Yamaha’s voice-controlled AV receivers now in store
There is a reason why every generation of Yamaha’s Aventage audio-visual receivers has won a prestigious
Sound+Image ‘Receiver of the Year’ award – it’s simply because they deserve it. Yamaha have dominated the AV receiver market for many years now and their latest release, the 9th generation of this fabulous range, suggests that they will retain this dominance for some time yet.
The first Aventage range of receivers was a stand-out, and all subsequent releases have been evolutionary. The lynchpin of the initial release was the sound quality – Yamaha wanted to prove that a home theatre receiver could sound good. While no audio visual receiver will sound as good playing music as a dedicated two-channel amplifier, Yamaha considerably narrowed the gap. This has not changed as the series has progressed.
What is now impressive is the depth of functionality that this new range offers (a list too extensive to cover here). Multi-room wireless music streaming systems like Sonos, HEOS and Bluesound have captured the public’s imagination. Yamaha’s MusicCast is up there with the best, and it is built into these receivers. One of the side benefits of this is that you can now connect your surround speakers wirelessly, as well as gaining access to streaming services such as Tidal and Spotify.
The range features DAB+ radio along with FM. As they are network-enabled you can also access Net Radio.
All models incorporate Dolby Atmos and DTS-X surround, they all have a phono input, and can be controlled via a free app. They are Wi-Fi certified and include Bluetooth and Apple AirPlay connectivity.
However the stand-out feature of this new series is that they can be voice controlled via Alexa. Ask your receiver to ‘play Pink Floyd via MusicCast in the kitchen’ and it is done.
This is an impressive and flexible set of features from one of the best-sounding receivers on the market!
Prices start at $1,499 for the RX-A780 and go through to $2,999 for the top-of-the-range RX-A3080.