★★★★★ 3
Replacing a RXA770/780/880? You May be Disappointed.
Style: Receiver
I will start with the issues. (1.) HDMI audio drop outs. This can be fix by going into your tv and changing your audio settings from auto to pass through. However I remember this causing an inconvenience of some sort. I did not have to make this change with Marantz M1, Sony AZ1000, Or Integra DRX3.4. (2.) when unit goes into auto-standby while using the digital optical input, it will freeze after turning it on again. I had to unplug it to get it to work correctly. this happened every time. (3.) The plastic front panel can scratch easily. You may want to use a can of air to clean it. Yamaha should have flipped the design-the metal/aluminum where the glass/plastic is and the plastic where the metal is. (4) If using the coaxial for tv audio, It will take 9 full seconds before audio is heard. I had to buy a new TV(this was before the other issues were discovered). Finally (5) if you are replacing a RXA770/780/880, you may be disappointed. You'll have to step up to the RXA4A to get the features like PEQ and menus you had with them.
Sound and Power: The 2 channel specs between the Yamaha RXA2A and The Yamaha RN1000A stereo receiver are similar. Don't let that fool you. The RN1000A is way more powerful and sound much better with music, however the A2A was way better than the RN1000A for movies and tv. In full range, sub off, the RXA2A could not drive the Polk RTIa5's well with music. In fact, to me the Marantz M1class D and the Sony AZ1000 70/70w class AB sounded more powerful and musical, making them easier to listen to than the A2A. The Integra best all 3 AVR's for music in full range mode without a sub to my ears. But with the 3.4, the sub output volume was way too low, I hated the click noise(sounds like it powered on again) when turning up master volume, and I couldn't use the presets without changing the source. The Yamaha RN1000a is the best for music only, especially at a sale price.
My Positives:
It come with a 5 year warranty when registered. It's well built, especially better than the Sony. You get 8 presets that you can set to the same source or different sources almost any kind of way. The dialogue mode works very well even for music. Yamaha Support is very helpful. If yours don't come with the above issues/defects that I listed, I think it can be easy to just set it, forget about it and enjoy it.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2026
