Yamaha RX-V2700 Receiver Reviewed!

[MDS]

Anyone know of the difference between the rx-v2700 and the rx-v2700B, and the rx-v2700BL?

The suffix on the end of a model number usually denotes the color. The B is almost certainly black. Don't have a guess what BL would mean.

 

[MichaelJHuman]

Some claim the RX-V2700 does not boost the PCM LFE channel by 10Db, and the LFE channel from Blu-ray or HD DVD is sent at -10Db, which results in a lack of LFE over HDMI/PCM.

 

[FreddyP]

I have nothing bad to say about the 2700. It does everything I wanted. Net connection works great with mp v-11. 29000 songs online!!!

As for the B, Bl in the model name..... I would have to agree that it would mean black....though I believe that black is the only way you will get one in the USA, the earlier post with the English Review shows a silver model...never seen one in the States. No idea what the BL would mean. Mine is a RX-V2700 though the 2006/2007 Yamaha catalog lists it as a RX-V2700BL. No difference that I can see.

My RX is connected to my Toshiba DLP via component cables per a recomendation by Custom Audio Concepts Tech. I was hooked up using HDMI when the components were close together, but went to component cables when installing into a theater room with 25' of cable needed for the connection. Looks and works great.

 

[gene]

Some claim the RX-V2700 does not boost the PCM LFE channel by 10Db, and the LFE channel from Blu-ray or HD DVD is sent at -10Db, which results in a lack of LFE over HDMI/PCM.

I haven't had this problem and I am using HDMI to pass DVD-A and DD+ via a Toshiba HD DVD player. I am nearly 20 pages (Word document) into this review, will it ever end

 

[Hi Ho]

Okay, I have an update on the issue of no video overlay over HDMI. After receiving my projector on Saturday, I can confirm that the 2700 is capable of video overlay over HDMI in certain conditions. Whenever a high definition or 480P signal is input, there is no video overlay. When 480i is input, there is video overlay. I found that outputing 480i from my DVD player and using the scaler in the receiver looks best for DVD's and I do have the short message display. When I switch the DVD to 480P there is no short message display.

 

[erikli]

As for the B, Bl in the model name..... I would have to agree that it would mean black....though I believe that black is the only way you will get one in the USA, the earlier post with the English Review shows a silver model...never seen one in the States. No idea what the BL would mean. Mine is a RX-V2700 though the 2006/2007 Yamaha catalog lists it as a RX-V2700BL. No difference that I can see.

QUOTE]

The English model is not silver - it's called Titanium I have an RX-V2600 in that color with a matching DVD-S2700 - looks great together. Some people would only buy hifi compnents in black so I guess it's taste thing...

Gene - would be very interesting to see your impressions on the RX-V2700 compared to the 2600. The English review puts both models close audiowise but the 2700 adds all the gadgets available from a connectivity point. Also, there's a new video scaler in the 2700 - would be interesting to see your view on performance.

Thanks in advance

//erikli

 

[evilkat]

I haven't had this problem and I am using HDMI to pass DVD-A and DD+ via a Toshiba HD DVD player. I am nearly 20 pages (Word document) into this review, will it ever end

Make it end! We wanna read I've been waiting for this review since Xmas!

 

[MichaelJHuman]

I am glad you have no problem with it. I have no multi-channel HDMI/PCM source at home to test it.

Over at avsforums, some people have reported a problem with low LFE. Another person performed a test and said LFE was fine over HDMI/PCM.

Apparently a Pioneer (the 84?) had the LFE issue, and needed a firmware update.

 

[gene]

All;

My review is completed and in peer review as we speak. This should go live by middle of next week! Stay tuned...

 

[evilkat]

Peers, I hope you're reviewing!!!

 

[Jacksmyname]

I haven't had this problem and I am using HDMI to pass DVD-A and DD+ via a Toshiba HD DVD player.

Same here.
Denon 2930CI and Toshiba XA2 and A2 all look/sound great through my RX-V2700 using HDMI.
Bass absolutely rocks the house. Speakers are a pair of 17 year old Mirage M760's, a Mirage S-12 sub and, at the moment, Mirage Omnisat v2 floorstanders for surrounds. I've also used Mirage Omnisat v2 sats for surrounds and they also sound great (I'll be ceiling mounting the sats for surrounds in a new house I'm building).

 

[Tracer]

Video Upscaling

Has anyone tried the video upscaling? I currently have HDMI from the cable box to the V2700 and HDMI to my 1080p tv. High def channels look great. Standard channels look, well, standard. I would like to upscale the standard channels. It looks like you can upscale from non-HDMI input to HDMI output, but not from HDMI input to HDMI output. If anyone has tried upscaling, please report on your results.

 

[wagonorsuv]

comparisons

Any comparisons to the old top of the line Yamaha (Z9, 4600) and even the Denon 4306 amp/power would be really interesting if not already in there...

All;

My review is completed and in peer review as we speak. This should go live by middle of next week! Stay tuned...

 

[MichaelJHuman]

Has anyone tried the video upscaling? I currently have HDMI from the cable box to the V2700 and HDMI to my 1080p tv. High def channels look great. Standard channels look, well, standard. I would like to upscale the standard channels. It looks like you can upscale from non-HDMI input to HDMI output, but not from HDMI input to HDMI output. If anyone has tried upscaling, please report on your results.

You can scale component 480i to 780p or 1080i HDMI. I personally don't believe in letting your receiver scale to something like a plasma TV with a native 1024x780 resolution. My reason is that scaling will get done twice. One in the receiver and one in the display. And you know how a copy of a copied key does not always fit the lock.

Using the deinterlacer on the 2700 makes sense if your display is an interlaced display (that allows a progressive input) such as a tube TV or CRT projector; but you would want to be sure the 2700's deinterlacer improves your picture.

I have a plasma, and played around with my options. I saw no improvement using the 2700's abilities, so I just use it's HDMI upconverter and send 480i from my Tivo box.

Note that standard def can look pretty bad, and there's no fix I know of. Maybe you could make a box that really improved standard def (as opposed to the placebo effect of deinterlacing/scaling solutions in players and receivers that don't really improve the image, and certainly don't turn DVD players into HD players.)

 

[evilkat]

All;

My review is completed and in peer review as we speak. This should go live by middle of next week! Stay tuned...

Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

 

[mikeyj92]

Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

We could sing songs to make the time go by faster...

 

[gene]

<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><FONT size=2><A href="http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/YamahaRXV2700p1.php"><IMG style="WIDTH: 125px; HEIGHT: 49px" alt=[2700] hspace=10 src="http://www.audioholics.com/news/thumbs/2700_th.jpg" align=left vspace=5 border=0></A>From its powerful network features, to its ability to playback all known current source types thanks to HDMI ver.1.2a, the Yamaha RX-V2700 receiver is likely to serve as the centerpiece of a sophisticated home theater for a long time.&nbsp; Its audio sound quality and amplifier performance are among the best Yamaha has built to date in a sub $2k receiver.&nbsp; If you follow my guidelines set forth in this review, you can rest assured the Yamaha RX-V2700 will arm you with a sophisticated home theater arsenal at your command to propel you into the 21st century of home theater enjoyment.&nbsp;&nbsp;<STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">&nbsp;</SPAN></STRONG></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><FONT size=2><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">[Read the Review]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; [Processor Checklist Results]</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>

 

[bommai]

2700 vs Pioneer 82TXS

So, now that the 2700 review is out, I am even more conflicted. I have Klipsch Reference series speakers. I have not had a chance to listen to both the 2700 and the 82 in my setup. I am trying to see which one to buy. Obviously the 84 is the competitor to the 2700, but since Klipsch speakers are pretty efficient, the difference in the power output may not make much of a difference for me. Both 2700 and 82 have 3 HDMI inputs, which is what I need. The 82 is also quite a bit cheaper than the 2700.

I noticed many of the ratings such as output impedance, etc had better scores for the 2700 vs the 82. So, does the 2700 basically beat the 82 in most respects or what. Should I still consider the Pioneer?

 

[gene]

I noticed many of the ratings such as output impedance, etc had better scores for the 2700 vs the 82. So, does the 2700 basically beat the 82 in most respects or what. Should I still consider the Pioneer?

I'd like to keep this thread focused on the 2700 receiver as per our forum policy for review threads but to answer your question, the 2700 amp section is clearly better than the 82 as per our test results. Whether or not it will be audible with your speakers/room is something you will have to decide.

 

[MichaelJHuman]

I found Gene's review well written as usual (he's definitely one of my favorite internet based reviewes of AV gear). I feel he left out some details I can add from having owned this beast for over a month.

The network feature has some usability issues. In particular, the ability to stream music. Firstly, the menu on the screen will dissapear after a very short time. It would have been nice if they had made that adjustable. Secondly, the interface is slow, and it's easy to overshoot the item you wanted to select. The worst issue though, experienced by a number of people is that artist and album lists will come up with zero entries. This appears to mainly happen when attempting to scroll through the list by holding down the up or down button.

This problem might be a disconnect between Microsoft's media connect service or not. I wanted to capture packets sent back and forth to see what was happening, but I had no easy way to do that (Easiest way would be to disconnect my PC and move it into the living room and hook it directly to the RX with a crossover cable; too much work )

Someone suggested that Yamaha a) Knows about the problem, and b) Might be creating a firmware update. I strongly suggest if you own this unit, and have this problem, you contact Yamaha.

One more issue Gene did not directly address was loss of bass when using HDMI/PCM. A number of people have tested this, and say their levels are prefect (which apparently requires that the 2700 boost the LFE channel by 10Db, similar what's needed for Dolby Digital.) At least one person complained that they had weak bass over HDMI/PCM (as when listening to a TruHD track.) I don't know what to think...seems like the 2700 is doing the right thing, but for some reason a few people were seeing issues.

One more question that was brought up in forums was whether the Yamaha could process (dematrix) Dolby EX if the player was doing the decoding, and sending the audio via HDMI/PCM. This requires the 2700 be able to apply it's processing to PCM. I suspect that does work, but I have no way of testing it.

I am happy with the receiver. But I would like to see Yamaha fix the buggy network music interface. Even if it's partially on Microsoft's end, I still think it's sluggish, and the timeout value on the menu (before it drops to the what's playing display) is too fast.

p.s. The fact that Gene did not see that makes me think the issue does not affect using the 2700 to select music from Yamaha own music server.