A receiver is probably the most important thing in your A/V cabinet. It switches all your sources, decodes the various audio formats, upscales your video (when appropriate), and maybe even provides networking capabilities and other goodies.
It can also be the scariest thing. When it comes to choosing a receiver, there's an insane number of options. It can be really daunting to go through all of the specs, let alone the many makes and model numbers. For some reason, in the past, I've always seemed to skip over Yamaha.
I don't mean that in an insulting way. Being a reporter in the Consumer Electronics industry, I see all of the Yamaha announcements and report on them accordingly. And they've always had a reputation for high performance gear. However, outside of the occasional trade show, I've never had the opportunity to sample one of the company's receivers. At my editor's suggestion, I decided to check out the Yamaha RX-V575 7.2-Channel AV Receiver. And now that it has spent some quality time in my A/V cabinet, I am never letting go.
It's not just a good component, but one that has changed my life. Well, it has changed my home theater anyway, and for the better. It's an excellent performer that's perfect for the average user, but has enough bells and whistles to accommodate the more finicky home theater owner and A/V hobbyist as well.
All Spec'd Up
With the RX-V575, Yamaha delivers the goods and then some. It can crank out up to 115 watts (1kHz @ 8 ohms) to each of its seven channels. It's also got five HDMI inputs with support for 3D and Audio Return Channel (ARC), as well as 4K pass-through for when you finally upgrade to that beautiful 4K Ultra HD TV.
On the audio side, the RX-V575 has Burr-Brown 192kHz/24-bit DACs (Digital to Analog Converters) for each of its channels. It has internet radio and other networking features including Apple AirPlay, which allows for streaming of music from iOS devices, as well as from Macs and PCs running iTunes. It even has WiFi and Bluetooth support, if you're willing shell out a bit extra for adapters. (I will get into those in a minute.)
The RX-V575 includes a Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL)-compatible HDMI port to connect MHL-capable smartphones and add-ons like the Roku Streaming Stick. I might have prefered this to be on the front instead of the back (for temporary cell phone connections) but there are advantages to having it in the back if you are connecting something more permanent.
On the audio decoding front, the receiver can handle just about everything you throw at it including Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Pro Logic, and DTS-HD Master Audio formats. You won't find any of the height-enhanced formats like Dolby ProLogic IIz or DTS Neo:X, but Yamaha does its own height enhancements via the proprietary Virtual Presence Speaker (VPS) feature and it does this without the need for separate height channel speakers. The receiver also offers Yamaha's Virtual Cinema DSP, to give you a better approximation of a movie theater listening experience.
Other features include a front-panel USB port for charging and/or playing music from iOS devices (iPod, iPhone or iPad), as well as a pair of digital audio inputs, four analog inputs, two component and five composite inputs, and dual subwoofer pre-outs. Also, if you're opting for a 5-channel setup, the receiver can take the two remaining channels and deliver music to a second zone (a second set of speakers in another room) or they can be reassigned to the front left/right channels for a biamplified configuration.
Speedy Setup
At 18.1 pounds, the RX-V575 isn't exactly a lightweight. However, setting up this receiver is fairly easy, depending on how many devices and wires you need to incorporate. Because the RX-V575 has the five HDMI inputs and one output, you should be able to keep the mess to a minimum and connect everything you need.
One thing you won't find here is analog video to digital video transcoding. In other words, if you have older components like a VCR or a Wii console, which connect using component video or composite video connections, you'll need to connect the same type of output from the receiver to the TV in order to see a picture. This means you'll need multiple cables between the receiver and the TV. If you have these types of components and would prefer to connect the receiver to the TV using a single HDMI cable, then consider upgrading to Yamaha's RX-V675, a step-up model which includes analog to digital video transcoding.
After connecting all of your devices, you'll also have to connect the speakers. Just be sure to connect + to + and - to - and you'll be fine. The binding posts accept banana plugs, spades or bare wire, so this should be a pretty straightforward experience.
The front and back panels of the RX-V575 have enough ports and buttons and dials to make your head spin. Depending on how stressed out you get over A/V equipment, this can be a good or bad thing. Either way, there may be a bit of a learning curve while you familiarize yourself with the available connections, features and functions. After some time, I appreciated being able to access everything so easily via direct buttons on the remote or the unit itself, without having to flip through a bunch of menus.
A few of the front panel highlights include the power button, an extra-large volume dial, an Info button for swapping what's on the LED display, FM/AM presets, source buttons, SCENE keys, a USB port, and more. There's even a Tone option for adjusting high- and low-frequency sounds (yes, it's just a fancy name for those good old-fashioned bass and treble controls).
The display can look a little busy from across the room, but offers a complete overview of what's going on with the system. The back is just as populated, with the aforementioned five HDMI ports, as well as Ethernet and antenna jacks, six composite audio/video inputs, one A/V-out, two subwoofer pre-outs, component video jacks, and speaker terminals.
If you're worried about doing something wrong during the connection process, know that the RX-V575 is pretty foolproof. It includes Yamaha Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer, also known as YPAO. This perk does all of the speaker level and delay tweaks so you won't have to. Just set up the included microphone in your favorite listening position and follow the on-screen menu. Some people still appreciate being able to fine-tune a setup, which you can if you like, but the entire YPAO setup process takes minutes, with pretty satisfying results.
Hells Bells -- and Whistles!
The RX-V575 is a nice receiver. My family used it for quite some time before I recorded one word in this review. It really took me back to the time that I spent with the Pioneer VSX-822, because it delivered a lot of new details in music and movie content that I had apparently been missing out on. Everything sounded better: sports, movies, and everyday TV programs. Of course, the Yamaha piece is about $150 more than the Pioneer (Yamaha has set the MSRP of the RX-C575 at $549.95), but it also adds in a lot more features, most notably the aforementioned 4K pass-through support. I'm insanely sad to say that I didn't have the opportunity to test out the 4K pass-through, but I am looking forward to doing that sometime in the future once Ultra HD sources and TVs become more widespread and more affordable.
That said, this receiver saw a ton of action (movies that is), as well as animation, sports, comedy and several other selections. Whether viewing 2D or 3D, the picture was always just as stunning as the sound was. I have zero complaints with the audio and video performance.
The receiver does have a lot of features, but it isn't as overwhelming as it may seem on paper. It was actually pretty intuitive to use and provided a great A/V experience, whether I was using my DISH Hopper, my Panasonic Blu-ray player, the Roku 3, my Audio-Technica AT-LP120 turntable or my iPhone. When I bring up the turntable, I have to mention that the receiver does not have a traditional old-school "phono" input nor an on-board phono preamp. However, many modern turntables like mine feature an on-board preamp, which means you can plug them into any old analog input on this or any other receiver, and that's what I did. You can also use an outboard phono preamp if you're rocking a classic 'table like a Technics or a Linn.
I can't say it enough: this receiver cranks out some seriously nice -- and detailed -- sound, both in stereo and surround sound, when paired with my Energy Take 5 Classic 5.1-channel speaker system. There were times when I thought I was hearing someone upstairs or outside, only to find out that it was coming from the Yamaha. It was really cool and worked well with a variety of music, movies and sports selections. Whether it was compressed music files on my iPhone, bombastic movie soundtracks on Blu-ray or classic cuts on vinyl, the RX-V575 never seemed to disappoint.
Streaming Success
As mentioned, the receiver can support a variety of wireless networking and streaming formats, but you'll need the YWA-10 wireless network adapter ($99) for WiFi and/or the YBA-11 ($69.95) to do Bluetooth. However, I'm cheap, so I opted for a good, old Ethernet connection. In other words, I plugged it into a network cable from my router in order to take advantage of the receiver's networking capabilities.
The RX-V575 does have built-in AirPlay support, which eliminates the need for plugging an iPod or iPhone directly into the receiver. Instead, you can just stream everything stuffed into your iOS devices and iTunes account right to your home theater setup, as long as the iOS device and the receiver are connected to your home network. With AirPlay, you can stream directly from your device or use Apple's remote app to stream everything from a laptop, desktop or Mac using iTunes.
Once the receiver is hooked up, AirPlay streaming is insanely easy. My iPhone instantly recognized the RX-V575 as an AirPlay zone, as did my Windows laptop. From there, streaming isn't just easy, but it also sounds really nice. Yamaha has this little perk called Compressed Music Enhancer, which promises to pump up the sound of digital music to near-CD quality. Admittedly, some tunes sounded better than others did. For instance, old Grandmaster Flash didn't pack the same punch as something recent from Mackelmore. However, I'd have to blame the source material for that. Overall, I was extremely pleased -- and pretty giddy about this newfound way for blasting out my digital music. If you're not convinced by this Yamaha goodness, trying using the remote to shut off the Compressed Music Enhancer feature and I think you'll see (or at least hear) what a difference it's making.
Creative Control
As you'd expect, the remote will get you through everything on this receiver. Because of the component's lengthy set of features, it may take you a while to get truly comfortable with everything that's on here.
One thing that will make life a little easier is Yamaha's SCENE modes. This allows users to connect the proper input and sound mode for certain devices to one button. The remote has slots for BD/DVD, TV, Net and Radio, although you could certainly set the Net button to bring up the Blu-ray player if you want to confuse everyone in the household. The point is that these are easy to tweak. For instance, out of the box, the TV button jumps to the AV4 component input, but I am using HDMI. To change it, just put the TV on however you like it. Then, hold in the TV SCENE button until you get a visual confirmation on the receiver's front panel. From there, you'll have one-touch access.
Turn Ons
Turn Offs
Final Thoughts
Yamaha has compiled pretty much everything you could ask for into the RX-V575 7.2-channel receiver: excellent audio performance, plenty of features, and great ergonomics. Minor quips aside, this receiver has a lot of what you'd need right now and maybe even beyond, which is pretty darn impressive, given the price. It's a good-looking unit that's easy enough to use for the average user, but would certainly please someone with a more advanced A/V palate. And with Ultra HD pass-through, it's ready for the future. Highly recommended.
Manufacturer's Specifications:
Company Contact Information:
Yamaha Corporation of America
6600 Orangethorpe Ave.
Buena Park, CA 90620
On the web: usa.yamaha.com
Where to Buy:
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