Yamaha RX-V665 A/V Receiver plus Line Upgrades Preview

In Yamaha's continuing commitment to making your new receiver obsolete each and every year, they have released updates to their RX-V line lead by the RX-V665. The RX-V663 was the best selling receiver in 2008 and Yamaha wants to build on that success. Included in the new releases are the RX-V765, MSRP: $649.95; RX-V565, MSRP: $479.95; RX-V465, MSRP: $379.95; and RX-V365, MSRP $249.95 The RX-V665 will retail for $549.95.

Audio and video suites are very advanced in these new offerings with the RX-V465 and up all equipped with 1080p compatible HDMI inputs and a all the necessary surround sound decoders including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. The RX-V565 and up also feature upscaling analogue video to 1080p.

Macros seem to be a new thing with Yamaha with these releases. While the RX-V465 and up have four pre-set SCENE buttons that will not only change the audio and video output but also turn on the desired components and surround mode combinations. The way this works is you program into the remote the IR codes of your components. This is a nice change from what we expected. Most manufacturers will have similar features that only work with their own components or sometimes only through HDMI-CEC. The RX-V365 can do similar macros but they are manually set by the user in 13 templates.

For ~$550, Yamaha is pushing to make the RX-V665 (90W x 7) the new market leader. In addition to the features outlined above, the V665 includes Deep Color (30/36 bit) technology, 120Hz/24Hz Refresh Rates and Auto Lip-Sync compensation, which automatically (according to Yamaha) eliminates audio/video sync issues. Assignable amplifiers for bi-amping, powering presence speakers (back surround or front) or a second zone are included, as well as zone 2 on/off control from the front panel, remote in/out and programmable +12V trigger outputs. The RX-V665 is also Sirius/XM satellite radio ready with XM HD Surround powered by Neural Surround.

The step-up RX-V765 (95W x 7) offers more power and high-quality discrete amplification circuitry and for those who may not need multi-zone capabilities, the RX-V565 (90W x 7) provides a strong full-featured home theater centerpiece, as well as on-screen capabilities. The five-channel RX-V465 (105W x 5; 4 1080p-compatible HDMI inputs) and RX-V365 (100W x 5; 2 HDMI inputs) round out the line.

Other features found throughout all or most of the line include:

• Compressed Music Enhancer - all units

• Adaptive Dynamic Range Control - available in models from RX-V465 and up

• Yamaha Parametric room Acoustic Optimizer (YPAO) - starting at the RX-V465

• Yamaha's Cinema DSP audio processing - all units

• Silent Cinema technology - all units

The Silent Cinema technology needs a little explanation. Essentially it makes it possible to hear large-scale surround sound through standard headphones—ideal for late-night home theater listening when the rest of the family is asleep. One of the biggest cosmetic changes for the new line of Yamaha's is the switch from the amber display color to blue. While we understand that blue is the new pink for audio equipment and is often quoted (somewhat sarcastically I might add) by reviewers as being "soothing," the fact is that the amber was Yamaha's signature. It will be interesting to see how consumers react to this change.

RX-V765	RX-V565
RX-V465	RX-V365

For more information, please visit www.yamaha.com/hometheater.

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