Above the Yamaha RX-A3080 is the massive Denon AVP-A1HDCI, which died after 8 years so now it is just paperweight.
I do have a bit of “seller’s remorse“ selling the AVR-5308 because it is a beast. The Yamaha feels like a lightweight in comparison.
The AVR-5308 can output about 340 watts RMS x 2Ch into 4 ohms, while the RX-A3080 can output about 300 watts RMS x 2Ch into 4 ohms.
I listened and sang karaoke last night on the Yamaha AVR connected to the Yamaha MIXER.
I’ve always preferred not using any kind of auto room correction EQ. Same with both the Denon and Yamaha. So the SQ is the same in “direct” modes.
There are differences between the Denon and Yamaha.
1. Direct Mode/Pure Direct Mode and Bass Management. Denon allows Subwoofer usage even in Pure Direct mode. Yamaha does not allow bass management in Pure Direct mode. However, Direct modes sound the same to me as “Straight” (Yamaha) and “Stereo” (Denon) modes. Except for KARAOKE!
2. Karaoke Mode. Okay, there’s no such thing. I just made this up.
But huge difference here. Night and day difference. In Stereo mode, there is a slight delay in vocals through the Mixer for karaoke. It’s like a slight “echo” effect, which may be fine for most people who use “echo” for karaoke. But I prefer no echo effects of any kind. Thus, with the Denon, I had to use Direct Mode.
Since Denon allows Sub output in Direct mode, there’s not an issue.
But since Yamaha doesn’t allow Sub output in Pure Direct mode (Yamaha doesn’t have a Direct mode), this created a problem for me.
Yamaha’s PD mode seems to be made for FULL RANGE Large speaker, which doesn’t need a Sub. So it routes all the bass to the Front L/R speakers.
Solution: I have to use the Yamaha‘s XLR Balanced Front Left/Right Output to connect to the RBH SA-500DSP Sub amp XLR Input. Then use the Sub amp’s XO/PEQ to set LPF (150Hz), HPF (25Hz), XO Slope (12dB), and PEQ settings.
I boost the PEQ from 25Hz-80Hz to create that “Dynamic EQ” bass effect.
So now I use the Yamaha in Pure Direct mode.
But again, the end result is the same Sound Quality with both RX-A3080 and AVR-5308.
3. Once again, the Yamaha’s WiFi Remote App and Music Streaming (MusicCast) work perfectly, unlike the Denon’s. I was able to easily set up and control the MusicCast for Zone 1 (Living Room) and Zone 2 (Back Porch). There’s also the option for Zone 3 since I’m not using all of the Yamaha’s internal amps. So going back in time, I would have wired more speakers for more zones.
4. HDMI Compatibility. With the Denon, if the PC is turned on first or is already powered up and then the Denon is powered up, there is the HDMI handshake problem and it doesn’t work. The PC has to be powered up LAST. Sometimes even when the PC is powered up last, it still doesn’t work and I have to restart the PC.
The Yamaha has no issue here. The PC can be powered up first or stays on overnight. As soon as the Yamaha powers up, the HDMI works perfectly.
5. Heat. The Yamaha stayed very cool after 6 hours and a lot of karaoke. The Denon always got very hot.
In conclusion, the SQ of the RX-A3080 is excellent like the AVR-5308. “Karaoke mode” is also excellent with Pure Direct mode.
The Yamaha has much better HDMI compatibility with my components and the WiFi Remote and Music Streaming (MusicCast, Zones 1 and 2) works much better than the Denon.
