Pretty shocked at Yamaha 3070 flagship amp review or am I?

[Deleted member 2457]

https://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-a3070/review

I tried the previous award winning amp the 3060 and I thought it was very powerful and good but nothing special and it didn’t beat the sound quality of my Pioneer sc-lx81. So here a year later the new flagship model from Yamaha 3070 gets 3 stars! What are your thoughts? Has anyone heard it? I think the price has gone up by £200 again to £2200 from last years £2000 price and the quality according to the WHF review is not there. Got to be a big blow for Yamaha? Can we expect big discounts on this amp now? Cheers.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

https://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-a3070/review

I tried the previous award winning amp the 3060 and I thought it was very powerful and good but nothing special and it didn’t beat the sound quality of my Pioneer sc-lx81. So here a year later the new flagship model from Yamaha 3070 gets 3 stars! What are your thoughts? Has anyone heard it? I think the price has gone up by £200 again to £2200 from last years £2000 price and the quality according to the WHF review is not there. Got to be a big blow for Yamaha? Can we expect big discounts on this amp now? Cheers.

Is Denon amps the new way to go? Nearly bought the Denon 6300h not long ago and the new Denon 6400 gets 5 stars and a rave review! In the review of the Yamaha they mention how good the Denon is in comparison. I think I am right in saying the Yamaha is still 9.1 whereas the Denon is 11.1 again.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

https://www.whathifi.com/denon/avr-x6400h/review

This review of the new Denon mentions despite a glowing 5 star award, that some might prefer a bigger more muscular sound - any ideas as to which or might be amp they are referring too? I haven’t seen many Onkyo or Pioneer amps review of late, which would be my usual suspects.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Surprised it got 3 star rating

I nearly brought one but changed my mind at the last minute and brought the Yamaha 1070 which is plenty good for my needs considering I have it plumed into my Yamaha A-S2100 just to run my main L+Rs .

I’ve not had any issues with the Yamaha 1070 or anything to moan about it’s good at film soundtracks and sounds

most of the AV manufacturing companies are not putting in the bigger power supply’s like they used to hence way people buy the power amplifiers the Yamaha 3070 has fully balanced XLR inputs more power under the hood some different sound DSP modes .

but all depends what you expect out of the Yamaha 3070 if they have judged it buy it’s music capacity then your going to be disappointed if you take your music seriously .

 

[davidf]

Oppo 103 got three stars.

 

[bigboss]

https://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-a3070/review

I tried the previous award winning amp the 3060 and I thought it was very powerful and good but nothing special and it didn’t beat the sound quality of my Pioneer sc-lx81. So here a year later the new flagship model from Yamaha 3070 gets 3 stars!  What are your thoughts?  Has anyone heard it?  I think the price has gone up by £200 again to £2200 from last years £2000 price and the quality according to the WHF review is not there.  Got to be a big blow for Yamaha?  Can we expect big discounts on this amp now?  Cheers.  

Is Denon amps the new way to go?  Nearly bought the Denon 6300h not long ago and the new Denon 6400 gets 5 stars and a rave review! In the review of the Yamaha they mention how good the Denon is in comparison.  I think I am right in saying the Yamaha is still 9.1 whereas the Denon is 11.1 again.  

You'll end up paying for 6 channels of amplification you'll never use.

 

[bigboss]

I hope this lays to rest all the allegations about What Hi Find? giving favourable reviews to its advertisers.

Just seen this promoted article on their news page:

https://www.whathifi.com/promoted/why-yamahas-home-cinema-receivers-arent-just-home-cinema?mvt=i&mvn=1decd33b3f414ff0b64e9730ef77dca1&mvp=NA-WHATHIFI-11237358&mvl=whathifi+list+page

 

[bigboss]

I hope this lays to rest all the allegations about What Hi Find? giving favourable reviews to its advertisers.

Just seen this promoted article on their news page:

https://www.whathifi.com/promoted/why-yamahas-home-cinema-receivers-aren...

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Oppo 103 got three stars.

But Oppo’s never did that well. This has had 5 or 4 stars mainly 5 since I can remember. We are going back 10 years here.

 

[Leeps]

You'll end up paying for 6 channels of amplification you'll never use.

And for by far the majority of users who are still only looking for a 5.1 system in their home, herein lies the problem with most high-end receivers. To get the higher quality DACS and pre-amp sections, you also get 6 channels you don't need.

I'm thinking these days that a pre/power is the way to go, or even a receiver & power amp. Receivers specs change year on year and people throw away their receivers that still have perfectly good power amp sections just because they don't pass through Dolby Vision or some other minor spec that the manufacturers refuse to upgrade by firmware update. Actually the whole annual cycle of receivers is crazy. But at least with a pre/power, even if the pre becomes outdated, your power amp can go on until it breaks.

Now Emotiva is available in this country, this isn't an option solely reserved for those with mega-bucks budgets.

As much as I liked the look of the new Marants SR8012 with its beefy power supply, it's a beast of a machine to throw away / upgrade in 5 years time and a lot of money down the drain. Seems to me you're better off with an SR6012 for example (for all the modern 4k pass through specs) and a separate power amp. That way, in 5 years time, you only need to look at upgrading a mid-range receiver and you can keep your perfectly good power amp.

It's a shame Anthem have become so expensive in this country, because their philosophy of quality rather than quantity (for their lower end model) looks more and more sense to Joe Average than these 11 channel amps that only those with large budgets and dedicated rooms will likely ever use.

As I indicated in a post a couple of years ago, Dolby Atmos has helped reduce the quality of average AV receivers. I read a while back that Yamaha's top fo the range AV receiver had a smaller test bench power output than the model below it from the year before!

 

[bigboss]

As I indicated in a post a couple of years ago, Dolby Atmos has helped reduce the quality of average AV receivers.  I read a while back that Yamaha's top fo the range AV receiver had a smaller test bench power output than the model below it from the year before! 

But that would only apply had Yamaha added extra channels of amplification in the same box, which it hasn't. Dolby Atmos alone cannot reduce the quality.

 

[newlash09]

Of subtlety was exactly what the latest line of Pioneer's was charged with. But I wouldn't mind it in a home theatre context. As it is the difference's in sound between any of these amps is so subtle to notice to my ears. And when pre occupied with the sights on the screen, and the plot in our heads, can we really differentiate the sound. So I'd I still decide a amp by power, my room size and functions . But then that's just me 🙂

 

[Blacksabbath25]

If you setup a 5.1 probably it sounds pretty good even 3.1 sounds good so you can understand why most people stick to a 5.1 setup plus the fact some people want a home cinema setup in there house but do not have the room to have anymore speakers then 5.1 setup .

unless your very lucky to have a dedicated room for a home cinema that big to have all of those extra channels

i read the review on the Yamaha 3070 that what hifi did and I am wondering whether it’s software related that it sounded the way it did and whether the Yamaha 3070 had been updated as mine has just had a update last week and if you follow the YPAO it will give wrong results on measurement and say your speakers are out of phase .

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

The issue with receivers changing every year really isn't the fault of the receiver manufacturers. Rather, we've had about ten years, maybe more, of ever changing signal specs. 1080p then 4k, then HDR, then Dolby Vision, then .... Not to mention HDMI 1, HDMI 2, HDCP 1, HDCP2, HDCP 2.2...

I suspect the manufacturers have responded to this by building finite numbers of units (even if that "finite" number runs to six or seven digits globally). When those sell out, time for a new model and time to catch up with whatever new codecs are needed.

Some receivers have been moderately future proofed with updatable firmware, but there's only so far that can go.

 

[newlash09]

Iam squeezing 7.1.4 into my 14 x 11 feet living room 🙂

Will probably add one more sub later to even out the bass. But considering the small size of my room, and the small satellites setup. I dont need flagship AVR power at the moment. But whenever my marantz fails, I will be trying out the Yamaha aventage range next.

 

[davidf]

The issue with receivers changing every year really isn't the fault of the receiver manufacturers. Rather, we've had about ten years, maybe more, of ever changing signal specs. 1080p then 4k, then HDR, then Dolby Vision, then .... Not to mention HDMI 1, HDMI 2, HDCP 1, HDCP2, HDCP 2.2...

I suspect the manufacturers have responded to this by building finite numbers of units (even if that "finite" number runs to six or seven digits globally). When those sell out, time for a new model and time to catch up with whatever new codecs are needed.

Some receivers have been moderately future proofed with updatable firmware, but there's only so far that can go.

Whilst that is somewhat true, it isn’t the main reason for annual changes to AV receiver ranges. Firstly, once reviewed, a product is generally never reviewed again unless it is part of a big super test, which seem to be becoming a scarce occurrence nowadays. Also, there have been years when the only change has been adding something as superfluous as Bluetooth (not actually anything beneficial for movie viewing), or just dropping a feature or two to the next model down. There seems to be any excuse to change nowadays as it means getting re-reviewed and back in the public eye.

Changing every year just kills used prices, as people know they’ll get an end of line bargain every year without fail, and surely costs manufacturers money in updating so frequently - manufacturers don’t lose out as they get their full margin, but retailers suffer virtually as soon as a model is released as there’s the initial rush from retailers to get as many sales as possible from the demand of a new product. Saying that, retailers generally have themselves to blame for much of the price wars and profit losses with AV receivers.

Many additions always seem to be half way houses. When 4K was added, many receivers got one 4K compatible input. This wasn’t HDR compatible, and I don’t think some of the first were even HDCP compatible either, which got added with future new model releases. If you’re going to add a feature, do it properly, just wait a year and make all the inputs 4K and HDCP compatible - as this would completely remove any confusion for future used buyers and sellers.

Personally, I think they should run for two years, that way it would bring some stability back to the AV receiver market, give buyers better trade-in/resale prices, and give retailers better margins. And when it does come to update time, at least there’d be a number of additions or features for the new model, and more of an incentive for people to change.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

I remember Yamaha years ago used to bring out a Av amplifier and they never brought a new model out for 3 or 4 years and the build quality was better quality too as I used to own the Yamaha A2 which I thought was excellent Av amplifier .

they also say with every new model Yamaha make they never get rid of any of the old sound formats maybe re-name them but still there but like I’ve said before the Av manufacturing companies do not put the big power supply’s as they use to i think they think most people will end up buying a power amplifier to give the extra power were needed .

 

[Native_bon]

I remember Yamaha years ago used to bring out a Av amplifier and they never brought a new model out for 3 or 4 years and the build quality was better quality too as I used to own the Yamaha A2 which I thought was excellent Av amplifier .

they also say with every new model Yamaha make they never get rid of any of the old sound formats maybe re-name them but still there but like I’ve said before the Av manufacturing companies do not put the big power supply’s as they use to i think they think most people will end up buying a power amplifier to give the extra power were needed .

Arcam excluded of course. Well, in the middle to top range AV amps are equipped with adequate power supply.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Gets 4 stars now:

https://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-a3070/review

 

[spiny norman]

Gets 4 stars now:

https://www.whathifi.com/yamaha/rx-a3070/review

Maybe it's running in.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

And maybe what hifi got there Yamaha 3070 before Yamaha did all of the Firmwere updates which my Yamaha 1070 has had 3 in the time i have owned it

 

[spiny norman]

And maybe what hifi got there Yamaha 3070 before Yamaha did all of the Firmwere updates which my Yamaha 1070 has had 3 in the time i have owned it

Maybe, but it would be good to know, wouldn't it?

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

I remember Yamaha years ago used to bring out a Av amplifier and they never brought a new model out for 3 or 4 years and the build quality was better quality too as I used to own the Yamaha A2 which I thought was excellent Av amplifier .

they also say with every new model Yamaha make they never get rid of any of the old sound formats maybe re-name them but still there but like I’ve said before the Av manufacturing companies do not put the big power supply’s as they use to i think they think most people will end up buying a power amplifier to give the extra power were needed .

I'm not sure fitting physically smaller, more efficient, power supplies has much to do with anything. You can compare peak power CONSUMPTION figures if you like, but...

I rather think it has more to do with making less untrue CLAIMS about power output. I'm sure we all remember the spate of manufacturers claiming a peak single channel power output of 200 watts on a 7 channel AVR meant a total peak output of 1400 watts, even if the power input never exceeded 400.

Adding power amps for more volume only really works at very high listening volumes, and you need to add a LOT of power to get any appreciable gain. For example to double the perceived loudness ( which is a 10 dB increase) requires TEN times the power not twice. So a 120 watt feed would have to be increased to 1200 watts. Going from 120 to 200 won't increase sound by much at all, maybe 3 dB. And going from a more typical AVR mid range 120 to the next-model-up 150 watts will really make very little difference at all.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

And what ohm speakers you are using

i read somewhere that the power supply’s in today’s AVs are not as big as the old school AVs they used to make years ago but weather there is any truth in this I am not sure obviously without testing one which I wouldn’t have a clue how to do .

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

^ Bigger doesn't mean more powerful. Or more efficient.l