You know, regarding the three receivers I've been using lately, it comes down to features and ease of use. For others, inputs/outputs will be a consideration. The Denon AVR-S760H(2021) is a lean and earnest machine that gets the job done. The Onkyo TX-NR696(2019) stays cool under pressure. The Yamaha RX-V6A(2020) is a buggy little droid that has improved with each firmware update. If budget is of the utmost concern, start there. Then, consider feature set. You will lose different features with different models based on the price point so you need to decide what you must have in your setup. My Onkyo does not support HDMI 2.1. It matters not in my current setup but it will if I get a new TV and ever decide to game in 4K@120. It is the winner in this shoot out, but wouldn't be if factoring HDMI 2.1. It would go to the Denon.
Now, anybody who has read many of my posts might be thinking, "Yeah smart ass, but how hot did the Denon get while using it? You f#%ker, you always harp on Denon for getting too hot!" I'm happy to report that the Denon did not get the hottest of the three. I've been known to run these things at 4 ohm setting as it makes no audible difference as far as I can tell and cuts power resulting in reduced heat. But, to torture the lot of them, I ran my 4 ohm speakers at 8 ohm setting and ran them all at Large. Then, I turned it up for some multi channel playback. The Onkyo was the least warm to the touch. I'd describe it as very warm. The Denon came in as very warm/hot. The Yamaha came in very hot. I'm running five 4 ohm speakers. I'd never get another pair of them and run seven speakers set to Large with the Yamaha. I wouldn't think anybody running 7.1/5.1.2 setups with 80hz crossover would have an issue with it, though.
For me, it comes down to settings and streaming features. I'm forever tinkering with settings and stream music often. I prefer the Onkyo control app, GUI and remote control to the others. Yamaha's GUI is s#%t but the Denon takes the crown for worst GUI. The biggest problem is HEOS. While using it to stream music, the GUI drops to 480p with ghastly looking graphics. Going into the setup menu from HEOS also results in a 480p setup menu with graphics that are criminal at any price point in 2021. For those curious, Onkyo's setup menu comes in at 720p and Yamaha wins the resolution game with a setup menu coming in at 1080p. The Denon has the largest yet least capable remote control of the three. F#%k Yamaha for omitting device buttons. But, at least it can control a device while using HDMI-CEC. The Denon does not do so, or at least I haven't figured out how to get it do do so. The Onkyo remote control is the smallest and best equipped in this group. The Onkyo is also the only one that can get you into your streaming services using only the remote control. Denon and Yamaha require Smart devices to use their HEOS and MusicCast apps to stream music. The Denon does have a HEOS button on the remote control that can be used to select favorite stations from various services once they are selected as favorites in the HEOS app. The Yamaha will continue playing the station last used when tuning to the NET input from the remote control but that's it. Oh, and all models support web setup.
As far as the actual boxes, the Yamaha is a quirky looking thing you either love or hate. While I like the look of the one eyed little Imperial droid, that large volume knob should never be touched. It is hands down the cheapest piece of s#%t knob I've ever felt on any device. The smaller select knob is far better feeling and functioning. While the Yamaha front panel screen is the tiniest of the three, it can display the most characters when custom naming devices. The Onkyo's brushed finish and sharp edges give it a tank like look and its front panel screen has the largest characters for those who do not like having to squint to see the display. The Onkyo includes boxes on the front panel screen to display output channels. While the 696 includes an AUX HDMI port up front, the new 6050 and 6100 do not include it and have a USB port in its place. HDMI port up front is lacking on the Denon and Yamaha as well. The Denon is surprisingly good looking with its wide stance and low profile bringing to mind the rear end of a speedster. The volume and selection knobs are the best of the bunch. Are those notches I feel? I don't care for the space saving of the display that abbreviates source information and audio decoding. I miss older Denon models that included input AND output boxes on their display.
Now, I can’t go on without mentioning subwoofer settings and how they differ among the three. Not a big deal here if using speakers set at Small and say an 80hz crossover in the Denon or Onkyo and setting the LPF at 120hz. The Yamaha has no LPF setting. So, where is it set? Who the f#%k knows? What about setting speakers to Large when using robust towers? Fine, but to get bass to the subwoofer you'll need to set the Denon to LFE+Main and the Onkyo to Double Bass. In both cases, the low frequencies will be duplicated and sent to the subwoofer. What about Yamaha’s “Extra Bass?” Abomination! While it does what the others do when speakers are set at Large and simply duplicates the low frequencies to the subwoofer it applies an actual bass boost when speakers are set at Small. Yamaha's manual is worthless in regard to figuring this out. "Extra Bass" needs to be removed from all Yamahas in a firmware update and replaced with a "Duplicate Bass" setting for use only when speakers are set at Large so no boost, aka noise, is applied mistakenly to speakers set at Small. Seriously Yamaha, get rid of that f#%kin' feature.
"Blah, blah, blah you d#%k! Which one sounds the best?" Well, I tried them all using their respective room correction software and tried them all without. The numbers come in pretty close all the way around. Most folks have their biggest issue with their subs and if the numbers come in THAT far off then placement is the real issue and it just isn't going to be overcome with software tweaks. They all sounded good, damn good. But, you hold me to the fire and I'll swear the Onkyo sounded better in Direct mode than the other two when playing music and does a better job with Height Virtualization when playing atmos tracks. The Denon managed the quickest time outputting audio after figuring out that the Apple TV 4K uses Dolby MAT for atmos and also passes the best image by a hair. But, no Chromecast or DSD support at all on the Denon and SACD players must be set to output in PCM or the Denon will pick up the CD layer. The Denon and Onkyo support DTS Virtual:X while the Yamaha only supports Dolby Atmos height Virtualization. The Onkyo and Yamaha both support Chromecast and DSD and all three of them support Airplay 2 for getting lossless, but not hi-res audio, from an iPhone's Apple Music app. Anyway, those are just some thoughts and opinions based on my experiences with three budget receivers. Happy receiver hunting. I have to pee.
