Many moons ago I was gifted a Yamaha RX-V667 by my indulging lady, to replace a prior AV receiver that lacked HDMI support. Predating the kid’s existence, it has stood the test of time.
But then I acquired an AppleTV 4K, then an Xbox Series X, then a 4K Sony TV. The V667 lacked 4K support, and was the last component to be upgraded. So I finally did, with the RX-A4A:
In the Yamaha AV line, the V models are their more consumer budget-friendly series. The V667 was at the time the top-tier of their V models. The A models are their AV nutjob series. The A4A is their 3rd out of 4, so I’ve upgraded myself by 2 models when comparing to their top of the line V models. The prices start to get ridiculous when going higher than that.
I’m fond of the Yamaha AV brand. People seem to gush nerd juice over Denon and Onkyo, but I think that’s just entrenched brand awareness. And just as the community is also quick to dismiss Bose speakers, I find their sound profile quite agreeable for the price point, provided they’re only speakers and not full systems (which do indeed suck). (Also, why won’t Bose make a standalone subwoofer?)
I suppose I’m somewhere in the middle, as I don’t know anyone else who will trade the wireless soundbar simplicity for wiring 6-11 individual speakers throughout a room, but also myself I’m not willing to go $20K in on a home theater sound setup. No, my perfectly adequate sound system is around $2.5K in value now, but I guess it’s what one’s familiar with and how far a budget can go.
I also scoff at people who put TV size and visual resolution as their top priority, but I was also guilty of being more interested in the 4K visual upgrade on a receiver, as I thought my 5.2+2 Presence Dolby Digital setup was about the best there was. It turns out that there have been some technological advancements I hadn’t experienced. Dolby Atmos is just…holy crap. I also thought that this priority of visual over auditory was the reason I had observed a declining focus on sound mixes and discrete channels, when in fact the now matrix-based approach for more subtle sound immersion had just moved beyond what my V667 could process correctly.
And combined with Dolby Vision – HDR 4K! Just, wow.
Anyway, thus concludes my tech nerd post. I am an audiophile hypocrite. Who knows what the future will bring me next.
–Simon