Yamaha
never falls short of ticking all the boxes, be it its junior RXV range or its high-end RXA series, it seems the company has perfected the art of audio visual technology, and the RXA3060 is well worth that accolade.
Being one of the older, more mature members of the Yamaha family, the RXA3060 asserts its dominance before you even set it up, at a hefty 18kg. It’s oddly reassuring holding a piece of kit so heavy, that there are four legs to help increase stability and a fifth member of the team sitting nicely in the middle referred to as A.R.T or Anti-Resonance Technology. This is a H-shaped frame inside the unit and features a double bottom construction. The RXA3060 is built like a house, and for good reason, there’s a hell of a lot going on under the shell of this unit. There are 11.2 channels allowing you to configure your home cinema in pretty much any shape you please, be it a traditional surround setup, or a more suitable DTS:X or Dolby Atmos configuration. Whatever takes your fancy, the Yamaha can accommodate.
On top of that, there are 8 HDMI inputs and 2 HDMI outputs, 7 of which are full 4k /60p HDCP2.2 HDR video compatible. There really isn’t much you can push through the RXA3060 that it won’t greet with open arms. We also have more analogue inputs than you could shake a stick at, with 9 Audio inputs and a built in pre-amp. The unit also has built-in Wi-Fi for all of the wireless audio needs one could imagine. And with Apple airplay, DLNA, Bluetooth APTX, Spotify, Deezer and Quobuz support. Last but not least, Yamaha’s multiroom system, MusicCast. This gives you the chance to pair with other MusicCast devices in your house and control them all from the application.
A quick look at the RXA3060 from the front and it’s a lot less daunting. The Aluminium minimalistic front fascia offers a silky to the touch control of all the major functionality with reassuring resistance for years of enjoyment.
All of this tech staring up at you can be quite overwhelming, but fear not! Using Yamaha’s supplied YPAO sound optimization and EG calculator (a microphone on a cord) it’s easier than ever. Just plug your cables in, hit go and the RXA3060 will do all the hard work for you. Whilst the YPAO microphone certainly does a good job, it’s worth using the Yamaha Application to tweak the DSP parameter settings to really get the best out of it (not essential, but I found a little tinkering really helped with our set-up).
Once you’re up and running, there’s a world of features to customize to your every need. I personally have no way near enough time test them all. I configured our RXA3060 in a traditional Dolby Atmos Configuration of 5.1.2, and paired it with our Monitor Audio Radius package, and a Panasonic DMPUB900 4K player. My first test was with a copy of The Avengers, I wanted a good test of traditional 5.1 to see what was possible. I skipped to the scene where Thor’s hammer meets Captain America’s shield, a scene I’ve only heard on my own system. There’s not just a loud boom which I’m so used to hearing, the Yamaha takes it all in its stride and offers me levels of bass and low-end frequencies I’m pretty confident I didn’t hear in the cinema, as the sound resonates around the room, the Yamaha doesn’t flinch…even for a second.
With our Atmos collection being somewhat limited I popped in a copy of Transformers Age of Extinction to give the Dolby Atmos a run for its money. The degree in which the sound is somehow separate but still entwined is extraordinary. Some cheaper Atmos AV receivers can over exaggerate Atmos FX to really cement the idea that a robot is flying over your head, which is very impressive. But, so are firework displays and they get dull after a while. It’s the same old loud noise, the RXA3060 has a level of tonal control so detailed that you can almost hear the direction in which the wind is blowing. Maybe I’m hearing things, maybe my brain is filling in the gaps in some sort of placebo effect, either way I’m impressed.
If you’re in the market for an AV receiver that will literally do it all, then the RXA3060 is a no-brainer. Whilst I barely touched the surface of what’s capable, I was completely blown away with what I heard. This unit would sit comfortably in a dedicated home cinema and it’s a serious contender. Well done Yamaha (again)!
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Author: Garrett, Plymouth Store
