Yamaha RX-V1800 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver

Once again Yamaha raises the bar and offers a feature rich home theater receiver at a price point that will still leave you some money left over for purchasing some movies. The RX-V1800 includes all of the very latest in HD audio decoding including Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and dts-HD Master Audio, this receiver is going to get the attention of all those people who have just upgraded everything to HD with the exception of their receiver or outboard processor. The RX-V1800 is HDMI 1.3a compliant and comes with the Anchor Bay Technologies ABT1010 scaler engine with S-video and component video up conversion up to 1080p over HDMI. All that audio and video processing in addition to preamp outputs makes this unit a good choice for those who only need a processor.

Like the RX-V2600 and the RX-V2700 before it (which this unit essentially replaces), this receiver is loaded to the max with audio processing power. In addition to all the Dolby Digital and DTS processing capabilities, the RX-V1800 also has Yamaha’s YPAO sound optimization, Yamaha’s Cinema DSP processing, Neural THX, XM HD Surround, and the Compressed Music Enhancer for restoring some fidelity to your MP3 collection. The RX-V1800 is also equipped to handle the optional YDS-10 universal dock for iPod connection.

If you require flexibility, this receiver has it in spades. Featuring assignable amps, the RX-V1800 can reroute power to either Zone 2 or Zone 3 and allow you to permanently wire speakers to those terminals. Alternatively, you can bi-amplify your main speakers with no need to level match the outputs - the receiver will do it all for you. Want to switch back those Zone 2/3 amps to power the Surround Back speakers in your main zone? It's just a click away using the on-screen display. If control is what you require, then RS-232C, dual 12V DC triggers (only 15mA, however) and IR in and out ports are only a connection away.

The RX-V1800 is rated at an impressive 130 watts x 7, and uses Yamaha’s Digital ToP-ART design that includes top grade audio-grade parts and devices. The receiver also features Burr-Brown 192 kHz/24-bit DACs for front channels and 192 kHz/24-bit ADC for Main Zone. If this receiver bears any resemblance to its predecessors, measurements should show clean, linear sound with very little harmonic distortion. As always, build quality and aesthetics are top notch. Packed with powerful audio and video processing, plenty of HD inputs, a high quality amplifier section and sharp looks, the Yamaha RX-V1800 offers a fantastic value for those who have ventured into the HD world.

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