I owned the predecessor Denon X4400 and barely used it for about a year. It could not play back the pass-throug HD sound from my BH200 HD-DVD Blu-ray player. I did not like the Denon‘s cheap mounting posts. I did never like Denon’s complicated menu structure and I was more than happy that I was able to sell it after a year. Long story short, as a Yamaha RX-V2067 owner I bought the X4400 for having 4K and Dolby Atmos. For me it never lived up to it‘s promise. And the X4500 is basically the same as the X4400, no real improvement.
The old Yamaha V2067 sounded much better than my Denon X4400. But i still wanted 4K and the new 3D sound. I was happy I could sell it in Mid January 2021 for a reasonable good price and again I was trying to find a replacement. I checked all the 8K offerings, Denon in my opinion is a joke, one 8K input, this is ridiculous. Plus the hardware has it’s issues with 4K playback. I did not like the new 8K Yamahas, 3 models with same hardware and no analog video conversion. At least multiple HDMI 2.1 8K inputs. But the cheap plastic front panel with rounded edges on the V4A and V6A and this cheapo looking mediocre display did not convince me. Plus the X4400 got extremely hot during use.
I could buy a barely used Yamaha A1080 because the previous owner just vought an 8K TV and wanted to get an 8K receiver. And I am so happy to, again own a Yamaha receiver that can do Dolby Atmos, 4K, has solid binding posts, a great remote, can play the HD sound from my BH200 and most importantly, souds great. I understand 8K and future proof is somwhat important, but I do not own an 8K TV, do not have any 8K source,, no plan to get one either.
4K and the new audio formats, great sound and build quality, this is what really convinced me back in 2010 when I bought my first Yamaha and this I now have, again, with the A1080. And even more, it can convert analog video, it has more than enough digital optical and coaxial inputs. I also like the Surround AI very much. What lacks on the remote are input selectors (it has arrows for scrolling through inputs) but I can use the app on my phone to do that.
My advise is to get the A1080 while it is still svailable, because these cheapo looking new V6A and V4A models do not convince me. The A2A at least looks ok, but again, it is basically a slightly upgraded A6A and costs much more. The A1080 is a rock solid perfoemer and high quality Yamaha surround sound receiver. Have a closer look at this one and my personal opinion, skip the Denon X4500.