The V2600 comes with a shiny THX Select 2 badge and seven channels of 130W measured into 8O across the entire audio spectrum. In addition to traditional 7.1 mode, you can configure the rear-back channel output as a powered Zone 2 option, leaving you 5.1 in the main room. Yamaha's bonkers ‘presence' channels – above and behind the main left/right speakers – are included, but we don't recommend using these.
The onscreen GUI is by far the nicest OSD to look at and use of the AV receiver genre to date. There is full auto setup and Room EQ, thanks to Yamaha's well-respected YPAO parametric equaliser and a dinky little mic supplied in the box. This simplifies the setup and installation routine, but if you are feeling brave enough to ‘tweak', there is a mind-boggling array of frequency, gain and Q-Factor adjustments to seven equalizer bands across each of the main seven channels. Phew.
Composite, S-video and component video signals entering the V2600 are up-converted to HDMI output with a combination of an Analogue Devices video encoder/decoder and a high-performance deinterlacer and scaler from Oplus. The upshot is that no matter what input, the RX-V2600 can convert it to 720p or 1080i and chuck it out as an HD signal through the HDMI output. One HDMI cable to your TV or projector is all you are ever going to need for HD resolution video from DVD, HD tuner, Foxtel or even your old VCR.
Performance
The default setup routine is great, but it engages the YPAO room EQ automatically, meaning you have to manually turn it off.
With all the EQ shut down the V2600 features a big, boisterous and robust sound and enough drive to fill the very biggest home cinema room. With five channels driven, it delivers 105W apiece. It would be ideal for an action-movie fan with floorstanding speakers and a penchant for realistic sound pressure levels.
Engaging the YPAO is like throwing the RX-V2600 away and replacing it with a nimbler, faster and crystal-clear alternative more akin to a good processor/power amp combo…. There is a clarity and sparkle around effects that brings any movie to life, backed with rock-solid bass and a huge dynamic range. The soundstage gains several metres in every direction, even making your room feel perceptibly larger. The big open factory in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is sonically crafted with a great sense of space and scale, while dialogue retains a fine sense of presence in the foreground.
