Fat-free Yamaha Still Packs A Punch

Danny Phillips puts his Atmos ambitions to one side to enjoy the traditional five-channel performance of Yamaha's trimmed-down RX-S601 receiver.

AFTER A SPELL at fat camp on a diet of Slim-Fast shakes, Yamaha’s slender RX-S601 receiver hits our test bench holding out a massive pair of trousers that don’t fit anymore. This is an AVR that stands just 111 mm-high, and aimed at those with either limited space, or a hatred of hulking AV separates.

Despite its slender dimensions, Yamaha claims 95W from each of the RX-S601's five channels. However, this is a single-channel, 1kHz, 6 ohm measurement; two-channel, 20Hz-20kHz, is suggested at 60W.

While it's not a full-size design, it doesn’t skimp on features, with a spec sheet that includes Wi-fistreaming, MusicCast multiroom and 4K pass through. If you want DAB radio, add £40 for the RX-S601D.

Available in black, titanium or – unusually – white (pictured), the S601 is an eye-catching amp. The streamlined bodywork will mingle inconspicuously with wafer-thin Blu-ray decks and other boxes, while its mirrored display imparts info in glamorous fashion.

Front buttonry and sockets are kept to a minimum, but you can get hands-on with the large volume and input knobs. It lacks the luxury of Marantz’s slim NR1607, but there’s a pleasing heft when you pick it up.

On the back panel are six HDMI inputs and an ARC-enabled output, but only one of those inputs supports HDCP 2.2 (HDMI 6, actually not the one labelled 'BD/DVD'). Owners of both a UHD Blu-ray deck and Sky Q/Amazon Fire/games console will have to prioritise, I’m afraid.

With plenty of optical, coaxial and analogue inputs, your other kit won’t be stuck for sockets. Bluetooth and Wi-fiare built-in (the latter requiring an antenna) or you can hook up to your network via Ethernet.

Virtually speaking