110 replies to this topic

[Dave T]

H3adsh0t, on Dec 28 2010, 11:14 PM, said:

No firmware upgrade has been released for the 3000 yet.

My RX A1000 has been upgraded to version2.05

[souwalker]

Dave T, on Dec 30 2010, 08:09 PM, said:

My RX A1000 has been upgraded to version2.05

What are your thoughts on the A1000?

I am thinking of changing my a/v receiver which is the Marantz SR5200. I use pre-outs for my pre/power amp and cnetre channel so the 5200 only powers the rear. It's the new HD decoder I am after.

Rgds

[Dave T]

souwalker, on Dec 31 2010, 11:44 AM, said:

What are your thoughts on the A1000?

I am thinking of changing my a/v receiver which is the Marantz SR5200. I use pre-outs for my pre/power amp and cnetre channel so the 5200 only powers the rear. It's the new HD decoder I am after.

Rgds

I have found the difficult to set up but very rewarding. It is powerfull and very musical and beats the old Dennon AVR 1800 hands down for sound.
Have set up web control and internet radio and can't stop listening to Radio Paradise.
Looked at a Dennon 2310 but that looked bare bones compared to the A1000 and it more than meets my needs.
Still playing with settings and have found the Aventage control app for my Ipod touch is only available on the US Itunes store.
Dave

[xonicjan]

Would any of you guys who got the $1800/$1900 price able to upload your receipts please.

Im having no luck with pricing as of yet... Please

Would really prefer the 2000 but if theres not much difference in pricing i might as well get the 3000.

[genghis600]

wheelz, on Dec 30 2010, 03:41 PM, said:

Steve matched the $1900 that clef has.

Thanks,

Rang today, Eatwood Hifi reckon they are out of stock. The website says they will match the price until stock is gone so I guess there will be no matching prices anymore on the A-3000.

I took delivery of a new A-3000 today. ordered and delivered the same day. Rang Audio Solutions at Mascot, Sydney. They were happy to sell me the A-3000 for less than the Clef Hifi price in Melbourne which is actually $1989. He still has stock if you are interested. Ring Nick.

Also got a good price for the Yamaha A-1000 blu ray player which is not discounted at Clef Hifi.

Genghis60

[steve3]

Stirlo, on Dec 30 2010, 03:12 PM, said:

It seems to me, after having being subscribed to his email for some time, that Steve has become a bit of clown lately.  After his rampage about retailers in his last blog, I can't help but feel there may be some sour grapes involved and maybe he is struggling with the price matching.  My understanding is there is a lot more to the story than just a retail price war, and clowns trying to undersell each other, perhaps Steve is unaware of this.  Either way, his silly rants have resulted in me unsubscribing from his site.

[steve3]

Hmm, if I'd known you were the clown, I'd have unsubscribed you earlier !

[Stirlo]

steve3, on Jan 7 2011, 07:33 PM, said:

Hmm, if I'd known you were the clown, I'd have unsubscribed you earlier !

Fair enough too, the clown term was taken straight from your email and blog, a play on words if you will. I had found your emails funny and light hearted entertainment in the past but lately they are just derogatory.  Problem sorted now though, and back to the topic at hand of this brilliant receiver.

[Chopsus]

steve3, on Jan 7 2011, 07:33 PM, said:

Hmm, if I'd known you were the clown, I'd have unsubscribed you earlier !

I guess that explains why I no longer get the link to it either. Serves me right for posting under my email alias I guess.

[Sitt]

H3adsh0t, on Dec 28 2010, 08:14 PM, said:

No firmware upgrade has been released for the 3000 yet.

Looks like new firmware has been released 2.07. Anyone upgraded yet?

[Boxhead1]

Sitt, on Jan 23 2011, 07:07 PM, said:

Looks like new firmware has been released 2.07. Anyone upgraded yet?

Yeah, I upgraded mine about 2 weeks ago. I was a bit worried that it may only work on the US model but all is okay. It is supposed to improve the FM sensitivity but I cannot verify that it has made any difference as I'm feeding a rooftop aerial into it and didn't have any reception problems to start with. There are no other changes that I have noticed.

[angryofmayfair]

Can anyone owning an RXA3000/2000 pls have a look at the Internet Radio and let me know if you can 'tune in' BBC Radio Two - it should work (48k wma) but I think it has to be listed in Vtuner to be able to play?
Not sure.
Any help/clarification is appreciated....

[angryofmayfair]

angryofmayfair, on Jan 30 2011, 01:24 PM, said:

Can anyone owning an RXA3000/2000 pls have a look at the Internet Radio and let me know if you can 'tune in' BBC Radio Two - it should work (48k wma) but I think it has to be listed in Vtuner to be able to play?
Not sure.
Any help/clarification is appreciated....

I'll answer my own question in case others are interested (hardly likely I guess   )
yes it does tune in to Radio Two, even better - as well as the 'Live' stream you can select the 'play again' programs too - sweet!  

[kendrew]

This is my first post on this topic.
I’ve had the 3000 since beginning of November last year and find it fabulous. Have only scratched the surface of its features but even with a basic setup I couldn’t be happier - except I do miss the dedicated onboard front presence facility which we enjoyed with our previous AVR; the RX-Z1.

Now I’m beginning to extend some of the 3000’s capabilities and in order to get 9.1 with an integrated front presence, I need to connect the FP pre-outs to a two channel power amp.
I’d like your opinions on this:
On our previous AVRs (before the Z1) the front presence amps were lower output than the rest - logically, it would seem, considering the front presence provided a “fill” rather than specific channel information.
With this in mind I am contemplating a low cost, medium output 2 channel amp - such as the:
AudioSource AMP-100 2-Channel Bridgeable Stereo Power Amplifier
This idea does not go down well with a certain local HiFi shop who tried to convince me to spend thousands of dollars on a super 9 channel standalone power amp; using the 3000 as the pre amp/processor.
Well, I reckon the 3000 is ample as it is. it’s a great processor and has sufficient power for our purposes - and all I need is an inexpensive 2 channel power amp for the FPs.
I would look at a good secondhand hi-end two channel amp if the price was right but they’re as scarce as hens’ teeth.
What do you think - about my point of view - and the Amazon online amp?


As an aside, having read this topic, I must confess I was disappointed with the narrow-minded comments applied to Steve and his newsletter. And they were irrelevant with respect to the topic. I look forward to his newsletter immensely and inevitably collapse on the floor in hysterics over some of the things he says. He has a great sense of humour which sometimes comes through in his occasional tirades against some of his “fraternity”. He makes very astute observations, you must agree. I believe we’re lucky to have someone who is prepared to speak out.
Keep up the good work, Steve.
By the way, I have not met the man, nor have I done business with him. If I lived closer to his premises I would certainly consider it but we have a local outlet here - and shopping locally has its advantages; local after sales service, local repairs, speedy warranty if needed, etc.

Edited by kendrew, 06 March 2011 - 02:57 PM.

[angryofmayfair]

kendrew, on Mar 6 2011, 03:44 PM, said:

I’d like your opinions on this:

Well, I reckon the 3000 is ample as it is. it’s a great processor and has sufficient power for our purposes - and all I need is an inexpensive 2 channel power amp for the FPs.

What do you think - about my point of view - and the Amazon online amp?

I think your idea is great, in fact I'm in the exact same situation - since I bought my RX-A3000 I have been going through *all* it's features and functions (I now have it wired up to three zones plus HDMI to two rooms) and I am also looking for a small, inexpensive amp - I'm looking for a small (approx) 50W/ch x 4 amp - Yamaha had the exact thing I'm looking for many years ago - (MX35?) it was a 4 ch slim amp that partnered the very first Yamaha DSP unit - their DSP1.
That would suit me perfectly - if I could find one...
A friend has lent me a Rotel 6 ch power amp but it's really just a bit too bulky to fit in my crowded stereo cabinet, also at 100W/ch it's probably quite a bit of over-kill.
I have (sort-of) even considered a small, cheap 4ch car amp powered from a 12V power pack but I don't think that's very practical all things considered - it would probably have a pretty ordinary SNR so the hiss would be a problem, as would a suitable-size power supply.

Anyway, yes, I would totally agree with your comments in general about the RX-A3000 and in the need for a small stereo amp rather than a huge expensive 9 ch job - unless cost/power consumption/size are not an issue!

BTW, the link you supplied doesn't seem to work...

[kendrew]

angryofmayfair, on Mar 7 2011, 03:35 PM, said:

I think your idea is great, in fact I'm in the exact same situation - since I bought my RX-A3000 I have been going through *all* it's features and functions (I now have it wired up to three zones plus HDMI to two rooms) and I am also looking for a small, inexpensive amp - I'm looking for a small (approx) 50W/ch x 4 amp - Yamaha had the exact thing I'm looking for many years ago - (MX35?) it was a 4 ch slim amp that partnered the very first Yamaha DSP unit - their DSP1.
That would suit me perfectly - if I could find one...
A friend has lent me a Rotel 6 ch power amp but it's really just a bit too bulky to fit in my crowded stereo cabinet, also at 100W/ch it's probably quite a bit of over-kill.
I have (sort-of) even considered a small, cheap 4ch car amp powered from a 12V power pack but I don't think that's very practical all things considered - it would probably have a pretty ordinary SNR so the hiss would be a problem, as would a suitable-size power supply.

Anyway, yes, I would totally agree with your comments in general about the RX-A3000 and in the need for a small stereo amp rather than a huge expensive 9 ch job - unless cost/power consumption/size are not an issue!

BTW, the link you supplied doesn't seem to work...

That’s very odd, I’ve just found the link doesn’t work for me from within the post either - yet it’s OK from within my browser.
I'm not used to the BB Code - I'll try this:

Click here!

Anyway, if you’ve not already, do a copy and paste into Google and you’ll come up with a wealth of functioning links - the 2nd. down is the Amazon - which I checked again quickly this morning and found other models from the same source.
Read about the “AudioSource AMP 102 50-Watt Stereo 150-Watt Mono Power Amplifier” (supposed to be the link above). It’s a bit more expensive but it has the 12v trigger which I like.
I’ll try to contact them and check about compatibility with our mains power - and whether it will come with an Australian power cord.

Also, as a check, I’ve just phoned Yamaha and they agree it’s quite OK to use a low powered amp for the FP - because it only outputs minimal information as a fill or ambience.

My first surround setup was the DSP-1 processor - with the M-35 2/4 channel amp. I remember being impressed that Yamaha preferred to call theirs a Digital Soundfield Processor rather than the rest when they came along with their Digital Signal Processors. Mind you I’ve been a Yamaha man since the early 80s. I was always impatiently waiting for discrete surround channels to be developed and since then they’ve never looked back.

Let me know what you end up with.

Edited by kendrew, 07 March 2011 - 05:01 PM.

[geoffcb]

angryofmayfair, on Mar 7 2011, 02:35 PM, said:

I think your idea is great, in fact I'm in the exact same situation - since I bought my RX-A3000 I have been going through *all* it's features and functions (I now have it wired up to three zones plus HDMI to two rooms) and I am also looking for a small, inexpensive amp - I'm looking for a small (approx) 50W/ch x 4 amp - Yamaha had the exact thing I'm looking for many years ago - (MX35?) it was a 4 ch slim amp that partnered the very first Yamaha DSP unit - their DSP1.
That would suit me perfectly - if I could find one...

Anyway, yes, I would totally agree with your comments in general about the RX-A3000 and in the need for a small stereo amp rather than a huge expensive 9 ch job - unless cost/power consumption/size are not an issue!

Totally agree as well. I luckily kept my MX-55 (which I originally used with a DSP100). I'm using it on 2 channel mode for the presence speakers and it really works well after all these years. I find the dialogue lift handy as I'm using a projector. All the front speakers are B&W 600 series, so they are matched well sonically.
If I had smaller rear speakers or a larger room I could theoretically try rear presence speakers by running the amp in 4 channel mode (11.1) but I can't imagine why!

Geoff

Edited by geoffcb, 12 March 2011 - 06:13 PM.

[kendrew]

geoffcb, on Mar 12 2011, 07:12 PM, said:

Totally agree as well. I luckily kept my MX-55 (which I originally used with a DSP100). I'm using it on 2 channel mode for the presence speakers and it really works well after all these years. I find the dialogue lift handy as I'm using a projector. All the front speakers are B&W 600 series, so they are matched well sonically.
If I had smaller rear speakers or a larger room I could theoretically try rear presence speakers by running the amp in 4 channel mode (11.1) but I can't imagine why!

Geoff

If I had a larger room I can't imagine why not!

[Pfeff]

Guys,

I purchased a RX-A3000 on Sat from Sunnybank Hifi in Brisbane. Just wanted to comment on the terrific service from Chau (I hope I have that correct). It's probably not good form to mention the price, suffice to say it was very competitive with anything else I've seen posted here and even with that great price, she took the time to explain many of the features and benefits of the system despite the fact that I had made up my mind before going to the store.

Anyhow, I am coming to grips with the setup and so far so good. Sounds great and love the configurability of it. One thing has me stumped though. Although I have a Harmony One remote which programmed as desired, I decided the program the Yammie remote for the devices and might get around to setting up some macros too. But for the life of me I cannot get it to control the Foxtel IQ2. I've tried the codes for Foxtel and all three Pace codes to no avail. I've even programmed it using learning from both the Harmony and the original Foxtel remotes. Everything seemed to code in, but the Foxtel box refuses to respond to the Yammie remote... not the slightest flicker of the blue remote led on the IQ2. Any one else had a problem or a workaround for this???

Thanks for any ideas...

John

[duster]

Pfeff, on Mar 15 2011, 01:24 AM, said:

Guys,

I've even programmed it using learning from both the Harmony and the original Foxtel remotes. Everything seemed to code in, but the Foxtel box refuses to respond to the Yammie remote... not the slightest flicker of the blue remote led on the IQ2. Any one else had a problem or a workaround for this???

Thanks for any ideas...

John

Having the same problem with learning velodyne remote, it excepts it but it won't operate it. Bit of a shortfall of the yamaha remote I guess. The yamaha manual does warn that this may happen.

[kendrew]

IR remotes work on direct line of sight and use light pulses at a specified frequency. Because infrared light is “everywhere” so to speak, interference can be a problem; which is usually successfully filtered to block out IR at other than the required wavelengths. Sometimes however, there still can be problems.
I have a Harmony 785 which has its drawbacks - it will not lock in some commands to certain equipment; one was our older RP TV which had very specific controls to access some features and it actually used to interfere with the Velodyne remote control functions; sometimes causing it to lock-up. There was no workaround. There is no such problem with our new plasma. We didn't realize the RP was the culprit until we installed the plasma and most problems disappeared.
Now I've got into the habit of using the remote belonging to certain components - don't have any mishaps.

[FMB]

Pfeff, on Mar 15 2011, 12:24 AM, said:

Guys,

I purchased a RX-A3000 on Sat from Sunnybank Hifi in Brisbane. Just wanted to comment on the terrific service from Chau (I hope I have that correct). It's probably not good form to mention the price, suffice to say it was very competitive with anything else I've seen posted here and even with that great price, she took the time to explain many of the features and benefits of the system despite the fact that I had made up my mind before going to the store.

John

We're talking about Chau. She would have still made a reasonable profit, I can assure you.  

[Chopsus]

FMB, on Mar 15 2011, 03:37 PM, said:

We're talking about Chau. She would have still made a reasonable profit, I can assure you.  

Remembering also that Yamaha Australia have dropped their prices recently.

[Quark]

FMB, on Mar 15 2011, 03:37 PM, said:

We're talking about Chau. She would have still made a reasonable profit, I can assure you.  

In a previous GB Chau did a sensational deal and provided excellent service.  But I'm sure there was still a profit in it - nothing wrong with that.

[Pfeff]

kendrew, on Mar 15 2011, 02:08 PM, said:

IR remotes work on direct line of sight and use light pulses at a specified frequency. Because infrared light is “everywhere” so to speak, interference can be a problem; which is usually successfully filtered to block out IR at other than the required wavelengths. Sometimes however, there still can be problems.
I have a Harmony 785 which has its drawbacks - it will not lock in some commands to certain equipment; one was our older RP TV which had very specific controls to access some features and it actually used to interfere with the Velodyne remote control functions; sometimes causing it to lock-up. There was no workaround. There is no such problem with our new plasma. We didn't realize the RP was the culprit until we installed the plasma and most problems disappeared.
Now I've got into the habit of using the remote belonging to certain components - don't have any mishaps.

That's very interesting... thanks for the explanation. Even so I am a bit baffled by this. My Yamaha RX-V1800 remote worked fine with Foxtel and also I've had a few Harmony remotes, and never a device that didn't respond, including the IQ2. It is only this Yamaha remote that fails to function. I would have seriously thought that if the Harmony worked then the Yammie should have too. It's not a big deal because I will continue to use the Harmony as the main remote... I love the ability to use one remote and control everything.

Cheers