Yamaha RXV667 or Onkyo TXSR608?

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I currently own the Yamaha RXV467 and i am looking to upgrade my AV receiver to the RXV667 or Onkyo 608 but i am having a bit of trouble deciding which one to go for!

My 5.1 surround set up uses the Wharfedale Diamonds 9.1, Wharfedale 10 cc centre and Yamaha YST-FSW050BL SW. I plan to upgrade my speaker system at some point in the future. I really would like a reciever that not only has credible SR capabilities but i also will use it for music as well so its Hi fi quality is an important consideration. My budget is limited so cannot invest in a separte HIfi system at the moment.

Help!

Thanks

TibbyJonze

 

[f1only]

Hi,

I currently own the Yamaha RXV467 and i am looking to upgrade my AV receiver to the RXV667 or Onkyo 608 but i am having a bit of trouble deciding which one to go for!

I really would like a reciever that not only has credible SR capabilities but i also will use it for music as well so its Hi fi quality is an important consideration. My budget is limited so cannot invest in a separte HIfi system at the moment.

Help!

Thanks

TibbyJonze

Hi TibbyJonze & welcome to the forum.

A good choice of amps the Onkyo 608 What hi Fi's 2010 award winner & the Yamaha 667 check out the reviews. They were both originally around the £450 mark & now can both be had for around £300. Just to throw into the mix the Pioneer 920 is a fine machine, at a similar price.

The Onkyo 608 is a good all round amp with THX Select2 Plus, is more designed for the movie enthusiast IMO, although thats not to say it's not worth a demo, i would before purchasing any of these A/V amps.

As the What Hi Fi write up says & having demoed the Yamaha 667, 767, Pioneer 920 & the Onkyo 608 myself, the Yamaha certainly seemed more musical to my ears.

The Pioneer 920 i found slightly more biased towards movie, not quite as much as the Onyko though & it has additional internet features if you wanted them.

Another thing to bear in mind when buying is connectivity, for example the Pioneer & Yamaha both have multi-channel input where the Onkyo does'nt.

If you like the sound of your exsisting Yamaha i would certainly demo the 667 with another set of speakers you may be in the market for in future. If you wanted / needed more oomph for movies from the Yamaha i would suggest a slightly larger Subwoofer like the Wharfedale SW150 to go nicely with your exsisting 9.1's

Always listen for yourself, regardless of what anyone else thinks your the one who has to live with it.

Enjoy

&

Regards ....

 

[audioaffair]

f1only kinda covered it - the Yamaha RX-V667 offers more upto date features and in terms of offering great sound with stereo and movie soundtracks, I'd recommend this as the better choice.

As suggested though, nothing beats a demo of each!

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you both for your prompt replies, it certainly gives me food for thought, i will take your advice and demo the systems. To throw another in the mix I found out that Pioneer have released thier VSX921 with Airplay!! based upon the 920 information i think i will invest a little more (in the name of future proffing) and look into the 921 and give it a listen. This is the fun part!!

Tibbyjonze

 

[f1only]

In which case i would suggest you also look / listen to the new Onkyo 609 & Yamaha 671 for comparison sake.

 

[audioaffair]

Agreed - ask your dealer if you can do a comparison - this is what demos are made for

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys I'm also trying to decide between the 667 608 and 940. Seem to be leaning towards the 667 but read somewhere that it only upscales analogue video inputs to 1080p but not hdmi input. Are the other 2 amps the same? If I'm connecting my Sky+ HD box thru the amps will they upscale it to 1080p, will I see any difference? Cheers

 

[f1only]

Hi welcome to the forum Marcopowellini.

This is what the Yamaha website says "Analogue and HDMI upscaling to full HD 1080p " Clicky. BUT if it's anything like the model i have it will not upscale from 720p & 1080i to 1080p, so therefore the answer to your question is, no it wont upscale what is already classed as an HD signal. Sorry i cant give you any info on the other 2 amps as regards upscaling, although the Denon amps do upscale to 1080p & the 2311 is available from Sevenoaks for £399 Clicky

Will you see a difference on your TV if your Sky HD was upscaled to 1080p? well that depends on the size of your TV, i doubt you would see much difference until you got to around 40" the larger the tv is, the more you would see the difference.

Regards... Paul

 

[Anonymous]

Hi all

Just an update, i decided (after some serious consideration and listening) to opt for the Onkyo TXNR 609 and I am very pleased with my new investment. The sound quality on the Yamaha was slightly more refined than the Onkyo when it come to music and I could not deny how amazing but it was the Onkyo's slightly bolshier attitude which paid dividends when it came to movies. Watching Battle:Los Angeles was amazing and very immersive, even with my Wharfedale 9.1s (Although I will be investing in a better SW in the future), i could hear every bullet and explosions were breathtaking!! So Onkyo trumped the Yamaha when it comes to surround sound. That with the Spotify/Napster and other online capabilities and a lovely price (I managed to get it for £450 from Richer Sounds) I am with a winner. The only annoyance is I find the remote control actions a bit sticky and not as smooth, I have experienced freezing but I suspect I need to get used to how it operates.

Thanks

Craig

 

[Neilf]

On a similar note, I’m thinking about the purchasing an Onkyo TX-SR608 receiver as an upgrade to my old Yamaha RX-V461 amp.

The amp has to be 330mm of less deep to fit into my AV cabinet. So the amps that seem to fit are the Onkyo 608, 609 or the Sony STRDN1020?

From the reviews of the 608 it sounds great value for money at around £300, but my only concern are comments on its music playback. I listen to a lot of music from a Squeezebox (FLAC format) and do not want the quality to take a step back instead of forwards from the V461. I think as long as music will sound better on the 608 than my old V461 then I'll be happy. But if it sounds worse I'll regret it!

Any comments/help would be appreciated.

note: Speakers are Mordaunt Short Avant Premiere speakers with 902i fronts (these can be bi-amped)