Yamaha RX-V861 7.1 Receiver Review

[Mace]

I'll echo the rest and say I enjoyed your review and add that it provides quite a bit of info I haven't seen on the 861 yet. In that vein, I have a few questions.

-Do you have any idea what processor is used for deinterlacing and how it compares to others (specifically the Farjouda DCDi)?
-Same question regarding the upscaling processor. I'm particularly interested in the quality of the upscaling compared to processors like the Reon that's going in the Onkyo TX-SR875.
-Also, does the receiver decode DD TrueHD received over HDMI or is TrueHD decoded in your player and transferred to the receiver via analogue cables?

Right now I have the new Onkyo TX-SR805 on pre-order which includes Farjouda DCDi deinterlacing (the TX-SR875 is...alas...a bit too steep) and, although the Onk doesn't upscale video as the 861 does it will also pass full 1080p while providing three HDMI 1.3 inputs and is THX Ultra certified. Prices are almost identical. Any thoughts or recommendations about the Onkyo versus the 861?

[Robinson_A]

Mace,

Unfortunately I'm not well versed about the Onkyo receiver you're talking about, however, you've raised enough interesting points about it that it's now on my to review list.

I don't know exactly which chipset the 861 uses for its video upscaling/deinterlacing. I do know that Yamaha works and has licenses with both DCDi and Anchor Bay (DVDo) however I'm not sure which one, if any, is used in the 861. That being said, the video performance is very good for a sub $1,000.00 receiver. As far as the True HD is concerned it's through the Yamaha's HDMI so yes the 861 will decode it. I tested it last night with the Matrix on HD DVD and it was mind blowing. The Yamaha's bread and butter is really its sound and surround sound decoding esspecially with Dolby Digital material both standard and TrueHD. I do wish it had a few more HDMI inputs but never the less it's damn good. Glad you enjoyed the review and I'm going to look into that Onkyo. Have a good one.

Andrew

[Mace]

Thanks very much Andrew, appreciate the additional info. You might want to take a look at the AVS Forum, there is a thread on the new Onkyos that is long enough to really water your eyes but there's a great first post that has a ton of details. I'm going to do some serious thinking here....I can get an 861 right now or continue to wait for the Onkyo...pretty tough to wait given your impressions of the 861 though. It sounds so good I may just spring for it now and save myself a couple of weeks. Thanks again.

[bo-cephus]

Originally Posted by Mace

Thanks very much Andrew, appreciate the additional info. You might want to take a look at the AVS Forum, there is a thread on the new Onkyos that is long enough to really water your eyes but there's a great first post that has a ton of details. I'm going to do some serious thinking here....I can get an 861 right now or continue to wait for the Onkyo...pretty tough to wait given your impressions of the 861 though. It sounds so good I may just spring for it now and save myself a couple of weeks. Thanks again.

I've followed that thread as well, and was really considering the Onk's until I saw this receiver. I was first blown away by the spec sheet, and for less than 1K (actually quite a bit less). But then I immediately thought Yamaha had to cut a lot of corners to get that much into a receiver at that price point, so I was anxiously waiting for reviews to come in. Haven't seen many reviews this favorable for a less than 1k receiver, and seems that it's growing on the reviewer even more since the review. Spec wise this compares to the Onk 875 (although minus HDMI 1.3) and the Pioneer Elite 82's and 84's (soon to be 90 series). And this can be had for FAR less than those. I like movies and I like 1080p, and it sound like this fits the bill. For me even if the Onk's are mind blowing it seems like I couldn't justify the price difference given the information so far. Thanks again for the assessment. Look forward to other owners' reviews as well.

[bo-cephus]

I guess I am excited about his receiver - already downloaded the manual and went through it. Only a minor disappointment. I was looking forward to bi-amping my L/R fronts until I realized the bi-amp outputs also double as the surround backs (I need my surround backs). Too bad. The RX-V861 also has two additional front speaker outputs for "presence" but it doesn't look like I can use those for bi-amping my fronts, at least according to the manual. If someone could tell me I'm wrong about the additional front speaker outputs I'd be extremely happy. Thanks.

[Mace]

Bo-cephus,

You get a few other differences between the Onk 875 and the Yam 861. The Onk is THX Ultra 2 certified (as is the 805) plus the 875 uses the Reon chip for upscaling to 1080p while the 861 apparently uses the Faroudja DCDi (or something comparable) and only goes to 720p/1080i. I think universally the Reon is considered a much better processor, but then the 875 is 50% more expensive and isn't out yet. Personally, I think the 805 is really much more comparable to the 861 with DCDi, limited upscaling plus a somewhat similar price. I've got the 805 pre-ordered at two places, one for $999 and the other for $899. I've seen the Yamaha listed from $799 to $899.

Also, the Onkyo discussion and website make quite a big deal about the DD TrueHD and DTS HD audio, I'm not sure why Yamaha doesn't even mention it, that's why I asked Andrew if the 861 has the on-board HD audio processors which evidently it does but neither are listed by Yamaha so I wonder if it's really TrueHD/HD Audio or if it's just really good sounding with the older DD/DTS formats. Does the manual say anything about this?

All that said, I'm seriously considering the Yamaha. My HDTV displays 1080p but only accepts up to 1080i (so much for jumping on the 1080p display technology first) so the Yamaha's maximum 1080i upscaling would be fine for me (although I do wonder if the upscaling even comes close to the Reon chip). I'd really like to see a comparison between the 861's 1080i upscaling vs a good upscaling DVD or BD/HD machine to see if it's even worth having (I assume it can be turned off to allow straight pass-through).