Torn between RN602 and RN803

Ivan Dobskey

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I have narrowed my amp search down to these two Yamaha's.

The RN803 has more features and is more powerful, but it is £200 more expensive.

I'm not convinced I'll use the extra features or power, so basing my decision purely on sound quality / price, is the RN803 really worth the extra?

Note: I will be pairing it with a set of monitor audio bronze 5 speakers.
 
The 602 will do just fine.
 
I'm definitely leaning towards the 602 at the moment. If there was £100 difference between them, I'd just pay the extra. But £200? Probably not worth it unless you need the extra power or features.

That's my current thinking anyway :)
 
We have the 602 , and it does what it says on the tin very well.
Lovely piece of kit.
 
Thanks for those links.

Superfi has the 803 brand new for £549 currently. Richer sounds has the 602 for £319.

I may just decide what the hell and just get the 803 :p
 
Peter Tyson has the 803 at £519.
Full warranty as new etc etc .
 
Peter Tyson has the 803 at £519.
Full warranty as new etc etc .

You never know the exact reason for open box though. I'd pay the extra £30 for a new sealed unit I think.
 
I have bought open box and factory refurb from Peter Tyson before. Both units were like new and come with the same gtee. Worth a phone call to ask about a particular unit if saving £30 is of interest.
 
I have definitely settled on the rn803 now. So will be looking to buy shortly.

I have spoken to richer sounds and they are happy to price match the lowest price, so I'll probably buy from there :)
 
Picked up an rn803 from richer sounds for £549 :)

 
Now you have had time to set up your RN803 how do you like it?
 
Now you have had time to set up your RN803 how do you like it?

Had a bit of a play so far, set it up to stream music from my pc upstairs via DLNA and also the optical input from my TV.

Very pleased so far, a definite upgrade on the Denon N9.

Also updated the firmware which went smoothly with no issues.

Great bit of kit.
 
Have you played around with the room correction settings yet?
 
Have you played around with the room correction settings yet?

Not tried the room calibration thingy yet. I'm hearing conflicting opinions as to whether it improves the sound or not. I'll give it a try when I get some spare time though.

Had a bit of a play with the Yamaha app and I much prefer it to the bubble upnp app I was using. I now get gapless playback support, which is nice.

Overall I'm absolutely chuffed to bits with this amp :)
 
Happy days. I think Yamaha are great bits of kit. Glad you think so too.
 
Unless you have a serious sound issue, I would leave the YPAO mic in the box. I tried it on mine, and on one receiver, it killed the sub-out output so completely I had to do a factory reset to get it back. On the other, it went full forward balance, but that was easier to correct.

Doesn't work at all in my experience.
 
I have left the ypao alone so far as I have been happy with the sound out of the box.

I don't have a sub though, so won't have that issue to worry about.

I guess it is something I'll have a play with when I am at a loose end some time.
 
I'm thinking about buying on to, any more reviews on the r-n803? How do you like the build quality and the sound?
 
To be honest, I struggled to find many reviews of the rn803. There is about three in English I think, then a few more I used Google translate on.

As for the build quality, it's very good indeed. It is pretty hefty, with a nice feel to the knobs and buttons. Sound quality is excellent for me, my monitor audio bronze 5's really sound great with it. Although I'm no audiophile really.

I'm particularly impressed with the music cast app though. It always connects immediately and you can even switch the amp on and control the volume with the phone volume rocker without even unlocking it. Streaming my flac files down from my pc upstairs works brilliantly as does playing from usb.

All in all, the rn803 is one of the best bits of audio kit I have ever bought. For the £549 paid, I consider it great value.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply Ivan.
I plan to use this in the living room and connect it to the tv with
(future) speakers. I was hoping I could operate the Yamaha using
the TV as a screen.

Did anyone try this?
 
I use the optical output from my TV fed into the amp. Works well.
 
Nice!
So, if I use a USB-stick I can scroll true them using the TV.
That is nice, you are not always in the mood to use a phone or tablet.
 
Nice!
So, if I use a USB-stick I can scroll true them using the TV.
That is nice, you are not always in the mood to use a phone or tablet.

Ah no, sorry I misunderstood. No, you have to use a phone or tablet. Or the remote and display on the unit.
 

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