YAMAHA RX-V4A
VS.
YAMAHA RX-V385
Last updated September 2023
YAMAHA RX-V4A
8.5
YAMAHA RX-V385
7.8
Awesome receiver and tons of options that can be customized in every conceivable way
June 8, 2023
In a word this receiver is just awesome and I simply could not be happier with my purchase! There are so many ways to customize this receiver it can be almost daunting at first but I mean that in a good way. Yes there is a bit of a learning curve even for a geek like me but I have found that to be a pleasant experience because Yamaha has very a very good user manual that goes into great detail on everything. I also love how you get on screen menus that display on your TV or computer monitor via the HDMI out connection on the receiver. Another thing is that this really works in conjunction with XBOX series X. It wasn't that long ago that you simply could NOT find an HDMI audio extractor for the XBOX that would allow you to break out the audio and send it to your surround sound speaker system while also supporting the full 4K @ 120 Hz refresh rate at full resolution. This receiver does all that but you do have to play around just a bit with the XBOX audio settings to make this work. Largely this means disconnecting your headset connected to XBOX so that an additional audio option becomes configurable and allows audio to work with 5.1 surround sound setup. This receiver does a great job of splitting out the audio and sending it directly to my speakers. Finally I don't have to use headsets every time I want to do something on the XBOX! :) I have this receiver connected to Klipsch Reference Cinema Dolby Atmos 5.1.4 System speakers and the sound quality is nothing short of amazing! I thought my old 5.1 surround speakers were good (though they were starting to have problems at 13 years old) but with a combination of this receiver and this new Klipsch speaker set there is NO comparison - it is just so much better now! I did not even realize how much I was missing out on until I had this new surround system connected. And one last note: Yamaha customer support is also really, really good. I did have a few questions and needed assistance on a couple of things and it was quick & painless to get a hold of a live human being unlike many companies that make this really difficult. And the next day Yamaha level 2 support even called me back to make sure I had everything worked out to my satisfaction and I did not even request the call back. Now how is that for a company that goes above and beyond and truly believes in customer service? AMAZING! I very highly recommend this receiver.
Works Like a Boss So Far
May 28, 2018
I just got this thing yesterday on Sunday. I know, I can't believe Amazon ships on Sunday!! Thanks Amazon Prime!!I I seriously hate waiting a week to two weeks for my products when ordering online, so I usually just go to the store and buy my products. Amazon Prime is the best thing since white rice. Amazon prime is like not having to deal with your mother in law, because she lives far away : ) Oh sorry folks, I forgot I was writing a review on a receiver. LOL. When I was looking over the dimension specs I was concerned that the unit would not fit in the opening of my TV stand due to the height. Based upon the specs, the unit looks like it will barely fit in height. The length and depth of the unit was no problem. My TV stand requires 6" of height clearance in the slot where the receiver goes. This is due to a wood trim piece in front, but once that piece is cleared I have 6-1/4" of clearance. The Amazon site says this unit is 6" tall, so I figured I can just angle the receiver into the opening to clear the front wood trim piece. You might be asking why I don't just remove the front wood trim piece and then put it back? Because it's a fancy ornate piece that is glued and mortised into the sliding wood platform, therefore removing and re-installing it would be a bit*h. I decided to take a chance and ordered the receiver. When the unit arrived the retail box was boxed into an Amazon box to avoid damage. I like that they packaged the unit that way, because I like to keep my retail boxes on electronics items. It's easier to pack electronics back into their original boxes to avoid damage when I move. I removed the receiver from the retail box and checked for physical damage and scratches and everything looked kosher. So I tried to angle the receiver into the TV stand opening and it just wouldn't work. I needed 2 mm more of clearance, which I didn't have. Dilemma, dilemma. Do I return the receiver and look for a smaller height receiver? I really wanted this Yamaha receiver, because it has bluetooth, YPAO syncing, USB, and HDMI connectors. Plus all the speakers inputs in the back take banana plug connectors, which I really like for convenience and not having to deal with the cheap spring clip connectors and oxidation of copper wires. Note: Don't use the silver cheap thin sub woofer wire that comes in the box when you buy your self-powered sub woofer. Spend a few $$s and get the Media Bridge or Monster Cable gold plated cable instead. I didn't want to have to downgrade my receiver due to the height issue, so I found an awesome alternative!! Tip the receiver upside down and you will see four black plastic pieces used as the feet for this unit. The feet are secured by some small Phillips screws. I removed the feet, because they were too tall. Then I went to Wal-Mart to their hardware department to look for some alternative feet that were not as tall. I was going to go to Depot, but they close at 8 pm on Sundays. I found a package of clear furniture feet for $1 that are smaller in height, but about the same size in the other dimensions to the original Yamaha feet. I used a 1/8" drill bit to drill a hole in the center of the furniture feet and screwed them into the receiver with the Phillips screws. Then tried to fit the unit in the TV opening and guess what? The receiver fits like a champ!! If you remove the factory feet remember that you need to replace them with something else to elevate the unit. There are vents at the bottom of the receiver and there has to be some clearance, so heat can dissipate from the receiver. Initial impressions are good and everything works so far. I'll update if I run into any issues with this new edition Yamaha receiver. Update Aug 2018: I was listening to this thing after setting up the YPAO and thinking that the sound was not very good or loud. Plus the subwoofer was not putting out bass in sync with the speakers and the bass sounded muddy low. I called Yamaha tech support and they helped me set up the receiver correctly. They had me press and hold the "straight" button, while pressing and holding the power button to re-set the unit back to factory specs. Note: This will erase all your radio presets, so make sure you write them down so you can input them back in again. So forget this YPAO nonsense and go into the receiver settings screen. The standard default is 8 ohms for your speakers, but all my speakers are 6 ohms. So I had to change the on screen setting to 6 ohms, because there is no switch on the back of the unit like on the older Yamaha receivers. Then apparently in the settings menu, you have to change left front, right front, center speaker, and rear speakers to the "small" setting and the sub woofer setting to "Use." Then there are individual speaker volume settings for each speaker that have to be turned up from the factory low settings. Somewhere in the settings I was told to set the cut off point at 80 hz (THX industry standard) and select "Normal Phase." You have to flip the switch on your amp sub woofer box to normal phase also. Also, the -db volume control was so annoying. When I increase the volume the negative db shows up and apparently the numbers head toward zero as you turn the volume knob to the right. So, I changed that setting to increase the numbers instead of the -db. Then I played some Taylor Swift- Style (don't B judging me) and adjusted the amp sub woofer bass volume to equal my two front speakers and set the cut off frequency at 80 hz. Now everything sounds copacetic and my amp sub woofer really kicks!! I have attached a pic of how to get the blue tooth working, because that was a bit*h to set up and not intuitive. March 2019 Update: This thing still works like a champ!! One cool feature I found is that if you get your ipad or ipod, then go to the bluetooth screen and turn on the bluetooth, and then select the Yamaha receiver; that the bluetooth signal will automatic power on your Yamaha receiver. Click that helpful tab if this info was awesome for you : )
