Yamaha CX-A5100
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Set Up:
I swapped out my Parasound 5250 for my Rotel 1095 as the Parasound is too deep and only fit in my stand sideways. I am using the XLR connectors as the Parasound only has unbalanced RCA. I also brought the Panamax 5300 downstairs as the Rotel has a tendency to hum. No hum whatsoever. SInce this is my family room, it is only a 5.2 setup. It will never be anything else. YPAO was very quick. Like with the Marantz AV7005 it is replacing, I had to boost the bass a little. What I do like over the way the Marantz ran equalization is the 5 main speakers. The center is at the center as it should be. With the 7005 the front mains overpowered the center sometimes and I also had to boost the center. Not so with the Yamaha. Updated firmware when prompted. Went from 1.02 to 1.54.
Equipment: Rotel 1095, Sony BDP-S7200, ROKU 2, D* HR44, Wharfedale Jade 7 Left and Right with Jade 2 Center, Axiom QS8 surrounds, Dual Sunfire HRS12.
Usage:
Sound Modes: Being this is my first Yamaha since pre-DTS, things are much different for me. Yamaha has a ton of different sound fields, probably way too many, most of which I will never use. I remember that from my original rec, eiver way back when. Another thing to get used to is the display doesn't show DD, DTS, MA TrueHD, etc. Instead it will show which sound mode is in use, straight (straight decoding), movie (many different scenes sci-fi, drama, etc), music (more sound fields), etc. When you hit the display button is where you see the original audio source (DTS-MA, TrueHD, DD). I am using straight decoding.
TV Viewing:
First of all, this processor has a passthrough mode when off. Works like a charm. Should be able to get rid of the component cables and just use the HDMI passthrough. We'll see. DOn't feel like pulling them out of the wall.
I watched several shows off of my DVR yesterday. Sounds terrific. As I said earlier, the center is the star. Crisp and clear, with the front left and right and surrounds providing proper balance without overpowering the center and dialog. This was actually an issue I had to adjust out with XT and the Marantz AV7005.
I will need to read through the OM. I am coming across the same annoyance that I posted about with the Pioneer. I often watch ION which is 2 channel PCM (Stereo). Seems there has to be a way to automatically switching between channels that broadcast in DD 5.1 vs. stereo. This is a no-brainer with Denon/Marantz. Once you set it once, it will remember that you apply Prologic to stereo sources on that input. Way easier to use. Doesn't seem like it should be that difficult.
Music:
Blu-ray: You know me.... I test everything with Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa live in Amsterdam. Between Beth's voice and Joe's guitar, the horns, etc. Nothing is better. Can't wait to see her next Saturday. I chose to listen to the DTS-MA track. Once again total balance. Beth's voice is front and center. The roughness in her voice really comes through and Joe's guitar sings. This is a must for any HT, especially Etta James's "I'd Rather Go Blind". Wow.
Bluetooth: This is my first receiver/processor with Bluetooth downstairs in the family room. Nice feature for just playing music while doing other things. Paired easily with my Galaxy. Every time I switch inputs to BT, it starts automatically with the current song in my playlist. As far as sound, sounds as good as you'll get using this method.
DLNA:
DLNA sounds much better than BT. Listening to Dierks Bentley's "Up on the Ridge". Lots of mandolins, fiddles, banjos, etc. Sounds really good. Crisp and clean. Took a while to get sharing up with Windows 10. The Yamaha DLNA function on the Yamaha also shows album cover art.
To be continued...
I swapped out my Parasound 5250 for my Rotel 1095 as the Parasound is too deep and only fit in my stand sideways. I am using the XLR connectors as the Parasound only has unbalanced RCA. I also brought the Panamax 5300 downstairs as the Rotel has a tendency to hum. No hum whatsoever. SInce this is my family room, it is only a 5.2 setup. It will never be anything else. YPAO was very quick. Like with the Marantz AV7005 it is replacing, I had to boost the bass a little. What I do like over the way the Marantz ran equalization is the 5 main speakers. The center is at the center as it should be. With the 7005 the front mains overpowered the center sometimes and I also had to boost the center. Not so with the Yamaha. Updated firmware when prompted. Went from 1.02 to 1.54.
Equipment: Rotel 1095, Sony BDP-S7200, ROKU 2, D* HR44, Wharfedale Jade 7 Left and Right with Jade 2 Center, Axiom QS8 surrounds, Dual Sunfire HRS12.
Usage:
Sound Modes: Being this is my first Yamaha since pre-DTS, things are much different for me. Yamaha has a ton of different sound fields, probably way too many, most of which I will never use. I remember that from my original rec, eiver way back when. Another thing to get used to is the display doesn't show DD, DTS, MA TrueHD, etc. Instead it will show which sound mode is in use, straight (straight decoding), movie (many different scenes sci-fi, drama, etc), music (more sound fields), etc. When you hit the display button is where you see the original audio source (DTS-MA, TrueHD, DD). I am using straight decoding.
TV Viewing:
First of all, this processor has a passthrough mode when off. Works like a charm. Should be able to get rid of the component cables and just use the HDMI passthrough. We'll see. DOn't feel like pulling them out of the wall.
I watched several shows off of my DVR yesterday. Sounds terrific. As I said earlier, the center is the star. Crisp and clear, with the front left and right and surrounds providing proper balance without overpowering the center and dialog. This was actually an issue I had to adjust out with XT and the Marantz AV7005.
I will need to read through the OM. I am coming across the same annoyance that I posted about with the Pioneer. I often watch ION which is 2 channel PCM (Stereo). Seems there has to be a way to automatically switching between channels that broadcast in DD 5.1 vs. stereo. This is a no-brainer with Denon/Marantz. Once you set it once, it will remember that you apply Prologic to stereo sources on that input. Way easier to use. Doesn't seem like it should be that difficult.
Music:
Blu-ray: You know me.... I test everything with Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa live in Amsterdam. Between Beth's voice and Joe's guitar, the horns, etc. Nothing is better. Can't wait to see her next Saturday. I chose to listen to the DTS-MA track. Once again total balance. Beth's voice is front and center. The roughness in her voice really comes through and Joe's guitar sings. This is a must for any HT, especially Etta James's "I'd Rather Go Blind". Wow.
Bluetooth: This is my first receiver/processor with Bluetooth downstairs in the family room. Nice feature for just playing music while doing other things. Paired easily with my Galaxy. Every time I switch inputs to BT, it starts automatically with the current song in my playlist. As far as sound, sounds as good as you'll get using this method.
DLNA:
DLNA sounds much better than BT. Listening to Dierks Bentley's "Up on the Ridge". Lots of mandolins, fiddles, banjos, etc. Sounds really good. Crisp and clean. Took a while to get sharing up with Windows 10. The Yamaha DLNA function on the Yamaha also shows album cover art.
To be continued...
Last edited:
I have not had XT32. The AV7005 has XT. I have found to both be lacking on bass probably because of the Wharfedale towers are full range speakers. With tweaks, I have been able to get good bass. I would like the Yamaha to calibrate lower, but it sounds really good. I am especially pleased with how the 5 mains calibrated out with YPAO. Very balanced with the center being the star.
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Took a firmware update this morning. Updated to 1.63. Still works well. Sound is awesome, but I prefer the way Marantz works more. Autoswitching between DD and pro-logic modes. Displaying the actual sound format (DTSMA, etc.).
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Just did the 1.77 HDR/DTS update on my Yamaha CX-A5100. Went back to running a single cable from the K8500 for audio and video through the processor. Put in Martian. No errors. TV goes into HDR mode. Using Mediabridge 6' to processor and 15' out to Sony 940C.
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