Yamaha AVENTAGE 2021 AV Receivers Bulk Up on Power and 8K Features

[KcMeGa007]

Hi, Recently post that i got the Yamaha RX A6A , the sales rep. told me that i have to wait til end of November ,which is too long, so i switched to Yamaha RX A8A Flagship model now ,instead
that is coming next week or 2 ,seems that the A8A is a much better built " Inside " . Anyway i don't know if i should get a Power Amplifier For my Front Speakers , to produce a better sound , is that necessary thing to be added, or should i get a Kef Q50A ( Atoms Speakers ) for my setup or ( Kef Q350 ) for my Front Left and Right ( replace Kef Q150 - Currently Using)
i'm a newbie to Home Theater ,

Thank you

 

[3db]

Hi, Recently post that i got the Yamaha RX A6A , the sales rep. told me that i have to wait til end of November ,which is too long, so i switched to Yamaha RX A8A Flagship model now ,instead
that is coming next week or 2 ,seems that the A8A is a much better built " Inside " . Anyway i don't know if i should get a Power Amplifier For my Front Speakers , to produce a better sound , is that necessary thing to be added, or should i get a Kef Q50A ( Atoms Speakers ) for my setup or ( Kef Q350 ) for my Front Left and Right ( replace Kef Q150 - Currently Using)
i'm a newbie to Home Theater ,

Thank you

The A8A is a beast from a power perspective and it will have no issues driving your Kefs. How big is your room and how far away do you sit from the speakers? My advice to you is wait and see.

 

[snakeeyes]

V4A, V6A and A2A operate at 18 Gbps now (HDMI 2.0b). Owners who decide to replace boards will have HDMI 2.1 chips operating at 24 Gbps. That is the design speed on these models, which Yamaha did not want to tell us publicly for one year, until challenged by tech community and Rasmus Larsen from FlatPanelsHD.

Yamaha HDMI 2.1 receivers capped to 24Gbps even after board replacement

A potentially game-breaking limitation

www.flatpanelshd.com

Ok the article you linked shows we will exceed 48Gbps at some point sooner or later. What’s bothering me is how can I stream 4K video on Netflix etc and only use about 25Mbps. A fraction of a Gig. Obviously video compression is in play. Maybe we should have similar compression for video on local connectivity between displays and sources and repeaters (AVRs) on HDMI, so we don’t need to keep adding Gigs of bandwidth to HDMI.

 

[Trebdp83]

The extra gb are only needed for gaming in 4K HDR @120. Those with capable consoles want AVRs and TVs that can handle it the way some wanted 3D capable devices a few years back and every link in the chain needs to support it. Nobody complained about bandwidth when getting lossless audio once we moved on from HDMI 1.2.

If one has no intention of ever gaming in 4K HDR @120, there is no need for concern or upgrading at the moment. Current AVRs, Disc Players and TVs can handle movies in 4K HDR @24hz with lossless audio beautifully and that is how they should be presented. You’ve already made concessions when streaming anything and the stream is both compressed and lossy.

Having said all of that, it doesn’t let some of these services off of the hook. There is no excuse for a s#%ty app these days. No HDR, 24hz playback or atmos tracks? F#%k You Peacock! And F#%k You Yamaha for those s#%ty settings and manuals! Did I forget anybody?

 

[Replicant 7]

The extra gb are only needed for gaming in 4K HDR @120. Those with capable consoles want AVRs and TVs that can handle it the way some wanted 3D capable devices a few years back and every link in the chain needs to support it. Nobody complained about bandwidth when getting lossless audio once we moved on from HDMI 1.2.

If one has no intention of ever gaming in 4K HDR @120, there is no need for concern or upgrading at the moment. Current AVRs, Disc Players and TVs can handle movies in 4K HDR @24hz with lossless audio beautifully and that is how they should be presented. You’ve already made concessions when streaming anything and the stream is both compressed and lossy.

Having said all of that, it doesn’t let some of these services off of the hook. There is no excuse for a s#%ty app these days. No HDR, 24hz playback or atmos tracks? F#%k You Peacock! And F#%k You Yamaha for those s#%ty settings and manuals! Did I forget anybody?

Yeah Man!! If I did game and or was gonna get a 8K tv I surely wouldn't have gotten the A2A. I came very close to just getting a refurbished a1080 for the same money. But 18 months of warranty as opposed to 5 year's of warranty. As of now all is good with my A2A, but knock on wood and finger's crossed you guys already know how that can change. Will I do the update board thing? Maybe, I'll get the A4A next year when they got all the bugs out. I can say this, as of now my A2A is performing really well better than I expected. Sound is really nice, especially with high res music. I do recommend the A2A only if you don't need it for gaming. Movie's, music, Atmos, DTS-X does what it should. Oh No CEC issues go figure!

 

[AVR Enthu]

Ok the article you linked shows we will exceed 48Gbps at some point sooner or later. What’s bothering me is how can I stream 4K video on Netflix etc and only use about 25Mbps. A fraction of a Gig. Obviously video compression is in play. Maybe we should have similar compression for video on local connectivity between displays and sources and repeaters (AVRs) on HDMI, so we don’t need to keep adding Gigs of bandwidth to HDMI.

For live video graphics, there is DSC feature already available. It compresses video losslessly and uses up to 3.75 times less of bandwidth. It works well on DisplayPort and it's a new feature on HDMI 2.1. Yamaha AVRs have the feature, but most 4K TVs and some sources do not support it as yet, so it's practically useless.

 

[Trebdp83]

Gaming is what is driving the need for more bandwidth. Hollywood can’t let go of 24fps. There are only two movies on disc in 4K HDR @60hz and they use color subsampling at 4:2:2 as a result of bandwidth limitations. “The Hobbit” movies were never released in their 48fps versions. Gaming will continue the need for more bandwidth while streaming will continue the need for compression. ATSC 3.0 doesn’t matter yet and that Trojan Horse should never see the light of day without some tweaks.

DSC enables 8K @120 using HDMI 2.1 connections. Now, if AVR and TV manufacturers want to chase after PC gamers in a decade, HDMI will have to be left behind for say Display Port 2.0 and 8K HDR @60hz will be possible before needing to apply DSC for higher rates and will exceed HDMI performance by far.

Gaming brings in more dollars than the watching of movies and TV combined. Why not support the best presentation of it? If it improves the movie watching and music listening experience via streaming, well, that’s just gravy. But, I’d suggest a strict standard for any future connector for AVRs and TVs so that the roll out and feature implementation among manufacturers is not the f#%kin’ mess that HDMI has been from its beginning.

 

[OldAndSlowDev]

I think there is a market for that, I am a gamer, a music audiophile (with no skills but I can hear the difference between a sharp well balanced system and a bose sound bar) and I like the idea to be able to have surround at home... My living room is where I play, work, listen to music and watch movies so the Yamaha RX-AXA lineup makes perfectly sense for me. And I agree, Display Port is a better standard than HDMI, would love to see some 4k 240hz display... 120Hz is "OK" when you are use to 160+ frames per second, and more you have, more you want

Well even if the first measurements aren't that good, I want to believe... It seems the Marantz SR8015 would have been a good alternative to the A8A now they have supposedly fixed the hdmi 2.1 issues (but some say that it's not fully fixed even with the latest hardware revision so...)

 

[jakkedtide]

For the heat issue I'm using an Aircom T8 on my current Yamaha receiver. Shows 86 degrees on the display after the receiver is running for hours. I'll just switch it over to the new Yamaha.

Is this aircom t8 any good? When and why should someone get this?

 

[Pogre]

Is this aircom t8 any good? When and why should someone get this?

It's a good, quiet fan that helps keep your receiver running cool. If someone is running a bunch of speakers, or difficult to drive speakers off one receiver sometimes they can get pretty hot.

 

[ryanosaur]

Is this aircom t8 any good? When and why should someone get this?

I have a t10 unit as my avr was originally in a quite spacious yet closed on all sides cabinet. I kep the doors open, but it needed the forward exhaust to keep the unit happy.
I think these are well worth the meager investment. Just make certain how you can vent the unit matches with the unit you purchase (ie don't by the top venting unit if you don’t have a few feet of open space above. ).

 

[AVR Enthu]

DSC enables 8K @120 using HDMI 2.1 connections. Now, if AVR and TV manufacturers want to chase after PC gamers in a decade, HDMI will have to be left behind for say Display Port 2.0 and 8K HDR @60hz will be possible before needing to apply DSC for higher rates and will exceed HDMI performance by far.

There is no need to leave HDMI behind. It's enough if engineers of different AV gear and designers of SoC show some imagination, enable and support what is already available. 48 Gbps can use DSC and compress up to 3.75 times wider signal, so in theory up to ~180 Gbps. That's plenty to work with, for many years. VISA enabled this feature in their DSC 1.2 standard.

What is ridiculous is that AVRs, like lower tier Yamahas, have 24 Gbps bandwidth and DSC, and then 4K 120 TVs do not have DSC decoder and sources do not have DSC encoder over HDMI 2.1. There is no integration on the level of commercial devices. DSC is "plug-and-play" feature that does not need tinkering around. It applies automatically when needed. It could be simple, but it's not.

I agree with you that future TVs, more sources and AVRs should have at least one or two DisplayPort 2.0 ports, as the entire PC ecosystem is moving towards DP over traditional DP connector and over USB-C. That's the only way to integrate well consumer electronics with PC world. AVRs should show maximum flexibility here and finally get DP ports. I mean, really... it's about the time board designers take wider perspective and enable people to connect whatever sources and displays they want through AVRs.

 

[snakeeyes]

Best if sources have one HDMI for audio and another for video. Like my UHD Sony player. People don’t want to buy $2,000 AVRs every few years.

 

[Trebdp83]

Hey, you don’t have to tell me it’s all a mess. They will never clean up the HDMI fiasco. It’s been a mess forever, not just since HDMI 2.1 and there is no standard to adhere to when implementing features. Remember when OTA went digital and there was news about it and a change over date? Same should go for HDMI to DP 2.0 for ALL devices. F#%k Apple and anybody else’s proprietary bulls#%t. Everything makes an internet connection now and all kinds of media are being played across all kinds of devices. Just make one very fat f#%kin’ capable hose to connect to all of them already and stop with the incremental HDMI update nonsense. Oh, and f#%k Sony and Microsoft one more time for the lack of HDMI 2 ports.

 

[KcMeGa007]

The A8A is a beast from a power perspective and it will have no issues driving your Kefs. How big is your room and how far away do you sit from the speakers? My advice to you is wait and see.

Thanks for replying , Still Waiting for it to arrive to pick up my A8A , at the time of purchase i also bought the Kef Q50A "Atom's speakers" , as i told you before, i'm a newbie in H.T stuff , so my problem is Q50A "ONLY" work for Atom's surround feature , can i use any speaker for the Atom's "Surround" speaker , because if these Atom's speakers ONLY work for ATOMS Feature Mode, then i rather just Get the Kef Q350 Bookshelf Speakers for my Main Front L/R and use my current Kef Q150 on the REAR ,,, this setup is all in my bedroom , done to Family issues , about Loud Music and Movie playing. But Currently have 12 speakers ( "Klipsch Cinema - 8 "set - RSX4 of 4 and 1 Centre Speaker SET, Klispch R41M , Energy RC-Mini Speakers , and Kef Q150 .. Now i just have to wait for the order arrive ,cz the sales' rep sales i can switch if i like , when i go pick it up , I don't know which is best for me , I ordered the Kef Q50A " atoms speakers " but i also like the Q350 ,,, so i am still thinking

 

[3db]

Thanks for replying , Still Waiting for it to arrive to pick up my A8A , at the time of purchase i also bought the Kef Q50A "Atom's speakers" , as i told you before, i'm a newbie in H.T stuff , so my problem is Q50A "ONLY" work for Atom's surround feature , can i use any speaker for the Atom's "Surround" speaker , because if these Atom's speakers ONLY work for ATOMS Feature Mode, then i rather just Get the Kef Q350 Bookshelf Speakers for my Main Front L/R and use my current Kef Q150 on the REAR ,,, this setup is all in my bedroom , done to Family issues , about Loud Music and Movie playing. But Currently have 12 speakers ( "Klipsch Cinema - 8 "set - RSX4 of 4 and 1 Centre Speaker SET, Klispch R41M , Energy RC-Mini Speakers , and Kef Q150 .. Now i just have to wait for the order arrive ,cz the sales' rep sales i can switch if i like , when i go pick it up , I don't know which is best for me , I ordered the Kef Q50A " atoms speakers " but i also like the Q350 ,,, so i am still thinking

The short answer is yes. The Q50a are only good for the atmos role. There are two things limiting the Q50a in my opinion that would prevent me using it for surrounds and other uses. They are limited frequency response towards the bass end. They cant get down to 80 Hz so getting a seemless transition would be very difficult. The other is the form factor which may make them difficult to place for atmos purposes.

Im a PSB fanboy (not suggesting you need to go to PSB) and Ive used their indoor/outdoor speakers that come with adjustable brackets as my surround speakers. I got the idea from another PSB enthusiast.

Here's what it looks like (post 11)

3db's Main System.

Time for new pics as I've upgraded my mains to a pair of PSB Image T65s and added a second cassette deck, a Yamaha K1000 direct drive unit.

forums.audioholics.com

 

[jakkedtide]

I have a t10 unit as my avr was originally in a quite spacious yet closed on all sides cabinet. I kep the doors open, but it needed the forward exhaust to keep the unit happy.
I think these are well worth the meager investment. Just make certain how you can vent the unit matches with the unit you purchase (ie don't by the top venting unit if you don’t have a few feet of open space above. ).

Here is my custom tv stand made for the new A8a. It will go in the top shelf. I have 10.5 inches height. Should that be enough space for air flow?

 

[ryanosaur]

Here is my custom tv stand made for the new A8a. It will go in the top shelf. I have 10.5 inches height. Should that be enough space for air flow?

Yamaha AVRs have been known to stay cooler than those from Denon and Marantz. It is possible that if you have the prescribed space all around the unit, you may not need the cooling unit.
However, if you set everything up and find the cubby is getting hot, the T-10 would probably be more appropriate for you as it does not appear that you have any way to exhaust through the back or top… so moving air out the front would be advised.
Again, you should set up without, first, and see if it gets hot in there during some spirited playback.
(A week or two without cooling won’t be too bad unless Yamaha has created a new easy-bake oven accessory! )

 

[jakkedtide]

Yamaha AVRs have been known to stay cooler than those from Denon and Marantz. It is possible that if you have the prescribed space all around the unit, you may not need the cooling unit.
However, if you set everything up and find the cubby is getting hot, the T-10 would probably be more appropriate for you as it does not appear that you have any way to exhaust through the back or top… so moving air out the front would be advised.
Again, you should set up without, first, and see if it gets hot in there during some spirited playback.
(A week or two without cooling won’t be too bad unless Yamaha has created a new easy-bake oven accessory! )

Awesome, thanks for the tip. Just heard back from Yamaha about when Canada is getting their a8a. I put a deposit down so I should get mine soon

 

[sollyemmy]

Awesome, thanks for the tip. Just heard back from Yamaha about when Canada is getting their a8a. I put a deposit down so I should get mine soon

I hope the western warehouse means entire North American warehouse.