My Yamaha RX-A2020 review

[Oldboy]

You need a bigger TV oldboy...at least 55 inches!

I'm of exactly the same opinion bigboss and towards the end of the year I intend to add a nice shiny new 55 inch TV if funds allow

 

[Oldboy]

Nice set up you have there sir, and good review. I've had my 2020 sinse the middle of March, and I'm also very happy with mine. I had to cut the back out of my av unit to accomadate it, this also allows a decent air flow to circulate around the receiver. Just one little thing I noticed in your photo's, your speakers both face straight forward. Have you tried toe in them in a little on your seating position? I'm sure this will make a difference and enhance your sound.

Being an open unit I don't have any air flow issues but I can certainly understand your issue, I couldn't be happier with the 2020 though.

As for the speaker layout despite what the Dali manual said about not toeing the speakers in this was the first thing I done when I got them but they just never sounded right. Dali are adamant that they fire straight ahead and I have to say after trying both ways they definitely sound far better firing straight into the room.

It's strange as no other speakers I have owned have sounded better this way so for once the promotional gumph may just be right and that with their wide dispersal sound they should fire forward into the room. I still find it odd though :?

 

[f1only]

Nice review Oldboy, good job m8. After that i'm even more of a mind to get that 3020 later on in the year. Would also like to upgrade my front speakers too, to the Ikon 6's or something even better. Looks like you have more room than me for a bigger & better TV as BB says go for it

Regards ..Paul

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Plenty of room around the spks. Guess it sounds excellent. Mine are a tad tight really. How wide is the room? Setee against back wall? Just damned nosey really. Pics good to paint .... Cheers

 

[dukeden]

Thats quite interesting that the deli's recommend not toeing in, good that you tried them either way. Have you tried playing music through the 2020?

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Plenty of room around the spks. Guess it sounds excellent. Mine are a tad tight really. How wide is the room? Setee against back wall? Just damned nosey really. Pics good to paint .... Cheers

Just noticed too that yr Dalis have metal cones as do my MS's. No idea if thats relevant to any useful discussion/consideration but its Sunday and I'm just chillin with a Birthday present WDTVLive. Seems a solid little toy.

 

[Oldboy]

Plenty of room around the spks. Guess it sounds excellent. Mine are a tad tight really. How wide is the room? Setee against back wall? Just damned nosey really. Pics good to paint .... Cheers

Yep does sound lovely I have to admit and after a little run in it's just getting better.

I don't mind you being nosey, room is almost square at 4.5 x 4 metres with sofa almost in the middle of the room to give me the best trade off of sound quality vs screen distance, a 55inch TV would hit the sweet spot nicely though as the sofa is a little too far away for the ideal viewing distance.

 

[Oldboy]

Thats quite interesting that the deli's recommend not toeing in, good that you tried them either way. Have you tried playing music through the 2020?

Yes it is a little strange that Dali say that but they are quite adamant that they should be set out like that, when I spoke to them about it I was told they were designed to have a very wide dispersal of sound making toe in redundant.

I've just tried some stereo music, first through the blu ray deck which sounded quite nice...nowhere near my stereo set up but no disaster. With my Marantz CD6003 hooked up via my Chord Crimson interconnects it's a vast improvement over the blu ray deck and actually very listenable with pure mode selected, I'm impressed!

Timing is good, stereo imaging wide and open and it's never flustered by complex recordings. It's not as warm as my Marantz pairing though and they still win out over the 2020 but it's far closer than I ever expected for sure. The 2020 is not disgraced in any way but it can't quite invite you in like a dedicated stereo system can but across the frequency range it's articulate, detailed and punchy.

All in all I'm suitably impressed, it's very musical for a receiver. Could I live with it for music??? Tough question but if I didn't have the benefit of comparing the two I think I would happily use it for stereo music but at the end of the day there is something more cohesive and rounded about my stereo set up that's just more musical and enjoyable and I won't be parting with it as it's definitely superior across the board.

I just didn't expect the 2020 to put such a good fight up...it took me by surprise that's for certain.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Ideal room layout. U could try bass traps but alllooks great

 

[Oldboy]

Plenty of room around the spks. Guess it sounds excellent. Mine are a tad tight really. How wide is the room? Setee against back wall? Just damned nosey really. Pics good to paint .... Cheers

Just noticed too that yr Dalis have metal cones as do my MS's. No idea if thats relevant to any useful discussion/consideration but its Sunday and I'm just chillin with a Birthday present WDTVLive. Seems a solid little toy.

I don't know how relevant the metal cones are tbh but I've tried just a little toe in this time and it still sounds better with them facing forward.

I've got a WD TV live and I really like it, I stream everything from my NAS drive with it and it was money well spent...it's a great little device. Good purchase :clap:

 

[Oldboy]

Ideal room layout. U could try bass traps but alllooks great

Bass traps? Now that's something new to me...not sure exactly what these are :?

 

[RobinKidderminster]

When u are bored with yr system in a few years maybe then check my sig for bass traps. Otherwise just enjoy

 

[bigboss]

When u are bored with yr system in a few years maybe then check my sig for bass traps. Otherwise just enjoy

The link in your signature is broken.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

You need a bigger TV oldboy...at least 55 inches!

I'm of exactly the same opinion bigboss and towards the end of the year I intend to add a nice shiny new 55 inch TV if funds allow

Happy to take your old one off you at that stage???!!! £200 ok?

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Thats quite interesting that the deli's recommend not toeing in, good that you tried them either way. Have you tried playing music through the 2020?

Yes it is a little strange that Dali say that but they are quite adamant that they should be set out like that, when I spoke to them about it I was told they were designed to have a very wide dispersal of sound making toe in redundant.

I've just tried some stereo music, first through the blu ray deck which sounded quite nice...nowhere near my stereo set up but no disaster. With my Marantz CD6003 hooked up via my Chord Crimson interconnects it's a vast improvement over the blu ray deck and actually very listenable with pure mode selected, I'm impressed!

Timing is good, stereo imaging wide and open and it's never flustered by complex recordings. It's not as warm as my Marantz pairing though and they still win out over the 2020 but it's far closer than I ever expected for sure. The 2020 is not disgraced in any way but it can't quite invite you in like a dedicated stereo system can but across the frequency range it's articulate, detailed and punchy.

All in all I'm suitably impressed, it's very musical for a receiver. Could I live with it for music??? Tough question but if I didn't have the benefit of comparing the two I think I would happily use it for stereo music but at the end of the day there is something more cohesive and rounded about my stereo set up that's just more musical and enjoyable and I won't be parting with it as it's definitely superior across the board.

I just didn't expect the 2020 to put such a good fight up...it took me by surprise that's for certain.

Seems like I would have to spend a lot of money on an av receiver to equal my Marantz PM6004 for 2 channel stereo then?

 

[RobinKidderminster]

When u are bored with yr system in a few years maybe then check my sig for bass traps. Otherwise just enjoy

The link in your signature is broken.

Woops

 

[BenLaw]

So here we have my first pic Ben, more to follow if this one uploads ok.

Fantastic pics and system, nice one and congrats Oldboy The yamaha looks great head on, it's only from the side you realise what a beast it is! Like the others have said (and same with my system) a bigger tv wouldn't hurt - and a universal remote!

 

[matthewpiano]

Looks great! I bet watching a film is a real experience with that system.

Metal cones? Not on the Zensors. Soft dome tweeter and Dali's usual wood fibre bass/mid drive units, although the one on the sub does look like it might be metal like on Mordaunt-Shorts.

 

[Oldboy]

So here we have my first pic Ben, more to follow if this one uploads ok.

Fantastic pics and system, nice one and congrats Oldboy The yamaha looks great head on, it's only from the side you realise what a beast it is! Like the others have said (and same with my system) a bigger tv wouldn't hurt - and a universal remote!

Very many thanks for your kind words Ben.

The Yamaha is a beast alright but it was most certainly the last peice of the puzzle for my system and has made a huge difference to the quality of sound I'm now enjoying, I knew my old Onkyo was the weak link but I didn't realise by just how far.

I've got my eyes on a Samsung 55F8000 for later in the year at the moment but I'm sure something else will grab my attention as the 2013 tvs continue to be released but it definately be a 55 inch if I replace my beloved Sony 46HX853. And yes a universal remote is something I'm looking at and I think a Logitech Harmony Touch universal remote will be my next purchase.

 

[GSB]

So what's your fav dsp mode for hd viewing the Oldboy?

 

[RobinKidderminster]

When u are bored with yr system in a few years maybe then check my sig for bass traps. Otherwise just enjoy

The link in your signature is broken.

Links sorted I think. Hope the bass trap may help OB/OP? DSP modes? As few as possible I've always found best.

Cheers

 

[Oldboy]

You need a bigger TV oldboy...at least 55 inches!

I'm of exactly the same opinion bigboss and towards the end of the year I intend to add a nice shiny new 55 inch TV if funds allow

Happy to take your old one off you at that stage???!!! £200 ok?

Dream on Pete lol...it's already sold if I decide to sell it as a good friend of mine has been eyeing it up since I bought it and I will be wanting far more than £200 for it, it cost me £1200 so I will be wanting to recover at least half of that to put towards a new 55 inch tv

And yes I think you would have to spend at least £3000 on a receiver to get a similar level of stereo performance to that of your Marantz seperates and maybe more than that, when you think about all the features included in an av receiver and how much of the retail price has gone into the stereo performance then even at my amps level of £1500 I would say perhaps £50 max of that price has been taken up by stereo performance.

It's just a secondary concern from the business end of av receivers so you can't expect much thought or budget to go into stereo performance until you start to get to the top end of product ranges or more focused products. I love my Marantz seperates anyway so I'm actually really pleased that the Yamaha doesn't trump them as I get to enjoy them for years to come now (unless I upgrade at some point).

 

[expat_mike]

Oldboy,

I thought that Logitech said that they were stopping production of the Harmony Touch universal remote, a few months ago.

If so, you had better buy one whilst they are still in stock.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

+1. The Harmony One is a fabulous device. Not sure about the touch. Solid buttons seem much better option

 

[Oldboy]

So what's your fav dsp mode for hd viewing the Oldboy?

Well so far I'm favouring sci-fi and adventure as they sound natural and balanced with plenty of punch but I fully intend to keep experimenting with them all. I tried the straight setting last night but found it a bit less engrossing mainly due to the 3D cinema being switched off in this setting, it really makes a difference to the sound with this on.

I presume the straight setting is essentially the amp just pumping out the DTS HD Master Audio track untouched with no processing? It's not as straight forward as my old Onkyo as the Yamaha doesn't even show if a Master Audio track is being received on the front display, it wasn't until I pressed the diplay button on the remote that I even knew it was being received as it's then shown on screen

I'm still unsure of what everything does so I'm still a bit confused when it comes to DSPs etc but I will get used to it soon enough and have a better understanding of what I like and don't like, until then it's a learning curve but that's part of the fun.