Yamaha RX-V685 Review and Specs

Content

Overview

Yamaha RX-V685 was introduced in 2018. It is equipped with 7 channel amplifier with 90 W (8 Ω, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 2 channel driven) power per channel and is capable of 7.1 maximum channel processing. It supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, passes 4K/60Hz and upscales up to 4K 60p 4:4:4 video signal.

We evaluated the a/v receiver and gave 87 overall score out of 100. Our ranking system is based on the amplifier specifications, audio and video features, connectivity, multizone capabilities, radio and many other details.

AMPLIFIER

88

VIDEO FEATURES

95

AUDIO FEATURES

86

CONNECTIVITY

86

MULTIZONE

79

MISCELLANEOUS

67

RADIO

97

OVERALL

87

Pros and Cons

In this section we present pros and cons of Yamaha RX-V685.

PROS
Dolby Atmos
DTS:X
DSD via HDMI
Auto Speaker Calibration System with Mic.
eARC
New HDCP Version
HDR10
Dolby Vision
4K or 8K Video Passthrough
4K or 8K Signal Upscaling
Analog To HDMI Upconversion
Works with Amazon Alexa
Google assistant
Ethernet
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
USB Input
Phono Input
Composite Video Inputs
Component Video Inputs
Analog Pre-Outs
Zones
Analog Tuner
Pandora
Spotify
Tidal
New Bluetooth Version

CONS
No Front Wide Channel Support
No Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization
No IMAX Enhanced
No Auro 3D with Auro-Matic Upmixer
No HDR10+
No Chromecast Built-In
Few 8K Inputs

Predecessor

Here we are comparing Yamaha RX-V685 to its predecessor RX-V683 and displaying the major changes.

UPGRADES	Yamaha RX-V685	vs	Yamaha RX-V683
Higher DAC Specs	384 kHz/32 Bit	vs	192 kHz/24 Bit
Higher Resolution Music Playback via USB	up to 192 kHz/32 Bit	vs	up to 192 kHz
Works with Amazon Alexa		vs
AirPlay	AirPlay 2 via firmware update	vs	AirPlay
More HDMI Outputs	2	vs	1
More Analog Pre-Outs	2.2	vs	0.2
More Scenes	SCENE (8 sets)	vs	SCENE (4 sets)
Higher DSD Sampling Rate via USB	11.2 MHz, 5.6 MHz, 2.8 MHz	vs	5.6 MHz, 2.8 MHz
Wi-Fi Standard	IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac	vs	IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
Wi-Fi Terminal Frequency	2.4 GHz, 5 GHz	vs	2.4 GHz
Newer Bluetooth Version	4․2	vs	2․1 + EDR

DOWNGRADES	Yamaha RX-V685	vs	Yamaha RX-V683
DTS Express		vs
Less HDMI Inputs	5	vs	6 (1 front)
Front A/V Inputs	USB, mini-jack Audio	vs	HDMI, USB, Mini-jack Audio
Lower Power Output (6 Ω, 1 kHz, 1 channel driven, JEITA)	130 W (10% THD)	vs	150 W (10% THD)

For more detailed comparison between the models please visit Yamaha RX-V685 vs Yamaha RX-V683.

Audio Section

7 channel Amplifier

Yamaha RX-V685 features 7 channel power amplifier. It is rated at 90 W (8 Ω, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 2 channel driven) and is able to drive 4 ohm speakers.

Speaker Configurations

Yamaha RX-V685's 7 channel amplifier can be assigned for different speaker configurations.

Dolby Atmos Configurations: The following speaker configurations are supported for Dolby Atmos:

5.2.2 with internal amplifier.

DTS:X Configurations: The speaker configurations for DTS:X are the same as for Dolby Atmos:

5.2.2 with internal amplifier.

Configurations without height channels: There are also other speaker configurations available which do not include height channels:

5.2, 7.2 with internal amplifier.

Bi-Amp: You can bi-amp front left and right speakers. During bi-amplification two amplifiers are used for one speaker. One amplifier powers the midrange and tweeter section of the speaker and another amplifier powers the low frequency woofers. Each amplifier is less loaded and performs better. In order to use this feature speakers must have 2 pairs of connectors.

Dolby Atmos

Yamaha RX-V685 supports Dolby Atmos. It is a cinematic audio format in which sounds exist as individual entities, called audio objects. In Dolby Atmos, any sound can exist as an independent audio object, free of channel restrictions. They can be precisely placed and moved anywhere in your room, including overhead, to flow above and around you in three-dimensional space. Through the use of audio objects, overhead sound, and all the richness, clarity, and power of Dolby sound, Dolby Atmos turns your room into an amazing place for entertainment. The format supports up to 128 simultaneous independent audio objects in a mix for rich, realistic, and breathtaking sound. It recreates the director's original concept through descriptive metadata to provide customized playback for home theater and delivers sounds above you through overhead speakers, special upward-firing Dolby Atmos speakers, or a Dolby Atmos enabled sound bar.

Dolby Surround Upmixer: If the content is not mixed in Dolby Atmos then the Dolby surround upmixer will expand the audio to all channels including ceiling speakers. The upmixer has replaced the Dolby Pro Logic II family with improved upmixing algorithms.

DTS:X

Yamaha RX-V685 supports DTS:X. A technique used in DTS:X is similar to the one used in Dolby Atmos. Instead of a fixed number of channels, DTS:X defines object locations from the listener in polar coordinates. An a/v receiver then dynamically renders sound according to the current speaker configuration. The speaker layout employed by DTS:X is the sum of Dolby Atmos and Auro-3D. It has standard 7.1 channel base layer, a 5 channel height layer above the base layer on the front and side walls, and 3 rows of speakers on the ceiling.

DTS Neural:X: DTS Neural:X is an advanced upmixer that can take non DTS:X content and upmix it to the DTS:X speaker layout. It has replaced the DTS Neo family with improved flexibility.
DTS Dialog Control: This function adjusts the dialog levels during playback of the DTS:X stream. It allows you to separately increase the dialog levels in contrast with the background sound and hear dialog easily even under noisy circumstances.

Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC)

Audio Return Channel (ARC) feature allows the compatible TV to send audio signal to the a/v receiver through the same HDMI cable which is used to send audio and video signals to the TV. So one HDMI cable is used to transfer audio signal in both directions. New Enhanced ARC will support uncompressed audio formats such as Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio whereas the previous ARC could support only Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, DTS HD, and PCM.

Sound Processing

Adaptive DRC: Yamaha RX-V685 features Adaptive DRC (Dynamic Range Control) which automatically adjusts the dynamic range of the sound according to the volume level. This ensures that you hear clear dialog and vocals, and all sound effects at comfortable levels. There is no need to adjust the volume level as you listen; everything from whispers to big explosions will be heard clearly and comfortably at the same volume setting. It also tones down loud TV commercials, and is ideal for low-volume, late-night listening, when you do not want to disturb others.

Room Calibration

Yamaha RX-V685 comes with YPAO (R.S.C.) room correction system and includes the calibration microphone.

YPAO: The Yamaha Parametric room Acoustic Optimizer (YPAO) function detects speaker connections, measures the distances from them to your listening position(s), and then automatically optimizes the speaker settings, such as volume balance and acoustic parameters, to suit your room.

Video Section

HDMI

Yamaha RX-V685 features 5 HDMI inputs. It has 2 outputs which work parallelly and output the same signal.

4K/60Hz Passthrough: All inputs pass up to 4K 60p 4:4:4 video signal.
4K Upscaling: Yamaha RX-V685 can upscale up to 4K 60p 4:4:4 from HDMI and analog sources.
Analog To HDMI Upconversion: The a/v receiver supports video upconversion, so you can connect your analog Component and Composite video sources and Yamaha RX-V685 will output them via HDMI. This means that you will need only one HDMI cable to connect to your TV.
BT.2020 Color Space: BT.2020 or Rec. 2020 is a color standard which delivers a wider color gamut compared to Rec. 709. It covers approximately 75% of the total visual spectrum while the Rec. 709 covers only 35%.
HDCP 2.3 Copy Protection: All inputs and outputs are HDCP 2.3 compliant which is a requirement for 4K/HDR copy-protected content transmission.
3D Ready: Yamaha RX-V685 is able to pass 3D video through HDMI.

HDR (High Dynamic Range)

Yamaha RX-V685 supports HDR (high dynamic range) video formats such as HDR10, Dolby Vision and Hybrid Log-Gamma. High dynamic range video has greater dynamic range than standard dynamic range (SDR) video with brighter whites and deeper blacks. The result is greater contrast and more details in dark and bright areas, better color and depth.

HDR10: HDR10 uses the wide-gamut Rec. 2020 color space. It sends static metadata via video stream to the TV which calibrates its screen brightness and color according to that. HDR10 supports 10-bit color which corresponds to 1024 shades of the primary RGB colors. It is technically limited to a maximum of 10,000 nits peak brightness, however common HDR10 contents are mastered with peak brightness from 1,000 to 4,000 nits.
Dolby Vision: Dolby Vision is a set of technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories for high dynamic range (HDR) video. It covers content creation, distribution, and playback. Like HDR10+, it includes dynamic metadata that are used to adjust and optimize each frame of the HDR video to the consumer display's capabilities in a way specified by the content creator. Dolby Vision allows for a maximum resolution of 8K up to 12-bit color depth, maximum peak brightness of 10,000 nits and a color gamut up to Rec. 2020. It uses Dolby's proprietary dynamic metadata defined in SMPTE ST 2094-10.
Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG): The Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) is a transfer function developed mainly for HDR live video feed and over-the-air broadcasts. It is an HDR format that uses BT.2020 color primaries and a bitdepth of 10-bit. It is backward compatible with the transfer function of SDR and is designed to be better-suited for television broadcasting, where the metadata required for other HDR formats is not backward compatible with non-HDR displays. HLG defines a non-linear optical-electro transfer function, in which the lower half of the signal values use a gamma curve and the upper half of the signal values use a logarithmic curve.

Multi-zone Playback

Yamaha RX-V685 offers multi-zone playback which allows you to play different input sources in 2 different rooms.

Zone 2

Powered Zone 2: You can use the unit's 2 amplifier channels by connecting Zone 2 speakers directly to the speaker terminals. The remaining 5 channels will be left for main zone amplification.

Inputs and Outputs

Audio

Phono Input: There is an MM phono input with built-in phono stage for connecting the moving magnet cartridge output of the turntable directly to the a/v receiver.
Analog Pre-Outs: Yamaha RX-V685 has 2.2 preamplifier outputs which allow you to connect the a/v receiver to the external power amplifier. You may want to use a high quality external amplifier for certain channels, usually for front L/R and center, and use the a/v receiver to power the rest.
Analog Line Inputs: There are 4 line inputs for analog audio connection.
Digital Inputs: 2 optical inputs and 2 coaxial inputs are available for digital audio connection.
Headphone Output: There is a 6.3 mm (1/4") headphone output jack on the front panel.

Video

HDMI:

Inputs: 5 Outputs: 2
8K Inputs: 0

Composite Video: Connect you VCR, Laserdisc player and other old video equipment with composite video cables.

Inputs: 1 Outputs: 0

Component Video: Component video connection gives you the higher quality video compared to the composite video connection. So in case your old DVD player and other equipment do not have an HDMI output but have Component video output use this connection over the composite one. Yamaha RX-V685 supports up to 480i/576i resolution on Component video connectors.