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Yamaha R-N803 one of the best values in high-end audio?

I’ve now lived with the Yamaha R-N803 STEREO receiver (it is not an audio/video receiver) for over 6 months. I believe it’s one of the best values in high-end audio. For $750, you get a preamp, amp, phono preamp, DAC, and Wi-Fi streamer (Tidal, Spotify, Pandora, etc) all controlled by Yamaha’s excellent Android/IPad MusicCast app. The amp is a discrete 100 wpc into 8 ohms with two pairs of binding posts for each channel. The DAC supports up to DSD 5.6 MHz and the internet connection can be wired or wireless. It has the YPAO (Yamaha Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer) which is an automatic speaker calibration system. Its well engineered and made. I’ve read reviews of other All-In-One (AIO) units with various problems such as supposedly having Wi-Fi streaming but it never materializes or doesn’t work, or having insufficient power, or hum problems. The Yamaha has non of those problems.

The sound quality is excellent right-out-of-the-box but (as with a lot of gear) an upgraded power cord, footers and fuse (please don’t go off on "the fuse debate") substantially improved its sound quality. The soundstage width, depth and height is excellent. The midrange clarity is very, very good as well as the control of the bass. The treble improved the most with the upgrades but is now excellent.

I don’t know of any AIOs, or even systems, anywhere near $750 that does all of this so well. Have others tried this unit? What do you think? Are there better ones out there in this price range with the same or more functions?

128x128sbayne
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Marantz pm7000n at $999 is a worthy competitor, albeit at a slightly higher msrp.  One of the Brit mags reviewed the Marantz and declared it the best all-in-one under a grand, and specifically noted that it bested the Bluesound Powernode 2i.  I haven't compared it to the R-N803.

Anyway, this isn't to rain on the Yam's parade.  Glad you are enjoying it.  Great time to be into all-in-one's with the options available!
sbayne's avatar
sbayne OP
493 posts
 
Kren0006 - yep the Marantz is very similar. Main difference is it only has 60 watts and only one set of binding posts. Also no speaker correction. The retail price is a couple hundred more like you indicate. I assume everything works like it should since it’s Marantz. Lots of value.
mike_in_nc
1,153 posts
 
It seems like a great deal for the price, as you said. And I do like the Yamaha styling in general. It's hard to believe that a better unit with all those features would be available any cheaper.

I'm curious. Have you have used YPAO? If so, what do you think of it? Have you compared it to other similar software (like Dirac or ARC)?
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,304 posts
 
When in doubt it’s hard to go wrong with Yamaha. 
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
The biggest thing that tipped me toward the marantz was the superior dac vs the Yamaha. Marantz uses 32 bit AK 4490 dac, while the Yamaha uses a 24 bit ess 9006 dac. To me that alone was more than worth the extra $250, as I much prefer AK sound to ess sound, but that’s personal preference.

I also like the toroidal transformer that the marantz uses in its power supply vs the EI transformer the Yamaha uses (note the brand new Yamaha integrated amps at much higher msrps just went toroidal as well).

But again, no slight of the Yamaha and I agree it’s great deal for $750. Just explaining why the marantz was worth the extra cost to me.
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