[jchristy27]


I feel like I may be having buyers remorse and I'm looking for some feedback to either help make me feel better OR someone say hey stupid return that thing and get this instead.  The ONLY reason I upgraded is due to the lack of HDMI connections on the Denon (there's none!).  So I took the plunge and unhooked the old Denon AVR-3805 beast and replaced it with a Yamaha RX-675.

 

I'm driving 2 Polk LSi15's, a LSiC center, and (2) LSi f/x surrounds in a 5.1 setup.  It's not a large room, only 20'x25' so I don't need to fill a large room with sound.

 

I knew I'd be in trouble initially with the 4 ohm speakers, but I read that the Yamaha is capable of driving 4 ohm speakers so I thought I'd give it a try.

 

I was expecting quite a difference in sound when I hooked the Yamaha, but honestly it's not all that different.  I was expecting to be blown away after replacing a receiver that's nearly 10 years old with a newer unit but I just wasn't.  All of the sound that is produced sounds about the same, just crisper if that makes sense.  Other than that, I'm not really noticing anything.

 

I'm sure there is some more tinkering that can be done...but before I do that the big question is.....

 

Should I return that Yamaha and be looking at something more comparable to the AVR-3805?  I don't have thousands of dollars to spend on a new receiver - I mean I did years ago...but things are different with a family and stuff.....is the Yamaha a good choice?  Anything else I should be looking at?  I still have some time that I can send it back.  I'm open to buying last years model, or 2 years ago model...etc.

 

Any feedback is appreciated, thanks!

 

[BIslander]

First off, receivers don't have much to do with sound quality. You need enough power, of course, and modern room correction software can help, sometimes quite a bit. Beyond that, you are buying connectivity, multiple zones, and the like, which have nothing to do with audio quality.


I have a 3805 and have not seen fit to replace it. We use multichannel analog for high res audio. I am about maxed out on inputs and definitely need my Harmony remote to handle all of the input switching in a non HDMI set up. But, it sounds great and I can still connect everything I own.

 

[jchristy27]


Appreciate the response,  but that doesn't really answer any of my questions.  I guess from what your saying, if it has all the connections I need and it sounds good then stick with it?

 

The 3805 is definitely showing it's age, nothing I have anymore requires the older analog ports.  Everything I'm using is HDMI, with the exception of the Xbox 360.  I cleaned out so many cables being able to switch all my devices to HDMI finally.

 

I was more or less just verifying if the trade off wasn't too drastic and if I'd have any issues driving my polks with it.  I know i can't hook up an external amp to the Yamaha, so what i've got is all i got basically in terms of power.

 

[phantom52]

How many HDMI ports do you need? That model Yamaha may struggle to power those speakers. Does it get hot when in use for a while. I don't feel like that model AVR was designed to drive 4 ohm speakers. What sub are you using?

 

[BIslander]

Sorry if I was not clear. I was trying to say your expectation of "quite a difference in sound" is probably unrealistic. HDMI connections will enable you to hear lossless codecs from Blu-ray. But, the high bitrate lossy codecs associated with lossless encoding are just about as good. So, HDMI offers little improvement in that regard. Room correction is another potential source of better audio in a new receiver. Have you done the YPAO setup on your Yamaha? If so, it may not be that YPAO is not as good as something like the more advanced versions of Audyssey or that your room doesn't need that much help. Beyond those two factors, there isn't all that much a high end receiver will do to improve sound.


Now, as increasing numbers of devices drop their legacy connections, the lack of HDMI on a receiver is becoming a significant drawback. I've been able to do workarounds for all my devices so far. But, I can see the day when that won't be possible.

 

[jchristy27]


Phantom52

I don't need many HDMI ports, I'm only using 4 at the moment and I can't really think of anything else I'd add in the future.  I just finished watching a 3 hour movie with the volume turned up fairly high and the receiver feels not any warmer than room temp.  It's in an enclosed cabinet with a small opening in the back....so I don't think I'm putting too much pressure on it.  The type of sub-woofer i'm using a Boston PV600 subwoofer, 10" down-firing.  

 

BIslander

I guess my only comments in regards to the sound was just that perhaps, noticing differences between dolby digital vs. DTS HD on Blu Ray.  I did use the YPAO which was surprisingly easy, it was like using my Denon MIC to do the autosetup but on steroids.  The GUI interface of the YPAO with all the settings there made is so simple to setup.

 

I was pretty happy with the movie sound, although the sound from the center speaker could have been louder.  I always feel like I have to turn it up when people are just speaking vs. the action sequences in films.  that's probably easily fixed going in and increased the DB of the center channel, because I had the same thing happen with the Denon AVR 3805.

 

It sounds like to me, I made a decent choice and don't see a reason thus far to return the Yamaha.

 

Appreciate the feedback guys!

 

[BIslander]

Sure thing. People tend to expect much better sound when they get HDMI and lossless decoding. But, that's usually not the case. When you play a Blu-ray and use a coax or optical connection, the player will send DTS or DD 5.1 instead of the high res lossless versions. But, those lossy codecs are encoded at considerably higher bitrates on BD than on DVD and they sound great, rivaling lossless in quality. In other words, you were already getting audio on your 3805 over optical or coax about as good as you are now getting over HDMI on your new Yamaha.


And, yes, increasing the center channel volume by a few dB will probably help with dialog, if your Yamaha has a feature like Dynamic Volume, that can also help. A movie mixed to be played at reference in a theater may not sound quite right when played at lower volumes in a home environment.

 

[phantom52]

Sounds like its working for you and it may be a good idea to turn up the center a couple db's. If it was struggling and getting hot I was going to give advice on trying out one of the NAD's from Crutchfield. The T748v2 or T758 will drive those speakers easily. But if you are satisfied with the Yamaha it is hard to beat their reliability and ease of use.

 

[vcrpro3]

The only thing i would have done different was to get a receiver with pre-amp outs, eg. RX-V775. That way you could always upgrade the amplifier later.

 

[jchristy27]


I was looking at the RX-V775 just for that reason, the pre-outs.  The fact is though I had that Denon AVR-3805 for a long time and never bought myself an amp to drive the speakers so I figure I probably never will!  I can't justify spending the extra $$$, just so I could spend more $$$ on an amp that thus far I've been able to live without.  I do plan on adding additional speakers to get the 7.1, but they will be small.

 

The issue with my center speaker could also just be placement - I have it recessed behind my TV by about a foot in a bookshelf (above the TV).  The Polk center channel speaker I have is just too large to put in my entertainment cabinet.

 

Can you Bi-amp with the RX-V675? 

 

I remember going thru that with my Denon AVR-3805 but it didn't work all that well, I remember hearing static out of the one speaker so I didn't use it long term.

 

[fatbottom]



Quote:
Originally Posted by vcrpro3  /t/1521965/recently-upgraded-from-a-denon-avr-3805-to-yamaha-rx-675-right-decision#post_24471407


The only thing i would have done different was to get a receiver with pre-amp outs, eg. RX-V775. That way you could always ugrade the amplifier later.

Agree. I'd only not consider pre-outs if it was a more affordable system. It's unlikely you'll add a 400W x 4 power amplifier for Q Acoustics 1010's. However if you have say large floorstanders, insensitivive & low impedence it makes good sense to buy av amplifier with pre-outs.


Also you may just add a stereo integrated amp, using the AV amp for center and rears.

 

[TechJunki]

I found that using the parametric equalizer yielded way better results than using YPAO. You might want to give that a try

 

[kikkenit2]

For better center channel performance press the option button. Look for dialog adjust. Forget bi-amping with a small power supply (400 watts). Use rear surround, front presence or zone 2 stereo as preferred.