Yamaha RX-V667 7.2 Channel Digital Home Theater Receiver Preview

Every once in awhile, if you complain enough, people listen.  On very rare occasions those very same people take action and do something.  In this case I am referring to Yamaha.  Last year we wrote a controversial article called "Trading Amplifier Quality for Features".  One of the primary targets of this article was Yamaha and how we felt they compromised amplifier quality too much in their sub $600 receivers to add features, namely the RX-V665.  It was a shot heard round the industry, and rather than Yamaha threatening to pull advertising or stop sending us product for review, they took our punches and went back to the drawing boards.  Enter the new RX-V667, the successor to the RX-V665.  Unlike the RX-V665, the RX-V667 contains all discrete amplifier output stages instead of the lower cost and lower performing op-amp stages found on the RX-V665 and lower 05 series models. 

The advantages of discrete amplification are:

• better output drive to handle low impedance loudspeakers
• better sound quality
  

If you take a closer look at the specifications between the RX-V665 and RX-V667 you will see just how much Yamaha has beefed up the latter and at a very small and worthwhile cost adder to the consumer.

 Yamaha RX-V665 and RX-V667 Comparison Table

In speaking with Yamaha, they informed me that the RX-V667 has two independent power supplies, an analog one for audio and a switching one for all digital circuitry.  You can see by the specifications above that some serious upgrades have been made in the power supply such as:

• almost 5lbs increase in weight (RX-V667, 23.1lbs ; RX-V665, 18.7lbs)
  
• output power being rated at full power bandwidth, 20Hz to 20KHz (RX-V667) instead of 1kHz (RX-V665)
• power consumption going from 270 watts/ 320VA (RX-V665) to 400 watts / 500VA (RX-V667)

There are no free lunches however as some of the RX-V665 features were NOT carried over to the RX-V667 such as:

•  Top Art
•  XM Support / XM HD Surround Sound
• Neural Surround

With the nearly infinite array of post processing features such as PLIIx, DTS Neo:6, and Yamaha's own Cinema DSP, we don't think consumers will notice the lack of XM support or Neural surround processing.  Personally we feel the quality of XM radio isn't worthy to be integrated into any serious home theater system due to severe compressive artifacts discussed in our "Dumbing Down of Audio" editorial.  So having no XM support is certainly not a deal breaker, especially when once can easily add an inexpensive XM tuner if they want to hear the marvels of compressed low quality audio in the comforts of their living room.

As for Top Art, well we were never really clear on what benefits it offered consumers.  We are just happy that Yamaha chose to place a more audio focused emphasis on the RX-V667 for a mere $50 cost adder over the model it replaced.

The RX-V667 is More than Just Meat and Potatoes

The Yamaha RX-V667 has more than just an upgraded juicy amp section.  Yamaha has done some serious upgrades in user functionality and video enhancement features.  The RX-V667 sports a new GUI (OSD) with HDMI overly typically found on their more expensive RX-V receiver models (ie. RX-V1900 and above).  Of course Yamaha is a player in the new 3D game with full HDMI 1.4a support for 3D and Audio Return Channel with six HDMI inputs, as well as Deep Color, x.v.Color, and 24Hz refresh rates.  It even provides OSD overlay over 3D which to our knowledge is an industry first. 

The RX-V667 handles legacy signals with kid gloves via a new high quality video processing with precise deinterlacing, motion adaptive and edge adaptive deinterlacing and multi-cadence (incl. 3-2 pull-down) detection.  Again this feature set is typically not found in sub $1k receivers making the RX-V667 a truly stand out product among its peers.

Yamaha RX-V667 Backpanel View

The Yamaha RX-V667 has a sexy rear end.  The ergonomics are well thought out placing 5 of the 6 HDMI inputs at the top of the backpanel with the output offset to the left which can come in really handy for installers trying to troubleshoot HDMI issues without having to pull the receiver out of the rack to distinguish the HDMI output from the inputs.  The 6th HDMI input is located on the front panel which is a very useful feature allowing easy access of HDMI pluggable devices.  All of the speaker outputs sport binding posts except for the Zone2 outputs.  The RX-V667 also sports dual paralleled subwoofer outputs for those connecting more than one subwoofer to their system.  There are no S-video inputs or outputs which is a welcome omission we see receiver manufacturers making on many of their products this year.  About the only minor gripe we have on the RX-V667 is the lack of a detachable power cord but we don't know of any receivers in this price class that offer this feature. 

Conclusion

From soup to nuts, we like just about everything we see with the new Yamaha RX-V667 7.2 A/V receiver.  I do miss their signature frontpanel orange display found on their older models but that's just a personal preference.  Yamaha updated their new 07 series receiver line with useful features, including the latest in 3D, while they simultaneously returned to their audio roots by offering discrete amplification (RX-V667 and above) which will improve sound quality and amplifier drive to handle a wider range of loudspeakers on the market.  The RX-V667 is sure to be a hit among budget minded audiophiles and videophiles craving legitimately good performance for little out of pocket expense.  Kudos to Yamaha for making it real again! 

For more detailed product information, visit the official Yamaha RX-V667 Product Page. 

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.