Yamaha R-N803 Smart Receiver Review

[Blew]

Can anyone who owns the R-N803/R-N803D confirm if these crossover settings in the Yamaha app are available with YPAO off? What about when using Pure Direct mode?

Yamaha R-N803 stereo network receiver with YPAO bass mgt!

It is surprising that this is the first "non-exotic" stereo receiver to offer the roomEQ and bass management systems that are taken for granted in an AVR! With the retro look and bass management, I can't help but think of the Outlaw RR2160 (though I doubt Outlaw is much of a "blip" on Yamaha's...

forums.audioholics.com

 

[djigibao]

When YPAO is off or in Pure direct you can't set crossover

 

[Blew]

When YPAO is off or in Pure direct you can't set crossover

Thanks. Could you set it with YPAO on and Pure Direct off, then turn Pure Direct on and retain the setting?
Does the default 90Hz "Cut off frequency" mentioned in the manual apply as a high pass filter to the stereo speakers too?

 

[Willem]

For many people a high pass filter on the stereo power amplifier for the main speakers would be very useful, given the benefits of high pass filters when using subwoofers, and the absence of high pass filters on nearly all subwoofers. My son's Yamaha P2500s pro audio power amp has such a filter, adjustable between 25 and 150 Hz (12 dB slope) and it makes real sense. Why are such pro audio amplifiers so much more sensible?

 

[djigibao]

Thanks. Could you set it with YPAO on and Pure Direct off, then turn Pure Direct on and retain the setting?
Does the default 90Hz "Cut off frequency" mentioned in the manual apply as a high pass filter to the stereo speakers too?

When the Pure Direct is ON everything else is cut OFF.
Bass, Treble, Loudness, DSP...nothing is working anymore, you have just an AMP with volume control.

 

[Jake Cushing]

So, when connecting a sub to the R-N803 in pure-direct mode, your main speakers still receive the full range of frequencies, would that be right? You have to tailor the sub itself with a high pass filter, if it can do so?

 

[Blew]

So, when connecting a sub to the R-N803 in pure-direct mode, your main speakers still receive the full range of frequencies, would that be right? You have to tailor the sub itself with a high pass filter, if it can do so?

This is what I'm wondering too.

The manual lists 90Hz as the "Cut off frequency", and doesn't go into any more detail about whether it's a high pass filter or not, or whether it's affected by Pure Direct or not. The screenshots above show that a "crossover frequency" is configurable via the mobile app, and suggest that is related to YPAO being enabled. It's not clear whether this crossover adjusts the "Cut off frequency" referenced in the manual or is something completely separate to that. These are separate to the bass, treble, balance, and loudness controls which are set via individual physical knobs on the front panel.

Then the manual only says the below about Pure Direct mode:

Enjoying pure high fidelity sound (Pure Direct)

When the PURE DIRECT switch is turned on, routes input signals from your audio sources so that the input signals bypass the BASS, TREBLE, BALANCE and LOUDNESS controls, thus eliminating any alterations to the audio signals and creating the purest possible sound. The PURE DIRECT indicator lights up and the front display turns off after a few seconds.

No mention of anything about "cutoff", "crossover", or even YPAO. I can understand YPAO not being available in Pure Direct due to all the DSP it uses but am not certain if that also includes "cutoff" or "crossover" functions. The Pure Direct modes on some of the Marantz amps don't appear to affect the subwoofer crossover settings, according to the manuals anyway.

 

[Overseas]

So what would be the next level/upgrade to a similar piece of gear, including streaming, room correction etc?

 

[djigibao]

So what would be the next level/upgrade to a similar piece of gear, including streaming, room correction etc?

Maybe - LYNGDORF TDAI-1120

 

[ZolaIII]

So what would be the next level/upgrade to a similar piece of gear, including streaming, room correction etc?

SPDIF optical input from PC (X64) and nice player with extensive processing chain and you get goodies for life (regarding DSP) like VTS plugin's.

 

[Willem]

A pre/DAC with Dirac or similar and a Hypex or Purifi based power amp.

 

[usery]

A pre/DAC with Dirac or similar and a Hypex or Purifi based power amp.

What do you guess is total cost for such components?

I'm trying to decide between a R-N803, a pre-owned Yamaha RX-A2060 AVR (ES9016, 140w 2ch) or a separates approach (like the ones you described ↑ )

 

[ex audiophile]

For many people a high pass filter on the stereo power amplifier for the main speakers would be very useful, given the benefits of high pass filters when using subwoofers, and the absence of high pass filters on nearly all subwoofers. My son's Yamaha P2500s pro audio power amp has such a filter, adjustable between 25 and 150 Hz (12 dB slope) and it makes real sense. Why are such pro audio amplifiers so much more sensible?

agreed, I was surprised to find both hi and low pass on my JLA e112 (and I assume it's available on the 10 inch as well). Yet the hi pass is not available in the Fathom series. go figure

 

[Willem]

What do you guess is total cost for such components?

This would be quite a bit more expensive. US price of a MINIDSP Flex preamp/DAC with balanced outputs and Dirac is $750 and a mid price Hypex based power amp would be the same ballpark, but in both cases much will depend on in which country you live.

 

[envydd]

Or you can get a mini dsp flex without Dirac and use Rew to save 200 bucks. I just ordered mine. However I would happily use a Yamaha as801 for the amp section along with the decent dac and I can get some eq via bass/treble controls. I love that sound. It can drive less efficient speakers like kef r3s very loud at 30-50pc volume in a 500sqft room

 

[usery]

Or you can get a mini dsp flex without Dirac and use Rew to save 200 bucks. I just ordered mine. However I would happily use a Yamaha as801 for the amp section along with the decent dac and I can get some eq via bass/treble controls. I love that sound. It can drive less efficient speakers like kef r3s very loud at 30-50pc volume in a 500sqft room

Yeah I glanced at the A-S801 approach. Power spec looks very similar to R-N803 and DAC circuit has the ES9010K2M (not sure I'd hear any difference between that and the ES9006AS in the R-N803).

I've used REW a bit for room measurement. But the more I think about separates the lazier I get, to the extent I'll probly compromise some perceived sound quality for the convenience of 1-box. So I'm back to deciding between a R-N803 vs the RX-A2060 AVR.

 

[envydd]

Yeah I glanced at the A-S801 approach. Power spec looks very similar to R-N803 and DAC circuit has the ES9010K2M (not sure I'd hear any difference between that and the ES9006AS in the R-N803).

I've used REW a bit for room measurement. But the more I think about separates the lazier I get, to the extent I'll probly compromise some perceived sound quality for the convenience of 1-box. So I'm back to deciding between a R-N803 vs the RX-A2060 AVR.

Then I would pick a N803 as the amp section is better.

 

[Overseas]

Just tested a pair of Borea BR09 with RN803D, 60 sqm space and 2.8 m height, no sign of lack of power, bass depends on source, for good sources bass was impressive.

 

[Blew]

Just tested a pair of Borea BR09 with RN803D, 60 sqm space and 2.8 m height, no sign of lack of power, bass depends on source, for good sources bass was impressive.

Would you be able to test adjusting the crossover settings via the app to high pass filter the Boreas, then turn on Pure Direct mode and see if the crossover is then disabled?

 

[diablo]

This is what I'm wondering too.

The manual lists 90Hz as the "Cut off frequency", and doesn't go into any more detail about whether it's a high pass filter or not, or whether it's affected by Pure Direct or not. The screenshots above show that a "crossover frequency" is configurable via the mobile app, and suggest that is related to YPAO being enabled. It's not clear whether this crossover adjusts the "Cut off frequency" referenced in the manual or is something completely separate to that. These are separate to the bass, treble, balance, and loudness controls which are set via individual physical knobs on the front panel.

Then the manual only says the below about Pure Direct mode:

Enjoying pure high fidelity sound (Pure Direct)

When the PURE DIRECT switch is turned on, routes input signals from your audio sources so that the input signals bypass the BASS, TREBLE, BALANCE and LOUDNESS controls, thus eliminating any alterations to the audio signals and creating the purest possible sound. The PURE DIRECT indicator lights up and the front display turns off after a few seconds.

No mention of anything about "cutoff", "crossover", or even YPAO. I can understand YPAO not being available in Pure Direct due to all the DSP it uses but am not certain if that also includes "cutoff" or "crossover" functions. The Pure Direct modes on some of the Marantz amps don't appear to affect the subwoofer crossover settings, according to the manuals anyway.

I was curious about what the 803 did so I just ran a few tests on the sub output to check this out. I wondered if the sub output just summed the left and right channel and put that out full range in Pure Direct mode. What I did was connect the sub output to another amp and a full range speaker then ran some tests.

The speaker has no pretensions to be a subwoofer so we assume the actual signal output is flat down to 10Hz or somesuch.

The first four measurements were just made using YPAO settings in the app, to check that the cutoffs at 60.90 and 200 worked. And they do.

Measurement 5 was with YPAO off, which disables the bass cut settings. The bass roll-off appears to be at 90Hz.

Measurement 6 was Pure Direct and shows roll-off starting at about 400Hz. So yes, you really need to adjust the sub to an appropriate value for that.