YAMAHA RX-V681 7.2-channel AV Receiver

DTS:X is the next generation object-based, multi-dimensional audio technology from DTS. 
Unbound from channels, DTS:X conveys the fluid movement of sound to create an incredibly rich, realistic and immersive soundscape - in front of, behind, beside and above the audience - more accurately than ever before. The combination of DTS:X and Yamaha AV receivers will fill the room with multidimensional sound that makes you feel as if you are right in the middle of the story unfolding on the screen.

Enter a new world of sound with Dolby Atmos. It transports you from an ordinary moment into an extraordinary experience with captivating, multidimensional sound that fills your room with amazing richness and depth. Music, people, and objects come alive in breathtaking detail and flow in precise choreography all around you, making you feel like you are truly there. The combination of Dolby Atmos and Yamaha AV receivers will fill the room with multidimensional sound that makes you feel as if you are right in the middle of the story unfolding on the screen.

Yamaha provide multiple placement patterns for presence speakers that support Dolby Atmos, creating a sound field that’s ideal for your setup. Any layout can be appropriately reproduced, including the three-dimensional space of CINEMA DSP as well as Dolby Atmos. 

Furthermore YPAO™ R.S.C. which optimises the listening environment and fundamental high quality audio design takes full advantage of the detailed spatial localisation capability of Dolby Atmos.
The combination of Dolby Atmos and Yamaha AV receivers will fill the room with multidimensional sound that makes you feel as if you are right in the middle of the story unfolding on the screen.

MusicCast is a new revolution in network audio, use all your MusicCast products together or separately, it’s completely up to you. Control it, all from one app, designed to be intuitive, quick and simple to use. Use a soundbar, a wireless speaker, an AV Receiver, Hi-Fi audio whichever suits you best, mix and match then expand your MusicCast system as time goes on. All new from Yamaha, the MusicCast system brings everything to everywhere for everyone.

MusicCast employs a high performance wireless network to deliver music and audio enjoyment. It can stream digital music content from your smartphone, PC or NAS to other MusicCast devices in your home. It can also share the music from external devices such as a TV or Blu-ray Disc™ player connected to the RX-V681. Audio content from Bluetooth®-connected smartphones or tablets can also be streamed to MusicCast devices in multiple rooms.

This AV receiver is equipped with Bluetooth functionality to let you enjoy easy wireless music playback from smartphones and other devices. Yamaha Compressed Music Enhancer is now optimised for Bluetooth audio transmission to ensure that your music will have vivid, lively sound quality even during wireless playback.

The RX-V681 is equipped with the latest Bluetooth technology, making wireless operation more convenient than ever. You can stream music from the RX-V681 to Bluetooth headphones for private listening or to Bluetooth speakers.

This AV receiver completely supports with the latest HDMI® standards. Thanks to transmission of 4K video at 60 frames per second pass-through, you can fully enjoy the high definition video quality of 4K without degradation. It also adheres to the HDCP2.2 copyright protection standard for 4K video transmission. It also supports HDR (High Dynamic Range) Video which provide enhanced picture quality by simultaneously enabling greater detail for both the dark and bright parts of an image. Furthermore it supports wider colour gamut of BT.2020 pass-through.

3D means the receiver can handle 3D signal data. The Audio Return Channel function enables data to be sent and received via the same HDMI cable, so you can hear the sound from the TV via a single HDMI cable, with no need for an extra optical cable.

Wi-Fi Built-in capability allows wireless connection with your household wireless router, greatly simplifying system connections to enjoy network audio and music streaming services. If no Wi-Fi router is available, the unique Wireless Direct feature not only allows you to stream music directly from your smartphone or tablet via AV Controller App's Music Play feature, iOS's AirPlay® etc, but also control your receiver using the AV Controller app.

This AV receiver provides a variety of network functions that enable you to access more sources and also enhance operation. You can connect the receiver to your home network or internet to enjoy Internet Radio, Spotify*, Pandora®*, JUKE*, Napster®*, Rhapsody®*, SiriusXM* or music stored on a NAS and home PC. The AV Controller app (from iTunes App Store or Google play) lets you control various functions from your iPod, iPhone, iPad or Android phones / tablets.
*Music service availability varies by region.

This AV receiver lets you use the Yamaha AV Controller app that is downloadable from the iTunes App Store or Google Play to control power on / off and volume, select input and DSP modes and operate other functions from an iPhone or Android devices. You can also use in as many as 23* different languages and customise the interface by hiding unused icons and renaming functions. A tablet version is also available.
*As of spring 2014

This AV receiver is equipped with a variety of sound programmes that utilise Yamaha's original DSP technology. They allow you to easily create sound fields like actual movie theatres or concert halls in your room and enjoy natural stereoscopic sound fields. Now you can use the AV Controller app to adjust DSP parameters to your preference to match the type of music / movie or the mood you want to achieve. There are two modes, Basic and Advanced, that you can choose according to the type of adjustments you want to do.

Use your smartphone or tablet together with the MusicCast CONTROLLER app to operate the speaker and change settings quickly and easily. The same Controller app functions as a remote control for all your MusicCast-compatible devices too.

This AV receiver supports AirPlay, which means they can accept wireless music streaming from iPod touch®, iPhone® or iPad®, as well as from iTunes on Macs or PCs. This makes it easy to enjoy music from your mobile devices or computer on your home theatre system. You can use view metadata such as song title, artist name as well as album art* via AV receiver's on-screen display.
*Some models don't support album art display.

With the Spotify app on your smartphone, you've got instant access to millions of songs. And now you can stream those songs to your Yamaha system by using Spotify Connect. Just hit play to start streaming music. What's more, when you've been listening on your smartphone outside and come inside, the song immediately streams to your AVR—like magic, you enjoy uninterrupted music. You can also personalise playlists and receive phone calls while listening to music.

*The Spotify app and premium account are required. Visit spotify.com for more details.
Try Spotify Premium for free on your Yamaha Home Entertainment System for 30 days.

*Spotify service availability depends on regions.

Music streaming service JUKE offers access to one of the most comprehensive music libraries in the world. More than 30 million songs from all genres from more than 80,000 labels are available to you. Enjoy your favorite songs in the best sound quality thanks to Dolby Pulse technology and play music wherever and whenever you want. JUKE is available as a premium subscription service at Euro 9.99 per month.

This AV receiver is compatible with many audio formats such as Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio. It is also compatible with high resolution audio codec such as DSD / AIFF / FLAC / WAV / Apple Lossless. You will enjoy excellent sound quality of various high resolution audio codec from USB and network content.

Many live and classical albums have no gaps in the music. Gapless playback ensures that there are no pauses between audio files. This provides playback with no interruptions, the way it was meant to be heard.
*Compatible with WAV, FLAC and ALAC file formats, and input from USB / PC / NAS.

This AV receiver provides Phono input terminals. Connect a turntable and you can enjoy music from your vinyl collection.

The Total Purity Concept, which Yamaha has been cultivating for many years, encompasses high drive amp technology, high purity pre-amplification, anti-vibration technology and independent pure power supplies. All models have a fully discrete power amplifier that helps to minimise distortion. They also adopt independent pure power supplies, allowing dedicated power supplies for the analogue and digital circuitry to prevent digital noise from affecting analogue circuitry. The anti-vibration heatsinks are designed to suppress vibration from transistors and sound pressure. Independent power supplies for the DACs are designed to further eliminate noise on certain models. Down to every detail, these AV receivers are designed with full emphasis on the highest possible sound quality.

This AV receiver was designed with a strong focus on achieving exceptionally high sound clarity. It employs a discrete amp configuration and a low jitter PLL circuit, which contribute to its excellent audio performance.

AV Setup Guide is an app that makes it much easier to perform receiver setup, and also assists you with cable connections between the AV receiver and source devices. It guides you through various settings such as speaker connections, TV and source device connections and power amp assignment. System illustrations and actual AV receiver images help you understand how to make the connections between devices, for much quicker system setup. It is available in multiple languages. Designed for iOS and Android tablet.

Yamaha’ s latest Graphical User Interface has a high resolution display for characters, icons and images, with clear, easy-to-use menus. It also includes a selectable Status Bar that shows input source, volume level, DSP mode and audio format. The GUI provides a choice of eight languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese and Chinese, and can be displayed over both normal and 3D pictures.

Pressing a SCENE button powers on the AV Receiver and selects the input source and DSP mode. You can re-set the buttons for different sources by selecting a source and DSP mode, then pressing a SCENE button for more than three seconds.

Another benefit of HDMI is the availability of CEC functionality. When the unit is connected to a CEC compatible TV, it will turn on and off together with the TV, and you can use the TV remote to control the volume. CEC also provides advanced functionality with other components. For example, you can use the receiver’s remote unit to control player functions like Skip and Stop.
*All connected devices must be HDMI CEC compatible. Some CEC compatible TVs / players may not work.

YPAO-R.S.C. analyses room acoustics and measures various speaker characteristics, then calibrates audio parameters to achieve optimum sound. It employs Reflected Sound Control to correct early reflections for studio-quality sound. It also provides DSP Effect Normalisation, which varies the CINEMA DSP parameters according to the reflected sounds.

Human ears have less sensitivity to high and low frequencies, especially at lower volumes. YPAO Volume applies loudness EQ correction to automatically adjust high and low frequency levels as volume changes. Using the YPAO measurement results, EQ correction is optimised to your system settings and listening environment.

CINEMA DSP 3D provides a wide, high and dense sound field. HD Audio format decoding lets you enjoy HD Audio sources. Virtual Presence Speaker delivers 3-dimensional sound without actual use of presence speakers.

The Virtual Presence Speaker function makes full use of centre and surround speakers to create virtual presence speakers. Enjoy CINEMA DSP 3D Mode surround sound even in environments where speaker installation is limited. In addition, This model also features a Virtual Surround Back Speaker function. Even without using surround back speakers, you can experience more natural sound from behind you.

Even when it is impossible to install surround speakers behind the listening position, Virtual CINEMA DSP reproduces virtual 7-channel surround sound filled with realism, from only two front speakers. The Virtual CINEMA FRONT feature lets you place two surround speakers and a centre speaker at the front to enjoy virtual 7-channel surround sound with even higher quality and resolution, as well as superior rear virtual sound localisation. Adding two additional front presence speakers provides a three-dimensional sound field that gives you a feeling of its height and depth and of the vertical movement of the sound. You get more flexibility to arrange your speakers inside the room, along with easy enjoyment of high quality surround sound.

Yamaha’ s exclusive low-range enhancement technology delivers richer bass than you expect from the speaker size while maintaining good localisation and sound balance even with compact front speakers. When a subwoofer is used, it improves the volume of the entire low range of the speaker system, not only the front speakers, but also enhancing the bass from the subwoofer. You'll enjoy video and music with sound that has exceptional power and presence.

When music is encoded into a digitally compressed format like MP3, the frequency response suffers. Yamaha’s Compressed Music Enhancer employs sophisticated digital signal processing using exclusive algorithms to restore what was lost, so the music always sounds the way it should.

The Subwoofer Trim control enhances the low frequencies by avoiding overlap with the front speaker output. This will result in a cleaner, more focused sound stage while providing a seamless frequency response. When subwoofer frequency overlap occurs in conventional systems, the overall sound is “pushed” toward the subwoofer. Subwoofer Trim takes care of this by separating the low subwoofer frequencies cleanly, thus stabilising the front stage while providing a well-balanced enhanced bass sound.

Intelligent Amp Assign automatically assigns amplifier channels to certain speakers, depending on what functions are selected. For example, in a 7.1-channel system, when Zone 2 is off, all 7.1 channels will be used in the Main Zone. However, when Zone 2 is on, power to the two Surround Back channels will be directed to the two speakers in Zone 2, and the Main Zone will receive 5.1 channels of power. Similarly, when CINEMA DSP 3D is on, the two Front Presence speakers will be powered and not the two Surround Back speakers. When CINEMA DSP 3D is off, this situation is reversed. Furthermore, in a 5.1.2-channel system for Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, when Zone 2 is off, all 5.1.2 channels will be used in the Main Zone. However, when Zone 2 is on, power to the two height / overhead channels will be directed to the two speakers in Zone 2, and th e Main Zone will receive 5.1 channels of power. Thanks to Intelligent Amp Assign, there’s no need to switch the speaker cables on the rear of the receiver―one more way Yamaha makes your life a little easier.

Yamaha’s new ECO mode reduces power consumption by about 20%. It can be set from the top of the GUI menu.
*Compared to power consumption when ECO mode is off (Yamaha measurement).

Auto Power Standby lets you save energy by selecting to turn off the power after 20 minutes, 2, 4, 8 or 12 hours.

AV Receiver