Yamaha Receiver RX-V671 Review

Hey all, I just picked up the Yamaha receiver and I'm very happy with it. Although I listen to music on my Ipod (IPOD Classic, Fiio 11 amp, Grado 225 cans) I needed a receiver that could pass 3D images to replace my Denon 987 (a mass market rebadge of the 2807). I also wanted IPOD connectivity sans dock. Some of the sound shaping features were appealing as well.

I had a 10% off coupon at Best Buy (if I used their credit card). Very simple process and I must say the service was great. The gentleman came up to me, carried the box, knew something about the product and found a cheap ethernet cable and even ran to get a second one when I realized the shorter one I had wouldn't reach. The receiver with coupon was $500 plus tax. Add the cable and the new Nightwish CD and it came to $560.

First off a disappointment. The power cord is hard wired to the unit. Not a big deal but I don't like it. IMHO detachable power cords should be the norm. No switched outlets either but I never use those. No phono input which would have been nice but at that price not likely. The receiver was easy to hook up (well and difficulties were due to my own clumsiness).

The auto setup procedure was a snap. It detected all speakers and while the adjusted sound was an improvement I still will tweak it. It did read the front speakers as large which is questionable (Sony F6000s). It also read the surround speakers as large (Sony B1000s) which is just wrong. Well I don't rely on auto setup anyway.

Manual setup: One nit I must pick is that I cannot adjust the crossover frequency of every speaker. Its one frequency fits all. Sub gets everything under it, all "small speakers" do not. I'd like to have a higher crossover for the surround speakers. The equalizer is amazing. Seven bands but the user can control the frequency and the "slope" (I think) of each band as well as the gain (+6 to -20 in .5 steps). Its an incredibly powerful EQ suite and I'm amazed. I just wish I could make adjustments to all speakers at the same time. The other setup features are easy enough.

Sound options: Has every format I could want. Yamaha still uses the DSP modes, most companies just do a few as an afterthought. I like that Yamaha bases them off real life venues instead of generic ones (ex. "Hall in Munich" as opposed to "Hall", "Roxy Theatre" as opposed to "Rock"). They also have several based on movie genres. Most people won't make much use of them, especially the movie ones, as the default processing (Yamaha calls it "Straight") is usually the best. But they can be fun and their presence doesn't hurt anything.

IPOD intergration: No dock necessary. This feature is well executed. Navigating the on screen interface is not hard at all. Even a long list can be scrolled through fairly quickly although some of the press / return / press steps can be a bit tricky at first. This is true of the interface in general not just the IPOD interface. All the IPOD audio play modes are available. It displays album art and other info. The art ain't beautiful (as the TV blows up the low resolution, small picture) but it isn't a blob of formless colors either. I understand all that might be standard these days but its far better than the Denon IPOD dock (which I returned).

Remote: I wish it was a learning remote but for the price of the receiver it won't be. Its a good remote. The layout is logical and I don't have to fight with it. I do wish the number keys were bigger (I got to use them extensively as I programmed the remote). I programmed my Samsung TV, my DirecTV is on RF mode so I don't think it'll work as the remote is IR. The PS3 does not have a sensor (unless you buy a remote with one that plugs in). Those are all my devices. I wish it didn't have the recessed "pen push" button to access programming.

Radio: Pandora works fine, V-Tuner also though that app doesn't display song info which limits its usefulness for me. My Samsung TV has V-Tuner, same issue. I don't have access to the others. Having ethernet also allows the receiver to get software updates easily, a great feature.

Sound: Honestly didn't have much chance to play with it. A $500 receiver isn't going to be the last word in audio. If you want that go to separates or at least Aventage (Yamaha's premium line). Everything I heard was clear. I haven't had a chance to tweak it yet. Its a mass market receiver (though a high up model) so it is what it is.

Overall: I liked this receiver more than I thought I would. It exceeded my expectations. I'll update with more info if needed. The few minor issues are far outweighed by the positives. Thumbs way up!

 

Great, thanks for the write up. Tell us how it sounds when you get the chance.

 

Chris,

Congrats.

I picked up the same unit to use as HT pass through preamp for movies.
My Blu-Ray player is the Sony BDP5000 and that provides the Yamaha with high quality multi- channel audio.

My Yamaha is being used only as a volume control for my 5 channel and 2 channel Power AMPs we have hooked up for our home theater.

I'm very happy with the unit.

Enjoy!

 

Hello, I was wondering what your set up is. It sounds interesting and similar to what I was thinking about trying. Thanks.