The present review is aimed to compare two AV receivers - Sony STR-DN1080 vs Yamaha RX-V485BL that are meant to satisfy the needs of cinema and music lovers.
A significant difference between the receivers in the number of channels, Sony STR-DN1080 has 7.2 versus 5.1 for Yamaha RX-V485BL. Regarding power, then STR-DN1080 has such a W/Ohm ratio - 120/6 when RX-V485BL has a power of 80/6. The THD is the same and is 0.09%.
Characteristics of digital to analog converter (DAC) are different, 96 KHz/24-bit for STR-DN1080 and Burr-Brown 384 KHz/32-bit for the RX-V485BL. Both the STR-DN1080 and the RX-V485BL 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 Sony STR-DN1080 has support for AirPlay, and its competitor in our comparison - AirPlay, AirPlay 2. Spotify can be used on each receiver. 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-V485BL can scale the input HDMI signal, unlike the STR-DN1080. Dolby Vision technology found support only on the RX-V485BL.
The Sony STR-DN1080 has 6/2 HDMI inputs/outputs versus 4/1 HDMI connectors of the Yamaha RX-V485BL. The HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) feature supports both devices. HDMI eARC is available in each model. The Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) feature is present in most modern AV receivers and the models in our comparison are no exception. Both models support the standard HDCP 2.2. Receivers do not have a built-in phono stage for connecting a vinyl player.
Each of the AV receivers from our review supports 2 Multi-room zones. The STR-DN1080 supports voice control via Google assistant, and the RX-V485BL - Google Assistant. An ECO mode is only available for the RX-V485BL. Both STR-DN1080 and RX-V485BL can be configured using the Setup assistant.
Only the STR-DN1080 has a Dolby Atmos multichannel audio format support. A surround technology DTS:X is supported only by the STR-DN1080.