The accuracy of automated-setup systems can be pretty hit-and-miss, but this one did a good job with the level, phase, and distance measurements. I was less crazy about the bass-cutoff and EQ results, although one nice option lets you leave the front left and right speakers unchanged while the system equalizes the other speakers to match them. Any of these automatic adjustments can be bypassed, and you can also go in after the calibration has done its job and tweak the results. If you prefer a more hands-on approach, the V1800 lets you do an old-fashioned manual calibration, although in this mode you get only a somewhat simpler graphic equalizer.

I customarily use full-range speakers at least across the front three channels, leaving the subwoofer dedicated to the LFE signal. But one potential downside of the V1800 is that you get only one crossover setting for all of the channels set to small. This might force you to compromise if you use small surround speakers along with larger (but not quite full-range) front left and right speakers in your system.

For years, the better Yamaha receivers have featured tons of DSP room modes, and the V1800 is no exception. Yamaha has measured the sonic fingerprint of various concert halls, churches, and clubs around the world, which you can then re-create in your listening room. To get the most from these effects, you'll want to mount a pair of front presence speakers up above and to the outside of the front left and right speakers.

This is one of the first receivers with internal decoding for the high-definition surround formats found on some Blu-ray Discs and HD DVDs — namely, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Unfortunately, neither the Panasonic Blu-ray player nor the Toshiba HD DVD player I had on hand currently supports the required HDMI output of these unaltered bitstreams to enable me to check those functions. As with other late-generation receivers, this Yamaha does play multichannel PCM from the HDMI output of any high-def player that decodes these formats onboard.

Expanding the capabilities of the V1800, Yamaha also provided me with the YDS-10 iPod dock as well as an XM satellite radio mini tuner and home dock. This receiver includes the Neural Surround decoder needed to extract surround information from XM's two XM-HD Surround channels — and with the right material, they delivered impressive surround performance with good envelopment. The iPod dock also worked fine for audio, with the iPod's menus translated to the receiver's remote and onscreen display for easy armchair navigation. The dock can route iPod videos to the receiver for playback, but I was unable to test that because Apple apparently introduced a new video-authentication process with my shiny new iPod Classic that Yamaha hadn't quite caught up with yet. (Older video iPods shouldn't have this problem.)

While this receiver isn't really aimed at the installer market, it does have several custom-friendly features, including IR input and output jacks, a pair of 12-volt triggers, an RS-232 interface, and two remote zones (2-channel audio only) with a separate zone remote (shown below).

Music & Movie Performance
Starting off with the basics, I hooked up my Denon DVD-Audio/SACD player using the multichannel analog audio input and played music from both standard stereo CDs and surround SACDs. With P J Harvey's Rid of Me CD, the sonics were fast and clean, with superb dynamic snap and a big, spacious soundstage. Some separate preamp/processor and amp combinations I've used could deliver just a tad more weight and punch in the deepest bass, but they were many times the cost of the Yamaha. Even with my demanding Snell Acoustics AIII speakers across the front, the resulting sound needed no excuses.