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Yamaha RX-V1800BL 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black) |
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| Editorial Reviews: | | |  | | The RX-V1800 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver offers the highest levels of sound and video quality and convenience for total home theater enjoyment with features including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoders, latest HDMI 1.3a specification support, video upscaling to 1080p, iPod compatibility, YPAO Auto Setup with Quick Start, and multi-zone custom installation support. | |
| Custom Reviews: | |
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| Excellent next-gen home theatre hub | |
| | I recently replaced my old surround set up with a Polk 5.1 configuration, using RTI-A7 fronts, RTI-A3 rears, a CSI-A6 center and a PSW505 sub. I had been running these through a Yamaha RX-V659, which is a very nice receiver, but I wanted something with a bit more high-current ability to drive the new speakers. I did a lot of research on a number of different products from Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer and the like, but I ended up settling on this one. I had been meaning to replace the old unit a few months down the road, but when I stumbled into one of these brand-new-in-box at a large electronics superstore for an almost surreal $599, I bit the bullet.
Pulling it out of the box, the build quality is exceptional; the RX-V1800 weighs a good 40 lbs. It's a pretty big piece of equipment, measuring 17" W x 17" D x 7" H. Make sure you have space for this. Everything feels very solid, and Yamaha's ToP-ART design touts that its meticulous construction creates virtually no additional signal distortion.
Looking at the back of this thing may cause headaches for some. For an amateur audiophile like me, it's fantastic. The RX-V1800 has every connection type you can think of, highlighted by 4 HDMI inputs/1 output and 4 optical inputs/2 outputs. It also has multichannel analog inputs for SACD/DVD-A. There's also an iPod jack for the optional Yamaha YDS-11SL iPod Dock, which I also purchased. In addition, there's a port for XM connection. The speaker terminals are made of metal; they are well-built and feel solid. The vertical layout of the terminals can make it difficult to use traditional wiring, and for many banana cables will be an easier way to go. You can wire a total of 9 speakers + sub using this receiver, which is basically standard 7.1 with 2 additional "presence" speakers added to the left and right fronts (only 7 can play simultaneously, however.)
The different audio settings are too numerous to count, and I haven't had the item long enough to finish reading the entire manual (which is just as monstrous as this receiver). But of the most importance to potential buyers is the RX-V1800's ability to decode Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution and DTS-HD Master Audio, along with any older encoding method you can think of. It also supports HDMI 1.3a. This is perfect for next-gen AV, as it can decode just about any advanced multichannel format there is, including Blu-ray, HD-DVD, SACD, HDCD, DVD-A, etc. This is perfect for me: I can run my PS3 through a single HDMI cable to the receiver out to the TV in full 1080p video and Linear PCM/TrueHD multichannel audio humming through my Polks when I play Blu-rays. My favorite settings, however, are Straight for AV and especially Pure Direct for Audio only signals. This shuts down all other processes except the amplifier and sends the signal direct to the speakers with no additional processing. This setting really makes SACDs and DVD-As shine.
In terms of power, the RX-V1800 is a beast. It can pump out 130W x 7 RMS, which is as much power as most normal people could ever need. It seems (at least to me) to have a fuller sound than the RX-V659 did, which I attribute to the additional reserve power this unit has under most conditions. As such it's perfectly equipped to run multizone, configured with either one (7.1), two (5.1 in zone 1, stereo in zone 2) or three different zones (3.1 in zone 1, stereo in zones 2 & 3). I really like the fact that the different zones are powered by separate amps.
The remote control is standard Yamaha - in other words a mess. And this is coming from a someone who has owned (and liked) Yamaha components in the past. Setup itself is not very difficult (setting levels, speaker distance, etc.) but I still haven't figured out how to control the finer points via remote. I haven't used the second "zone" remote, so I won't comment on that.
Also haven't thoroughly tested out this receiver's upconversion, but it seems OK not great. DVDs played through the PS3 connected via HDMI to the RX-V1800 appear to be of similar quality as compared to connecting the PS3 via HDMI straight into my Samsung LN46A550 46" 1080p LCD HDTV, which also features a decent upconverter.
Look and feel is actually quite nice (this is sometimes a problem for Yamaha as their products tend to be built for function above form), with a black brushed aluminum front and ample ventilation grilling on top. A metal faceplate also hides many of the on-deck controls when closed, giving the item a smooth and uncluttered profile.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this receiver thus far, especially playing SACDs and Blu-rays in lossless 5.1 multichannel sound. It's really let my Polks show off their large dynamic range in a new way.
Overall this receiver is excellent. It offers just about any features you could possibly want, and it was an unbelievable value for me considering the deal I stumbled into. I know I'm not taking full advantage of all of this receiver's capabilities, but I consider that a good thing. As with the speakers, I plan on keeping this receiver for the foreseeable future, as it's somewhat future-proofed and can be scaled to any size room (or rooms) I would ever need. I don't have space for 7.1 right now, but when I do I feel pretty good about bringing this receiver along with me. Recommended, especially if you can get it for below list. If not, you can get much of the same functionality with slightly less output from a Yamaha RX-V863 for a lot less. Or look at an Onkyo TX-SR806.
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| not a full review but partial (i love the image) | |
| | i had just got my hands on this unit finally! been waiting forever for it! My initial thoughts are: awesome! the images on my Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 720 720P HD 1600 Lumens look just amazing via the V1800. i am struggling a bit with the woofer still. Can't get it to work. BUt overall i like it. i will write more on this soon.
Guys if anyone can help me setup my mono woofer on this, i would appreciate it. The following are the items i am using with this AV:
Yamaha RX-V1800BL 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black)
Polk Audio Monitor Series CS2 Center Channel Speaker (Single, Cherry)
Yamaha YST-SW325 8-Inch Advanced YST II and QD-Bass Subwoofer, Black
Front and rear channels are still stock Panasonic speakers
Pioneer Elite BDP-05FD - Blu-Ray disc player - upscaling
Venturer HD DVD Player - SHD7000
OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio
Apple MA711LL/A TV with 40GB Hard Drive
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| | I almost sent this back due to deceptive advertising. You will notice that the page for this reciever lists a feature that calls this a "Network" reciever. Not true for this model. The models above in price to this unit do have this feature whereas, you can plug USB devices directly into the unit. This model does not have that feature. The picture that is shown, is for the 3800 not the 1800. I decided to keep the unit though, as I got a great price. (719.99) and that feature in all honesty would have gotten little use from me. I just hate the fact that someone else may have looked at the advertising and made a decision based on this, then would have had to go through an arduous return policy. Other than that its a good unit. I think the complexity of the remote is not as bad as some here have complained. One other word of caution. This reciever lists a capability called presence speakers. I am using this, but do your research. They cannot be used at the same time as your rear surrounds if you have them. My opinion? If you have a small room such as mine, the presence speakers are awesome, as I dont have the room to do a full 7.1 system. But if you do have a large room, just know that you will be able to use one or the other, presence speakers or rear surround not both. You can have both hooked up, but only one will play at a time.
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| Beware If You Have 120hz Refresh Rate TV | |
| | I recently bought a Samsung 52" LCD TV with 120hz refresh rate. I bought the Yamaha RX-V1800 receiver because Yamaha claimed it would support that refresh rate. Well, I am very sad to say it does not! The most it would do was 60hz... very disappointing once you have had 120hz... believe me.
I called Yamaha and at first was told that this receiver would support 120hz but after I relayed my experience I was put on hold for a while and then told, "Sorry, it turns out that it actually does not support 120hz refresh rate." Yamaha customer service went on to tell me that, "When this receiver first came out there were hardly any tv's with that refresh rate." Huh?!?... so they just said that so people would buy them only to find out later that it was not true???
Anyways, I am returning the receiver but now I have the problem of finding a receiver that truly will support 120hz refresh rate. Everybody I call says "Our receiver is 'pass-thru' so there will be no signal degradation." Yeah, that's what Yamaha said too. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
BTW, the audio on this receiver was fantastic but like others have said, the remote and on screen menu navigation left alot to be desired.
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JUST GOT MY YAMAHA 1800 AMP LAST MON 19/5/08 SAME DAY HOOKED AMP TO PANA BLUE RAY PLAYER BD30 & SANYO Z 5 PROJECTOR WITH 120" SCREEN & PARADIGM ULTRA CUBE 10 SUBWOOFER (1500WATTS) THE PICTURE & SOUND WAS UNBELIVABLE (MUCH BETTER THAN LOCAL MULTIPLEXES).I WATCHED AVP2/RESIDENT EVIL 3/ DIE HARD 4/ ETC ON BLU RAY DISC & THEY ALL WERE AMAZING WATCHING ON THESE SYSTEMS.THE PICTURE/SOUND QUALITY ON MY EARLIER DVD PIONEER 696A/YAMAHA 1400 WAS VERY GOOD BUT WITH THIS NEW PLAYER & AMP THE PICTURE/SOUND IS MUCH BETTER (AWESOME).
ONE IMP. POINT ABOUT YAMAHA AMP.IS THAT YOU CAN HOOK 2 MORE SPEAKERS IN BETWEEN THE FRONTS & CENTRE (PRESENCE SPEAKERS) IN ADDITION TO THE 7/8 SPEAKERS. THE SOUND WITH THE ADDITIONAL PRESENCE SPEAKERS IMPROVES A LOT.
ONLY YAMAHA AMPS HAVE THIS ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS OPTION WHICH IS WHY I OPTED FOR THIS AMP.
I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMEND THIS AMP. & GIVE IT 6 ******'S IF POSSIBLE & WITH A GOOD COMBINATION OF AMP/PROJ/TV/POWERFUL SUB WITH THIS PLAYER ONE WOULDNT VENTURE TO GO TO MULTIPLEXES TO WATCH MOVIES.
UDAY BHATIA. MUMBAI (INDIA)
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