Visions says they have stock at some locations. Unknown if any local to you.
Home Theatre Audio Q
- Thread starter jc100
- Start date
None near me and they won’t ship that one. Audioshop in Ottawa let’s me add it to my cart and has free shipping, I messaged them to check it’s actually available.
Priller
Well-known member
Just to confirm your concerns about the Brick, we had an absolute nightmare that bordered on amusing with them a few years ago.
Bought a previous gen Yamaha RX-V465 receiver, and against my usual policy, also bought the added warranty coverage. Lo and behold, about six months later, the receiver died completely. Totally dead.
I brought it back to the Brick, feeling awfully smart for having the extra coverage, and was told they would send it off for repair. Should be two to four weeks. Okay, I think, that's a while to be without a receiver, but if the repair is free, so be it.
Six weeks later, there's no receiver and I'm getting impatient. I phone the store, and am assured that the repair is imminent and to sit tight for two more weeks. Two weeks goes by, then another two weeks, and I call and demand to speak with a manager. Incredibly, they claim there isn't a manager available in the store, as they are out. I call at least six other times, and the manager is never available. I email head office, and get a generic reply that they take their customers' concerns seriously and will reach out, but they never do. Trying to escalate proves all but impossible.
It's only a $400 receiver, so I make the decision not to pursue any legal action, and more or less give up. Finally, *eight months* after dropping it off, I get a call saying it's fixed and that I can come pick it up. On pickup, nobody says anything about the wait, the lack of response, anything. When questioned, the most I get is a shrug. All I can do is never, ever, ever spend another penny with those shyster pricks again...
We ended up replacing that receiver with the next model up, the RX-V485, and it's been flawless ever since. I don't expect it to be hi-fi for music (I have other stereo amps for that), but it works well for TV, streaming and movies. The phone app is easy for more detailed settings, and it's WiFi, so can be controlled from anywhere. Yamaha also does their own wireless speaker protocol, MusicCast, but you're stuck with their speakers. The only beef I've read is the Google integration is minimal, but I don't do that much because I'm not a fan of the 'always on' listening devices. They also recently did a firmware update for that, so it may be better than it was. (Edit: the RX-Vx85 series is the previous gen version of the RX-VxA series)
If you're having trouble finding stock, it's always worth phoning rather than relying on website stock quantities. They often have floor models available despite showing no stock online.
Bought a previous gen Yamaha RX-V465 receiver, and against my usual policy, also bought the added warranty coverage. Lo and behold, about six months later, the receiver died completely. Totally dead.
I brought it back to the Brick, feeling awfully smart for having the extra coverage, and was told they would send it off for repair. Should be two to four weeks. Okay, I think, that's a while to be without a receiver, but if the repair is free, so be it.
Six weeks later, there's no receiver and I'm getting impatient. I phone the store, and am assured that the repair is imminent and to sit tight for two more weeks. Two weeks goes by, then another two weeks, and I call and demand to speak with a manager. Incredibly, they claim there isn't a manager available in the store, as they are out. I call at least six other times, and the manager is never available. I email head office, and get a generic reply that they take their customers' concerns seriously and will reach out, but they never do. Trying to escalate proves all but impossible.
It's only a $400 receiver, so I make the decision not to pursue any legal action, and more or less give up. Finally, *eight months* after dropping it off, I get a call saying it's fixed and that I can come pick it up. On pickup, nobody says anything about the wait, the lack of response, anything. When questioned, the most I get is a shrug. All I can do is never, ever, ever spend another penny with those shyster pricks again...
We ended up replacing that receiver with the next model up, the RX-V485, and it's been flawless ever since. I don't expect it to be hi-fi for music (I have other stereo amps for that), but it works well for TV, streaming and movies. The phone app is easy for more detailed settings, and it's WiFi, so can be controlled from anywhere. Yamaha also does their own wireless speaker protocol, MusicCast, but you're stuck with their speakers. The only beef I've read is the Google integration is minimal, but I don't do that much because I'm not a fan of the 'always on' listening devices. They also recently did a firmware update for that, so it may be better than it was. (Edit: the RX-Vx85 series is the previous gen version of the RX-VxA series)
If you're having trouble finding stock, it's always worth phoning rather than relying on website stock quantities. They often have floor models available despite showing no stock online.
From what I know about the Brick I'm not too surprised about your issues. I get the feeling they love to sell but after that ...bupkis.
I'm also wary about preorders too. They can extend beyond the time limit stated and in this environment my guess is nobody really knows what can happen.
There was a place in Manitoba that had stock on a website but I emailed them and got no reply.
Costco sells this model. I might just wait until they have stock and deal with the TV speakers for a bit.
Priller
Well-known member
The fact that they were so expert at stonewalling an angry customer suggests they have a lot of angry customers...
Agreed. We ordered a freezer from CAS, and after payment, were told expected delivery was four months out. At least they let us cancel painlessly.
Like deep freezes and exercise equipment, I think home theatre stuff has seen a spike in demand that correlates with stay-at-home orders. I can't find confirmed stock of the RXV6A anywhere, so it may require a wait. I've got my old RX-V465 (repaired but works well) gathering dust if you're ever near Hamilton. It doesn't pass through 4K at 60 Hz though, which is why we got the 485. Alternately, you could look for an RX-V685. It won't do 8K or HDMI 2.1, but is otherwise pretty similar...
Update...
Visions had a sale on an Aventage RX A2A which is more or less identical to the RX V6A. It has double the warranty and a couple of extra goodies too but really it’s the same. It was $150 more than the RXV6A but I figured the extra warranty was worth that, a solid 4y, plus it was in stock! It was also shippable rather than in store only. I’ve had it a few days and it’s pretty neat. Had some teething issues with cables as eARC between my TV and the receiver doesn’t always play nice but between my NVidia shield and the receiver no issues. Watched a little of the Jack Ryan No Remorse movie again tonight and it’s stunning with the high definition sound, not sure if it’s Dolby Atmos but it’s amazing. Sound coming from everywhere.
Ordered some certified UHD cables from Amazon so hopefully that will solve the eARC issues which I think may just be related to cables/bandwidth/shielding.
Very happy now! Until I have to program the Harmony again that is. It seems that the order in which things get switched on in the HDMI chain may also be important.
Visions had a sale on an Aventage RX A2A which is more or less identical to the RX V6A. It has double the warranty and a couple of extra goodies too but really it’s the same. It was $150 more than the RXV6A but I figured the extra warranty was worth that, a solid 4y, plus it was in stock! It was also shippable rather than in store only. I’ve had it a few days and it’s pretty neat. Had some teething issues with cables as eARC between my TV and the receiver doesn’t always play nice but between my NVidia shield and the receiver no issues. Watched a little of the Jack Ryan No Remorse movie again tonight and it’s stunning with the high definition sound, not sure if it’s Dolby Atmos but it’s amazing. Sound coming from everywhere.
Ordered some certified UHD cables from Amazon so hopefully that will solve the eARC issues which I think may just be related to cables/bandwidth/shielding.
Very happy now! Until I have to program the Harmony again that is. It seems that the order in which things get switched on in the HDMI chain may also be important.
