Yamaha RX-V2600 or RX-V1600

[Tom899]

Hello everyone, I've been reading the forum for a few weeks, I think its great and just joined.

System background: I'm having a new house built this year and will have in-ceiling speakers in the great room, not my first choice but a compromise with my wife. When I eventually finish the basement I can get back to using my free standing speakers. The ceiling speakers are Speakercraft AIM 8 level 2, five of them, http://www.speakercraft.com/our_products/aim/aim_two.html plus two 8" Energy subs sitting on the floor. The TV will be a Sony KDS-R60XBR1 LCOS SXRD HDTV.

Question: I've downloaded the manuals, searched the forums and basically read as much information as I can find on the RX-V2600 and 1600. Besides the basic power increase, it looks like the major difference is the ability for the 2600 to do Up-Scaling to 1080i/720p. Do I really need this feature with the Sony KDS-R60XBR1 TV? Please correct me if I'm wrong; my thinking is, if I plug my components into the receiver, plug the receiver into the TV with a HDMI cable, the Sony KDS-R60XBR1 TV will Up-Scale if necessary and needed. If this is true, maybe I can get by with the RX-V1600 and save a few hundred dollars. Please comment on this and any other recommendations.
Thanks!

 

[GlocksRock]

Yes, upscaling is the main diff. with the 2600, there are a few other minor things that it has that the 1600 doesn't, but mainly upscaling is what you are paying extra for. If your input into the receiver is HDMI, then the receiver won't upscale it, it will just pass it through, if your input is anything other than HDMI, the receiver will upscale it if necessary. I have the 1600 and it does a great job of deinterlacing and upconverting to HDMI, the scaler in my Samsung DLP does a pretty good job, I'm glad I didn't spend the extra money on the 2600.

 

[tritonstudio]

Do you have satellite receiver or cable box that you want to watch all channel from regular broacasting in 480 to 1080/780 ? then it's the best thing to have for the 2600 otherwise go w/ 1600. Unless your tv can do upscaling all tv channel from 480 to 1080. I haven't known which tv models can do upscaling from regular tv channel station to HD resolution yet.

 

[stevem650]

GLOCKSROCK...I am waiting for my Panasonic s77DVD to arrive. I also just purchased a sony 50" xbr lcos sxrd and yamaha rxv 1600. At present, I have my cable box wired HDMI out to my TV. It works Great. The receiver has 2-HDMI in and 1-Hdmi out. Now I have to rewire my cable box, receiver and DVD. Would you suggest that I wire the cable box HDMI out to HDMI in on receiver. Hdmi Out from DVD to HDMI in on receiver and then HDMI out from my receiver to HDMI in of tv? Is this the best way? Also the S77 DVD does upconvert to 1080i. Since the receiver does not upconvert will the upconversion pass through the receiver at 1080I? Or should I run HDMI straight to the TV with digital out from the DVD to receiver? Sorry for all the questions. Thanks

 

[Tom899]

Ok, it looks like I need to find out if the Sony KDS-R60XBR1 LCOS SXRD HDTV will do the upscaling, if it does, I'll get the 1600 instead of the 2600.

Thanks!

 

[stevem650]

Tom899....I have the 50" version and yamaha 1600, and can't find any info about if the sony does upscaling to 1080i. This is why I purchased an upscaling DVD player. Cheaper than getting the Yamaha 2600. The HD picture is just incredible.

 

[biorep]

the timing of this thread is perfect, i just spent 3 hours at local AV specialist asking if I need the 2600 if i have a samsung 61" dlp. I feel like i can get by with a reciever like the 1600 that has great audio, not as much vid processing, and HDMI! of course tonight i was fully prepared to go in tomorrow and buy the 1600 but now i just saw the press release from CES on the denon AVR2807! I might wait until March

 

[biorep]

my other logic to not buying upscaling in a reciever was that more and more content is available in HD and as soon as the blue ray/HD DVD thing settles we will have more to replace dvd players that will feed HD to the reciever, so you wont need upscaling. Is this logic flawed?

 

[Tom899]

Tom899....I have the 50" version and yamaha 1600, and can't find any info about if the sony does upscaling to 1080i. This is why I purchased an upscaling DVD player. Cheaper than getting the Yamaha 2600. The HD picture is just incredible.

stevem650, I found this bit of information, I believe the TV upscales.

The Sony KDS-R60XBR1 has such an extensive feature package that we have to limit our coverage to only the coolest features and those that help or hurt performance. First off, it has a native resolution of 1,920x1,080, thanks to Sony's proprietary SXRD (Silicon X-tal Reflective Display) light engine, a variety of LCoS technology. That resolution, combined with the inherently progressive nature of the display device, qualifies the KDS-R60XBR1 as a 1080p HDTV, meaning it should be able to display every detail of the highest-resolution HDTV format, 1080i. It scales all other sources, including standard TV, DVD, HDTV, and computers, to fit the pixels.

 

[GlocksRock]

GLOCKSROCK...I am waiting for my Panasonic s77DVD to arrive. I also just purchased a sony 50" xbr lcos sxrd and yamaha rxv 1600. At present, I have my cable box wired HDMI out to my TV. It works Great. The receiver has 2-HDMI in and 1-Hdmi out. Now I have to rewire my cable box, receiver and DVD. Would you suggest that I wire the cable box HDMI out to HDMI in on receiver. Hdmi Out from DVD to HDMI in on receiver and then HDMI out from my receiver to HDMI in of tv? Is this the best way? Also the S77 DVD does upconvert to 1080i. Since the receiver does not upconvert will the upconversion pass through the receiver at 1080I? Or should I run HDMI straight to the TV with digital out from the DVD to receiver? Sorry for all the questions. Thanks

Yes, use the HDMI output on your cable box and DVD player to the HDMI input on your 1600, and HDMI out on your receiver to the HDMI in on your tv, make sure you select VCONV to on in the setup menu so that all other devices inputed to the receiver will be upconverted and output onto HDMI. You say your DVD player upscales so set it to scale the output to your tv's native resolution as all HDMI signals are passed through the receiver and not touched. Even though I have a progressive scan DVD player, I found that the receiver does a better job of deinterlacing the DVD's signal, so I let the receiver output the progressive signal, this way I still get to use the on screen display, so I have the comp I/P and HDMI I/P set to on as well, but since the HDMI signal won't be touched by the receiver, you may want to experiment with component cables and see if the receiver deinteraces the signal better than your dvd player.

 

[stevem650]

Glocksrock...You gave me the information I was looking for. My DVD will be here tomorrow and I will wire it all then. Thanks

 

[GlocksRock]

No problem, let me know how you like the DVD player once you get it all setup and working right. I'm considering an upconverting DVD player and not sure who makes a good one that doesn't cost too much.

 

[robyn]

Guess I will jump into this discussion rather than starting a new thread. I have to say right off that I am pretty fluent in computers - but now find that redoing our media system is harder to deal with than new computer systems.

I am a woman - and my basic goal was to redo everything in our 10+ year old setup in a mid-range system that worked reasonably well and looked attractive. That involved construction - new cabinets - etc. We're through with that now. I had to pick the speakers during the construction - and wound up with Definitive Technology Mythos 2/3. We also have 2 rear speakers in the ceiling and a subwoofer - and 2 speakers out on the patio. Perhaps we will replace those eventually - but we have no immediate plans to do so now. Anyway - the Mythos speakers sound nice even with our 10 year old equipment.

Next was the TV. I wanted the 40" Sony Bravia LCD - but now that Sony has announced a 46" model available in about 4 months - that's what we'll be getting assuming the new model isn't a clunker. In the meantime - we bought a 26" Bravia which will we use in another room when the 46" comes to market. We'll be using a Comcast cable card for digital/hi-def.

Next was a new DVD player. I am old enough to remember the VHS/Betamax wars - so I didn't want to pay for a really high end DVD player while the high-def DVD war is being waged. Bought a Yamaha 6760 DVD changer which hasn't been delivered yet.

That leaves the receiver (we have a big Sony CD changer - I like it - and I'm not parting with it now). I am kind of partial to Yamaha when it comes to the receiver because I bought the Yamaha DVD changer. I am also partial to a receiver with HDMI because it eliminates part of the "rat's nest" of cable clutter. So I'm looking at the Yamaha RXV 1600 and RXV 2600. Spoke with Yamaha technical support today and asked the rep to explain the differences between the 2 receivers. I got a long technical explanation - a lot of which focused on "upscaling" - but I have to admit that I'm not exactly sure what "upscaling" means. No offense to the tech support guy - but I suspect his talking to me about "upscaling" would be like my talking to him about support/resistance lines on a stock chart.

For a system like the one I've described - which receiver would make more sense for us? Any and all opinions would be appreciated. Note that my husband and I are 60ish - and we tend to watch a lot of media that's kind of old-fashioned (reruns of old TV shows - DVDs of 6 years of Seinfeld - etc.). As well as new DVD movies. We also listen to a lot of music - although we're frequently not listening in the "sweet spot" in the room where the equipment is located when we listen - we play the music loud and could be anywhere in the house. And if you think that we have made - or are about to make - any mistakes in any of the other equipment (except for the speakers - they're up and installed already) - let me know. Thanks in advance for your opinions. Robyn

 

[Jimemitchellsr]

Yes, upscaling is the main diff. with the 2600, there are a few other minor things that it has that the 1600 doesn't, but mainly upscaling is what you are paying extra for. If your input into the receiver is HDMI, then the receiver won't upscale it, it will just pass it through, if your input is anything other than HDMI, the receiver will upscale it if necessary. I have the 1600 and it does a great job of deinterlacing and upconverting to HDMI, the scaler in my Samsung DLP does a pretty good job, I'm glad I didn't spend the extra money on the 2600.

I just purchased the 2600. Hooked it to my Hitachi 50' Hdtv ready TV and a LG HDTV tuner/DVD and my old Sony DVD/CD Player.
I used DVI-HDMI cables from the tuner to the receiver and to the TV and componant cables from the LG to the Sony.
When I play a DVD on the LG I get a message that it will not play on a TV that does not have "copy protection", however my TV "does" have that feature. When I play the same DVD on the Sony DVD player, it plays OK.
If I change the cable to a "componant cable" it plays OK on the LG. My LG has a built in up-converter. Does this mean that there is some sort of a flaw in the so-called" upscaling feature". I'm wondering if I wasted my money in buying the 2600?
Jim M

 

[GlocksRock]

sounds like an HDCP issue with the HDMI/DVI output on the LG, as most upconverting DVD players will only upconvert with HDMI or DVI, I don't think it has anything to do with the receiver. All devices using HDMI must be HDCP compliant for it to work correctly.

 

[tritonstudio]

Make sure you set up in the GUI rx-v2600 under input/output each connection correctly otherwise you will get error or bad quality sound & picture

 

[Jimemitchellsr]

Rxv2600

You are correct. LG says that the player will not upconvert If I use componant cables. I think when the LG sends the upconverted siginal to the receiver- the receiver tries to upconvert it again, thus the message re not playing. If I use componant cables, The DVD plays and it appears the receiver upconverts it.
Another point for guys who are thinking about Yamaha. They seem to be the "ONLY' manufacturer that does not have a telephone Help-line. They say to call the dealer where you bought the unit, but if you bought it on line, you don't get a manufacturer's warranty, thus you have no source for information.
Jim

 

[GlocksRock]

The receiver won't try to convert it again. All the receiver does with HDMI is pass the signal straight through, it won't touch it at all.

 

[Electone]

My RX-V2400 is driving 7 speakers, the most difficult of which are 4 ohm KEF C95's. The top gets pretty warm, but never hot. But, my unit sits on top of my equipment rack, with complete open-air circulation.

 

[GlocksRock]

My RX-V2400 is driving 7 speakers, the most difficult of which are 4 ohm KEF C95's. The top gets pretty warm, but never hot. But, my unit sits on top of my equipment rack, with complete open-air circulation.

wrong thread