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That old-time rock and roll...
Wishing for a Ford T-Bucket
By Max Christoffersen
May 2001
Yamaha RX-V596 AV receiver. $1699
Can
you spell Hot-Rod? If you're going to step up to the start-line with this
popular Yamaha RX-V596 receiver you better!
From the get-go this Yamaha made its intentions very clear: it's time to get going - loud, proud and fast. AC-DC were thinking about this unit when they described shaking all night long. And if you're keen to start it up - stand back!
Two minutes in and with the volume pedal at 10 o'clock this rig was wailing past 100dB with ease and while it was fun even I had to wind back the clock and head for the pits.
Out loud I confessed the obvious. "What is going on here?" Is this burning octane instead of electricity? Whatever is feeding this beast, I better get inside and take a look.
But unlike its automotive counterparts, under the hood there isn't a fire breathing beast of heavy-metal horsepower. The Yamaha may sound powerful but the brittle nature of its sound texture at high volume and overly 'sensitive' volume put configuration confirm it was straining.
The Yamaha has a lot of volume-output at the same relative volume-pot level compared to other popular receivers. In short, the calibration on the volume pot is weighted in favour of power immediately on start-up (with no turbo lag). Making fine settings near impossible but a quick rush very probable!
Interestingly the unit is rated at 70 watts but you may think there is more. But power is a funny thing. In my view, amp power has little to do with volume. Power can be heard and also be appreciated at low level listening. In fact in my view power is appreciated at its best when the volume level is at realistic listening levels (70-80dB). Power provides a sense of ease and often plays a role in allowing the amp to recover and replay fine sonic detail. Often this is the case with nighttime listening where power can be appreciated for revealing sonic subtleties or the quick fright of an unexpected dynamic punch.
So be warned - power can be a sonic illusion and volume pots and accelerator pedals are best approached with some caution until you have some time and miles under the driver's eat.
But back to the Ford T-Bucket Yamaha call the RX-V596.
Under
the hood you get Dolby Pro Logic/Dolby Digital/DTS; tuner function; speaker
A&B; external decoder input; two coaxial and three optical inputs;
pre-outs for all main channels and a range of DSP programmes some of which
can be added to stock DD/DTS sound fields.
And while the ride is a very firm and the sense of whhhooooooooooosshhh is damn near tactile, the Yamaha is best mated to music that fits the ride. For example match this units tonal characteristic to your music (Van Halen to the Chemical Brothers, or Blink 182 to dance-floor House music) and your speakers (Cerwin-Vega!) and you will have a unit that really does put you and anyone else within earshot on your butt. But play music or home theatre with some different deeper shadings and you find the Yamaha prefers the straight track.
While testing the Yamaha with some straight ahead rock (Living Colour - Stain) and I found sibilance was a major distraction at high volume. It reminded me of the early days of CD where digititis was common and the warmth of analogue was becoming a distant memory.
But for the pure hell of it I played Peter Frampton's Do You Feel Like We Do (from the new 25th anniversary edition CD) and the climatic piece of this live track was a genuine over-the-top experience best repeated over and over until your ears bleed.
Also note that the bright attack of the audio side of the Yamaha carried through into an equally bright attack on home theatre performance (which may be welcomed by many who enjoy the visceral thrill of the sense of leading edge attack of block buster films). Others may find the experience a little fatiguing.
The Sixth Day was none-the-less a fast engaging ride, with the Yamaha perfectly suited to this action-genre film. In use, the fiddly remote will lead to new swear words being placed together.
The DSP functions don't include the glorious 8 Channel Stereo found on the delightful RXV3000, but the stock settings made for a convincing illusion and as usual were a fun combination for live music or just for letting your hair down to some old-fashioned rock and roll.
Bottom line with this Yamaha is it's not for the feint-hearted and the best advice anyone can offer is: party-on dude!
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