The Yamaha RX-V381 is designed mainly for movie lovers and gaming console owners. This 5.1 amplifier passes 4K and HDR that is a solid feature for a budget-friendly receiver made by such a respected brand.
The unit’s classic square shape, sharp corners, conventional round buttons, and large volume knob give some retro vibe. It comes in an all-black casing and has a small size (12.38 x 17.13 x 6 inches). In fact, Yamaha didn’t provide any noticeable design upgrades in comparison with the previous RX-V371 model, so they basically look the same.
The design is just as I've been expecting from Yamaha, so I give it a 10/10.
Although the power level of this receiver is basic (140W per channel), it offers many top-quality features. For example, the superior picture quality is delivered not only thanks to the 4K/HDR pass-through: the HDCP 2.2 support eliminates the image degradation and the BT.2020 pass-through reproduces a wide color gamut.
In terms of sound, the receiver incorporates the Cinema DSP technology that creates a natural stereoscopic sound field, providing a real movie-theater sound.
The Compressed Music Enhancer feature is on board for playing digitally compressed music formats.
Talking about the drawbacks of the RX-V381, firstly, I really don’t like the fact that the firmware updates aren’t provided for this receiver. Secondly, it can’t be connected to Spotify and doesn't even feature Yamaha's MusicCast multiroom technology. Plus, as I've found out from the Yamaha RX-V381 manual, the unit supports 4K but not HDR by default. Hence, you have to activate this feature manually dealing with the advanced menu settings.
Although the provided features are okay for everyday use, I believe the device lacks some up-to-date functions, so I rate the receiver at 8/10.
The Yamaha RX-V381 AV receiver has many modes available (Spectacle, Sci-Fi, Action Game, etc.), so I recommend switching between these modes when noticing the performance issues—in 9 cases out of 10, your problem will be solved.
As for gaming, I didn’t notice any input lags when connecting the receiver to my Xbox.
The RX-V381 performance is fully satisfying for the price. Thus, I estimate it at 10/10.
Although the demanding users may require tweaking the receiver (fortunately, they have multiple setting options), the overall sound quality is great. The unit also features a nice level of detail detection, allowing you to hear even the quietest sounds.
It doesn’t have Dolby Atmos support but can offer a couple of the digital processing modes, designed to simulate the surround sound (Virtual Cinema and Virtual Cinema Front).
The sound performance of this receiver is impressive: it gets a 9/10.
Here is a list of the connectivity options you'll receive:
I was happy to find out that the 4K pass-through is supported by all 4 HDMI ports. The Bluetooth feature is also available.
The connectivity options are basic. Hence, I estimate them at 8/10.
Setup is intuitive thanks to the integrated YPAO capability, which automatically detects all the connected devices and calibrates the sound accordingly to the room’s acoustic. For the Yamaha RX-V381 Bluetooth setup, you need to perform pairing by turning on the Bluetooth function on both your device and receiver.
As you can tell, there is nothing difficult about the setup process, so it receives 10/10 from me.
After reading this Yamaha RX-V381 review, you've made sure that numerous features are offered for the price. I would definitely recommend the receiver as a budget solution for the 4K gaming and 4K HDR TV. However, it doesn't offer Dolby Atmos support, MusicCast multiroom technology, and Spotify connectivity, which may be disappointing for the customers looking for an advanced model.
FLAC
Apple Lossless
DSD
AIFF
AAC
WMA
WAV
MP3
DTS-HD Master Audio
Dolby True HD
Dolby Surround
Dolby Digital Plus
Dolby Atmos
DTS:X
DTS Neural:X
Sound Output Mode
Surround Sound
DSP Preset Qty
17
Digital Content Protection
HDCP 2.2
Surround System Class
5.1 channel
Surround Sound Effects
Virtual CINEMA DSP, Virtual CINEMA FRONT
Audio D/A Converter
24bit / 192kHz
Digital Sound Processor (DSP)
Video Conversion/scaling
HDMI Pass-through
up to 4K
Upscaling Via HDMI
3D Pass-through
Optical Digital Outputs
has not
HDMI Outputs
1
HDMI Inputs
4
Coaxial Digital Inputs
2
Optical Digital Inputs
1
Phones
1
AV Inputs
3
USB
has not
Subwoofer Outputs
1
Coaxial Digital Outputs
has not
Tuner Type
digital
Preset Station Qty
40
Tuner Bands
AM/FM
Auto Power Off
Bi-amplifying
AIR Studios Monitor Certification
Audio Return Channel (ARC)
X.v.Color
Apple Air-play Support
Deep Color
Advanced Sound Retriever (ASR) Technology
MCACC Pro
Three-zone Capability
Smartphone Remote Control
A-B Speaker Switch
Dual-zone Capability
Pure Direct Mode
Number Of Channels
5
Total Harmonic Distortion
0.09 %
Frequency Response
20 Hz-20 kHz
Output Impedance Per Channel
6 Ohm
Output Power Per Channel
140 W
Total Output Power
700 W
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
110 dB
Built-in Clock
Sleep Timer
USB-host
Network
Bluetooth
Amplifier Class
Network Audio Player
Internet Radio
Digital Player
IEEE 802.3u
IEEE 802.3
WI-FI
Bluetooth
Weight
16.3 pounds
Manual
rx-v381.pdf
Standby Power Consumption
0.3 W
Operational Power Consumption
260 W
Colour
black
Type
fluorescent
Brand
Yamaha