Yamaha A3070 opinion?

[zzkazu]

Guys any view on why Whatif reviews of the A3060 was so good (5 stars) and the A3070 was average at (3 Stars).

https://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-a3060/review

https://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-a3070/review

Just found a great price on a A3070 and its a bit of a concern.

 

[3db]

Guys any view on why Whatif reviews of the A3060 was so good (5 stars) and the A3070 was average at (3 Stars).

https://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-a3060/review

https://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-a3070/review

Just found a great price on a A3070 and its a bit of a concern.

What you brought up indicates how subjective audio reviews are in general. . I dont put any stock into Whathihi publishes as they are so biased towards UK gear. They are equivalent to the tabloid rags that pretend to report news, nothing more.

 

[KEW]

I can't pretend to know the answer to your question, but the differences in sound as described in the reviews (and the pro's and con's) are attributes I would associate with speakers, not receivers.
I did not see what speakers they used for the two reviews, but I have a tough time understanding how the 3060 with "Breathtaking Dynamics" became "Rivals offer greater Dynamics..." with the 3070.
However, since the 3060 is still available, why not save a few bucks and get last years model?
Is there a "gotta have" feature on the 3070?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Guys any view on why Whatif reviews of the A3060 was so good (5 stars) and the A3070 was average at (3 Stars).

https://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-a3060/review

https://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-a3070/review

Just found a great price on a A3070 and its a bit of a concern.

Well according to what I read, they praised the 3060 for its nuance and detail while still delivering great dynamics. A velvet hammer if you will. The review of the 3070 read to me like, they expected more for a flagship avr. They cited the lack of midrange clarity/presence, harsh top end, and lack of nuance as things that should be better in an avr of that price. They noted Direct mode for the 3060 listening test but I didn’t notice for the 3070. Frankly, I’m surprised if both were in Direct they would note such differences.
If it were me, I’d try to find a few more reviews of each and see if there’s any accord to what-hifi.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I agree with 3db and Kurt in that, whathifi are a lot of “high”fi and it would be nice to know if they were using the same speakers. Seems like an odd omission. Or I missed it...

 

[3db]

Kurt, you raise an excellent point about the speakers used in both tests and is most likely the reason behind the different review outcomes. I would also like to know if the same reviewer was used on both reviews, same room, same source material etc.

 

[zzkazu]

Thanks for the prompt reply I would go with the A3060 if I could a comparable deal. (I'm from Australia)

But to me and as you have outlined the reviews seem a bit strange and it may really come down to who was reviewing and what equipment they were paring with the receivers.

So I assume there is no 'latent' concern with the A3070 then?

 

[KEW]

I would be very surprised if they changed the design of their amp section or significantly changed the pre-pro side for that matter.
The 3060 reviewed (and measured) well. I would expect the 3070 to measure equally well; however, until someone reviews it that will take measurements, there is no easy way to make sure.
I would check to make sure there is no significant change in weight and check google images for pictures of the 3060 and 3070 with the top off. If you see any differences and are not sure what to make of them, give us links to the pictures and we can probably evaluate what they changed.
Also, @M Code often has insight on Yamaha and you might wait and see if he has knowledge on any changes to the core guts between the two.

 

[Verdinut]

I have never been impressed by reviews in the WhatHiFi magazine.

As an exemple, there are no test results for the A3060. The text reminds me more of a presentation by a manufacturer or a dealer in a AV show than a serious thorough review of a product like those by Audioholics or Sound and Vision magazine.

 

[zzkazu]

I found this review which has convinced me to buy one very nearly...

https://www.avnirvana.com/threads/yamaha-aventage-rx-a3070-av-receiver-review.1652/

 

[KEW]

You probably read on in the comments section, but for the benefit of others reading this, here is a response by Todd Andersen (who wrote the Avnirvana review):

...
I read the What Hi-Fi review. I’d be curious to learn more about their review setup and what features of YPAO they ran (multipoint versus single? Height and Angle? None of that is detailed). Their gripe is dynamics and they claim the A3070 performs less well than the A3060.

I’d have to sit in a room with their reviewer and have him/her point out audible differences. I’ve run an A3050 for years and I couldn’t point to any discernible sonic difference between the two.

I watched Baby Driver with 4K / Atmos last weekend (with the A3070 in the chain) and was completely floored by the presentation. It was one of those experiences that sounded special. Dynamic sound? YES!

I guess I’d consider my take to be different than theirs. Taking my familiarity with my system’s reference perfornance under consideration, I never heard anything drastically out of the ordinary. No red flags or “wait... something is missing” moments.

The sentence I made bold would clench it for me. It was a long shot that Yamaha would change the design of their flagship AVR for the worse (never say never), but knowing Todd did not detect any difference from the earlier 3050 is the reassurance I would need.

 

[PENG]

Thanks for the prompt reply I would go with the A3060 if I could a comparable deal. (I'm from Australia)

But to me and as you have outlined the reviews seem a bit strange and it may really come down to who was reviewing and what equipment they were paring with the receivers.

So I assume there is no 'latent' concern with the A3070 then?

Go with either one if either has all the features you need. For reputable mid to high end AVRs, prepros and amps, people need to ignore the subjective parts of any reviews whether they are conducted by Whathifi, S&V, or HCC, Hifinews, Stereophile etc., even if they were reviewed by the same person in exactly the same room under and same conditions using the same source media etc.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

You probably read on in the comments section, but for the benefit of others reading this, here is a response by Todd Andersen (who wrote the Avnirvana review):


The sentence I made bold would clench it for me. It was a long shot that Yamaha would change the design of their flagship AVR for the worse (never say never), but knowing Todd did not detect any difference from the earlier 3050 is the reassurance I would need.

I agree. And Todd is a straight up kind of guy, so I would be inclined to believe his words.

 

[lovinthehd]

Reviews should be taken with a large shaker of salt...sometimes they offer useful information, like measurements and feature rundowns (or differences between previous version) but the subjective descriptions are pretty useless....

 

[M Code]

The 3060 & 3070 are the same basic designs, there are a couple of subtle updates for the 3070.
These are:

• DACs, Sabre Pro DAC (107dB SNR,THD 0.0004%, 32 bit)
• XLR connectors
• 1 less composite video input
• 1 less analog audio, L/R input

Audio DSP, HDMI repeater, video processor, power supply and amplifier circuits are same as 3060

In our AVR install biz we usually use Yamaha AVRs as they are more reliable and more compatible with most HDMI components since they are certified. The 3070 is a great AVR.

Just my $0.02..

 

[zzkazu]

Thanks, what I was after real life experience.

Any truth to the rumor that the AVENTAGE line uses better quality components say than the RX-V line?

 

[everettT]

Thanks, what I was after real life experience.

Any truth to the rumor that the AVENTAGE line uses better quality components say than the RX-V line?

Better quality components, maybe some, but higher performing is probably a better way to look at it. As for real world experience, what would that include?

 

[zzkazu]

Sorry typo in my reply. Meant to outline that M Code's response was what I was after as it reflects a real life impression of the product.