Yamaha RX-A6A

A future-proofed AVR with sparkling sound

AV receiver ₹2,72,490

KEY FEATURES

• HDMI 2.1 across all ports 9
• Nine channels of amplification
• DOLBY ATMOS Dolby Atmos

For manufacturers trying to keep up with technology trends, the feeling of constantly playing catch-up must be acute. No sooner does a company release its latest and greatest piece of home entertainment kit than a new feature comes along and suddenly obsolescence beckons. When it comes to products such as AV receivers that have to link multiple devices, all with their own raft of constantly evolving specifications, things are even trickier.

As the hub of any home cinema, an AVR must be able to keep up with the ever-changing demands of video, sound, streaming and gaming technology - not to mention the Never Ending Story-like tome of HDMI 2.1 protocols that provide the basis for their interface.

When Yamaha first announced its current Aventage range, in which the RX-A6A sits one notch below the flagship model, it was notable both for its benchmark-setting support of HDMI 2.1 with up to 40Gbps of bandwidth across all inputs and outputs, and for the number of asterisks attached to its specifications, indicating technology that would eventually be added by way of future software updates.

This means that users who purchased the RX-A6A when it launched in 2021 had to wait patiently for firmware updates to unlock the capability for passthrough of uncompressed 4K@120Hz and 8K@60Hz signals as well as HDR10+ across its seven inputs and three outputs. As of August 2022, gaming features such as ALLM (Auto Low Latency mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) should also be supported, but there is still no date for when QMS (Quick Media Switching) and QFT (Quick Frame Transport) will be added.