Yamaha RX-V6A 7.2 channel 4K / 8K Dolby AV Receiver Review

[milosz]

Who uses an AVR or DAC at 2 volts output? Are you trying to drive speakers directly off the preamp outputs for crissakes? I don't get why 2 volts is somehow the "golden" criteria to evaluate this gear. Wouldn't it be more useful to give us a SINAD at a level that most people will actually be using it at?

If I put 2 volts into my power amp, I'd blow my speakers up. Sheesh.

 

[NewbieAudiophileExpert]

Who uses an AVR or DAC at 2 volts output? Are you trying to drive speakers directly off the preamp outputs for crissakes? I don't get why 2 volts is somehow the "golden" criteria to evaluate this gear. Wouldn't it be more useful to give us a SINAD at a level that most people will actually be using it at?

If I put 2 volts into my power amp, I'd blow my speakers up. Sheesh.

Apparently the 'best fit' is at -10dbs, which is funny, because i never go down past -25dbs

 

[NewbieAudiophileExpert]

So I've recently purchased a UMIK-1 and found that YPAO definitely does 'something' to make the sound different - and I think it's more suitable to my room and listening environment.

I've done the calibration with the mic again (x4) on YPAO natural and noticed that adjusting the GEQ makes no changes if YPAO is on, and when YPAO is on the REQ measurements all tend to look 'better' or flatter..

When I turn the YPAO EQ setting off and turn on GEQ EQ setting on, I do notice that there's more bass - perhaps there are some measurements and adjustments that go on 'behind the scenes', and not just the distance and EQ adjustments.

 

[Frontino]

I have an older and lower class model (RX-V381) but with similar performance.

I can attest that SINAD changes based on which channels you turn off.

If you turn off the Sub, SINAD rises by 24 dB.

If you turn off Surrounds and/or Center, SINAD rises by 5.5 dB.

I also performed a test with a 100 Hz full scale sine with uncorrelated phase on the 3 front channels in DTS-HD MA 5.1 and the amp voltage peaks at 21-22 RMS at -4.5 on the master volume.

When I listen at reference (105 dBC on master volume 0), I have channel trims at -9.5 and, apparently, it still sounds clean.

I haven't compared it to a McIntosh yet, though. I wish I could afford one.

Err, I actually meant SNR and it decreases, not increases.

Downmixing the LFE raises the noise by 22.5 dB, not 24 as I previously stated.

So, I wonder if @amirm tests all AVRs without turning off some channels, as that impacts his SINAD measurements.

 

[motomech]

Since the market(Ebay & AFL) seem flooded w/ refurbished versions of this receiver ranging in price from $400 to $450, I thought I would give this thread a little bump. Models avail. include the TSR-700, TSR-7850R, RX-V685 and RX-A780. The TSR-700 is the same as the V6A tested here and the others are the older style, but all include Altmos & DTS-X & pre-outs.
I've owned the A780 since it was new in '17 and for my usage I think it would be hard to beat. I have it in a trailer in Mexico and the WiFi service is very poor here, so basicly I'm stuck w/ 2-chan. PCM. For someone saddled w/ such a source, these receivers, properly set-up, can enhance the experience.
The first thing was pointed out by Amir, setting any of the speakers to sm. destroys the sound! All speakers, regardless of their size, need to be set to lg. If low bass causes problems, use the 1st, and if needed, 2nd band of the EQ. to take some pressure off. Of course, Extra Bass will have to be on to get sub pre-out.
Use as few channels as possible.
In my sm space, I am using frt. height and rear surrounds to add some spaciousness and adding a center really pulls the volume down. W/out resorting to ext. ampilication, 6 channels of 8 Ohm speakers seem to be about the limit.
I get the best results up-mixing to either Dolby Surround(Dsur) or NeuralX(YouTube won't up-mix to 6 Chan., but my MP3 files do fine).
I always leave the Music Enhancer on. I'm not sure how much it adds, but I'm pretty sure it does no harm.
I have a better measuring amp, but it doesn't sound as musical as this receiver, set-up this way.
I know it seems paradoxical to use the term "musical" when listening to music off basic WiFi, but since, except for some CD's, I've never used good source material, perhaps I can be forgiven.
For listeners on a budget or just "want-a-be's like me, these receivers are a real bargain.

 

[Sal1950]

I know it seems paradoxical to use the term "musical" when listening to music off basic WiFi, but since, except for some CD's, I've never used good source material,

Why? Good source material has always been available for very little cost.
Time to raise your sights

 

[valerianf]

I own a Yamaha RX-A700 and I agree with @motomech : this range of AVRs when properly set are giving a very enjoyable sound stage.
The only issue is that they are painful to set properly going through the multiple menus and options.
We need to wait for the next generation for a properly implemented HDMI 2.1

 

[milosz]

I've often said that even though AVR's don't measure nearly as well as - for example - Topping D/A converters, in general they are good enough.

I would love to see a decently conducted double-blind study to see if listeners can actually hear the difference between SOTA D/A converters and lesser hardware.

I did a reasonably good, but small, double blind listening test with my Topping D50 ( 109 dB SINAD ) vs. an Audio-Gd DAC-19 ( 80 dB SINAD ) using Sennheiser HD-600 headphones / Beta22 amp and also using Quad ESL-57 speakers on an Adcom 555 MK II. Neither I nor the professional musician friend I asked to do the test were able to reliably identify any change in sound between A/B/X... So, I wonder, is DAC "quality" at these levels meaningful at all?

I sent my Audio-GD DAC-19 to Amirm and he ran the usual tests on it - this is exact same DAC-19 that I used for my little test: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-and-measurements-of-audio-gd-dac19-dac.7646/

 

[TonyJZX]

yeah these are very cheap over here especially the V4A version... at these prices i'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt in that it DOES actually acheieve 120w which is impressive for the money

i think they kind of half assed it everywhere else... i mean 70dB sinad is kind of... not good

and the whole experience of this unit seems to be a nice looking plastic box that seems to have some really unpleasant looking setup screens

'could do better' in the next versions

 

[motomech]

yeah these are very cheap over here especially the V4A version... at these prices i'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt in that it DOES actually acheieve 120w which is impressive for the money

i think they kind of half assed it everywhere else... i mean 70dB sinad is kind of... not good

and the whole experience of this unit seems to be a nice looking plastic box that seems to have some really unpleasant looking setup screens

'could do better' in the next versions

I'm not sure where "here" is, but the V4A doesn't have Altmos or DTS-X and can only up-mix 2-chan content though the Cinema DSP, which I don't enjoy. I find using the Dolby Surround (Dsur) to up-mix to multi-chan to produces a very nice effect.
In the States, the lowest cost "refurbished" Altmos equipped unit avail. is the RX-V585 @ AFL for $350, but it's only rated 80 W X 2 (8 ohms, 0.09% THD), so it might best suited for a den or bedroom. We are seeing quite a few of it's twin, the TSR-5810 pop-up used on Ebay in the $200 to $250 range (shipped). It would seem that Costco sold quite a few of those.

 

[Skyro]

yeah these are very cheap over here especially the V4A version... at these prices i'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt in that it DOES actually acheieve 120w which is impressive for the money

i think they kind of half assed it everywhere else... i mean 70dB sinad is kind of... not good

and the whole experience of this unit seems to be a nice looking plastic box that seems to have some really unpleasant looking setup screens

'could do better' in the next versions

Are you talking about the 70dB sinad for the front preouts at 2v? That is an out-of-spec rating for this unit (manual states 1v for preout) so of course it is going to look bad! 1v preout is at 85db sinad, and goes up to around 90 at 400m or so. People who are looking for a modest living room 5.1 AVR do not need 2v preouts.

I got the Costco version of this on sale for $320! This is the only AVR I've seen in that price range that even has front preouts. My only complaint with this unit is the room correction is kind of garbage so I wish it had parametric EQ built-in so I could use REW with it.

 

[Theriverlethe]

Are you talking about the 70dB sinad for the front preouts at 2v? That is an out-of-spec rating for this unit (manual states 1v for preout) so of course it is going to look bad! 1v preout is at 85db sinad, and goes up to around 90 at 400m or so. People who are looking for a modest living room 5.1 AVR do not need 2v preouts.

I got the Costco version of this on sale for $320! This is the only AVR I've seen in that price range that even has front preouts. My only complaint with this unit is the room correction is kind of garbage so I wish it had parametric EQ built-in so I could use REW with it.

I just picked one of these up after Pioneer disappointed me so thoroughly. I actually got a good result with YPAO, but my subs were already set up pretty well because one of them is a newer SVS with built-in PEQ. I'm at the maximum attenuation of -10dB on the sub channel and this gives me a nice Harman-style bump. YPAO thought I only needed -2.5dB.

So far, the amps are doing way better than Pioneer and I think better than my old Denon X3300W under "stress testing."

 

[valerianf]

@Theriverlethe
What Pioneer amp did you used?

 

[Theriverlethe]

@Theriverlethe
What Pioneer amp did you used?

VSX-LX305. Amir showed the self-protection alogrithm of the LX505 crippling the amps after 30 seconds at +2dB on the volume control, but I believe it happens at much lower levels, perhaps after a longer time period. The built-in "protection" will not allow the amps to heat up at all.

 

[valerianf]

The built-in "protection" will not allow the amps to heat up at all.
It is why I did not buy a LX505.

 

[Bucking]

Does anybody have experience with it's smaller brother the V4A ? Looking for a budget avr for my Q350s and I'm stuck between the Yamaha or the Denon 660.

 

[motomech]

Does anybody have experience with it's smaller brother the V4A ? Looking for a budget avr for my Q350s and I'm stuck between the Yamaha or the Denon 660.

Hi, I have the RX A770, basicly the same as the V6A and my source most of the time is basic 2-channel PCM and the best format by far, is the Dolby Surround Upmix which converts the 2 channel into multi channel playback (in my case, 7.1.2, 9 speakers).
The V4A does not have Dolby Surround Upmix and if you intend to do something like what I'm doing, I would strongly suggest spending the extra $100 (Accessories4less) for the V6A. Added benifits include, ability to use 7.2.2 and the extra power to run them. I think the V4A will be underpowered running a full array of home theater speakers, as my RX A770 just barely has enough oummph. in my medium-sized room

 

[Bucking]

Thank you very much. I'm planning on running 3.1 and maybe 5.1 at most.

 

[drmevo]

Are you talking about the 70dB sinad for the front preouts at 2v? That is an out-of-spec rating for this unit (manual states 1v for preout) so of course it is going to look bad! 1v preout is at 85db sinad, and goes up to around 90 at 400m or so. People who are looking for a modest living room 5.1 AVR do not need 2v preouts.

I got the Costco version of this on sale for $320! This is the only AVR I've seen in that price range that even has front preouts. My only complaint with this unit is the room correction is kind of garbage so I wish it had parametric EQ built-in so I could use REW with it.

I got the same deal, and I agree - for the price it’s great. I use the pre-outs on mine for HT Bypass with a Parasound integrated amp. You’re not getting pre-outs on any other AVR I could find for less than $600-$700. For TV/movies/games, the Yamaha does just fine. I haven’t tried it with music much but didn’t notice anything off the times I did.

In terms of the 2v thing, I have seen that questioned around here time and time again, and the only real answer seems to be, “that’s how everything else has been tested.” I’m not knowledgeable enough to decidedly say whether it is fair to use an out-of-spec parameter for testing, but it would seem it is not.

 

[peng]

Are you talking about the 70dB sinad for the front preouts at 2v? That is an out-of-spec rating for this unit (manual states 1v for preout) so of course it is going to look bad! 1v preout is at 85db sinad, and goes up to around 90 at 400m or so. People who are looking for a modest living room 5.1 AVR do not need 2v preouts.

It is true that many people don't need 2 V from their avr pre outs, but it is also not quite true that 2 V is an "out-of-spec" rating. The 1 V, or 1.2 V AVR specs for pre outs are not the maximum output specs. The 1, or 1.2 V pre out are just output levels at a certain condition, that is not clearly specified. They don't tell us those test conditions either, all we know is, the maximum output level can be much higher than 2 V.