We did feel that the YPAO made the subwoofer a little louder than we would have set it ourselves.
The results were about as accurate as Audyssey's, and YPAO correctly determined that all five of our Aperion Intimus 4T Hybrid SD reference speakers were "Small." The YPAO didn't get the subwoofer distance to the calibration mic measurement correctly-it claimed it was 13 feet, when it's really 10 feet away-but Audyssey systems frequently get that number wrong as well. True, the YPAO isn't as ambitious and doesn't equalize the sound, or attempt to fine-tune the sound to the degree we see in Audyssey's systems, but we can't say we found the YPAO lacking in any way. Yamaha's auto setup system is faster and easier to use than Denon's, Marantz's, or Onkyo's Audyssey setup programs. We liked that all of the measurements are taken from just one mic position, and the YPAO takes just a few minutes to complete.
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Once you're on the Auto Setup menu, just press the "Start" button and the YPAO will send a short series of test tones to all the speakers and subwoofer. Plug in the (supplied) Optimizer microphone and make your way through the RX-V667's great-looking and nicely organized GUI menus. That's pretty standard stuff for receivers, but we think Yamaha's YPAO is one of the easiest auto setups to use. Yamaha's Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer (YPAO) automatic speaker calibration system determines speaker sizes and volume levels, measures the distances from the speakers to the listener, sets the ideal subwoofer to speaker crossover point, and confirms that all of the speaker cables are correctly hooked up. (The STR-DN1010 does support a second zone using Sony's proprietary S-Air products.) It's a step up over the Sony STR-DN1010 and Marantz NR1601, which don't have traditional second-zone functionality. Like most midrange receivers, the RX-V667 has second-zone functionality, using either line-level RCA audio outputs or powered, speaker-level outputs. "="" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> Multiroom features Of course, if you're going with a component-based home theater, it's probably a good idea to invest in a universal remote anyway. We prefer the simpler remote offered on Onkyo's receivers. The rest of the remote is completely filled with buttons, too, including a number pad and playback controls for controlling, say, a Blu-ray player. Though we appreciate that Yamaha provided direct access to each input up top, the buttons are similarly sized and aligned in uneven grids it can be confusing, especially for tech novices. The included remote is packed with buttons. It's not a stylish receiver, like the Marantz NR1601 or even the Denon AVR-1911, but at least it's not quite as bulky as the Onkyo HT-RC260. Front-panel connectivity includes an HDMI port and a standard AV input. There are also several buttons on the bottom half of the receiver, and overall it's a more cluttered look than we like. There's an LCD screen in the center of the top half, with a row of buttons underneath. The RX-V667 has a two-tone look, with the top half getting the glossy black treatment and the bottom getting brushed-metal styling. The lack of out-of-the-box iPod/iPhone connectivity and its relative high price keep the Yamaha from being our top value pick this year-that honor goes to the Pioneer VSX-1020-K ($450 street price)-but the RX-V667 is an excellent choice if you need all the niche functionality it offers.
And unlike the disappointing sound of last year's RX-V665BL, the RX-V667 is the upper tier of sound quality in the midrange price level, although keen ears will note that it's still a step behind the Denon AVR-1911. We were also really impressed with the new graphical user interface, which has leapfrogged the competition and is the best we've seen so far. The Yamaha also comes packed with all kinds of niche audio connectivity features that others have left out, including pre-outs and 7.1 analog audio inputs. There can be no complaints about HDMI connectivity, with the RX-V667 packing six ports, including a front-panel input. The Yamaha RX-V667 is a return to form for the company. In recent years, Yamaha's AV receivers have disappointed us, with fewer features than competitors and some confusing design choices.
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