Josh Hendrickson
If you have an Xbox Series X and a TV capable of 8K or 120 frames per second, you might want to enjoy those better visuals with full surround sound. Yamaha’s latest Stereo receivers support 8K video and 4k/120FPS. Best of all, they fix an outstanding bug with the Xbox Series X.
In theory, to get the most out of your Xbox Series X and high-end TV, you just need a stereo that supports HDMI 2.1. That’s the theory, but alas, the reality turned out to be different. Some existing stereo receivers, like those from Yamaha and Denon, can’t handle 4K 120 FPS output from the Xbox Series X or Nvidia Graphics cards. Yamaha suggested connecting the console to the TV’s ARC port to bypass the problem, but that presents its own issues.
Now Yamaha plans to release a new set of Stereo Receives that will fix the problems … eventually. Dubbed the RX-A8A, RX-A6A, and RX-A4A, each receiver handles 11, 9, and 7 channels, respectively. Beyond those differences, they share similar features and architecture.
That includes a new look with a giant center-positioned knob and support for 3D audio formats (Dolby Atmos and DTS:X) along with Dolby Vision on all HDMI outputs. But the big additions that come from HDMI 2.1, like 4K/120Hz, 8K/60Hz, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Quick Frame Transport (QFT), and Quick Media Switching (QMS), won’t work out of the box. That means you won’t get 4k 120 FPS support for Xbox Series X out of the box.
Instead, those features will come in a future update because even stereo receivers get updates now. Yamaha also promises similar updates for existing HDMI 2.1 receivers to correct the issue preventing full Xbox Series X compatibility.
Yamaha says it will release the three receivers this summer. The RX-A8A will cost $3,000, the RX-A6A will be $2,200, and the RX-A4A will $1,300.
Source: Yamaha
