Yamaha RX-V6A/TSR-700 views?

[Gmoney]

All good on my end very happy with my RX-V6A I'm Definitely enjoying DTS-X Neutral and Atmos. 2.1 music very nice also even at -5dB nothing but music bliss.

 

[Trebdp83]

There seem to be a few threads running with current Yamaha model issue posts. I’ll contain my posts to this thread at this point since I have had both the TSR-700 and the RX-V6A and will be comparing my own experiences with them here. Perhaps those with issues can post information about their connected devices as well. Yamaha is aware of issues concerning some devices. Concerning any differences between them, they appear to be identical twins in every way except for the name stamp. Say, you all look marvelous after a good night’s sleep as well.

 

[TechToys2]

There seem to be a few threads running with current Yamaha model issue posts. I’ll contain my posts to this thread at this point since I have had both the TSR-700 and the RX-V6A and will be comparing my own experiences with them here. Perhaps those with issues can post information about their connected devices as well. Yamaha is aware of issues concerning some devices. Concerning any differences between them, they appear to be identical twins in every way except for the name stamp. Say, you all look marvelous after a good night’s sleep as well.

I have been tempted to try a TSR-700 out and compare to the Marantz 6014 I have been trialing. I know this probably sounds daft, but what exactly makes the TSR-700 an "entry level" receiver? Aside from more channels, features etc. why would someone choose the Aventage series or a mid to upper level Marantz or Denon over the TSR-700/RX-V6A?

 

[Trebdp83]

It really does depend on a person’s needs based on the equipment in their rack. Somebody with seven speakers and one or two subs with only their TV or one separate disc player and or streaming device does not need more AVR. Anybody keeping legacy devices and using nine or more speakers and likes more power will simply need more than the RX-V6A/TSR-700 or even the new RX-A2A have to offer. At twice the price of the TSR-700, the Aventage model really only offers a wedge and beefed up capacitors and casing. I’d be curious if anybody comparing the Aventage model to the others would say it is worth the increased cost but I am not going to spend the money myself to find out. However, if the Aventage model turns out to be glitch free, I’d say it is worth every penny.

 

[Xerith]

RX-A2A has the same issues as the the V4 and V6. It’s all firmware based issues. The so called HDMI 2.1 faulty hardware is not an issue. It’s just the ports have not been fully unlocked and it’s cause things to happen.

My previous V4 customer service guy pushed my issues up the latter. So now I am testing an A2A and working with a guy in Yamaha marketing. They have been having me test certain movies and shows to confirm a few things.

My thoughts on the A2A, it’s very well built. The look and feel of the receiver are high quality. The GUI seems a little faster vs the V4 I previously had. Definitely not as sluggish. GUI look remains the same. Dolby Vision picture looks perfect, HDR10 still has banding. Atmos is messy right now. The center speaker is playing height sounds with the height speakers.

The best and easiest example of this is Bladerunner 2049 chapter 15 where Joi says “Hello handsome” off screen. You can’t tell where it’s coming from. Sounds like center of the screen. My Sony STR 1080 receiver you can tell it’s coming off screen, up the the left. So the Yamaha is not coding atmos correctly. I actually would say the center channel is too pronounced. I believe someone here posted a review of the V6 and how it was throwing sound all over the room. I agree with that, the A2A does it as well mostly between the height and center channels. The V4 does significantly better about separating channels, but it’s a 5.1 system.

I think a lot of these problems, if not all, will be fixed once they fully unlock HDMI 2.1.

 

[Trebdp83]

To answer a question in another thread, yes, I am having issues with the new RX-V6A. I can think of one thing that works more effectively than in the TSR-700 and several things that work similarly. There is one feature that hardly works at all and is driving me crazy but I'm checking everything out before updating the firmware so I can compare the functionality of 1.13 and 1.23 in the RX-V6A.

 

[Gmoney]

RX-A2A has the same issues as the the V4 and V6. It’s all firmware based issues. The so called HDMI 2.1 faulty hardware is not an issue. It’s just the ports have not been fully unlocked and it’s cause things to happen.

My previous V4 customer service guy pushed my issues up the latter. So now I am testing an A2A and working with a guy in Yamaha marketing. They have been having me test certain movies and shows to confirm a few things.

My thoughts on the A2A, it’s very well built. The look and feel of the receiver are high quality. The GUI seems a little faster vs the V4 I previously had. Definitely not as sluggish. GUI look remains the same. Dolby Vision picture looks perfect, HDR10 still has banding. Atmos is messy right now. The center speaker is playing height sounds with the height speakers.

The best and easiest example of this is Bladerunner 2049 chapter 15 where Joi says “Hello handsome” off screen. You can’t tell where it’s coming from. Sounds like center of the screen. My Sony STR 1080 receiver you can tell it’s coming off screen, up the the left. So the Yamaha is not coding atmos correctly. I actually would say the center channel is too pronounced. I believe someone here posted a review of the V6 and how it was throwing sound all over the room. I agree with that, the A2A does it as well mostly between the height and center channels. The V4 does significantly better about separating channels, but it’s a 5.1 system.

I think a lot of these problems, if not all, will be fixed once they fully unlock HDMI 2.1.

Probably why Yamaha threw them on sale which is something Yamaha doesn't do with new releases. Again my RX-V6A has been great.

 

[Trebdp83]

Thank you for that information Xerith. What I find interesting is that the Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization feature remains on hold and is actually separate to the HDMI 2.1 update. It doesn't require HDMI 2.1 to work but is not ready at this time. I assume you are using the PS5 for streaming. Is that the case or are you using Smart TV apps as well?

 

[Xerith]

Oh...so about the 5th leg on the A2A that most of us thought was silly, including myself. I think it might actually be a legit thing.

My Sony receiver is pretty loud with the power supply, which is apparently the nature of the beast. You can actually hear it humming at times. When I was moving stuff around I placed my hand on top of the receiver and noticed the humming was greatly diminished to the point you had to be very close to hear it. So yeah, it was the power supply noise Resonating through the receiver cover making it louder than it really was. Sony could have used rubber washers and probably fixed it easy. Well for shits and giggles I took some cardboard and folded it up to where it would support the middle of the receiver. And I’ll be damn, it’s stopped the resonating lol

So yeah, the 5th leg actually does something

 

[Xerith]

Thank you for that information Xerith. What I find interesting is that the Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization feature remains on hold and is actually separate to the HDMI 2.1 update. It doesn't require HDMI 2.1 to work but is not ready at this time. I assume you are using the PS5 for streaming. Is that the case or are you using Smart TV apps as well?

I’m still using my Apple TV for streaming Game consoles, in my experience, are not that great for streaming. Apps tend to be buggy and often crash or lose passwords and usernames. I have never had that happened on my Apple TV.

 

[Trebdp83]

The wedge became a joke but I think everybody knew that it added support. Even if it turned out to be glitch free, I'd never spend the money on an A2A after hearing that it uses the same GUI as the other models. I could live with the dated look if there was a quicker way of getting the audio/video info to the screen. There are just a few too many button presses to get there. I use an Apple TV 4K and my Smart TV apps as well.

 

[Trebdp83]

So, I spent some time with the RX-V6A. Lots of tweaks and adjustments were made and it stopped being fun at the end. Firmware update from 1.13 to 1.23 fixed nearly every glitch with the RX-V6A. This was not the case with the TSR-700 and was the reason I returned it. Color banding in HDR10 is gone. Most of the HDMI-CEC sketchiness is gone. Remote control input is more responsive and GUI works more steadily. Atmos detection while streaming from the Apple TV 4K is much improved though it still hangs up a bit. Apple's Atmos/PCM signal is silly. Bitstream everything Apple! The Yamaha still displays DTHD for a split second before realizing what Apple is doing and then displays Atmos/PCM. I'm not going to go into the audio and video quality. It sounds good, looks good and that's about it. The basic remote control is what it is but the player control buttons work well when using HDMI-CEC in all devices. The Yamaha is not lacking in input adjustments or DSP modes though I set the RX to skip most of the DSP modes. The Yamaha awaits further updates to activate Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization and HDMI 2.1 features. My biggest complaints with the Yamaha are the MusicCast app and dated looking GUI. The RX-V6A/TSR-700 cannot utilize the Yamaha Controller app as it has been folded into the MusicCast app. The app needs work and its remote control feature for other devices is poor. Wanting to stay away from it, I thought I'd just use the physical remote control and go directly to the NET input on the Yamaha. Once there, I thought I could select the music streaming app I wanted to listen to and use the remote control to navigate the app. This does not work. You will be taken to the streaming app of your choice, but you will need a Smart device to make selections. You simply cannot use music streaming apps with these models without a Smart device running MusicCast. Perhaps those with Denon/Marantz receivers can chime in about how the HEOS app works. What's a guy to do if he has nothing but a flip phone in the house and wants to use the RX-V6A/TSR-700 to stream a Holiday channel from Pandora? If one is using the MusicCast app from a device, the TV is best left off as the music streaming apps' graphics are downright ugly. I use music streaming apps every single day. If I want background music, I play a Pandora channel. If I want to sit down and enjoy an album I do not have on disc, I use Tidal. With my Onkyo TX-NR777 and now the TX-NR696, I can sit down, grab the Onkyo remote control and get to my music without bothering the TV or using a Smart phone or tablet. While on the subject of streaming music, I was informed by both Onkyo and Yamaha that there are currently no plans to support Dolby Atmos via music streaming or MQA regarding Master material from Tidal. I don't blame anybody for not wanting to deal with it just because Tidal insists on it. The 44.1/16 signal sounds perfectly fine on the Onkyo. Now, I'm not sayin' I wouldn't take a serious look at the Vault 2i if it had a dramatic drop in price. That thing looks like fun. Getting back to Height Virtualization, I like it very much and hope Yamaha gets a move on. With the Onkyo TX-NR696, I am able to enjoy Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization AND DTS Virtual X. Not being able to use them while playing around with the Yamaha was a let down. It does work. Listening to The Doors' "Riders On The Storm" in Atmos via the Apple TV 4K Tidal app is fun. I may go on about the Onkyo's features later in another thread. For me, the music streaming features and the lack of Height Virtualization from the Yamaha were enough for me to disconnect it and reconnect the Onkyo.

 

[Trebdp83]

 

[Xerith]

So, I spent some time with the RX-V6A. Lots of tweaks and adjustments were made and it stopped being fun at the end. Firmware update from 1.13 to 1.23 fixed nearly every glitch with the RX-V6A. This was not the case with the TSR-700 and was the reason I returned it. Color banding in HDR10 is gone. Most of the HDMI-CEC sketchiness is gone. Remote control input is more responsive and GUI works more steadily. Atmos detection while streaming from the Apple TV 4K is much improved though it still hangs up a bit. Apple's Atmos/PCM signal is silly. Bitstream everything Apple! The Yamaha still displays DTHD for a split second before realizing what Apple is doing and then displays Atmos/PCM. I'm not going to go into the audio and video quality. It sounds good, looks good and that's about it. The basic remote control is what it is but the player control buttons work well when using HDMI-CEC in all devices. The Yamaha is not lacking in input adjustments or DSP modes though I set the RX to skip most of the DSP modes. The Yamaha awaits further updates to activate Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization and HDMI 2.1 features. My biggest complaints with the Yamaha are the MusicCast app and dated looking GUI. The RX-V6A/TSR-700 cannot utilize the Yamaha Controller app as it has been folded into the MusicCast app. The app needs work and its remote control feature for other devices is poor. Wanting to stay away from it, I thought I'd just use the physical remote control and go directly to the NET input on the Yamaha. Once there, I thought I could select the music streaming app I wanted to listen to and use the remote control to navigate the app. This does not work. You will be taken to the streaming app of your choice, but you will need a Smart device to make selections. You simply cannot use music streaming apps with these models without a Smart device running MusicCast. Perhaps those with Denon/Marantz receivers can chime in about how the HEOS app works. What's a guy to do if he has nothing but a flip phone in the house and wants to use the RX-V6A/TSR-700 to stream a Holiday channel from Pandora? If one is using the MusicCast app from a device, the TV is best left off as the music streaming apps' graphics are downright ugly. I use music streaming apps every single day. If I want background music, I play a Pandora channel. If I want to sit down and enjoy an album I do not have on disc, I use Tidal. With my Onkyo TX-NR777 and now the TX-NR696, I can sit down, grab the Onkyo remote control and get to my music without bothering the TV or using a Smart phone or tablet. While on the subject of streaming music, I was informed by both Onkyo and Yamaha that there are currently no plans to support Dolby Atmos via music streaming or MQA regarding Master material from Tidal. I don't blame anybody for not wanting to deal with it just because Tidal insists on it. The 44.1/16 signal sounds perfectly fine on the Onkyo. Now, I'm not sayin' I wouldn't take a serious look at the Vault 2i if it had a dramatic drop in price. That thing looks like fun. Getting back to Height Virtualization, I like it very much and hope Yamaha gets a move on. With the Onkyo TX-NR696, I am able to enjoy Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization AND DTS Virtual X. Not being able to use them while playing around with the Yamaha was a let down. It does work. Listening to The Doors' "Riders On The Storm" in Atmos via the Apple TV 4K Tidal app is fun. I may go on about the Onkyo's features later in another thread. For me, the music streaming features and the lack of Height Virtualization from the Yamaha were enough for me to disconnect it and reconnect the Onkyo.

What TV are you using? The HDR10 banding seems to mostly LG CX and Sony X900H. Also does your center channel play height sounds when it shouldn’t in Atmos? I am running the same firmware on the A2A and I have play with every setting I can and can not get the center speaker to separate from the height channels. Center channel is overpowering them, I can’t even tell I have height channels.

 

[Trebdp83]

Using a Samsung TV. On the TSR-700, banding never went away. With the RX-V6A, banding went away after the firmware update. I played with 5.1.2 briefly. I didn’t encounter center/height issues.

 

[snakeeyes]

So, I spent some time with the RX-V6A. Lots of tweaks and adjustments were made and it stopped being fun at the end. Firmware update from 1.13 to 1.23 fixed nearly every glitch with the RX-V6A. This was not the case with the TSR-700 and was the reason I returned it. Color banding in HDR10 is gone. Most of the HDMI-CEC sketchiness is gone. Remote control input is more responsive and GUI works more steadily. Atmos detection while streaming from the Apple TV 4K is much improved though it still hangs up a bit. Apple's Atmos/PCM signal is silly. Bitstream everything Apple! The Yamaha still displays DTHD for a split second before realizing what Apple is doing and then displays Atmos/PCM. I'm not going to go into the audio and video quality. It sounds good, looks good and that's about it. The basic remote control is what it is but the player control buttons work well when using HDMI-CEC in all devices. The Yamaha is not lacking in input adjustments or DSP modes though I set the RX to skip most of the DSP modes. The Yamaha awaits further updates to activate Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization and HDMI 2.1 features. My biggest complaints with the Yamaha are the MusicCast app and dated looking GUI. The RX-V6A/TSR-700 cannot utilize the Yamaha Controller app as it has been folded into the MusicCast app. The app needs work and its remote control feature for other devices is poor. Wanting to stay away from it, I thought I'd just use the physical remote control and go directly to the NET input on the Yamaha. Once there, I thought I could select the music streaming app I wanted to listen to and use the remote control to navigate the app. This does not work. You will be taken to the streaming app of your choice, but you will need a Smart device to make selections. You simply cannot use music streaming apps with these models without a Smart device running MusicCast. Perhaps those with Denon/Marantz receivers can chime in about how the HEOS app works. What's a guy to do if he has nothing but a flip phone in the house and wants to use the RX-V6A/TSR-700 to stream a Holiday channel from Pandora? If one is using the MusicCast app from a device, the TV is best left off as the music streaming apps' graphics are downright ugly. I use music streaming apps every single day. If I want background music, I play a Pandora channel. If I want to sit down and enjoy an album I do not have on disc, I use Tidal. With my Onkyo TX-NR777 and now the TX-NR696, I can sit down, grab the Onkyo remote control and get to my music without bothering the TV or using a Smart phone or tablet. While on the subject of streaming music, I was informed by both Onkyo and Yamaha that there are currently no plans to support Dolby Atmos via music streaming or MQA regarding Master material from Tidal. I don't blame anybody for not wanting to deal with it just because Tidal insists on it. The 44.1/16 signal sounds perfectly fine on the Onkyo. Now, I'm not sayin' I wouldn't take a serious look at the Vault 2i if it had a dramatic drop in price. That thing looks like fun. Getting back to Height Virtualization, I like it very much and hope Yamaha gets a move on. With the Onkyo TX-NR696, I am able to enjoy Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization AND DTS Virtual X. Not being able to use them while playing around with the Yamaha was a let down. It does work. Listening to The Doors' "Riders On The Storm" in Atmos via the Apple TV 4K Tidal app is fun. I may go on about the Onkyo's features later in another thread. For me, the music streaming features and the lack of Height Virtualization from the Yamaha were enough for me to disconnect it and reconnect the Onkyo.

My Yamaha is a few years older (2016) but on Spotify Connect it only requires touching my phone if I want to change playlists. I can hit play or skip songs with the remote. Not sure if the newer Yamahas work differently.

Don’t forget to make paragraphs. Hard to read without some white space. LOL

 

[Trebdp83]

Yeah, I know, sorry. I always get going and then forget to go back and break it up. Spotify is its own beast with the Onkyo and the Yamaha and actually says it requires a device for playback. It could be used without another device on my TX-NR777 but was then dropped.

I was never able to try the Yamaha Controller app on its own with the TSR-700 or RX-V6A as it was folded into the MusicCast app. The Onkyo Controller app still works with the TX-NR696 as it did with the TX-NR777. We'll see if that changes. I like being able to use just the Onkyo's physical remote control to stream music from it's apps with the exception of Spotify.

 

[snakeeyes]

Yeah, I know, sorry. I always get going and then forget to go back and break it up. Spotify is its own beast with the Onkyo and the Yamaha and actually says it requires a device for playback. It could be used without another device on my TX-NR777 but was then dropped.

I was never able to try the Yamaha Controller app on its own with the TSR-700 or RX-V6A as it was folded into the MusicCast app. The Onkyo Controller app still works with the TX-NR696 as it did with the TX-NR777. We'll see if that changes. I like being able to use just the Onkyo's physical remote control to stream music from it's apps with the exception of Spotify.

It would seem natural to combine the 2 apps but I haven’t seen that question asked of Yamaha anywhere.

On my RXA2060, yes I need to connect to a Spotify app on my phone to start a playlist but after it’s selected the Yamaha can be detached and powered off and on etc to play that same playlist with the play and skip buttons. When you go to net for Spotify you just press play button on remote and it starts playing where you left off. So if you only had one playlist technically you would never need to go to the phone app. However the phone app for Spotify app is nice. It uses my phone volume buttons for the Yamaha volume and I like to go to different playlists.

For Pandora on my RXA2060, that one doesn’t ever contact a phone app or anything. It can be controlled from on screen and I can create stations from the remote. However, Pandora is lower bitrate than Spotify so it’s not as good quality.

I haven’t tried Tidal or Deezer and there’s no support for Amazon Music on my 2060.

 

[Trebdp83]

I asked Yamaha about the controller app and was sent some information as well as this pic.

 

[Trebdp83]

I will say the Tidal experience through the MusicCast app is better than on the Onkyo Controller app as artist and album pics are present while searching for them and not just during playback as it is so with the Onkyo. I just want the option to use the physical remote control for music streaming if I am sitting in front of the system and not be forced to use a Smart device. I can do this with the Onkyo but not with the Yamaha save for Spotify.