The present review is aimed to compare two AV receivers - Yamaha RX-V485 vs Onkyo TX-NR686 that are meant to satisfy the needs of cinema and music lovers.
A significant difference between the receivers in the number of channels, Yamaha RX-V485 has 5.1 versus 7.2 for Onkyo TX-NR686. Regarding power, then RX-V485 has such a W/Ohm ratio - 80/8, 145/6 when TX-NR686 has a power of 165/6. The THD is 0.09% for the RX-V485 but 0.08% for the TX-NR686.
Characteristics of digital to analog converter (DAC) are different, Burr-Brown 384 KHz/32-bit for RX-V485 and VLSC 384 KHz/32-bit for the TX-NR686. Both the RX-V485 and the TX-NR686 support Bi-amping. Each of the AV receivers can transmit an audio signal directly to the amplifier and bypasses any DSP processing. Rivals from our review have Bluetooth support. The Yamaha RX-V485 has support for AirPlay, AirPlay 2, and its competitor in our comparison - AirPlay. Spotify can be used on each receiver. The RX-V485 can work with the audio stream from Deezer, TIDAL, Pandora, Napster, SiriusXM, and the TX-NR686 can receive a content from Deezer, TIDAL, TuneIn Radio.
Both AV receivers support HDR10 technology (High dynamic range). Compared AV receivers retain the quality of 4K/60Hz signal when transmitting from a source to a TV or projector. HDMI signal transmission in standby mode is implemented in each of the devices. The RX-V485 can scale the input HDMI signal, unlike the TX-NR686. The HDR standard - Dolby Vision is supported by these receivers.
The Yamaha RX-V485 has 4/1 HDMI inputs/outputs versus 7/2 HDMI connectors of the Onkyo TX-NR686. The HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) feature supports both devices. The HDMI eARC is available only on the RX-V485. The Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) feature is present in most modern AV receivers and the models in our comparison are no exception. The RX-V485 supports the protection of digital content of the standard HDCP 2.3, versus HDCP 2.2 in the TX-NR686. The TX-NR686 has a built-in phono stage for connecting a vinyl player.
Each of the AV receivers from our review supports 2 Multi-room zones. The RX-V485 supports voice control via Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, and the TX-NR686 - Google Assistant. An ECO mode is only available for the RX-V485. Both RX-V485 and TX-NR686 can be configured using the Setup assistant.
Only the TX-NR686 has a Dolby Atmos multichannel audio format support. A surround technology DTS:X is supported only by the TX-NR686.