Yamaha AVENTAGE CX-A5000 AV Processor and MX-A5000 Amplifier Review

A

admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
Let's not beat around the bush - $6000 will get you the Yamaha AVENTAGE CX-A5000 and MX-A5000 separates. If you have ever wanted separates but didn't want to sacrifice features, it is a good time to be alive. While the CX-A5000 isn't without a few oddities, for the most part it is a fantastic processor. The MX-A5000 is a beast of an amp with enough channels of amplification to power yours and your neighbor's systems with a channel to spare. We love the new trend in high quality separates from the likes of Yamaha and if the CX-A5000 and MX-A5000 is what is in store for us, we can't wait to see what else they can come out with next. Highly Recommended!


Read the Yamaha CX-A5000 AV Processor and MX-A5000 Amplifier Review

Discuss these products here. If you own this rig, please give us your feedback. Who want's them??
 
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3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Dam, I wish I were a rich boy so I could get this pair for myself. My only drawback that I can see on the PreAmp.. no Yamaha Orange. ;)
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Kudos to Yamaha for the combo.

The pricing is great, unlike their $8K integrate amp. :eek:

The aesthetic is great.

The measurement is great.

I am sure the SQ is great in Direct/Pure Direct mode.

Perhaps Yamaha's version of Audysssey XT32 (RC) and Dynamic EQ (DEQ) are just as great, but I have never compared head-to-head. It would be easier to compare if all these AVR had the same great RC & DEQ.

Because of this difference in RC/DEQ, Audyssey fans will probably stay away from this combo, even if the Yamaha combo is great.

But I think Yamaha fans are loving it. :D
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Kudos to Yamaha for the combo.

Perhaps Yamaha's version of Audysssey XT32 (RC) and Dynamic EQ (DEQ) are just as great, but I have never compared head-to-head. It would be easier to compare if all these AVR had the same great RC & DEQ.

Because of this difference in RC/DEQ, Audyssey fans will probably stay away from this combo, even if the Yamaha combo is great.

But I think Yamaha fans are loving it. :D
From what I gather from Gene's comments, he's totally impressed with YPAO's results. But I'm afraid you are correct that the Audysey folks will still shy way from Yamaha. Its too bad really as it really sounds like YPAO sent one out of the ball park.
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
From what I gather from Gene's comments, he's totally impressed with YPAO's results. But I'm afraid you are correct that the Audysey folks will still shy way from Yamaha. Its too bad really as it really sounds like YPAO sent one out of the ball park.
Actually I didn't test YPAO. Tom Andry did. I'm not sure if he ever compared YPAO to Audyssey in his new home theater room. Would be interesting but it will have to wait since we sent back the Yamaha stuff last week :(
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
From what I gather from Gene's comments, he's totally impressed with YPAO's results. But I'm afraid you are correct that the Audysey folks will still shy way from Yamaha. Its too bad really as it really sounds like YPAO sent one out of the ball park.
Actually I didn't test YPAO. Tom Andry did. I'm not sure if he ever compared YPAO to Audyssey in his new home theater room. Would be interesting but it will have to wait since we sent back the Yamaha stuff last week :(
It is difficult to give up something (like Audyssey XT32 + DEQ) that you love without unequivocally knowing that the YPAO, ARC, and other RC + DEQ are just as great.

If I were Yamaha (& Pioneer), I would just give in to either Audyssey XT32 or ARC.
 
jinjuku

jinjuku

Moderator
I think Yamaha providing all the manual PEQ per channel goes a long way in making it more than competitive with Audyssey. That's a really great addition on their part.

$272/Channel for a single chasis amp that measure (and sure sounds good) is a really good deal. Is it 4 ohm stable?
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Actually I didn't test YPAO. Tom Andry did. I'm not sure if he ever compared YPAO to Audyssey in his new home theater room. Would be interesting but it will have to wait since we sent back the Yamaha stuff last week :(
Sorry Gene, me bad for assuming it was you. I assumed it was you since you did the preview. Sounds like Tom was very impressed with YPAO's capabilities...maybe not enough to sway AcuDefTechGuy from joining the dark side. :p
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Sorry Gene, me bad for assuming it was you. I assumed it was you since you did the preview. Sounds like Tom was very impressed with YPAO's capabilities...maybe not enough to sway AcuDefTechGuy from joining the dark side. :p
Since Best Buy carries Yamaha, I may "borrow" an AVR one of these days just to compare YPAO vs. Audyssey DEQ.

Until then, the Force is strong with Audyssey. :D
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I think Yamaha providing all the manual PEQ per channel goes a long way in making it more than competitive with Audyssey.
I think people love Audyssey for it's AUTOMATION, not manual adjustment.
 
I

ihopnavajo

Audiophyte
"Struggling" with 7 channels?

I know we're not supposed to scoff at the trouble it started to exhibit with seven channels, but.... this is an ELEVEN channel amplifier. It kinda seems like trying to cram 11 channels into one chassis might have been a little over-ambitious. After seeing those measurements, I definitely wouldn't design an 11-channel set-up around that amp (or maybe ANY single amp), I'd go with at least two amplifiers. I've seen several big muscle amps that have had two power cords or a 220V option. I'm surprised they didn't go for that approach here.
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
I know we're not supposed to scoff at the trouble it started to exhibit with seven channels, but.... this is an ELEVEN channel amplifier. It kinda seems like trying to cram 11 channels into one chassis might have been a little over-ambitious. After seeing those measurements, I definitely wouldn't design an 11-channel set-up around that amp (or maybe ANY single amp), I'd go with at least two amplifiers. I've seen several big muscle amps that have had two power cords or a 220V option. I'm surprised they didn't go for that approach here.
There is no trouble. Yamaha over protects their amps for fault conditions. You will NEVER have 7, let alone 11 channels of audio producing correlated audio.

see: The All Channels Driven Amplifier Test Controversy | Audioholics

That being said, in the ultimate setup, I'd run 2kwatt mono-blocs for the main front channels but I'm crazy that way ;)
 
M

metalmancpa

Audioholic Intern
This combo is far out of my economic reach. I could barely squeeze in the RX-A3020 I just got.

I find all of this discussion on YPAO versus Audyssey to be interesting but way overblown - this is just my own personal opinion. I never used either until the other day when I used YPAO on my 3020. I was not satisfied with the "automatic" adjustment, so I ended up tweaking each speakers db level and a few other adjustments until the sound was sweet to my ears.

To me manual adjustment is the way to go, as I feel automation for sound whether it be Audyssey or YPAO is the lazy way out. But more importantly, these systems use a mic, and not MY ears, the ears that will ultimately listen. I say sit in the sweet spot with your remote, and spend the time to adjust until it sounds perfect to you. Again, just my opinion, but automatic sound adjustment in any system to me is a waste. My ears hear tones differently than a mic or the next person. I don't know at what levels I hear on the high and low ends. By manually adjusting everything, it gets fine tuned to me and my hearing, something a mic just cannot do IMHO.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
There is no trouble. Yamaha over protects their amps for fault conditions. You will NEVER have 7, let alone 11 channels of audio producing correlated audio.

see: The All Channels Driven Amplifier Test Controversy | Audioholics

That being said, in the ultimate setup, I'd run 2kwatt mono-blocs for the main front channels but I'm crazy that way ;)
That would be by other complaint of Yamaha, overly aggressive protection circuits.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I find all of this discussion on YPAO versus Audyssey to be interesting but way overblown - this is just my own personal opinion. I never used either until the other day when I used YPAO on my 3020. I was not satisfied with the "automatic" adjustment, so I ended up tweaking each speakers db level and a few other adjustments until the sound was sweet to my ears.

To me manual adjustment is the way to go, as I feel automation for sound whether it be Audyssey or YPAO is the lazy way out. But more importantly, these systems use a mic, and not MY ears, the ears that will ultimately listen. I say sit in the sweet spot with your remote, and spend the time to adjust until it sounds perfect to you. Again, just my opinion, but automatic sound adjustment in any system to me is a waste. My ears hear tones differently than a mic or the next person. I don't know at what levels I hear on the high and low ends. By manually adjusting everything, it gets fine tuned to me and my hearing, something a mic just cannot do IMHO.
We are not talking about adjusting the speaker channel levels or distance or crossover or speakers and subs configuration. We are talking about equalizing the subwoofers and speakers, and manually doing that is almost impossible unless you have the right measurement tools and knowledge.

I used to think the same with regards to Audyssey for the last 15 years or so. But after I used Audyssey Dynamic EQ, swallowed the red pill, and woke up from the Matrix :D, my eyes are now wide open. That is why some of us are making a big deal of it. The difference is unequivocal for some of us, not subtle.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Pandora is a very low bitrate (high compression) streaming service that generally sounds okay on headphone or in your office.
btw: Pandora streams 128mbis for free accounts and 192kbis for premium accounts (at-least for the desktop webapp) .
I find both considerably better quality than HD radio and especially terrible sat radio - these are truly terrible at very low bitrate streams 32-64kbis....

Everything An Audiophile Needs to Know About Pandora
 
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M

metalmancpa

Audioholic Intern
We are not talking about adjusting the speaker channel levels or distance or crossover or speakers and subs configuration. We are talking about equalizing the subwoofers and speakers, and manually doing that is almost impossible unless you have the right measurement tools and knowledge.

I used to think the same with regards to Audyssey for the last 15 years or so. But after I used Audyssey Dynamic EQ, swallowed the red pill, and woke up from the Matrix :D, my eyes are now wide open. That is why some of us are making a big deal of it. The difference is unequivocal for some of us, not subtle.
I apologize for my naivety with regards to what exactly these "automated" adjustments do. So is it only Audyssey that does that sort of equalization? When I ran YPAO was that just adjusting those things I can do manually anyways?
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I apologize for my naivety with regards to what exactly these "automated" adjustments do. So is it only Audyssey that does that sort of equalization? When I ran YPAO was that just adjusting those things I can do manually anyways?
I am not very familiar with YPAO (also ARC and other software) or it's equivalence to the Audyssey XT32 DUAL Subwoofer Equalization and Dynamic EQ.

I believe YPAO does more than adjusting those levels, but I have no idea how EFFECTIVE it is or how it actually sounds compared to Audyssey Sub EQ/ DEQ.

Everyone (Yamaha, Denon, Anthem, Pioneer, Emotiva, etc.) claims to have the best software. :D

For example, YPAO has a Dynamic Volume equivalent to the Audyssey Dynamic Volume and Dolby Volume Leveler found in Anthem AVRs. But I do not know if YPAO has an equivalent to Dynamic EQ. Dolby Volume Modeler in the Anthem AVR is "supposed" to be an equivalent to Audyssey DEQ, but I am not convinced. With the exception of Dolby TrueHD, I have very little faith in Dolby Labs in general. :D

I think the Onkyo 5007 AVR has both Dolby Volume + Audyssey DEQ. It would be interesting to compare Dolby Volume Modeler vs. Audyssey DEQ. :D

If Audyssey didn't have Subwoofer EQ and especially Dynamic EQ, I wouldn't care about Audyssey either. I would still be using Direct or Pure Direct modes like I've been doing the past 15+ years. :D
 
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