• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

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

Matias

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 1, 2019
Messages
5,029
Likes
10,799
Location
São Paulo, Brazil
Of course distortion is too high but actually it is OK for an entry level AVR with 8k. Performance doesn't get much better when paying 2-3k usd anyway...
 

MZKM

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Dec 1, 2018
Messages
4,240
Likes
11,463
Location
Land O’ Lakes, FL
I really appreciate the refresh in looks. That said, I still can’t stand a non-symmetrical layout, so sticking with Denon.


I see this a lot - why don't they use a 3-prong power connector?

No AVR does to my knowledge. First, adding a ground means increasing the likelihood of ground loops. Second, they aren’t required to, they don’t go in wet environments like a kitchen/bathroom and you normally only touch the knobs/buttons on them and not the metal enclosure.


Now, what does F.PRNS mean? I have been in home theater for as long as there has been home theater and I have never seen F.PRNS abbreviation. What is wrong with spelling these things out? There is plenty of room to the right.
Front Presence. It is part of a surround upmixing Yamaha created before Atmos existed. Compared to Front Height speakers, they go off to the side, so it’s likely Yamaha simply mixed the signal for the mains with a bit from the surrounds. For Atmos setups, they should be moved to be above the mains.
1604313569979.png
 
Last edited:

DuncanTodd

Active Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2020
Messages
226
Likes
145
Costco is selling the exact same model rebarnded as TSR-700 for $200 less.
I dislike the tiny display with a passion. So much free real estate and it's only used for a tiny display, one giant knob and one small.
 

Matias

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 1, 2019
Messages
5,029
Likes
10,799
Location
São Paulo, Brazil
Costco is selling the exact same model rebarnded as TSR-700 for $200 less.
I dislike the tiny display with a passion. So much free real estate and it's used for a tiny display, one giant knob and one small.
Personally I never use the display of my AVR, always use the TV for setting up anyway.
 

DuncanTodd

Active Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2020
Messages
226
Likes
145
Personally I never use the display of my AVR, always use the TV for setting up anyway.
I don't use it either, but I like looking across the room to see the audio format it's outputting. Even if it's just meant for close by setup it's way too small imo, especially considering no one has AVRs at eye level.
 

somebodyelse

Major Contributor
Joined
Dec 5, 2018
Messages
3,682
Likes
2,962
Does it have that buggy hdmi 2.1 chip?

...reports in the current issue of c't 23/2020 , a suspected breakdown of the chip manufacturer Panasonic Solutions (meanwhile taken over by Nuvoton Technology) ensures that, according to the current state of knowledge, all HDMI 2.1-compatible receivers from Denon, Marantz and Yamaha are not able to transfer videos in these ultra-high resolutions to the TV without errors with certain players. The TV screen then remains black due to the HDMI 2.1 glitch .

source: https://www.heise.de/news/Bug-in-HD...nsole-und-Grafikkarten-betroffen-4935888.html
According to the other thread this is one of the ones with the problem.
 

beagleman

Major Contributor
Joined
Sep 24, 2020
Messages
1,157
Likes
1,576
Location
Pittsburgh Pa
I have to add, I just heard a few Yamaha Avr's, not this model, but ones from 6-7 years ago.

One was the Most entry level one, and the other was a top of the line aventage model.

What is disturbing me now, is the measurements he got seem quite mediocre, but hearing those receivers in person (mind you older versions) I was not able to correlate anything negative to the sound from simply listening to them.......???

Would these measurement issues only come out at truly high levels? Are they masked by normal program material, or simply not all that audible in reality?

I would not call the two models I heard at a friends, the ultimate in sound, but as a long time audiophile, I heard nothing truly negative also??
 
Last edited:

Kevin1956

Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2020
Messages
21
Likes
70
Location
Woodstock, Md.
I have two Yamaha receivers, the RX-A780 in a 5.1 setup and the RX-V385 in a stereo setup. In both instances, I never seem to listen at levels higher than -20 on the volume scale, and usually lower. Based on the numbers on this test, which showed a SINAD of about 93 at a volume setting of -10, and amplifier THD numbers of about .02% compared to the factory spec ratings of .06% and .09% for mine, I am feeling pretty good about my purchases, hoping that these test results translate somewhat to my models.

Apparently many receivers are designed to operate normally at voltages and volume levels far below what these tests are performed at?
 

Dmitri

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jul 25, 2020
Messages
432
Likes
1,057
$600 in today’s dollars is not so bad...with a performance level that would likely satisfy most. The look is very refreshing...the apparent “feel” and build quality exceptionally unfortunate. Not in my rack, but a reasonable gateway receiver for AV addiction. My biggest concern here is whether the overall quality of the future Aventage line might suffer similarly....and of course the Panny 2.1 HDMI chip, which would basically render every 8k receiver broken depending on player. Major early adopter woes there.

The OSD is ridiculous. I wonder if MZKM would be willing to be on speed dial for translation? :)

Was perusing the “Centered Volume control thread” yesterday...and some images of older 70’s Yammy receivers came up. Not centered volume...but who cares?...The damned things were masterpieces of beautiful industrial design, quality build and function. Not a fair comparison by any means, just a wistful remanence.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KEW

PeteL

Major Contributor
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Messages
3,303
Likes
3,838
It would have cost them so little to put an acceptable DAC in there. Especially disappointing given the amp side performs very well.
well, 8 channels of acceptable dacs, the question is how little... To be honest, 7 good performing 120W-8R for 600$ is crazy cheap already, they could get rid of all the receiver options and the price would still be decent. Of course there are compromise, we are talking basic home theater functionality, to target people that don't like to spend money (that's a lot of people ain't it?) If it was gonna perform like their flagship lines, some people responsible in pricing and market positioning would have not done their job...
 

dandiego

New Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2019
Messages
2
Likes
0
Does it have that buggy hdmi 2.1 chip?

...reports in the current issue of c't 23/2020 , a suspected breakdown of the chip manufacturer Panasonic Solutions (meanwhile taken over by Nuvoton Technology) ensures that, according to the current state of knowledge, all HDMI 2.1-compatible receivers from Denon, Marantz and Yamaha are not able to transfer videos in these ultra-high resolutions to the TV without errors with certain players. The TV screen then remains black due to the HDMI 2.1 glitch .

source: https://www.heise.de/news/Bug-in-HD...nsole-und-Grafikkarten-betroffen-4935888.html

Indeed it does: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnar...suffer-the-xbox-series-x-and-rtx-30-hdmi-bug/
 
Joined
Jun 27, 2020
Messages
91
Likes
143
For 600$ this seems like all most people could ever want in an AVR. True, it's not Denon-tier performance, but they usually cost double the price of this. Depending on if you need room correction or if you're annoyed with bad menus, this could really be a great entry into home-theatre for many people.
Let's see how a $600 MSRP Denon compares before calling it not Denon-tier.

Random anecdote: I actually used to own a 2016 $600 MSRP Denon, and it subjectively sounded very poor. Either it was defective or they save the better amps for the X-line because my X4700 sounds much, much better now. I suspect Denon's S-line of receivers use much lower quality components.
 

txbonds

New Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2020
Messages
2
Likes
7
I have a Yamaha RX-A3080 in my main system and absolutely love it so far. Not sure how it rates out compared to the others tested but it meets my needs nicely. That said, when I went looking for a new AVR to use in our garage gym, I chose the Denon 3600 based on features to sales price ratio.

Personally I don't like the newer, more modern look of AVR's and actually would prefer it if they would stick with more traditional aluminum panel fronts. LOL :)
 
Last edited:

beagleman

Major Contributor
Joined
Sep 24, 2020
Messages
1,157
Likes
1,576
Location
Pittsburgh Pa
Let's see how a $600 MSRP Denon compares before calling it not Denon-tier.

Random anecdote: I actually used to own a 2016 $600 MSRP Denon, and it subjectively sounded very poor. Either it was defective or they save the better amps for the X-line because my X4700 sounds much, much better now. I suspect Denon's S-line of receivers use much lower quality components.

I have not heard, nor read about any AVR by a major well known manufacturer that has ever sounded less than good.

I know there is a lot of AVR bashing in general, but "very poor", meaning what? Like an alarm clock radio, Super audible distortion or what?
 

Rubicon

Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2019
Messages
10
Likes
3
The Costco equivalent of this receiver goes on sale frequently at $399. So this is a $400 receiver and not a $600 one. Costco model number is: Yamaha TSR-700.
 

infinitesymphony

Major Contributor
Joined
Nov 21, 2018
Messages
1,072
Likes
1,806
It would have cost them so little to put an acceptable DAC in there. Especially disappointing given the amp side performs very well.
It seems like mid-range DAC chips from 15-20 years ago would have had better theoretical performance than this. Are DAC sections in AVRs that much harder to implement, do manufacturers no longer have the IP to produce good results on the budget end, or are manufacturers simply restricting the performance of lower-tier models in order to justify the R&D for the $4K boxes that make up the top tier of the AVR SINAD list?
 

KEW

Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 1, 2020
Messages
81
Likes
125
For 600$ this seems like all most people could ever want in an AVR. True, it's not Denon-tier performance, but they usually cost double the price of this. Depending on if you need room correction or if you're annoyed with bad menus, this could really be a great entry into home-theatre for many people.
The Denon AVR-X3600H is currently going for $800:
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-YntO2...zxxVOAOeL3BSjCzy7DUFWbTQmW7s425hoC7xUQAvD_BwE
(also at Amazon and others).
 
Top Bottom