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

[snakeeyes]

Agreed, but now that you mentioned it, some of those things could not be fixed via FW, the HDMI2.1 fix that some gamers need was one of those, but D+M was good enough to ship an ext. hardware fix to those who wanted it.

Some owners still complained (seen it on at least one forum) about having to use such as an on. To me, I would definitely give D+M the credit for providing the fix regardless.

View attachment 52215

You would think they could have really made a gain if they could have made it a repeater box and turned that single 2.1 port into 3 or more. Of course all this box does though is just the one 2.1 port.

 

[AVR Enthu]

View attachment 50505

Out of curiosity, is there a good reason to test with 6Ω, rather than 8Ω?

 

[PENG]

Out of curiosity, is there a good reason to test with 6Ω, rather than 8Ω?

In my opinion, if only one is going to be tested it should be 8 ohm but only because just about all AVRs makers provide the rated output for 8 ohm at X% THD or THD+N from 20-20,000 Hz.

If two values are used, then I would prefer 8 and 4 ohms, but AVRs don't provide an output rating for 4 ohms, except the so called dynamic output. However, 6 ohm would probably be better as AVR makers do typically provide ratings for 6 ohm albeit at higher THD level, so if their products are tested for 6 ohms they can't complain.

 

[AVR Enthu]

I don't think AVRs, consoles and TVs will work in HDMI 2.1 harmony for a couple of years.

It already works well on selected configurations of devices, so during this transitional time it is very important to get informed well about features you need and how reliably those features are delivered before purchasing. You are right about general ecosystem and lack of harmony. This is what we get as consumers when devices are not tested enough and certified for several advertised technologies. I am glad that Yamaha finally pushed HDMI Forum to come up with standardized certification process, to become the first AVR to get this certification badge in 2022. I hope this process is delivered properly and brings more confidence into the market.

My graphics card from AMD delivers reliable audio and video with LG TV 9 series at 40 Gbps. No issues whatsoever. LG designed a bespoke HDMI board; an in-house solution. I am yet to purchase HDMI 2.1 AVR or AVP and put it into the mix (to get harmony ), but this can wait until the current storm passes. Teoh Vincent from HDTV tested new Onkyo AVRs. Those pass DolbyVision 4K/120 properly to LG TV from XboxX. So, the chain can work properly. Reading, watching, asking, testing. All eyes widely opened before committing huge amount of money into new gear.

 

[AVR Enthu]

It's just not all there yet and may never be. But, if you are happy with the audio from your current setup and have no use for 4k@120, you've already won, at least until Dolby comes out with full on "Atmosphere" and insists you need speakers in your floor.

Or Dolby insists you need speakers on your body to fully enjoy 4D sound

Robot or human?

 

[3db]

Hahaha! If you are suggesting to be the wise mantis, I am yet to soak with wisdom on offer.

I neither arrived here to wait for this testing report, nor it would change anything in my life. A dozen of members thanked me for informative and detailed input in several topics, including for exhaustive assistance over PMs. The posts speak their own story. Several members repeatedly asked us here about Gene's tests, as they probably did not read previous pages or forgot about what was said before. It happens. I only replied to them and explained what was going on and possibly why. I am not demanding from anyone to publish anything. That's up to them.

You were part of the speculation crowd. Just sayin.

 

[clone1008]

You were part of the speculation crowd. Just sayin.

Were???

 

[3db]

I hope in the futur that Yamaha and Sound United engineers tell their respective marketing departments to go take a long walk off a short pier. History has shown time again that rushing products to production always causes problems and damages the companies' reputations. I would also like to see the marketing management to be relieved or demoted from their positions for short sightedness and incompetence.

 

[clone1008]

I hope in the futur that Yamaha and Sound United engineers tell their respective marketing departments to go take a long walk off a short pier. History has shown time again that rushing products to production always causes problems and damages the companies' reputations. I would also like to see the marketing management to be relieved or demoted from their positions for short sightedness and incompetence.

If they need to be told at this point in the game they deserve everything they get.

 

[3db]

If they need to be told at this point in the game they deserve everything they get.

I just noticed your signature and speakers used. Im a big fan boy of PSB

 

[clone1008]

I just noticed your signature and speakers used. Im a big fan boy of PSB

I absolutely love my PSBs. Paul Barton is a legend in the speaker industry.
.

 

[clone1008]

Is there a known glitch with the Web Editor? It's not picking up what my A6A is showing for the PEQ measurements post YPAO. Below are examples of my left and right mains to give an example..

 

[Majorusa]

Is there a known glitch with the Web Editor? It's not picking up what my A6A is showing for the PEQ measurements post YPAO. Below are examples of my left and right mains to give an example..
View attachment 52227View attachment 52225View attachment 52226

I posted about this three weeks ago. Probably yes. For me, because I edited a lot of settings through web interface it did not take all the edits garbling the results of calibration and making the AVR sound bad.
YPAO is not working well right now in my opinion, I did two measurements on the same places and received different results. https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/yamaha-aventage-2021-av-receivers-bulk-up-on-power-and-8k-features.122355/post-1518287

 

[clone1008]

I posted about this three weeks ago. Probably yes. For me, because I edited a lot of settings through web interface it did not take all the edits garbling the results of calibration and making the AVR sound bad.
YPAO is not working well right now in my opinion, I did two measurements on the same places and received different results.

Did you happen to reach out to Yamaha support? I just sent them a message, we'll see if they respond.

 

[Majorusa]

Did you happen to reach out to Yamaha support? I just sent them a message, we'll see if they respond.

I asked the Yamaha dealer here and they do not know anything. I own the only one A8A in my country! They will send on my behalf an email to Yamaha service Europe.

 

[clone1008]

I asked the Yamaha dealer here and they do not know anything. I own the only one A8A in my country! They will send on my behalf an email to Yamaha service Europe.

If you noticed this 3 weeks ago and your dealer sent an email, you should have heard back by now.

 

[Trebdp83]

The reason for this is that Yamaha decided to push HDMI Forum to create and release testing certification protocol for all HDMI 2.1 devices. The Forum should have done this in the beginning of 2020, before any AVRs with new tech were released, to prevent the mess that happened.

I think it's a good move by Yamaha to have pushed for this, so that devices are certified. Inevitably, this will bring some delay in rolling out the full capability and getting certified, but we hope other vendors will also want to certify their devices and follow Yamaha's lead on this. It would benefit everyone, both companies and us consumers.

How much they pushed is anybody's guess. What I gathered from my many conversations with them was that they were simply waiting for it rather than actually pushing for it. No finalized standard? No way to get a cert? Don't sell 'em and point the fingers at the HDMI forum when folks get upset. Or, sell 'em and deal with the results. Yamaha really is trying to deal with issues but they could have avoided so many of them. Many folks' frustrations could have been lessened if the new consoles offered two HDMI outputs, among other things, to work around their AVRs' and TVs' shortcomings. So, at the end of 2021, a gamer of the PC or console variety who also wants to enjoy the latest and greatest formats for movies and music, will be hard pressed to find a combination of TV, AVR and content delivery device that will deliver every single feature available at the moment all at once. I don't believe a combo currently exists as at least one component will be lacking one or more features. For those waiting for a combo that they can get all at once, enjoy what you have now as that future combo will probably be lacking something you enjoy at the moment. You just won't know it until you put your money down. Anyway, back to the Aventage models. A2A buyers were flat out robbed and not having the A4A, A6A and A8A fully equipped out of the box at this point is just plain wrong. But, that doesn't mean they cannot still be enjoyed. Obsessing over the things that are missing and coming soon will ruin the fun now.

 

[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. 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

I concur. And not in a decade. Innovation in video connectivity is happening right now and dozens of new devices are coming in 2022. VESA has been extensively testing DisplayPort 2.0 PHY with monitors, GPUs and motherboards throughout the pandemic period. If AVR companies want to tap into this lucrative market outside of movies/music and earn more money by offering another interface, AVR engineers will need to make changes and invest effort and money in new board design; and fast, within one or two generations.

In video connectivity, diverse port options are paramount. "HDMI prison" is not the way forward in global and modern digital entertainment, no matter how much they resist. If they want to stick to HDMI only, they lose access to millions of users and more revenue. To catch up with this, AVR boards would not need to ditch HDMI. That is too big change. Consumer electronics sector cannot afford revolutionary change, but move in small steps. And it's not necessary to ditch it. PC world enjoys HDMI, but loves Display Port above all.

AVRs could start offering diverse ports, as it is the case on PC motherboards, GPUs, laptops, such as the one below - HDMI 2.1, DP 2.0 and USB-C which tunnels DP (currently 1.4). With this GPU back panel, anyone can connect whatever display they have at home. No need to worry about having or not having specific ports on displays. With AVRs, we still have to worry about it. Connectivity on AVR boards are out of date. A change means a few new chips on AVR board; conversion chip that can seamlessly switch DP signal into HDMI and vice versa. If sources and displays can have diverse ports, why AVRs cannot?

Gaming world has grown enormously. There are almost 3 billion gamers on the planet. That's for another post... Outside of consoles, which is HDMI based entertainment, DisplayPort is de facto the connection king everywhere. You do not need to be a gamer to use DisplayPort. It's enough if you are regular PC user who wants to do some daily work on monitor and play music in the background, which is millions of people. Why not connect to AVR over DP port if you happen not to have free HDMI on motherboard, GPU or monitor?

Future AVRs need to work both in TV environment and in PC environment, and intergate those devices, especially now, when any streaming and home entertainment can be enjoyed equally on monitors, not only on TVs. The world has moved forward. Will AVRs too?

 

[AVR Enthu]

You were part of the speculation crowd. Just sayin.

Inevitably. I also made effort to reply, including giving links to members who asked to see original source of information. It does take time. When you try to answer someone's question as to why something was happening or not happening, you think of potential reasons, which is a synonym for speculation. Whatever the case, we moved on. Newest speculation is about future changes on AVR boards to fit better with modern consumption of content and home entertianment. Where do you think this is going to go?

 

[Majorusa]

If you noticed this 3 weeks ago and your dealer sent an email, you should have heard back by now.

They did not send any email.