YAMAHA DSPAX863SE - 5 stars priced at £800 in this months mag and already £499?

[Gerrardasnails]

Is this a great deal or a worry? I actually like the look of it although it seems a little small and lightweight compared to similarly spec'd units.

Would this be a step up on the Denon 1909s and Sony 2400s of the market?

 

[Simon Lucas]

We got caught on the hop a bit by Yamaha's price changes - they came just as we were about to lower the big printer lever on the November issue.ÿ
Yamaha's decision to lop £200 off its DSP-AX763 (now £400) and DSP-AX863SE (officially down to £600) is great news for the consumer. As you know, we considered the DSP-AX863SE worthy of five stars at £800 - seeing it for £500 isn't be the sort of thing you should worry about. Rejoicing might be more appropriate.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Simon Lucas:We got caught on the hop a bit by Yamaha's price changes - they came just as we were about to lower the big printer lever on the November issue.ÿ
Yamaha's decision to lop £200 off its DSP-AX763 (now £400) and DSP-AX863SE (officially down to £600) is great news for the consumer. As you know, we considered the DSP-AX863SE worthy of five stars at £800 - seeing it for £500 isn't be the sort of thing you should worry about. Rejoicing might be more appropriate.

Thanks for that Simon. So would you say that it's a step up from the budget to mid level receivers like the Denon 1909 and the Onkyo 606? I won't mention the Sony STR-DA2400 as I know that review hasn't been published yet.

 

[Simon Lucas]

I would, yeah. As I say, we considered the Yamaha as an £800 product, and examined it relative to well-regarded receivers at that sort of money. If we'd thought it was more comparable to products at the AVR-1909/TX-SR606 price-point, it wouldn't have got a sniff of five stars.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Simon Lucas:I would, yeah. As I say, we considered the Yamaha as an £800 product, and examined it relative to well-regarded receivers at that sort of money. If we'd thought it was more comparable to products at the AVR-1909/TX-SR606 price-point, it wouldn't have got a sniff of five stars.

Music to my ears!!

 

[Frank Harvey]

Why not look at the RXV1800 at a little more?

 

[Gerrardasnails]

FrankHarveyHiFi:Why not look at the RXV1800 at a little more?

I can't find a black one - is it another step up from thr RXV1800?

 

[Frank Harvey]

It is, but as you say, not black

 

[Gerrardasnails]

FrankHarveyHiFi:It is, but as you say, not black

Although they do it in black in the States! Not fair.

Frank, do you rate the 863SE?

 

[Clare Newsome]

I'd just add that Yamaha's new UK management has gone on the record saying it wanted to shake up pricing and distribution - and it seems like their strategy is coming into play!

 

[Frank Harvey]

Gerrardasnails:Frank, do you rate the 863SE?Yup

 

[D.J.KRIME]

So what would be the modern equivalent to my older Yamaha RXV2500 as I have allways been fond of the Yamaha sound but am getting a bit fed up at not being able to route all my HDMI's through my amp and yet alone the fact I am missing out on the HD sound from my PS3.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

FrankHarveyHiFi:Gerrardasnails:Frank, do you rate the 863SE?Yup

One final question. Does it have an on screen display through hdmi? Or do you have to look at the small screen on the unit when playing around with it. Not a big one for me but it would be nice.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Yes, it has. I don't think you get an on screen volume level via HDMI sources, but you do from analogue ones.

 

[Anonymous]

iv noticed that richers sound lowered the price of the onkyo sr875 from £999 to £599 so now the price of the two receivers is quite close....is the video processing on the yamaha as good on the onkyo ?? ÿÿbut which one is better?ÿ

ÿ

i v got Q Accoustics 1010i

panasonic th-46pz81b

ps3, sky hd , x box 360ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

I am probably going to be a bit thick here, but well it may save me some money.

The yamaha and denon are the same price now more or less, and both got 5 stars for their original price points, but ... The yamaha doesn't upscale and doesn't have multi room.

Are we saying upscaling isn't important? I am taking it that the upscaling will take a Sky SD, or HD signal and "upgrade" it to 1080p - Surely that has to be worth a big plus over the yamaha?

I am looking at either amp, with either the KEF2005.3's, the Mission M cubes, or as a last resort the Jamo 5 star system if I can't get national lottery funding, all in a 3.5mx3.5m room (roughly, prolly slightly bigger). Screen is the pana PZ85 42".

I would only be plugging SKY HD box and PS3 into amp. I may in the future stretch to a seperate CD player, but I am not that into music, IPOD / PS3 will do for me.

Also (sorry I am really hijacking this post), which speakers would go with the denon for multi room as a future upgrade?

So, anyway, to get back on topic, is the Yamaha really that much better at HD sound that it can get away without upscaling, and does that mean upscaling isn't worth it / up to much?

 

[madeinstein]

Mutterz:
Are we saying upscaling isn't important? I am taking it that the upscaling will take a Sky SD, or HD signal and "upgrade" it to 1080p - Surely that has to be worth a big plus over the yamaha?

As far as I know both Yamaha and Denon 1909/2309 (not sure which one are you talking about) upscale analog inputs to 1080p.. but none of them do HDMI upscaling.. (which in my opinion is rubbish because it won't upscale Sky over HDMI!).

You can look at this topic that I've started a while ago about AV Receivers that upscale HDMI signal.. unfortunately there are not many of these in sub 1k price range.

 

[Anonymous]

Simon Lucas:I would, yeah. As I say, we considered the Yamaha as an £800 product, and examined it relative to well-regarded receivers at that sort of money. If we'd thought it was more comparable to products at the AVR-1909/TX-SR606 price-point, it wouldn't have got a sniff of five stars.

Sorry i'm confused. Is the Yamaha 863 better than the Denon 1909?

 

[mafrost]

According to the Denon 2809 review posted on WHFSV today the Yamaha 863 actually sounds better than the 2809, so I'm guessing from this that it absolutely sounds better than the 1909.

 

[Andy Clough]

soulstyle:
Simon Lucas:I would, yeah. As I say, we considered the Yamaha as an £800 product, and examined it relative to well-regarded receivers at that sort of money. If we'd thought it was more comparable to products at the AVR-1909/TX-SR606 price-point, it wouldn't have got a sniff of five stars.

Sorry i'm confused. Is the Yamaha 863 better than the Denon 1909?

Yes, the Yamaha is better than the Denon AVR-1909. What Simon is saying is that if the DSP-AX863SE had 'only' offered the performance of the cheaper £450 1909/£400 TX-SR606, it wouldn't have got 5 stars - ie the performance level of a £400-£450 unit (however good) wouldn't be good enough to justify 5 stars on a unit priced at £800.

And BTW, yes, the Yamaha DOES upscale analogue video (480i/576i or 480p/576p) to 1080p.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Andy, thats a lot clearer now!

Question: 863 vs denon 2808 at £500 which is the better of the two?

 

[Anonymous]

want to clarify whether is DSP AX 863SE same as RX-V863? as in my country Singapore, they don't carry DSP AX 863SE

 

[Anonymous]

The waters are clearing ...

So, the Yamaha sound's better and upscales, and can be had for just £50 more.

Sky SD is 576i isn't it? So if the yamaha doesn't upscale over hdmi, how would I connect my HD box to the yamaha to view upscaled SD pictures?

The only other plus for the denon would be the multi room, but to be honest for the number of times we have a party and would want to have louder music in the Conservatory I could just open the patio door from the TV room and use the surround system, I am sure it will be ample loud enough, or alternatively for the price of the speakers, cable and hassle of wiring under the floor I could just buy a small system?

It's looking like the yamaha is favourite, it would seem I have been blinded by features.

I think it is time to get opinion's on speakers in another thread that match budgeting. Seems daft to but a £500 amp and put "200-250 speakers with it.

 

[Andrew Everard]

dennisk:want to clarify whether is DSP AX 863SE same as RX-V863? as in my country Singapore, they don't carry DSP AX 863SE

No, different models. The RX-V version is a receiver, the DSP-AX version an amp-only model, tuned for better performance.

 

[Anonymous]

Can you say where you've seen it offered for £499? i've had no luck via Google.....