New Yamaha RX-V '75 Series Receivers Preview

It's receiver season in the AV world and you know what that means - all lines of receivers will be getting upgrades. Some lines will be completely revamped; some will just see incremental updates. Regardless, if you've been sitting on a fat wad of cash (or maybe waiting for your tax return to come in), now is the time to make your short list of possible receiver candidates. First, Yamaha:

The RX-V line of receivers has long been the backbone of Yamaha's offerings. For years, it was the top end until the AVENTAGE line was released a few years back. But it is still a very strong line with a ton of features and more than enough power for most home theaters. This year, the RX-V line jumps from '73 to '75 in their model numbers. We'll start with the entry level offering and work our way up adding features as we go.

Yamaha RX-V375

The RX-V375 will run you only $300 which is a pretty reasonable entry level price. For this, you get five internal amps rated at 70 watts (8 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 0.09% THD, 2 ch driven) or 100 watts one channel driven. For the remainder of this preview article, we'll only be listing the 2 channel rating as it is a more accurate (or at least less inflated) measurement. Yamaha is including discrete amplification even at the entry level offering which is a nice touch. Each channel includes high quality 192 kHz/24-bit Burr Brown DACs, and the receiver can handle high dynamic power as well as low impedances (though we wouldn't push this one too hard).

     

The RX-V375 has two sets of 5-way binding posts for the main speakers and the less desirable spring type for the rest of the channels. It includes for HDMI inputs and one output, two component video inputs and one output, and three composite video inputs and one output. There are two coaxial and two optical digital inputs as well as a subwoofer pre-out. The front as a 3.5mm input for connecting your MP3 player as well as a composite video input. Even at this entry level price, Yamaha has included a front-mounted USB port which is iPod/iPhone compatible. The iDevice will charge while connected and you can use the Yamaha remote to control your iDevice. Your song titles will even be displayed on the front panel of the RX-V375.

We've often said that room correction and speaker setup are most important for new users and we're glad to see that Yamaha has included their YPAO with the RX-V375. Of course, 3D and audio return channel are both supported as is HDMI CEC for controlling multiple devices with a single remote and no extra programming. All the high definition audio codecs associated with Blu-ray are decoded internally (DTS-Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD) as well. While the RX-V375 doesn't do any upconversion or scaling, it will pass through 4K.

Yamaha RX-V475

The RX-V475 takes a pretty big step up in price to $450. Of course there is a power increase (it is against AV law, we think, to charge more for a receiver and not add at least 5 watts per channel) to 80 watts per channel (8 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 0.09% THD, 2 ch driven). They've also done a lot internally to make sure that the RX-V475 (and higher) give you an even better audio experience. From their website:

The Total Purity Concept, which Yamaha has been cultivating for many years, encompasses high drive amp technology, high purity preamplification, anti-vibration technology and independent pure power supplies. All models have a fully discrete power amplifier that helps to minimize distortion. They also adopt independent pure power supplies, allowing dedicated power supplies for the analog and digital circuitry to prevent digital noise from affecting analog circuitry. The anti-vibration heatsinks are designed to suppress vibration from transistors and sound pressure. Independent power supplies for the DACs are designed to further eliminate noise on certain models. Down to every detail, these AV receivers are designed with full emphasis on the highest possible sound quality.

They've increased the number of supported formats (mostly over USB) to cater not only to those trying to get all 10,000 songs on their 8GB iPod but the few out there that actually care about compression degradation. In addition, iPads are now supported via the front USB port.

Looking at the back, we see a similar number of analogue inputs and outputs but with a few changes. There is an additional HDMI input (bringing the grand total up to five) and this one is MHL (Mobile High definition Link) compatible. This means that your mobile device will be able to stream 1080p content and 5.1 sound easily. There are also now 5-way binding posts on all five channels.

    

Additionally, the rear panel includes an Ethernet port. Connecting the RX-V475 to your network will allow you to control it with the Android or iOS control app plus stream content from your iOS device via Apple's AirPlay. The RX-V475 supports Deep Color (30/36 bit), x.v.Color, 24 Hz refresh rate and auto lip-sync compensation as well as connection to one of Yamaha's optional devices. Lastly, the RX-V475 includes HDMI Standby Through which allows you to pass the audio and video from your sources to your display when the receiver is powered off.

RX-V575

Remember what we said about AV law not allowing an increase in price without an increase in power? There is one exception - if you aren't going to increase power, you must increase the number of channels. The RX-V575 is the first receiver to have seven channels of amplification (80 watts per channel, just like the V475). The RX-V575 will run $550 but the extra channels are easily worth the additional cost. While the front and back panels look nearly identical to the RX-V475, there are a few, very important, additions.

    

First, there are two additional pairs of 5-way binding posts to accommodate the two additional channels of amplification. These channels can be used for surround back speakers, Zone B, or bi-amping the mains. This is not true two zone functionality as the Zone B speakers can only playback the same source as in the main zone (it can't route different sources). The last improvement is a second subwoofer output. This is a dual mono configuration which doesn't allow for different settings for each sub. 

RX-V675

While the RX-V575 added little more than two additional channels of amplification, the RX-V675 adds much more. For an additional $100 (bringing the price up to $650), the first change to the front panel is introduced in the form of a MHL HDMI port in place of the 3.5mm port. The rest of the panel pretty much looks the same so, if you decided to put up the extra dough for the higher priced Yamaha offerings, you might want to put a name tag (or maybe just leave the price on it) so that people know. The remote is a different color though, so maybe that'll tip them off.

    

While the rear panel of the RX-V675 looks considerably different, the number of inputs hasn't changed that much. There are still five HDMI inputs on the back though the MHL input has moved to the front for a grand total of six inputs. The rest of the analogue and digital inputs and outputs are the same. There are two pairs of spring-type speaker connections for powering Zone 2 or Presence channels. These are in addition to the seven pairs of five-way binding posts for the main room (though the surround back speaker terminals can be used to bi-amp if you choose). Zone 2 is a true second zone of audio with pre-outs and 12 volt triggers for external amp control. The RX-V675 now sports 90 watts per channel.

For the first time in the line, Yamaha has included video processing for all input types up to 4K with deinterlacing. This is a fairly substantial improvement over the previous models and, at least to us, easily justifies the price bump. But they didn't stop there. The YPAO has been improved to the R.S.C (Reflected Sound Control) model that further optimizes the sound. The RX-V675 is the first in the line to offer an HDMI overlay GUI for control. The GUI can be translated into eight different languages and can be used over 3D images.

RX-V775WA

If you are like us, the first question out of your mouth was, "What the heck is that 'WA' about?" Well, we think it represents that they are shipping the RX-V775WA with the optional YWA-10 Wi-Fi adapter. This lets you stream music wirelessly via a router from network components such as a PC or NAS. This is a $100 optional accessory that can be used with nearly all of the other RX-V '75 models but comes included with the RX-V775WA. 

         

The $850 RX-V775WA bumps the power rating up to 95 watts per channel. Actually, in most of the documentation, Yamaha indicates that the power rating is the same as the RX-V675 but we believe that the one instance where it is listed at 95 is probably correct. They certainly don't want the AV police after them. That's a trigger-happy group if we've ever met one.

The RX-V775WA again improves on the YPAO by adding not only the R.S.C. functionality seen in the RX-V675 but also Multi-point measurement. This allows for up to eight different measurement positions when calibrating your home theater for the best possible audio experience. While the front panel remains unchanged from the RX-V675, the rear panel of the RX-V775WA has a number of differences. First, the spring-type Zone 2/Presence speaker terminals are replaced with 5-way binding posts. There are pre-outs not only for dual subwoofers, but also the other seven channels—allowing the ability to use an external amplifier. The last change is the addition of a second HDMI output. This output mirrors the first output which lets you view/hear the same content in a different room (much like the Zone B with the RX-V575).

Conclusion

When shopping for receivers, it is easy to get lost in the number of features. What is important is that you remember what you'd actually use versus what is "new" or "hot". With the new Yamaha RX-V '75 line, there is something for everyone. What we like is that they've included some level of automatic speaker setup and calibration even at their most entry level. While you'll have to pay more for features like upconversion and multi-zone, that's to be expected. Yamaha has a solid new lineup of receivers this year. The continued presence of AirPlay on even the second-most inexpensive models in the line-up also seems like a solid decision. Overall, these may represent an incremental change from last year's models, but if you are on the market for a new receiver that won't matter. What matters is what it offers. For the money, Yamaha is offering a lot.

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

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