Yamaha RX-A3080 AV Receiver Review & Comments

Nice to see 8 scene buttons make it to the remote.

For those who don't use them, they are a great way to store your own settings and work well with harmony remotes. I have different scenes configured for ATV as different apps have different lip sync issues (ATV issue), so its a handy shortcut to use.

I'll look forward to the day when YPAO is replaced or actually sorts out the sub properly, my 3070 and older 2067 required additional sub tweaking (never mind changing speaker size to small). For users who rely on the YPAO result (and as a new user, why wouldn't you), its a shame...but I love their sound.

Edit: Thanks for another great review/video Phil!
 
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Thanks for a review of the 3080 so soon after the sister 1080. I paid 1600 for mine at Xmas when it was being discounted in the usual way but it’s 2000 again and that would make for a harder decision today. I agree that the sound is excellent and the AI and DSP modes add little. The excellent app is worthy of more mention.
 
Thanks for a review of the 3080 so soon after the sister 1080. I paid 1600 for mine at Xmas when it was being discounted in the usual way but it’s 2000 again and that would make for a harder decision today.

The pricing and rise is more than likely due to Yamaha announcing that the A3080 will not be replaced this year and that Yamaha will not now be replacing it until next year. This is believed to be due to the introduction of HDMI version 2.1 onboard next year's Yamaha models. Denon are also doing something very similar and will not be replacing anything above the AVRX3500 this year.
 
You praise the remote but don't mention if it can be used to program other remotes in order to be used as the universal solution. Something which seems to be getting rare these days, even on top model units. An odd choice by the manufacturers.
 
You praise the remote but don't mention if it can be used to program other remotes in order to be used as the universal solution. Something which seems to be getting rare these days, even on top model units. An odd choice by the manufacturers.



The only facility to control an external devices while using the receiver's remote are those made possible using HDMI CEC (HDMI Control). The receiver includes buttons at the bottom of its remote used to playback audio using the AV receiver's own integral media player in association with Bluetooth, USB or NET sources. These keys can also be used to control some basic playback functions of an HDMI connected source by utilising HDMI Control to do so.

No, there's no provision to use the receiver's remote to control other devices using IR. I'd suggest you look into buying one of Logitech's Harmony remotes if wanting a universal solution as opposed to trying to repurpose an AV receiver's remote to control multiple devices. The plethoria of functions and features now included on different devices simply cannot be covered by the limited number of buttons you'd get on an AV receiver's remote. Neither are all these additional functions covered by HDMI CEC.
 
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Hi,
Quick question for Phil (or any knowledgable owners). I have the 3070 which I'm quite happy with for theatre duties. I want to go down the stereo music avenue and have purchased both KEF LS50 and Dynaudio Excite X18 speakers. Would the 3070 be up to powering speakers of this quality ? I do have a Cambridge CXA60 and Marantz PM6006 U.K. I realise the Yamaha would edge on power, but what would get the best out of the speakers ?
We are currently in the process of a house move so trying them all out together at the moment would be a bit complicated.
I would appreciate your comments, especially regarding the 3070/3080 stereo abilities.
 
Cambridge CXA60 and Marantz PM6006
To be honest the LS50s would sound a lot better with amps of a more powerful output than either of these amps can deliver, they absolutely thrive on power.

It would be fair to say that the 3080 will deliver more power in a pure stereo configuration than either of those amps and will make a fine home cinema receiver. You lose nothing by trying it for a while. If you do feel that you prefer the sound of a stereo amp then it's going to be easy to use the Yamaha's pre-outs with either a new stereo amp with HT by-pass to drive the LS50s for music. You could always keep your present Marantz and use a speaker switch for music and film such as the Beresford 7220.
 
I was looking for a 3080 but then saw the 3070 at nearly £1k cheaper for very little difference in spec. So that made the decision easy. YPAO is rubbish though and they really do need to offer a better solution.
 
Hi,
Quick question for Phil (or any knowledgable owners). I have the 3070 which I'm quite happy with for theatre duties. I want to go down the stereo music avenue and have purchased both KEF LS50 and Dynaudio Excite X18 speakers. Would the 3070 be up to powering speakers of this quality ? I do have a Cambridge CXA60 and Marantz PM6006 U.K. I realise the Yamaha would edge on power, but what would get the best out of the speakers ?
We are currently in the process of a house move so trying them all out together at the moment would be a bit complicated.
I would appreciate your comments, especially regarding the 3070/3080 stereo abilities.
I use my 3070 with a pair of Tannoy XT8F's for stereo work. Again the sound is warm and sweet. I do still farm out the bass to the sub though although if I ever sort the 'scenes' out I suspect I can configure the speakers differently for stereo music.
 
… I suspect I can configure the speakers differently for stereo music.

No, you'd actually need to store a second speaker pattern if you wanted to use different speaker configurations for a stereo setup. You can then include the different speaker patterns within the scenes.

Unlike Denon and Marantz AV receivers of a similar level, the Yamaha has no seperate 2 channel stereo option you can use instead of the main speaker configurations. There's no option to have the speaker sizes and or crossovers to differ when a stereo source is being portrayed in stereo and there's no option to have different settings in relation to the speaker configurations within a scene unless using an entirely different speaker pattern The A3080 allows you to store 2 speaker pattens.

So, copy the PATERN1 configurations over into PATTERN2. Select PATTERN2 and amend its settings to reflect what you'd want in relation to stereo playback. Go into the SCENE configurations and ensure that the option to save SPEAKER SETUP is selected. This option allow you to save Configuration PATTERNs and or PEQ modes to a SCENE. Now save you PATTERN2 setup to a dedicated stereo scene. Go back to PATTERN1 in the speaker configurations. The SCENE you saved will invoke the speaker configurations associated with PATTERN1 which you configured for use in association with STEREO audio.
 
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The pricing and rise is more than likely due to Yamaha announcing that the A3080 will not be replaced this year and that Yamaha will not now be replacing it until next year. This is believed to be due to the introduction of HDMI version 2.1 onboard next year's Yamaha models. Denon are also doing something very similar and will not be replacing anything above the AVRX3500 this year.

What, no new version of the top range Aventage this year? They better make up for it next year by bringing back the organge/amber-coloured displays! ;)
 
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No, you'd actually need to store a second speaker pattern if you wanted to use different speaker configurations for a stereo setup. You can then include the different speaker patterns within the scenes.

Unlike Denon and Marantz AV receivers of a similar level, the Yamaha has no seperate 2 channel stereo option you can use instead of the main speaker configurations. There's no option to have the speaker sizes and or crossovers to differ when a stereo source is being portrayed in stereo and there's no option to have different settings in relation to the speaker configurations within a scene unless using an entirely different speaker pattern The A3080 allows you to store 2 speaker pattens.

So, copy the PATERN1 configurations over into PATTERN2. Select PATTERN2 and amend its settings to reflect what you'd want in relation to stereo playback. Go into the SCENE configurations and ensure that the option to save SPEAKER SETUP is selected. This option allow you to save Configuration PATTERNs and or PEQ modes to a SCENE. Now save you PATTERN2 setup to a dedicated stereo scene. Go back to PATTERN1 in the speaker configurations. The SCENE you saved will invoke the speaker configurations associated with PATTERN1 which you configured for use in association with STEREO audio.
Thank you so much, I'll give that a go!
 
Place a cut to size sheet of this either over the receiver's display or if wanting to make a professional job ot it, take the receiver's cover off and insert the gel between the the LCD and the protective transparent cover :lesson:

104 DEEP AMBER Heat Proof Coloured Transparent Acetate Gel Sheet Crafts Lighting | eBay

Then whatever I watch on the telly would still look good... nice! :smashin:

Not that I would want a piece of gel in front of the display on a new receiver. And I wouldn't want to open a new receiver to fix it either... So maybe it's best if Yamaha just brings back the amber displays. :) But maybe I'm the only one who prefers those to the current displays...

But I have an old Sony alarm clock with blue light that makes it difficult to read, especially when I'm tired. Maybe I can try this out on that one.
 
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Then whatever I watch on the telly would still look good... nice! :smashin:

Not that I would want a piece of gel in front of the display on a new receiver. And I wouldn't want to open a new receiver to fix it either... So maybe it's best if Yamaha just brings back the amber displays. :) But maybe I'm the only one who prefers those to the current displays...

But I have an old Sony alarm clock with blue light that makes it difficult to read, especially when I'm tired. Maybe I can try this out on that one.

Yeah, best that Yamaha spend a fortune on the manufacture of a non stock component just to make the display glow orange and not match any of your other components. Sort of negates the reason for Yamaha doing away with the amber display in the firdt place, that being that it was costing them a fortune to implement.
 
Overly complicated, button filled remotes and 'learning remotes' on AVR's go together - I find it FANTASTIC that Yamaha has walked away from it. The new remote is a much more enjoyable hand piece... that I only use during initial setup ;-)
Below the equator (where I live) the RXA3080 costs far less than equivalent Denon / Marantz models, for some reason the UK costs a lot more for Yamaha than other regions.
 
Looks like it doesn't have eARC - which is a bit of a strange omission given it literally has everything else.

I know it is likely most people will plug straight into the AVR but would expect a flagship 2019 model to be able to be a bit future proof.
 
Looks like it doesn't have eARC - which is a bit of a strange omission given it literally has everything else.

I know it is likely most people will plug straight into the AVR but would expect a flagship 2019 model to be able to be a bit future proof.

The Yamaha RX-A3080 does support eARC, via firmware update.
I've owned this receiver since October of last year.
 
Looks like it doesn't have eARC - which is a bit of a strange omission given it literally has everything else.

I know it is likely most people will plug straight into the AVR but would expect a flagship 2019 model to be able to be a bit future proof.

It includes eARC. Even the preceeding A3070 model includes support for eARC.


eARC
Beginning in late April and released by model/series: RX-Ax80 Series AV receivers, RX-Ax70 Series AV receivers, RX-Vx85 Series AV receivers, RX-Vx83 Series AV receivers, RX-S602 Slimline AV receiver, TSR-7850 AV receiver, TSR-5830 AV receiver, CX-A5200 AV preamp/processor.
Yamaha Enhances Home Audio Products with AirPlay 2, New Music Streaming and Voice Control Capabilities - Yamaha - United States


Also note thart all of Yamaha's current line up are fully HDCP 2.3 compliant:

The product or its Owner’s Manual, etc. may show “HDCP 2.2” in some cases, but the product can be used as an HDCP 2.3 device.
https://europe.yamaha.com/files/dow...40/web_VCU3910_HDCP2_3_flyer_All_Multi_A0.pdf
 
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Looks like it doesn't have eARC - which is a bit of a strange omission given it literally has everything else.

I know it is likely most people will plug straight into the AVR but would expect a flagship 2019 model to be able to be a bit future proof.
The latest firmware, v1.65, adds eARC support.
 
Got the RX-A3050 which doesn't support DV passthrough but can wait till next year's upgrade.
 
Does the yamaha 3080/3070 have independent sub pre outs? Or are the 2 sub channels just parallel?
 

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