Yamaha YPAO, or not to YPAO

Hello Folks,

I wanted to get your opinion whether the Automatic EQ gizmos on modern receivers are worthwhile, specifically the Yamaha YPAO system. I am trying to decide between two receivers, the networked HTRN5060 and the YPAO enabled HTR5060. I listen to internet radio a lot and if the HTRN5060 had YPAO it would be a no brainer ... but for some darned reason it does not.

So the question is: For an "audiophile newbie" is the YPAO a smart choice? And if I were to go the non-YPAO route with the networked receiver, how difficult is it to calibrate a system _manually_ (references, links pls.).

There is a great review of the YPAO by Mr. DellaSala here:
http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/Yamaha_RX-Z9p4.php
... but I'm afraid it's very technical without an affirmative yes/no, i.e., YPAO or not YPAO.

I realize this is probably very subjective, so let's see this one in a poll

Thanks for all your suggestions,
Mike

I voted yes for YAPO. I am very impressed with the results from my RX-V2700. It gets all of the basic settings just about dead on except it likes to set speakers to "large". The real magic is the room EQ. I have mine set to "Flat" which makes the frequency response as flat as possible. It really helped with the bass and eliminated harshness in vocals that was caused by my rather poor room acoustics.

It is subjective but I really like what YAPO does. If you really want both YAPO and internet radio I would consider saving up a little more for an RX-V1700 which can be found for around $700 now.

I didn't vote, because my "option" wasn't up there. I would never say that YPAO calibrates better than a pro, but YPAO is a big help for a newbie, something you describe yourself as.

As a newbie myself, I found YPAO invaluable . . . as a starting point. Once you understand how to set things up yourself, you don't really need YPAO. And YPAO does make mistakes. I've had to correct its mistakes (setting a speaker to large when it should be small, for example) more than a few times. But it is helpful in telling you when speakers are wired correctly. I remember being mildly worried about that when I set everything up for the first time. Personally, I like to run YPAO, then do further level-matching refinement afterward.

My advice is that if you're a newb, get something with YPAO. It'll eliminate a lot of confusion when you're setting up. But once you're a little more experienced -- and can get your hands on an SPL meter -- you won't need it.

cheers,
supervij

Had a smaller Yamaha the 6.1 rx-v459.
Went to the 7.1 rx-v659 with the setup mic but did it manual.
I was impressed with the cabling length and the threaded underside adaptor as I have a tripod.
I measured the speaker distance out manually.
I will take the time(sometime) thou and try it out in auto.

It takes total silence. I mean total. But, after several tries, my system is perfection. The difference with YPAO on and YPAO off is incredible.

I did have to change my speakers to small. I think it has to do with the quality of your speakers. My speakers FR is 33Hz-32kHz.

I start with the YPAO settings, then tweak as needed. It set some of my speaker distances incorrectly, so i fixed them. I also didn't like how it set some of the equalization on my speakers, so i changed that too until i got a sound i liked.

It's a great starting point though and will save you a lot of time.

I don't like YPAO. It's inconsistent, and I all it does is boost a few frequencies for me(different frequencies and amplitude's every time I run it) so I don't think it's doing an accurate job. My room is dead silent when I run it as well. I do notice a signifigant difference with YPAO on and off and I think it sounds better with it off. I get a wider soundstage as well.