp for dedicated 2ch, and the XLR in that is for my phono stage). Would be preferable to use the Oppo DAC, but the Yamaha is no slouch in that area. Boils down, for me, to whether the amps in the Yamaha will be superior to the Pioneer and how much will I use the advanced surround, as eventually I will get a 4k display. I generally like the sound of the Pioneer but haven't heard the Yamaha pair with the B&W. Hope to get a demo/floor model and give it a good listen...

 

Yamaha dropped S-VHS with the 3030. They dropped multichannel inputs with the 3040. Silly bean-counters got involved, I guess?

And yes, the Oppo does have better DACs. It uses ESS ES9038PRO DACs, where the Yamaha uses ESS ES9016S DACs. But, your 2 channel set-up, using XLR balanced inputs should be very nice.

As to sound quality, and quality of surround sound, I love my Yamaha. It sounds better than my former separates (nothing to brag about, but the NAD 116 preamp was decent). Open and spacious, with a wide sound stage. A bit warmer sounding, than Yamaha's past. And surround steering is outstanding. It's fooled me several times into thinking embedded foley effects, were sounds emanating from somewhere inside my home! You can't get much better than that!

Good luck.