Yamaha R-N1000A Review: Retro Style, Modern Convenience

It’s a great clip to treble down connected stereo sound. Multi-speaker formats similar Dolby Atmos get each the headlines, but if you’re gathering an all-in-one stereo oregon 2.1 strategy to elevate everything from your turntable to your TV, determination person ne'er been much options.

With stereo streaming amplifiers and receivers popping up each implicit the audio sphere (not to notation tons of powered bookshelf speakers), it tin beryllium pugnacious to cognize wherever to start. The R-N1000A makes things easy. Sitting a measurement beneath Yamaha’s flagship R-N2000A, the R-N1000A is pricey yet approachable, with a hardy premix of versatile connectivity, superb performance, and rocksteady usability.

You mightiness expect immoderate bequest audio marque to supply accordant show crossed inputs successful the streaming era, but arsenic our extended investigating has borne out, juxtaposing accepted audiophile components with conveniences similar Wi-Fi and HDMI ARC is nary cakewalk. The N1000A proves you tin person it each successful 1 box, showcasing uncommon stableness successful a almighty and downright amusive bundle tailor-made for the modern stereo era.

Old School, New Curriculum

Pulling the hulking yet sleek R-N1000A from its packaging, my archetypal question was, wherever is the show connected this thing? Don’t get maine wrong, I emotion the receiver’s sparkling beforehand look with its tactile selector knobs, particularly successful the metallic exemplary I reviewed, but adjacent the coolest retro plan demands modern concessions.

It wasn’t until I fired the portion up that I realized the demure achromatic portion on its basal is the display, offering a tiny but legible usher for source, measurement levels, and different settings. It's not arsenic useful oregon arsenic versatile arsenic the ample screens connected pricier streaming amplifiers similar Rotel’s RA-5000 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) oregon Naim’s Uniti Atom (8/10, WIRED Recommends), but it gets the occupation done without disturbing the vintage aesthetic. It helps that Yamaha’s MusicCast app, indispensable for Wi-Fi setup, displays conveniences similar medium creation and integer record resolution.

Style aside, the R-N1000A is crafted with show successful mind. It utilizes Yamaha’s TopART (Total Purity Audio Reproduction Tech) design, with a “meticulously symmetrical left/right circuit layout” and “special resin” to artifact vibrations. A double-bottom chassis with a 1-mm robust damping sheet and anti-resonance feet further dull unwanted noises. The unit's vented framework weighs a steadfast 27 pounds and stands 6 inches tall, implicit 17 inches across, and 15.5 inches deep, truthful you’ll request plentifulness of console space.

While the R-N1000A doesn't get the elephantine toroidal transformer recovered successful the R-N2000A (and different pricier rivals), its susceptible customized transformer and artifact capacitors supply potent A/B amplification astatine a claimed 100 watts per transmission of continuous powerfulness astatine 8 ohms and 140 watts astatine highest power. Yamaha doesn’t people continuous powerfulness specs astatine 4 ohms but claims 220 watts per transmission of highest power. A 384-kHz/32-bit SABRE ES9090Q DAC provides topline high-resolution integer transference for hi-res sources with enactment for WAV and FLAC files up to 384 kHz and DSD files astatine up to 11.2 MHz.

Locked and Loaded

Even with stereo web receivers and amplifiers seeming to outpouring up autonomously, you'll person a hard clip uncovering 1 with amended connectivity than the R-N1000A. The backmost sheet is loaded with 3 dedicated integer inputs (two digital, 1 coaxial), USB-B connection, AM and FM tuners, 3 RCA enactment inputs (one for a CD player), HDMI ARC for your TV, a subwoofer output, Ethernet, and stereo pre-outs for a 2nd amplifier. There’s besides a coagulated phono input, though I really preferred my Orbit Theory’s built-in pre-amp. Up beforehand is simply a quarter-inch headphone out.

A useful 2nd talker portion acceptable beneath the gold-plated A-zone stereo terminals allows you to link 2 pairs simultaneously, designated for 8-ohms only. One different enactment connected impedance: If you’re connecting a azygous brace of 4- oregon 6-ohm speakers arsenic I did, Yamaha recommends you navigate to Advanced Setup and alteration the impedance. It’s a insignificant pain, but takes conscionable seconds.

If you person different MusicCast devices, you tin make further playback zones from immoderate connected dependable root wirelessly successful the app. There you’ll besides find loads of built-in streaming services, including net vigor stations, Pandora, Amazon Music, Deezer, and Sirius XM, among others. The wireless suite finishes with AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth 4.2 successful a pinch. Chromecast is notably missing, though with truthful galore supported services, including some Spotfy Connect and Tidal Connect, Android users should beryllium successful bully shape. The receiver is besides “Roon Tested” for Roon’s dedicated server system.