First real review of Aventage A8A is out and also measured! Almost identical wattages to Denon X8500H. This looks very beefy unit and the new YPAO is step in right direction. I will translate the intresting parts below:
The RX-A8A sometimes clearly outperformed the A3080 when it came to measuring performance. In 7.1 operation with a 6-ohm load, it was almost 50 watts more with 118 watts. When 5 channels were loaded at the same time, the Yamaha delivered 146 (6 ohms) and 171 watts (4 ohms) and thus 21 and 10 watts more than the previous flagship. The newcomer delivered a full 260 watts in stereo mode at 4 ohms, also 11 watts more than its predecessor. The average power consumption of the RX-A8A was 361 watts, the eco mode reduced the consumption to 229 watts
We were excited to see the effects of the “low frequency” EQ. Compared to all other filter curves, this one was ahead of the curve in the low frequency range and characterized the bass in a more differentiated manner in terms of frequency and pressure. The “Linear” and “Natural” filters, on the other hand, screwed bass too far out of the frequency response. For audiophiles who only want to tune the sound of their speakers in the bass anyway,the new “low frequency” EQ is a good choice.
Yamaha's new top-of-the-range model with 3D material achieved maximum sound performance. Dolby Atmos clips extended extremely impressively in terms of width, depth and height of the sound fields, our listening room grew acoustically beyond its dimensions - and not too narrowly. Effects sounded differentiated in both coarse and fine dynamics and also offered a plasticity that could be touched. Even height effects were nicely located over the entire ceiling of our listening room.
In stereo mode ("Pure Direct") the RX-A8A played very clearly, with high resolution and with a subtle tendency towards analytics. Details could be heard very clearly. The amp sounded tight, dry and clear below. The YPAO calibration also did a good job here. The favorite for our listening room turned out to be the “low frequency” EQ, which played a little more precisely in the bass than the “Direct” mode (YPAO off) and thus also brought the spatiality to the point.