Introduction to the Yamaha RX-A2000 7.1 A/V Receiver

I’ve been using a Yamaha receiver in my home theater for well over a decade. The fact that I’ve been happy with the sound from this receiver for so long though, speaks volumes for the quality Yamaha built into their receivers back then. A while back I had the opportunity to review one of Yamaha’s entry-level receivers, the RX-V665. While the feature-set was impressive for the price, the overall sound and build quality was about what one would expect from a low-priced receiver, namely, sort-of-OK. This trend toward features at the expense of quality has been increasing, even among the best receiver manufacturers. Last year, Yamaha announced an all-new line of receivers dubbed “Aventage” that would buck that trend with a no-holds-barred emphasis on sound quality. Recently I had the chance to review the second-from-the-top of the Aventage line, the RX-A2000. Given my history with Yamaha receivers and the hype surrounding this all-new line from Yamaha, I was excited to try out the A2000 to see if it lived up the hype and the heritage.