Yamaha RXV581

MG42Maniac · 18 Aug 2017 at 13:07

Looking to replace my aging Onkyo amp that I have had since 2010. It is the amp that came as part of the Onkyo HT-S5305 receiver and speaker package. It is or was a fairly decent amp. We bought a B6 OLED back in November 2016 and then RS reduced the price to £1900 within days so we received £100 Richersounds credit at our local store in Southampton. I've seen that the RXV581 is on offer at £249 at the moment, which effectively means £149 for me. It seems to review well, does anyone have this? Thoughts? Opinions on whether it would be a decent enough upgrade?

My setup is as follows:

Fronts: B&W 602 S2
Centre: B&W CC6 S2
Sub: Onkyo Supplied
Rears: Onkyo Supplied

My next change will be changing the rears to B&W 601 S2.

Would this be a good amp going forward; Would this amp have enough power to do the speakers justice? I've noticed that it is not on the list of amps to receive an HLG or DV firmware upgrade which is disappointing. Also, does not state if the bluetooth is aptx.

Thanks!

MG42Maniac · 18 Aug 2017 at 19:32

I did consider the Denon 2300 but there is no stock in the Southampton branch. It needs to be from there for me to get my £100 credit. I'm not desperate for a new AV receiver as I'm just using ARC which is good enough as it does DTS and DTS HD. I was hoping the 581 would be a good step up for next to nothing. I think I'll hold on and wait for this years £700/800 model (4300H?) to drop next year and then pick it up. I assume it'll need to be this much for it to be a decent upgrade?

As for rears, we're moving next year so I'll have to see what the room layout is and go from there.

Thanks for the advice everyone

MG42Maniac · 14 Feb 2018 at 11:07

I ended up buying an Onkyo Onkyo TXNR676. I don't know if this is classed as much of an upgrade from a purists point of view but it sounds significantly better than my previous AV receiver (HT-R538). The GUI is much, much better and all the connectivity is great. I've done some testing between DTS and DTS HD on Saving Private Ryan and there is a definite improvement with the latter. I just need to get a GT 1030 GPU so I can enjoy lossless audio and 4K HDR

. Currently using ARC from my B6 OLED so I either go for 4K HDR with DTS or 1080p with lossless

I'm wondering what to upgrade next, either the Onkyo supplied rears or the Onkyo supplied active Subwoofer. I'm thinking the subwoofer if we end up buying a detached house. Possibly get a B&W ASW608.

MG42Maniac · 14 Feb 2018 at 11:45

hornetstinger said:
How about BK XLS400 or BK Monolith +, SVS SB2000 or PB2000. If the Onkyo sub is passive, then yo can't use it with your new amp.

For high end check out SVS SB Ultra 16 or SVS PB Ultra 16. I use a SVS SB Ultra 13

The current Subwoofer is active so seems to work just fine, connectivity wise. When I ran the audio calibration mic at the start of the setup, it set the Subwoofer as +6db which sounded better (deeper and more pronounced) but also started to distort at certain times. Probably not good enough quality? I've set it to +2db now and it seems more "stable".

I like to buy second-hand speakers in general as you tend to get more for your money. If you had £500-£600 to spend, would you still get a new BK Monolith+? I'm gonna replace the rears with B&W 601 S2 so once the sub has been replaced I should be good to go until I want to spend serious money which probably won't happen for a few years!

MG42Maniac · 14 Feb 2018 at 12:01

hornetstinger said:
On the sub itself, turn down the volume dial a little. Then re-run the setup. You want the AVR sub channel level to be around 00.

Subs are a personal thing. From my own experience, for music I prefer sealed. In a smaller room, for music or movies & prefer sealed.

In a larger room I'd go ported. For a larger room with movies I'd go ported. For larger room for music not sure which I'll choose. Talking of which I'll be putting that SB Ultra 13 in a 23 foot x 12 foot room, hoping one is enough.

Thanks, I will try that and see how I get on. I've no idea how accurate these "room calibration" mics are as it's the first time I have used one. Reviews seem to suggest it's pretty decent.

As we are not 100% sure on the house we are buying I will wait a few more months before I buy a subwoofer. I would imagine, based on our budget and living down south the lounge will be 20ft x 13ft max.