Yamaha R-N1000A Network Receiver Bench Test Results

Yamaha R-N1000A Introduction

The Yamaha R-N1000A is a 2CH Network AV receiver rated at 100 watts/ch (8-ohms) and has two features most 2CH AV receivers don’t: bass management and HDMI ARC support. The R-N1000A supports Yamaha’s proprietary MusicCast music streaming management software that lets you stream from your favorite services such as Tidal, Spotify, Pandora, etc or take full advantage of their built in high quality ESS SABRE ES9080Q Ultra DAC via USB for full DSD 11.2 MHz or 384kHz native playback. Yamaha also includes a high quality MM phono preamp for vinyl lovers. This feature set alone is what set the R-N1000A apart from its peers and why we awarded it our 2023 Product of the Year Award for the Stereo AV Receiver category.

 

Yamaha R-N1000A Backpanel      

The Yamaha R-N1000A has two sets of high quality speaker binding posts in case you want to connect two pairs of speakers simultaneously in parallel or if you want to select between two pairs perhaps located in different rooms from the AV receiver. The R-N1000A has preouts and a sub out with bass management accessible through the MusicCast App.  The R-N1000A sports 1 HDMI ARC for easy streaming access from your Display device, 2 toslink, 1 COAX and USB-B for your digital sources and phono MM and 3 additional analog inputs for your analog sources.

 

Yamaha R-N1000A Top View

With the top cover removed, you can see the Yamaha R-N1000A means business. The power plant is impressive in the R-N1000A which includes a large E-Core transformer, 2 x 12,000uF power supply capacitors and dual rows of heatsinks each containing 4 high-current output devices per channel for true 4-ohm stable power delivery. Yamaha employs Top ART construction which they claim results in solid build quality, clean signal paths, and reduced resonances. This bench test report will attempt to verify if Yamaha delivers on their promises and validate if it truly earned our 2023 Product of the Year award.

All measurements were conducted using our Audio Precision APx585 8 Channel HDMI Audio Analyzer. 

For more information about how we measure power amplifiers, please see:

Basic Amplifier Measurement Techniques

Yamaha R-N1000A Preamp

The Yamaha R-N1000A preamp outputs are strong just how I like them. Whether I tested the analog or digital inputs, the R-N1000A was able to muster a clean 4Vrms output free from clipping. The pure-direct analog input path had significantly lower distortion than with the DSP engaged. SINAD below 2Vrms was 98dB for analog pure-direct or via a digital input source which is superb. This dropped to about 82dB for analog sources with pure-direct bypassed. Definitely use the Pure-Direct feature for your analog sources if you want the cleanest signal path as Yamaha advertises.

 

Yamaha R-N1000A Preout Output Voltage vs Distortion

 

Yamaha R-N1000A 1 kHz FFT @ 2Vrms Preout

With a 0dBFs input, and output voltage of 2Vrms from the preouts, the FFT looks very good with the 3^rd order harmonic being 100dB below the 1kHz fundamental. 

 

Yamaha R-N1000A Preout Output Frequency Response             

The Yamaha R-N1000A frequency response is ruler flat from 10Hz to 80kHz (-0.5dB).

 

Yamaha R-N1000A Preout Output SNR

With a digital source of 0dBFs, I measured 111dB SNR (a-wt) at 2Vrms via the analog outputs in pure-direct and 106dB non pure-direct, which are excellent results. With an analog source of 200mVrms , I measured 114dB @ 2Vrms pure-direct, 102dB non-pure direct via the pre-outputs. Pure-Direct really works as advertised!

 

Yamaha R-N1000A FFT Noise Spectrum (fs = 44.1kHz)

With a 44.1kHz digital input, I checked the stopband rolloff and found it to have a smooth roll-off below ½ Nyquist as expected with no residual out of band nasties other than a blip (-120dB) at 44kHz which is inconsequential. This is good housekeeping.

Phono In, Pre-Out

The Yamaha R-N1000A has a Moving Magnet (MM) phono preamp. Using the original 3-time constant RIAA curve, I EQ’ed the APx585 source to get the expected flat response of the phono preamp. The source was driven at 1mVrms and up to 5mVrms to determine frequency response, distortion and linearity.

 

Yamaha R-N1000A Phono Frequency Response (5mVrms input)

The Yamaha R-N1000A features a Moving Magnet (MM) phono preamp. Using the original 3-time constant RIAA curve, I EQ’ed the APx585 source to get the expected ruler flat response of the phono preamp from10Hz to the limit of my test gear (80kHz).

 

Yamaha R-N1000A Phono Distortion vs Frequency Response (5mVrms input)

The distortion (< 0.07% THD+N or 63dB SINAD) looks good across the entire audio bandwidth for the R-N1000A phono preamp when driven with 5mVrms input and is a better result than what we measured from the Arcam A25 integrated amplifier. 

Note: The above phono SINAD measurement was taken without Pure-Direct engaged. You can expect about a 12dB improvement IF you use Pure-Direct which will raise this figure to about 75dB SINAD. Make no mistake, Yamaha put a competent phono stage into the R-N1000A; so if you’re a vinyl enthusiast, you’re gonna love this receiver.

Yamaha R-N1000A Power Amp

Frequency Response & FFT Distortion Tests

 

Yamaha R-N1000A Frequency Response @ 100 wpc, 8 ohms

The Yamaha R-N1000A exhibits flat frequency response from 10Hz to 72kHz (-3dB pt) when driven by an analog or digital source (Fs = 192kHz). The frequency response remains consistent with 8 or 4 ohm loads and various power levels (1 watt and max rated power of 100 watts).  Although the R-N1000A is rated at 100 watts/ch, it was able to sustain 107 watts/ch at 8-ohms and 175 watts/ch at 4-ohms with both channels driven at under 0.1% THD+N. This is about the same power levels we saw from the older Yamaha A-S801 which isn’t surprising as they share similar power plants. In comparison, the Arcam A25 delivered 100 watts/ch into 8 ohms and 150 watts/ch into 4 ohms under the same test conditions with both channels driven. But, the Yamaha handled the 4-ohm load with more confidence than the Arcam. No mechanical noises or ringing was ever present in the Yamaha as I torture tested it with 4 ohm loads. Yamaha did a great job at suppressing resonances and also dissipating heat under stress. Top ART has paid off here.

 

Yamaha R-N1000A 1 kHz FFT @ 2.83Vrms (1 watt, 8 ohms)

The Yamaha R-N1000A amp section isn’t as squeaky clean as the preamp. There is some residual noise and hum but at inaudible levels (-100dB). The 2^nd order harmonic is 90dB below the fundamental which is good though not as stellar as we’ve seen most recently with the Arcam A25 (-109dB) under the exact same test conditions nor as good as the older A-S801 we measured back in 2015.

Yamaha R-N1000A Power Sweep Tests

Note: All power tests on the R-N1000A were conducted with the impedance selector switch set in the default 8-ohm position.

Editorial Note: Impedance Selector Switch - No matter how tempted you may be to do so, DO NOT change the default "8 ohm min" impedance setting of ANY AV receiver.  All this does is starve your speakers of power, simply so Yamaha could get 4-ohm certification (at a reduced power level) without making the receiver get too hot during their power tests. We have tested this 'feature' on virtually every receiver that offered it in the past and the results were always the same: the low impedance setting robs your speakers of power. 

For more information, see:  Setting the AV Receiver Impedance Switch

Yamaha R-N1000A  1kHz PSweep (2CH) - 8 ohms

The Yamaha R-N1000A exhibited impressively low distortion from the amplifier section as you can see with SINAD of 94dB at the knee of the power sweep. Kudos to Yamaha for specing the power at 100 watts/ch right before the knee! With 2CH driven, the R-N1000A delivered 119 watts/ch at 0.1% THD+N and 129 watts/ch at 1% THD+N into 8-ohms.

 

Yamaha R-N1000A  1kHz PSweep (2CH) - 4 ohms

The R-N1000A maintained impressively low distortion even when driving 4 ohm loads. With 2CH driven, the R-N1000A delivered 180 watts/ch at 0.1% THD+N and 203 watts/ch at 1% THD+N into 4-ohms. The R-N1000A delivered about the same power as their older A-S801 but has a real power advantage at 4-ohms compared to the Arcam A25 we recently measured.

 

Yamaha R-N1000A CEA 2006 Dynamic Power – 4 ohms

The Yamaha R-N1000A exhibited impressive dynamic power test results able to deliver 150 watts/ch into 8-ohms and 260 watts/ch into 4 ohms. That’s almost 2dB of dynamic headroom over its rated power. Excellent!

Yamaha R-N1000A Power Table

 

# of CH	Test Type	Power	Load	THD + N
2	CFP-BW	107 watts	8-ohms	0.1%
2	CFP-BW	175 watts	4-ohms	0.1%
2	1kHz Psweep	129 watts	8-ohms	1%
2	1kHz Psweep	119 watts	8-ohms	0.1%
2	1kHz Psweep	203 watts	4-ohms	1%
2	1kHz Psweep	180 watts	4-ohms	0.1%
1	1kHz Psweep	152 watts	8-ohms	1%
1	1kHz Psweep	140 watts	8-ohms	0.1%
1	1kHz Psweep	251 watts	4-ohms	1%
1	1kHz Psweep	232 watts	4-ohms	0.1%
2	Dynamic PWR	150 watts	8-ohms	1%
2	Dynamic PWR	260 watts	4-ohms	1%
1	Dynamic PWR	161 watts	8-ohms	1%
1	Dynamic PWR	292 watts	4-ohms	1%

Yamaha R-N1000A Power Measurement Table

The Yamaha R-N1000A hit or exceeded it’s power ratings in all of my testing. It had no complaints driving a 4-ohm load continuously at high output levels. Like the A-S801, the R-N1000A has a solid power section that can handle a true 4-ohm speaker without worry and will sound great doing so.

Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)

 

Yamaha R-N1000A SNR @ 1 Watt (a-wt)

I always measure amplifiers at 1 watt so that apples to apples comparisons can be made between different products that have different maximum output capabilities.  If you want to know the SNR at rated power, then you simply take the 1 watt rating and add 20* log (V*R)^1/2 / 2.83) where V = Vrms and R is the load. With a 0dBFs input signal, I measured 90dB (a-wt) at 1 watt (8 ohms) which is  a very good figure. In comparison, the Arcam A25 measured about 5dB better under the exact same test conditions so it’s a little quieter than the Yamaha.

 

Yamaha R-N1000A Phono SNR @ 1 Watt (a-wt)

With a 5mVrms signal on the phono input, I measured 75dB SNR pure-direct, 67dB non-pure direct, at 1 watt output. This is about 2dB better than I measured on the Arcam A25 under the exact same test conditions.    

Crosstalk
I forgot to save the crosstalk sweeps I ran on the Yamaha R-N1000A  but I have in my notes that the 1kHz the channel-to-channel isolation was about -95dB and –65dB at 20kHz. I consider anything less than -60dB @ 20kHz good and this fits right in line with that.                  

Conclusion

The Yamaha R-N1000A Network Stereo Receiver produced good to excellent bench test results and is a top performer in its price and category class. I like that Yamaha is still putting in time-tested linear amps with a generous power supply and heatsink area for even their more modest budget hi-fi gear. I didn’t have much to complain about with what I saw on the bench other than the amp section could have been a tad lower in noise and distortion to match the excellent preouts.

The overall build quality of the R-N1000A is very good as Yamaha has taken a lot of measures to minimize chassis resonances with their damped support bar under the top cover, thick double bottom chassis, anti-resonance feet and other measures in the circuit components. But, the volume control employed on the R-N1000A is hot garbage. I prefer the precision bearing feel you get with high-end hi-fi pieces like what is on their R-N2000A. I guess I’m old school with that as I’m easily impressed with posh controls on the front panels of electronics. I have fond memories of the smooth volume controls of the older Yamaha DSP-A1 through RX-Z9 AV receivers. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the R-N1000A volume control other than it feels cheap and it makes a rubbing sound when you aggressively turn it.

The R-N1000A HDMI ARC function makes it a great piece to add high fidelity sound to your display device without having to fuss with a complex multi-ch surround system. I’d much rather have this receiver and a pair of high quality speakers plugged into my TV to enjoy movies and music than a mediocre soundbar or multi-ch surround system. The fact that Yamaha includes bass management via their MusicCast App and a limited version of their YPAO with R.S.C. (Reflected Sound Control) with precision equalization accuracy of up to 192 kHz/ 64 bit resolution to enhance your system performance makes it a class leader in this segment. The R-N1000A is a product you should seriously consider if you’re aim is to build a really great sounding 2CH music system that will also enable you to enjoy it with your TV and streaming devices. The amp section is 4-ohm friendly so don't be afraid to power some large multi-driver towers with this baby.

Listening Tests Comparison

I plan on bench testing Yamaha's flagship R-N2000A Network receiver next to see how far the floating balanced concept translates on the test bench. I am also planning some listening comparisons of these two receivers along with the Arcam A25, using Revel F328Be as the speakers and the Denon A110 SACD player as the source. Stay glued to the Audioholics Youtube channel for this listening test report in the coming months.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.