Yamaha 863 upscaler - how good is it?

[madeinstein]

How good is upscaler in Yamaha 863. I'm trying to compare this to Pioneer TV build in upscaler and Onkyo 875 upscaler.

Would I see a noticable difference between:

Yamaha 763 + Pioneer TV upscaler

Yamaha 863 upscaler + Pioneer TV

Onkyo 875 upscaler + Pioneer TV

I know that Onkyo 875 has a very good upscaler so I would assume this would be far better than Pioneer one, but would that also be true about Yamaha 863?

I was testing PS3 upscaler against Pioneer one and I would say that marginally PS3 is better especially for older movies.

Is the difference between 863 and 763 is just an upscaler + extra power? I think DAC is the same?

 

[madeinstein]

Can anyone please comment on this.. Thanks.

 

[madeinstein]

Can someone who got Yamaha 863 can say something about it's upscaler capabilities.. please...

 

[Fisty1967]

Madeinstein

I've had my Yammy 863 about two weeks now and I have to say I'm very impressed with it so far.

It is paired with the KEF 3000 eggs which are also new - so admittedly they've got some running in to do before I will get the best sound out of them - but they still produce the best sound I've heard so far.

I've got my SKY+ box connected via Svideo and optical cable to the 863 so the video is upscaled to 1080p and sound is 5.1 (when sky transmit it)

In terms of image quality, I think its good - certainly more than comparable to my upscaling DVD player (Yammy DVD-HD870) - but not as good as my blue ray (Yammy BD-P1500 kicking out 1080p 24fps). There's plenty of detail - even in the very dark scenes. In lighter scenes, the colours are vivid without being loud. Reds are full and warm while skin colours are fleshy/warm without over encroaching pinks/greens. I've not seen any evidence of blurry edges or wierd artifacts.

Overall, I think the piccy upscaling is good IMO - but please bear in mind that I haven't got a lot to compare it against.

The real benefit of this receiver - is with the amazing sound it reproduces (see one of many reviews here)

Certainly has my vote

 

[madeinstein]

Thanks for the info.. very useful.

I've realised that I don't really have analog sources to upscale currently (apart from Wii and VCR) but from what I've heard sound in 863 suppose to be much better than 763 so I'm going to go for 863!

If you don't mind when you get a second can you check what's the depth of Yamaha (including rear plugs). Is it 393mm as it says on yamaha website.. or they didn't took rear plugs into account. I have only 400mm space and I'm a bit worried . I went to local HiFi shop but they didn't have it in stock.

So we have a weekend.. Enjoy your Yamaha!

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with the comments on the sound. Watched a friends blu ray copy of Die Hard 4.0 last night on our new 863 and the sound was stunning. It's also very good when playing back music.

I think our Sky+ box is dead though as no matter what I do it refuses to output a video signal to the 863 so I'm having to goi via scart direct to the TV (Panasonic PZ-80), so I'm afraid I can't comment on the oroginal question. Looks like I'll throw the towel in and replace with Sky HD.

 

[Fisty1967]

Sorry just read the bit about unit depth. Will check it tonight and report back.

 

[madeinstein]

Fisty1967:Sorry just read the bit about unit depth. Will check it tonight and report back.

That would be great.. thanks in advance!

 

[Fisty1967]

The distance measured between the front and rear panels is 370mm.
The volume button sticks out of the right front panel about 25mm.
So Yamahas 393mm depth is fairly close to the 395mm I measured it.
BUT
and this is a big BUT
This does NOT take into account the cables plugging in the back (together with the bend radious of these cables).
You would only be able get this amp into a 400mm cabinet if nothing was plugged into it.
I would allow an additional 60mm at the back to cater for not only the plug lengths, but also the bend radius on half decent cables.
You might me able to reduce this to 35-40mm if you use cheaper cables that can bend 90 degrees at the back of the plug - but I would allow 60mm and opt for reasonable quality cables IMO. (This 60mm measurement is based on a mixed combination of hdmi, subwoofer, optical and component cables).
In summary, I recommend this amp goes into a cabinet of not less than 455mm depth.
As an additional thought madeinstein - my previous amp didnt fit into my old cab at first - so I cut a couple of small holes in the rear so I could get the cables in - just a thought.)
The main air intake for cooling this amp is in the top and sides - so this should be considered too when racking this equipment.
Hope it works out for you. This amp sounds amazing in my view.

 

[madeinstein]

Many thanks for this info.. The 370mm is what I was looking for.. my cabinet is opened (rear/front) so the buttons can stick out a bit on the front.. and that should give me enough space for the cables in the back. In the worst case scenario I will have to move the cabinet a bit further from the wall, but looks like I might just about avoid that.

I'm rally glad that Yamaha is so much smaller than Onkyo and others.. as I wanted to avoid buying a new cabinet.

So now I just need to find it somewhere for 499£

 

[Fisty1967]

Digitaldirect were doing it for 499 (along with a couple of others) but have now removed it from sale.
I was shocked today to see i) the number of shops selling this for £600 or more ii) the number of shops quoting no stock until January.
I guess the demand has increased since the WHFI review and awards.
Amazon are the best I've seen lately 529 including overnight shipping (thats how I got mine).
If you order from them very soon you might have it in time for the weekend.
If you want the 499 deals I think you will probably end up waiting until UK stock is higher in the new year.
Good luck.