Yamaha RX-V4A AV Receiver

At $899 suggested retail, the new Yamaha RX-V4A is the company’s lowest-priced home theatre receiver incorporating MusicCast wireless multiroom streaming capabilities. It is light, easy to set up and operate, comes with a built-in AM/ FM tuner, and is Bluetooth capable. It delivers 80 watts per channel from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, 0.06% THD, into 8 ohms. It should also be noted that, in this era of object-based surround sound, the RXV4A is a 5.1-channel AV receiver, with no accommodation for height channels.

Setup and Operation

For those of us used to a front panel of buttons and broad display window, think again. The RX-V4A, as well as its more expensive brethren, sports a “cycloptic” look with a big rotary volume knob in the centre of its front panel. To the right of the volume control is a smallish display window that provides specific setting information.

The V4A’s back panel features an array of black/red coded 5-way binding posts. While some may find these disappointing, I find them more than adequate for convenient and secure connections, and these are spaced to fit dual-banana plugs, which allows for a neater wire-nest behind the unit. Standard RCA jacks will accommodate two subwoofers, although I only used one.

A nicely spaced quartet of HDMI inputs at the top of the panel makes connections easy. All support HDCP 2.3 and are technically capable of receiving 4K120AB and 8K60B signals. A fifth HDMI jack provides a direct ARC/eARC connection to a similarly equipped TV. Beneath the HDMI array are three stereo RCA audio inputs, as well as optical and coaxial digital ins.

The RX-V4A has a pair of wireless antennas to connect the receiver with a wireless network and Bluetooth devices. It also has the familiar FM antenna sitting side-by-side with the venerable AM-tuned version.

Since I was operating only a single zone, I set the top switch to “Zone A” and pushed the power switch, then selected the input source I wanted from the Tuner, USB, Net and Bluetooth button options. In addition, the input selection up/down buttons allow for cycling through the various rear panel inputs. Now comes the part I liked the best — automatic setup and speaker balancing. Press setup and the RX-V4A senses the speaker configuration. Yamaha provides a microphone that gets plugged into the receiver. Place the mic at your ear position, press “Test,” and the receiver will automatically adjust the volume and delay of all speakers in the system for optimum effect, as well as applying parametric equalization. Find you need a bit more or less volume from one speaker or another? They can be adjusted independently after auto-setup.

Sound

Since I use the same player for music and video programming, Yamaha’s provision for remembering playback settings for different programs or types of programs is a very useful feature. The company provides four

“Scene” buttons that deliver instant access to previously input settings.

I pulled my DVD copy of the Eagles’

Hell Freezes Over off my shelf and, as expected, found myself immersed, first in the backstage goings-on and then in the performance itself. The concert portion of the disc is close-miked and mostly features the five Eagles seated on chairs at the front of the stage. In the more distant shots with the whole band, clear directionality is maintained, with voices and instruments positioned as I saw them on the screen. My room

had expanded – maybe not to the proportions of the actual venue, but it was definitely a different experience than I had been used to – and it was better.

To give the RX-V4A a proper test with movies, I loaded up Saving Private Ryan.

I’ve seen this film at least four times, once theatrically and the rest in home theatres, but this viewing was the most dramatic and affecting I’ve experienced. The long D-Day landing scene has been talked about since the movie was released.

For the first time, I felt its chaos and its power. Sound was coming from all over.

It was loud. It was deadly. It was chaotic. It was everything you would hope the experience of this film would be.

Downsides

Maybe I am an old codger, but the onscreen display for the RX-V4A is a bit too small to be effective at any reasonable seating distance. Also, I fall into a camp that is perhaps familiar to many consumers looking to purchase an AV receiver at this price point, in that I’m familiar with AV technology, but I could use a bit more information about the latest connectivity standards and other features. As such, it’s disappointing that the Yamaha only comes with a downloadable user manual, not a printed copy.

Final Thoughts

The Yamaha RX-V4A delivers incredible performance for its price, and it could be that it offers all of the features you want or need, especially if you have no interest in installing speakers in your ceiling. This is everything that affordable hi-fi should be.

The Yamaha RX-V4A delivers incredible performance for its pricE.