Yamaha R-N2000A Network Hi-Fi Receiver Test Report
- Product Name: R-N2000A Network Hi-Fi Receiver
- Manufacturer: Yamaha
- Performance Rating:
- Value Rating:
- Review Date: December 14, 2024 00:00
- MSRP: $ 4,000
- Power Output: 90 W + 90 W (8 ohms, 20 Hz–20 kHz, 0.07% THD)
- Frequency Response: 5 Hz-100 kHz +0/-3 dB, 20-20 kH +0,-0.3 dB (Pure Direct ON)
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio (CD): 110 dB (Pure Direct ON)
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, TIDAL, MusicCast, HDMI ARC, USB DAC, optical/coaxial inputs, and analog RCA inputs.
- Audio Features: ToP-ART architecture, high-resolution audio support, ESS SABRE DAC, and Pure Direct mode.
- Display: High-resolution VU meters with adjustable brightness.
- Additional Features: Multi-room MusicCast support, phono input for turntables, and a sleek brushed aluminum finish.
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 17-1/8" x 6-1/8" x 18-5/8")
- Weight: 48.7 lbs
Pros
- Mostly Stellar Bench Test Results
- Beautiful Craftsmanship
- Stable Power Down to 2-ohms
- Built in Networking Features
Cons
- Pricey
- Not significantly more powerful than cheaper R-N1000A
Yamaha R-N2000A Introduction
The Yamaha R-N2000A is a high-performance 2-channel network hi-fi receiver designed for audiophiles, delivering Yamaha’s signature “True Sound” experience. It features a floating, balanced, MOSFET-based high-current amplifier and symmetrical construction, rated conservatively at 90 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 145 watts per channel into 4 ohms, with both channels driven. Yamaha claims their mechanical ground concept maximizes rigidity, enhancing expressive and rhythmic bass for a clean, detailed sound with low distortion, favoring the analog warmth that audiophiles often appreciate.
The R-N2000A lets you enjoy high-resolution music with the convenience of a USB DAC and HDMI eARC, along with Yamaha’s proprietary MusicCast music management system. MusicCast allows you to stream from popular services such as Tidal, Spotify, and Pandora, or take full advantage of the built-in high-quality ESS Sabre ES9026PRO Ultra DAC via USB for native DSD 11.2 MHz or 384kHz playback. Yamaha also includes a high-quality MM phono preamp for vinyl enthusiasts.
The R-N2000A incorporates YPAO™ (Yamaha Parametric Acoustic Optimizer) and R.S.C. (Reflected Sound Control), which Yamaha claims work together to actively control critical early reflection sounds, automatically adjusting and optimizing how sound is perceived in your room based on wall materials and speaker placement. Yamaha’s YPAO operates with a full resolution of up to 192kHz / 64-bit, without down-converting high-resolution formats, unlike many competitor room correction systems.
Compared to the less expensive R-N1000A, the R-N2000A offers a higher-grade DAC, upgraded build quality, and a more stable power platform under high-current demands, making it an ideal choice for audiophiles seeking uncompromised performance in a single, stylish package. The elegant VU level meters add a touch of class and bring a nostalgic charm that especially resonates with audiophiles who grew up in the '70s and '80s. In this bench test report and review, I will be comparing the R-N2000A to the R-N1000A to showcase the associated similarities and differences between these two receivers to help you better understand their capabilities.
Yamaha R-N2000A Backpanel
The Yamaha R-N2000A features two sets of audiophile-grade, gold-plated speaker binding posts, allowing you to connect two pairs of speakers simultaneously in parallel or select between two pairs, perhaps located in different rooms, from the hi-fi receiver. The R-N2000A also has pre-outs and a subwoofer output with bass management accessible through the MusicCast App. Additionally, it offers similar connectivity to the R-N1000A, with one HDMI eARC for easy streaming access from your display device, two Toslink inputs, one coaxial input, USB-B for digital sources, and phono MM and three additional analog inputs for analog sources.
Yamaha R-N2000A Top View
With its top cover removed, the Yamaha R-N2000A reveals significant upgrades over the R-N1000A, including a high-current toroidal transformer instead of an E-core, double the power supply capacitors, and heavy-duty heatsinks housing MOSFET output devices instead of BJTs for true 4-ohm stability and sustained high current delivery. Its floating and balanced power amplifier design isolates left and right channel grounding, which Yamaha claims minimizes interference and enhancing signal purity. Combined with anti-resonance construction, these features are said to deliver powerful, low-noise, and dynamic audio performance which is what we plan to test in this report.
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-N2000A Preamp
The Yamaha R-N2000A preamp outputs are strong just how I like them. Whether I tested the analog or digital inputs, the R-N2000A 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 1Vrms was 96dB for analog pure-direct or via a digital input source which is superb. This dropped to about 86dB for analog sources with pure-direct bypassed. Above 1.14Vrms, you can see distortion rise due to the amplifier circuits reaching clipping and feeding back some of the clipping distortion into the signal path. Curious as I did not observe this behavior on the R-N1000A. Regardless, the distortion level below 3.5Vrms is still about 86dB or 0.005% THD+N which is inaudible.
Yamaha R-N2000A Preout Output Voltage vs Distortion
Yamaha R-N2000A 1 kHz FFT @ 1Vrms Preout, 1Vrms input
With the R-N2000A in analog Pure Direct driven by 1Vrms input, and output voltage of 1Vrms from the preouts, the FFT looked excellent with the 3rd order harmonic being 103dB below the 1kHz fundamental.
Yamaha R-N2000A 1 kHz FFT @ 1Vrms Preout, -20dBFs Input
With a -20dBFs input, and output voltage of 1Vrms from the preouts, the FFT looks very good with the 3rd order harmonic being 95dB below the 1kHz fundamental. The distortion products rose significantly (when the input was driven to 0dBFs even if the volume level was readjusted to the same 1Vrms output as seen below.
Yamaha R-N2000A 1 kHz FFT @ 1Vrms Preout, 0dBFs Input
While this is likely not an issue of audibility, I believe Yamaha should look into the DAC setting of the R-N2000A to see if they can add a little headroom to handle digital full scale signals without an appreciable increase in distortion since the circuit paths are extremely transparent and NOT a bottleneck in achieving great performance. I didn’t observe this behavior on the R-N1000A so I believe it is something fixable with a firmware update.
Yamaha R-N2000A Preout Output Frequency Response
The Yamaha R-N2000A frequency response is ruler flat from 10Hz to 80kHz (-3dB) when driven with a 0dBFs 192kHz/24bit input.
Yamaha R-N2000A Preout Output SNR
With a 44.1kHz/ 16 bit signal and 0dBFs input, I measured 96dB SNR (a-wt) which is theoretical perfection for 16 bit audio. With a 192kHz / 24 bit digital source of 0dBFs, I measured 117dB SNR (a-wt) at 2Vrms via the analog outputs in pure-direct and 113dB non pure-direct, which are excellent results and beat the R-N1000A by 6dB under the exact same test conditions!
With an analog source of 200mVrms , I measured 107dB @ 2Vrms pure-direct, 99dB non-pure direct via the pre-outputs. The R-N1000A was surprisingly about 6dB better in pure-direct under similar test conditions but this figure is low that the difference is inconsequential.
Yamaha R-N2000A FFT Noise Spectrum (fs = 44.1kHz)
With a 44.1kHz digital input, I checked the stopband rolloff and found it to have a smooth rolloff below ½ Nyquist as expected with no residual out of band nasties. I observed similar excellent behavior at higher sampling rates of 96KHz and 192kHz, respectively.
Yamaha R-N2000A Phono Frequency Response (5mVrms input)
The Yamaha R-N2000A 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 from 1mVrms up to 50mVrms to determine frequency response, distortion and linearity. The typical MM cartridge voltage is anywhere from 2.5mVrms to 5mVrms so the fact that the Yamaha was able to handle 50mVrms input cleanly shows how overdesigned and serious their phono preamp section is on the R-N2000A.
Yamaha R-N2000A Phono
Distortion vs Frequency Response @ 1 watt
I varied input signal from 5mVrms up to 50mVrms on the phono input and measured the speaker outputs of the Yamaha R-N2000A at 1 watt and the distortion performance was excellent at around 0.005% THD+N or 86dB SINAD which is about 10dB better than we’ve seen in the R-N1000A in pure-direct mode preouts.
Yamaha R-N2000A Phono SNR a-wt
With 5mVrms input to the phono stage, I measured 80dB SNR a-wt from the speaker outputs at 1 watt which is superb. This is a very low noisefloor for a phono stage and about +5dB better measurement than what was achieved on the R-N1000A under similar testing conditions. Make no mistake, Yamaha put a superb phono stage into the R-N2000A so if you’re a vinyl enthusiast, you’re gonna love this receiver.
Yamaha R-N2000A Power Amp
With the recent FTC Final Amplifier Rule of August 2024 (16 CFR Part 432), I thought it would be a good idea to torture test the R-N2000A by driving the amplifier section at 1/3rd power for a full hour (per 1974 standard) even though the new rule states 1/8th power. 1/3rd power is where the amplifier dissipates the most heat which can lead to shut down or failure if the amplifier isn’t built to dissipate the heat over extended periods of time. During these tests, I never heard any mechanical distress in the unit, and the chassis only got warm, NOT hot to the touch.
Frequency Response & FFT Distortion Tests
Yamaha R-N2000A Regulated Frequency Response @ 100 wpc, 8 ohms, 2CH Driven
After preconditioning the R-N2000A I ran my standard power tests but also added a 5min regulated Frequency Response vs Power distortion sweep which is absolute murder on an amplifier and perfect to test the meddle of this Yamaha. This 90 watt/ch Yamaha was able to belt out 100 watts/ch full bandwidth and regulated to 1% THD+N for both channels driven!
Yamaha R-N2000A Power Bandwidth 4 ohms 2CH Driven
With both channels driven into 4-ohms at < 0.1% THD+N, the R-N2000A was able to deliver 165 watts/ch which exceeds its 145 watts/ch rating.
Yamaha R-N2000A 1 kHz FFT @ 2.83Vrms (1 watt, 8 ohms)
There is some residual noise and power supply hum, but at inaudible levels (-90dB at 120Hz) from the amp section of the R-N2000A which is surprising given the floating grounding scheme Yamaha touts for this model. The 2nd order harmonic is 84dB 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-N2000A Power Sweep Tests
I ran power sweeps on the R-N2000A before and after preconditioning and was pleasantly surprised to find the unit delivered more power after the 1hr conditioning period than when it was cold.
Yamaha R-N2000A 1kHz PSweep (2CH) - 8 ohms
The Yamaha R-N2000A produced a beautifully horizontal power vs distortion graph all the way to clipping. Before conditioning, I measured 105 watts/ch, 2CH driven, 8 ohms at 0.1% THD+N and 112 watts/ch at 1% THD+N. After preconditioning, I measured 111 watts/ch, 2CH driven, 8 ohms 0.1% THD+N and 120 watts/ch at 1% THD+N. Kudos to Yamaha for rating the amplifier power well before the knee of the power vs distortion graph and they get BIG Truth in Power points from Audioholics. Although the R-N2000A is slightly less powerful (about 10 watts/ch) than the R-N1000A, the power vs distortion graph is a bit more linear especially at low power levels thanks to the very low noise design. SINAD was around 85dB which was about 9dB worse than the R-N1000A but we are comparing distortion in the thousandths place to the right of the decimal point (0.008% on the R-N2000A vs 0.002% THD+N on the R-N1000A).
Yamaha R-N2000A 1kHz PSweep (2CH) - 4 ohms
The R-N2000A maintained impressively low distortion even when driving 4 ohm loads. With 2CH driven, the R-N2000A delivered 148 watts/ch 0.1% THD+N and 179 watts/ch at 1% THD+N into 4-ohms. This was slightly less power (20-30 watts/ch) compared to the R-N1000A under similar test conditions.
Yamaha R-N2000A 1kHz PSweep (2CH) - 2 ohms
I don’t normally test receivers into 2-ohm loads because most simply can’t handle it without current protection or worse, overheating and shutting down. The R-N2000A was built of “sterner stuff” that would make Optimus Prime proud. With 2CH driven, the R-N2000A delivered 258 watts/ch 0.1% THD+N and 288 watts/ch at 1% THD+N into 2-ohms. Worry not, for this receiver can handle very difficult loudspeaker loads with no complaints.
Yamaha R-N2000A CEA 2006 Dynamic Power – 2 ohms
The Yamaha R-N2000A exhibited impressive dynamic power test results able to deliver 125 watts/ch into 8-ohms and 223 watts/ch into 4 ohms with both channels driven at 1% THD+N, which was about 25 watts/ch less than the R-N1000A was able to deliver under similar test conditions. That’s almost 1.4dB of dynamic headroom over its rated power. Into 2 ohms, the R-N2000A was able to muster up a whopping 361 watts/ch. Excellent!
Yamaha R-N2000A Power Table
R-N2000A | R-N1000A | ||||
# of CH | Test Type | Power | Power | Load | THD + N |
2 | CFP-BW | > 100 watts* | 107 watts | 8-ohms | 1% |
2 | CFP-BW | 165 watts | 175 watts | 4-ohms | 0.1% |
2 | 1kHz Psweep | 120 watts | 129 watts | 8-ohms | 1% |
2 | 1kHz Psweep | 111 watts | 119 watts | 8-ohms | 0.1% |
2 | 1kHz Psweep | 179 watts | 203 watts | 4-ohms | 1% |
2 | 1kHz Psweep | 148 watts | 180 watts | 4-ohms | 0.1% |
1 | 1kHz Psweep | 122 watts | 152 watts | 8-ohms | 1% |
1 | 1kHz Psweep | 113 watts | 140 watts | 8-ohms | 0.1% |
1 | 1kHz Psweep | 180 watts | 251 watts | 4-ohms | 1% |
1 | 1kHz Psweep | 150 watts | 232 watts | 4-ohms | 0.1% |
2 | 1kHz Psweep | 258 watts | NA | 2-ohms | 1% |
2 | 1kHz Psweep | 288 watts | NA | 2-ohms | 0.1% |
2 | Dynamic PWR | 125 watts | 150 watts | 8-ohms | 1% |
2 | Dynamic PWR | 223 watts | 260 watts | 4-ohms | 1% |
1 | Dynamic PWR | 126 watts | 161 watts | 8-ohms | 1% |
1 | Dynamic PWR | 225 watts | 292 watts | 4-ohms | 1% |
2 | Dynamic PWR | 361 watts | NA | 2-ohms | 1% |
Yamaha R-N2000A Power Measurement Table
*tested as a regulated 5 min sweep per FTC 2024.
Yamaha R-N1000A vs. R-N2000A Low Impedance Power Comparison
The Yamaha R-N2000A met or exceeded its power ratings in all of my testing, handling 4-ohm loads at high output levels with ease and even performing well with 2-ohm loads—a rare feat for receivers. While the R-N1000A offers slightly more power with 8- or 4-ohm loads, the R-N2000A provides greater stability for sustained high output with low-impedance loads without power sag. The R-N20000A features a larger heatsink area, a bigger 603VA toroidal power supply, and a 4 x 18,000uF capacitor bank. In comparison, the R-N1000A is equipped with a 503VA E-Core and a 2 x 12,000uF capacitor bank. These enhancements enable the R-N20000A to handle 2-ohm loads reliably. This amp is built to endure hard use without faltering. So if you like to party, the R-N2000A will happily oblige.
Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)
Yamaha R-N2000A 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 92dB (a-wt) at 1 watt (8 ohms) which is an excellent figure. In comparison, this is about +2dB better than the R-N1000A under similar test conditions. This is a very quiet piece of hi-fi audio gear from input to output.
Yamaha R-N2000A 1kHz Square Wave (0dBFS in, 2Vrms out)
Last but not least, I ran a 0dBFS square wave signal into the digital input to see if the Yamaha R-N2000A faithfully reproduced it without flipping phase or suffering from overshoot or ringing. This is a very clean response.
Conclusion
The Yamaha R-N2000A Network Stereo Receiver delivers mostly outstanding bench test results, making it a top performer in its price range and category. Its build quality and craftsmanship are leagues ahead of the already excellent R-N1000A model—a difference one should expect given the $2,200 price gap.
While some may scrutinize the bench test comparisons and question whether the cost difference is justified—especially since the R-N1000A is slightly more powerful in 8-ohm and 4-ohm testing—the true distinction lies in the finer details. The R-N2000A boasts a significantly lower noise floor, an improved phono preamp stage (one of the best I’ve ever measured), and the most stable power delivery I’ve encountered in a hi-fi receiver.
In fact, I would strongly suggest Yamaha consider bumping the rail voltage to increase power output on future iterations of this model, as its power supply, heatsink design, and output devices are more than capable of handling the demand. This is the most over-engineered 90-watt-per-channel amplifier I’ve encountered in all my years of testing amplifiers. It's a true tank of an amplifier, with impeccable craftsmanship.
The VU meters are simply stunning—a nostalgic nod to the golden age of hi-fi audio. The pride of ownership this unit inspires is off the charts; it’s the kind of piece you’ll want to showcase, inviting admiration and envy from your friends. The bearing-based volume control adds a refined touch absent in the R-N1000A. While less noticeable in the era of remote controls, it’s a tangible marker of luxury and craftsmanship that justifies the added investment in a high-end product like this.
Nothing about the R-N2000A feels like a cost-cutting compromise or a half-baked effort. It exudes high-end quality, both in appearance and performance, standing as a testament to Yamaha's dedication to excellence.
Yamaha R-N2000A (black finish)
The R-N2000A is an excellent choice for building a high-quality two-channel music system that seamlessly integrates with your TV and streaming devices. Its HDMI eARC function delivers high-fidelity sound to your display without the need for a complex multi-channel surround system. I’d much rather have this receiver paired with a set of high-quality speakers plugged into my TV to enjoy movies and music than rely on a mediocre soundbar or multi-channel surround system. I do suggest taking full advantage of the superb phono preamp built into this unit by pairing it with a top notch turntable and MM cartridge.
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 up to 192 kHz/64-bit resolution, as tools to help enhance system performance adds the icing on this already impressive audiophile cake.
Stay tuned for our listening comparisons between the R-N2000A and R-N1000A models to see how much of the bench tests translate to real-world audio testing. I will be testing these units with the new Arendal 1528 8-inch bookshelf speakers and Revel F328BE towers. Both loudspeakers have their inherent strengths and weaknesses and should really push the limits of these amplifiers. I suspect the low impedance drive capabilities of the R-N2000A will really benefit when paired with the Arendal 1528 bookshelf speakers, which trade sensitivity for deep bass extension.