The YAMAHA Home Theater Receiver to Buy! Yamaha RX-V6A Receiver Review

It has been a rocky road for home theater receivers in 2020, to put it mildly. There have been a number of very high profile releases, but there's also been a number of disappointments as well. Of course, I'm referring to the whole debacle over funky HDMI boards, but it's not all bad. If I've learned anything from you guys this year, it's that many of you really aren't that concerned about 4K 120 or 8K anything. So while these new receivers may not quite live up to their promise as it relates to video, that is, all is not lost, which is why we have requested today's little gem. So hit that like button and subscribe if you're not already because we are reviewing Yamaha's RX-V6A. The RX-V6A is a 7.2 channel Dolby Atmos enabled home theater receiver. Now it boasts 100 watts per channel, though that is only with two of its channels driven. So obviously as you add more loudspeakers, power is going to decrease, but I maintain that it has enough power to drive most any loudspeaker that you're likely going to pair with a home theater receiver such as this. There's even an option to bi-amp your main left and right speakers within the Yamaha itself, but if 100 watts per channel just isn't enough power for you or your speakers, you can add a third party amplifier because the V6A has stereo preamp outputs. It even has preamp outputs for a second zone, not to mention two subwoofer outs. Now with respect to HDMI and video formats, first the V6A has seven HDMI inputs and one HDMI output. Of course, it supports ARC as well as eARC. Now as it relates to 4k 120 or 8k anything, Yamaha either knew something before the other brands did, or they have completely dodged a bullet here because that higher level video functionality, at least inside the V6A, has always been listed as coming via a firmware update. This means that it's not enabled straight out of the box. Now if you're is that firmware update happening? I don't know, and according to Yamaha's own support website, neither do they. Yamaha's new design is causing quite a stir as both the V6A and V4A have new facelifts for 2020, and I am here for it. I love it. I think it is a bold forward new look for AV receivers, and I have to tell you it makes the V6A look a lot higher end than it really is, and if the front panel was made of glass and the back of it made of a thicker stock of aluminum, rest assured this receiver would have cost thousands. The large volume and control knobs feel good in the hand, and they have a decent amount of resistance, though at least for the volume knob I would have liked a little bit more of a of a click type response, but the touch controls and that off centered screen for me, I think it's a nice touch. Before we get into the weeds on this particular review, just a real quick rundown of what we used to test the V6A. We primarily relied on our budget home theater speaker package of choice from Yamo, and we did this with and without the optional Atmos modules. Now source components included the Google Chromecast with Google TV, the Nvidia Shield, as well as our PS4 where I logged a number of hours playing my new favorite game, Uncharted the Lost Legacy. Now for two-channel listening, we kind of bounced between both the Yamo S809 and Yamaha's tower speakers, and that review is coming, and well the V6A has a wealth of streaming music options built in, all of which are accessible through the MusicCast app, and one of them is title, which I don't have to tell you is my personal favorite, so I use that quite a bit. As always, information on all of these products can be found down below. With everything connected, in order to get the most out of the V6A, you're going to want to use the MusicCast app, and it's completely free. You can download it from the App Store on iOS or Google, and getting up and running or connecting the MusicCast app to the Yamaha is pretty straightforward. Just follow the on-screen prompts, and you should be up and running in no time. Just don't forget the connect button on the front of the receiver. I should say don't overlook it like I did, otherwise you might be there for a minute. But the app really is the best way to get the most control out of the Yamaha, and it not only enables you access to streaming music services like Spotify and Tidal, but it also enables you to switch between inputs, adjust settings, you know, the whole lot. So while the remote control that comes with the Yamaha is good, I found it rather unnecessary because I was able to adjust the volume of the Yamaha using our TV remote, and if you watch this channel, you know that our budget reference home theater receiver is the Sony STR-1080, and for good reason. It's still relevant in 2020, it's widely available, it is obtainable price-wise, and it has a performance-to-price ratio that really kind of defies logic. Sure, it has a sound, it's not exactly neutral, it is punchy and a little bit forward, but for movies, I like that. So why am I telling you this? Well, because I think the Yamaha is just a little bit better. The Yamaha sound is definitely dynamic, with good low and mid-bass definition in direct comparison to the Sony. The Sony has punch, but it lacks some of that weight, so it brings speed and immediacy to the party, whereas the Yamaha brings a greater sense of grounding, at least in the mid-range and bass departments. But it's not all muted and muffled down low, the bass is still very dynamic, it just may not be quite as fast as the Sony. In truth, the Yamaha has a lot in common as it relates to the mid-range and bass performance to the far costlier NAD-T778, which was our 2020 AV receiver of the year. It is because of this added weight that the Yamaha feels more neutral in direct comparison to, say, the Sony or a lot of other AV receivers in this class. And in the all-important mid-range, the Yamaha is largely colorless. That is until you start to turn things up past, say, 85 dB, or you go into the app and adjust some of the dialog or center channel settings. If you do this, you may find that the mid-range is going to thin a little bit and take on a far more forward presentation. Don't worry, it still sits rather nicely with the rest of the frequency range, and it's still very intelligible and pleasing. It just, the Yamaha starts to sound a little bit more like the Sony at higher volumes than it does the NAD. And the mild skew is definitely more noticeable with movies than it is with music, but it is present on both. Still, I absolutely love the customization to dialog that I had within the Yamaha, and if you are hearing impaired, I think you're going to find this feature very beneficial. Real quick, speaking of music, the Yamaha is just fantastic. Whether it's in its pure direct mode or one of its other sound profiles, the Yamaha just has a very musical heart. I know, I'm waxing poetic a little bit, but I just don't really know how else to describe it because it just sounds right. So whether I'm listening to jazz from, say, Go Go Penguin or indie rock from King Princess, the Yamaha just sings. Its stereo performance honestly reminds me a lot of the musical fidelity M3SI, which if you haven't seen that review, we'll link to it down below, but it's a good one. The V6A's high frequency performance is one of poise and detail, but it may lack just a little bit of that last ounce of extension. What do I mean by that? Well, the note, the reverberation that may come off of a cymbal or a high piano trill, that note that kind of bounces around inside of a piano, those little cues, they just, they're a little bit more subdued or rolled off, and in some cases missing altogether. But if it sounds like I'm nitpicking, it's because I am. Because rest assured, it took all of about half a track for me to completely fall in love with the Yamaha's sound quality. In terms of the Yamaha's surround sound performance and sound stage, it has a very nice, well-appointed sound stage that doesn't favor width over depth or vice versa. And the Yamaha is very good at placing instruments and performers in their own kind of bubble within three-dimensional space, so you don't get this kind of just vague wall of sound. There's some very clear definition between performer, instrument, and whatnot. Now, in terms of dynamics, the Yamaha is very good, especially if you turn things up. But what I found more impressive is that this Yamaha manages to be captivating at lower volumes, so it is a receiver that builds as you increase the volume rather than shout at you. Where the Yamaha let me down was in its HDMI capability. Switching was quick and seamless, but sometimes as it relates to ARC or eARC, the sound just didn't come along for the ride. If you don't know what ARC is, that is audio return channel, or eARC is enhanced audio return channel. And this is a way for multi-channel audio signals to be transmitted over HDMI, say between your television and the Yamaha itself. And sometimes that audio signal would just drop out. Silence. And that would force me to have to go into my television, switch it to its internal speakers, then back to its ARC function. And when I did that, I could hear sound. And this happened a lot when switching between, say, our PS4 and the TV's internal streaming apps. It's not uncommon. A lot of receivers in and around this price point kind suffer from this, but nevertheless, it's annoying. I noticed a similar annoyance when trying to game in HDR. When passing an HDR signal through the Yamaha onto our LG TV, the Yamaha kept throwing a little HDR bug in the upper right corner of the Yamaha screen, as if it was constantly reaffirming that it was passing that HDR signal. And this just doesn't happen when I connect our PS4 directly to our LG, so I have to think that it's just a minor bug with the Yamaha itself. Thankfully, it's not like the image popped in and out of HDR mode when this bug was present. So again, it's just like a minor glitch. And if you're not big into HDR, be it gaming or just regular content, I don't think this, well, this bug is going to be much of an issue for you. Lastly, the Yamaha has touch-sensitive controls on its front face, and they look a lot like just regular labels, but rest assured, if you put your finger on them, they will do something and have an effect. And I'm just calling attention to it, just in case you thought, like I did, that these labels did nothing. To end the Yamaha versus Sony debate here, I do consider the Yamaha to be the better product. It is an upgrade in terms of sound quality and functionality. Now, if you have just purchased a Sony 1080 receiver this holiday season, know that you made a good purchase. It's still a great product. I still love it, and we're still hanging on to ours. So don't worry. But the Yamaha is just a little bit better. It's a little bit more refined, a little bit more neutral, and it comes across as having a little bit more power at times. Not to mention, it has a lot more built-in streaming functionality, of which I am a power user. So I can see how the Yamaha would be better for me, but maybe not better for everyone. That being said, I think you could make the argument, I will make the argument, that I think the Sony is actually more reliable as it relates to HDMI switching and ARC and eARC functionality over the Yamaha. So if you have not yet made a purchase of a new budget AV receiver this holiday season, you have some things to consider. And I enjoyed my time with the Yamaha more than I did another receiver released in 2020, the Denon 960H. Now, there's no need to go into detail about that particular receiver, and if you don't know our story about the Denon, we're going to link to the review down below, and you're going to have your answer. Now, both of these receivers are likely going to be plagued by the same HDMI issues, but if I had to buy a 2020 model receiver, I would choose the Yamaha over the Denon every time as I just prefer its sound. And as for how the V6A competes with other Yamaha receivers, it actually does quite well. In fact, it completely holds its own against Yamaha's costlier Aventage or Avantage line of receivers, however you're supposed to say it, the expensive ones. It does vary. The Aventage or Avantage line is still very good, but I think if you are on a budget or you have a more modest system, you can totally get away with the V6A. And if you have your sights set on one of Yamaha's higher-end receivers, know that that line is about to get updated any moment now, so you might be better off just waiting. While there is some overlap, the NAD T778 is just, it's just a whole other animal. The T778 is the better receiver hands down, but at $3,000 it should be. I see the V6A and its music cast ecosystem as sort of the poor man's NAD and Bluesound combo, which I have to say there is no shame in that game. The Yamaha RX V6A is one of the better receivers that we have reviewed in 2020. We're going to have to reserve judgment on some of its next-gen video functionality until either a firmware update or a fix is made available to customers. But as it stands, as of this review, the Yamaha isn't so much a future-proof receiver as it is a solid present-day one. And I absolutely love the new look. I can see how it's potentially polarizing, but I think it's bold and forward-thinking, and I absolutely love it. Plus, the sound quality more than holds its own against costlier Yamahas like the A3080 and even the NAD T778. So minor HDMI quirks aside, I think the Yamaha is priced just right so that even if, even if it never manages to live up to its 4K 120 or 8K claims, it manages to still be a solid buy. So that's it. That is my review of the Yamaha RX-V6A 7.2 channel Dolby Atmos home theater receiver. We're done. And my question, I do have a question though. My question of the day for you is this, what do you think about the Yamaha's new look? 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Another one in the books. So remember, the only person that has to like the sound of your system is you. So happy listening, everybody. Thank you so much for watching, and we will see you on the next video. Bye. Okay, here we go. All right.