Yamaha RX-V367 Receiver Preview

If you've been around the AV industry long enough, you'll recognize that releases come in waves. If someone comes out with something new in a category, you can bet that someone else (or a lot of someone elses) will do the same. It is as if they are peeking over the shoulders of each other like the movie studios do. You can't help but notice that when one studio releases a big movie in a certain genre, another will quickly follow. It seems to be the same for home theater equipment.

Recently, we've seen a flood of new receivers hit the market. Most of those are touting the new HDMI 1.4 connection. This allows for full 3-D support without really much work on the manufacturer's part. While display manufacturers have to deal with actually displaying 3-D information, receiver manufacturers just have to make sure that their products have the latest connectors and firmware updates.

The newest of line of Yamaha RX-V receivers are hitting the market and the entry level model is the $250 RX-V367. Sporting 100 watts by five channels and 4 HDMI 1.4 inputs, 3-D early adopters should be excited. While the 3-D standard isn't exactly finalized, you'll be able to update the firmware of the RX-V367 to include new 3-D features as they become available. It is unclear how this upgrading will take place though it is clearly listed as a feature on the Yamaha spec page. There is no USB or RS-232 connectivity so we think you might have to take/send the unit to an authorized dealer for any firmware upgrades. This will be done via computer download burned to CD and played through the receiver by the user.

The back of the RX-V367 is fairly spartan, as you'd expect with an entry level receiver. The main channels get five-way binding posts while the rest of the channels are relegated to the spring-type. There are an impressive four HDMI inputs and one output, and two component and four composite inputs (there is a composite input on the front panel as well). There is a single subwoofer output (Yamaha includes two on higher priced models) and a dock input for adding either the YBA-10 Bluetooth or YDS-11/12 iPod dock (additional purchase required). For digital audio inputs you get two each coaxial and optical. 

The front panel of the RX-V367 included a 3.5mm jack for connection to your iPod or other music storage/playback devices. We love that they have included this with the RX-V367. While you won't be able to control your device with the remote or see any of the video content, this does allow you to easily get your music to your receiver without having to buy an additional dock. If you are looking for outstanding features outside of the number and types of HDMI connections, you are limited to 192 kHz/24 bit Burr Brown DACs, and maybe the number of surround programs (17 DSPs - 15 of which you'll probably never use). Other features that might come in handy are the Compressed Music Enhancer (for your MP3 files), Adaptive DRC (Dynamic Range Control), Adaptive DSP level, and an upgraded Cinema DSP. 

What you will be missing with this receiver is any sort of native high definition HDMI audio decoding. This means no HD audio codecs like Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio. While the RX-V367 can still accept uncompressed multichannel PCM over HDMI and standard definition audio, it can't decode any of the high def audio codecs internally. While for some this isn't much of a problem, those that prefer to do all the decoding at the receiver will need to step up to a higher model.

Yamaha, like all manufacturers, had to make product development decisions in order to hit the price point with the RX-V367 given its feature set. You won't see an OSD (On Screen Display) with this model, video upconversion of any kind, resolution upscaling, or even auto setup/calibration. That's not exactly a surprise in an entry level receiver. The remote is standard for Yamaha and sports their "Scene" buttons. Think of these as pre-labeled macro buttons that can be modified by the user. The remote, like others from Yamaha, has uniformly shaped buttons that form a grid that makes it hard to operate them in the dark. While the Scene buttons may be backlit, the rest of the remote appears not to be. On the plus side, the remote is universal (preset, not learning) so it can control not only your receiver but your TV and other devices. And while this may sound simplistic, the RX-V367 can now be programmed to control, at least in a basic sense, your set top cable box - something Yamaha didn't support very well on earlier remotes.

Conclusion

In the plus column, the RX-V367 has four HDMI inputs that are 3-D ready. If that is all you are looking for in a receiver, this is the one for you. Other than that, the receiver is very basic. While entry level receivers are expected to be bare-bones, the RX-V367 is relying on its number of HDMI inputs and their 3-D readiness to sell it which, in our opinion, just isn't enough. With other receivers on the market sporting one less HDMI input but also supporting Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD decoding AND Dolby ProLogic IIz support, it's hard to recommend this model without encouraging you to step up. Basically, if you are looking for a bare bones receiver with the most HDMI inputs possible, and don't care about native decoding of HD audio, then buy the RX-V367. If not, you should really be looking to buy Yamaha's next model - the RX-V467 which supports native HD audio decoding and has YPAO automated room and speaker configuration & setup.

Click here for more information on the Yamaha RX-V367.

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