Nov 5, 2017

Yamaha RX-A3070 vs RX-A3060 Review

The RX-A3070 and RX-A3060 have identical design. An aluminum front panel and H-shaped frame are some of the features they have in common. Furthermore, the RX-A3070 and RX-A3060 utilize a fifth foot placed in the center for the purpose of damping vibrations from both internal components such as the power transformer and power transistors, as well as from external sources (e.g. speakers). In order for vibrations to be further reduced, the feet of the RX-A3070 have an inner section with straight ribs and an outer one with curved ribs. The former improve installation stability whereas the latter help with the dispersion of chassis resonance, thus reducing vibration energy.

The RX-A3070 and RX-A3060 both have 9 built-in power amplifiers. Furthermore, they are identically rated at 150 W per channel (2 channel driven into 8 ohms, 20Hz-20kHz, THD 0.06%). There is no difference between the RX-A3070 and RX-A3060 in terms of the pre-amp section either since both receivers are capable of 11.2 channel processing and have 11.2 channel pre-outs. Besides supporting up to 2 subwoofers with built-in amplifiers, the RX-A3070 and RX-A3060 provide you with the option for up to 7.2.4 channel expandability via an external 2 channel amplifier. Without it, however, the two receivers are able to drive a Dolby Atmos speaker setup up to 5.2.4 or 7.2.2 channel. The Extra SP 1-2 terminals can be assigned to Zone 2/3 via the Power Amp Assign setting but doing so will leave you with less available amp channels for your main zone.

The ES9026PRO digital-to-analog converters (DACs) are used for main 7 channels on the RX-A3070, which is an upgrade from the ES9016A DACs used on the RX-A3060 for the 7 main channels. Some of the new features of the PRO Sabre series are: total harmonic distortion (THD) compensation as well as user selectable DAC Digital Filter types. The RX-A3070 allows you to choose either Sharp or Slow roll-off type, or Short latency type for the digital filter type of the DACs.

In terms of front panel connections, the only difference is that the RX-A3070 omits the composite video input that can be found on the RX-A3060. When it comes to the back I/O panel, however, there are several differences. While the RX-A3060 has 3 Component video inputs and 1 output, the RX-A3070 only has 2 Component video inputs (and no Component video outputs). The single Composite video output on the RX-A3060 is omitted from the RX-A3070. Both receivers have 8 HDMI inputs (7 rear and 1 front) and 2 HDMI outputs. Another difference is that only the RX-A3070 is equipped with a XLR jack which allows transmitting analog audio signals via an XLR balanced cable but you'll also need a device that has balanced output terminals. If the balanced input on the RX-A3070 is used, you can activate the attenuator for it in order to avoid sound distortion when 3V RMS (or higher) signals are input.

The YPAO (Yamaha Parametric room Acoustic Optimizer) is utilized by both the RX-A3070 and RX-A3060. An YPAO microphone is supplied with both receivers, and there is a YPAO Mic jack on the front panel of both the RX-A3070 and RX-A3060. During the YPAO Automatic System Calibration, speakers are detected and the distances to your listening position(s) are measured. It's possible to take multi-point measurement. Speaker settings are then optimized based on your room acoustics. Reflected sound control technology is also employed to suppress unwanted reflections from walls or ceiling that are detrimental to sound quality. The RX-A3070 and RX-A3060 perform EQ calculations with 64-bit precision. The two receivers also feature YPAO 3D which measures the angle of the front, surround and presence speakers relative to your listening position as well as the height of presence speakers. After the measurement is done, the RX-A3070 and RX-A3060 use the appropriate compensation curve in order to enhance the 3D sound field of CINEMA DSP HD3. Speaking of which, there are 24 DSP programs to choose from on the RX-A3070 and RX-A3060.

Except for the HDMI input on the front, all 7 HDMI inputs on the back of both the RX-A3070 and RX-A3060 are HDCP 2.2 compatible, meaning they can be used for connecting an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc player. Furthermore, the RX-A3070 and RX-A3060 support HDR10 pass-through, in addition to the BT.2020 wide color gamut container that is used with Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. The ability to pass-through another two HDR formats: Dolby Vision and HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) will be added with a future firmware update, according to Yamaha.

The RX-A3070 and RX-A3060 have identical high resolution audio playback capabilities. They are able to decode FLAC, WAV and AIFF files at up to 192kHz/24bit, and ALAC at up to 96kHz/24bit. DSD files up to 5.6 MHz are also supported on both the RX-A3070 and RX-A3060. They also utilize a Compressed Music Enhancer for files with sampling frequency of up to 48 kHz which are processed and enhanced up to 96kHz/24bit.

Check availability and pricing on Amazon.com for the RX-A3070 and RX-A3060 (affiliate links; As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

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