There are few things more irritating than shelling out your hard-earned cash on Cyber Monday for a piece of home cinema kit only to find that it quickly becomes technically obsolete or easily outgrown as you strive to build your perfect system.
However, there's not much chance of either of those scenarios happening with the Yamaha RX-A6A. This AV receiver was notable when it launched for its benchmark-setting HDMI 2.1 support with up to 40Gbps of bandwidth across all inputs, as well as comprehensive format support and a flexible feature set.
When we tested the RX-A6A at its launch price of £2299, we awarded it five stars in recognition of being one of the most precise sounding, adaptable and future-proofed AVRs at its price point. And now, the Yamaha is temporarily discounted by a massive £800 at multiple retailers, including Sevenoaks and Richer Sounds, meaning you can now enjoy the A6A's sparkling sound for even less.
The Yamaha RX-A6A has processing for 11.2 channels and amplification for nine, enabling users to build an immersive Dolby Atmos system.
Support for 3D sound formats also includes DTS:X and Auro-3D. There are also plenty of options for those who don’t have the speakers for a complete surround system, including Dolby Atmos height virtualiser, Virtual Presence Speaker and Virtual Surround Back Speaker.
Yamaha's MusicCast app allows for easy streaming of hi-res and lossless music, including Apple Lossless (ALAC) up to 96 kHz, WAV, FLAC and AIFF up to 192kHz. You've also got access to a number of built-in streaming services including Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz and Deezer. For wireless streaming AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth 4.2 are on board.
The RX-A6A has received several recent firmware upgrades and now supports passthrough of uncompressed 4K@120Hz and 8K@60Hz video signals and HDR10+ across its seven HDMI inputs and three outputs. Gaming features ALLM (Auto Low Latency mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) are also on board, and QMS (Quick Media Switching) and QFT (Quick Frame Transport) are also due to be added.
Sonically the A6A is clean, spacious and strident and delivers plenty of cinematic weight. Its rhythmically nimble, sharp transients reveal plenty of detail, helping make it a capable performer with music as well as movies.
At its launch price of £2299, Yamaha considers the RX-A6A the best value AVR in its range, as it shares a near-identical feature set with the flagship RX-A8A (£3299) for considerably less outlay. With a massive £800 off its launch price, the RX-A6A is a home cinema bargain you won't regret.
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