<font color='#000000'>My new system is today up and running. Here are my first thoughts on the RX-V2400.
I’m a bit of an audiophile and listen to classical music and films. Before I got the RX-V2400 I was running a huge NAD 7600 receiver built on the 2600 amp rated at a realistic 150W per channel producing about 400W into my 6 ohm horribly complex, difficult and inefficient a/d/s M15 monitor speakers that were on their last legs, so the RX-V2400 had a bit to live up too. I bought all Yamaha speakers – the EX series that is available easily in the US – putting compatibility and a known quantity before something a little better. The whole system consists of the RX-V2400, two NS-777’s at the front, a center NS-C444, a NS-SW315 250w internal powered sub-woofer at the side and four NS-333 bookshelf speakers on the walls at the back for surround. My room is large being open plan of about 6000 cubit feet with asymmetrical cathedral ceilings and a solid wood suspended floor. My only problem with the room is that my wife does not allow me to move my front speakers away from the wall – but I did – just a little - for this audition.
I gave the RX-V2400 a tough test: DVD-A’s of Berlin Philharmonic playing Beethoven’s ninth, fifth and sixth and CD’s of The Cleveland Orchestra under Dohnanyi playing the same works. I like my music realistically loud and with my big room kept the volume control at half way – 0 db gain as the scale says.
First I run the Auto Setup – very easy. The soundstage was wide but not deep and in the multi-channel modes the speakers were not balanced - being very weak at the back. Also I noticed some ear distress and some very high overtones so I re configured the system manually. Playing with the manual controls I noticed that I preferred the auto sound better behind the monitoring position so I ran Auto Setup again (several times in fact) with the monitoring microphone forward of the listening position and finally got a nice balance. Playing the music I found the volume level at mid way very high – more than even I need – with neither the speakers nor the receiver complaining.
The first thing that struck me – and I guess in a way it was a bit of a disappointment – was that with all the multitude of Sound Profile available, for serious music no settings beat the basic 2 channel stereo mode, and more surprisingly, (even though when you think of it, with all that information spread over seven channels and not just two, it should not have been) the stereo CD’s sounded much better than the DVD Audio. There are some great emotions that can be carved out the air with this receiver and its multiple sound profiles, but for detail and sound-stage and realism of classical music I found stereo CD’s and the two-channel mode the best. I do not have a SACD player so anyone who does might like to add what they think I would have though had I had one.
Comparing the Yamaha system to the NAD and the dying a/d/s’s, the Yamaha had much more bite and raw power and more detail, but the NAD and the a/d/s’s had the soundstage and the depth of realism. If my change had been for stereo only I would have kept the NAD and purchased some top end efficient speakers, but I wanted my music combined with HT.
If you are interested in how the system plays newer EX/ES DVD movies then you need only know that this is what this system was built. Go listen - It will blow you away! Never have I heard better movie sound. Set the Sound Profile to THX and you will think you are in a state of the Art movie theater – switch to DTS and it just gets better!
The total cost of my system including wire, banana plugs, headphones and all was US $2730 – about the same I paid for the NAD in 1988. I’m not complaining!</font>
