Hi-Fi Corner: Spread the sound around with Yamaha’s RX-S601 receiver

By Ryan Waniata Published October 2, 2015

After quietly unveiling a revolutionary new take on multiroom sound with the new MusicCast system this summer, Yamaha today revealed a sleek and slim receiver packing MusicCast along with high resolution audio support, 4K passthrough, and a whole lot more. Introducing the new RX-S601 5.1 channel network AV receiver.

At just over 4-inches tall, the RX-S601 casts a diminutive profile, but that shouldn’t cast any doubts on the bounty of features locked within. With MusicCast, the receiver is capable of streaming audio from virtually any source — be it a Blu-ray player, live TV, a turntable, or your smartphone — throughout the home to any of Yamaha’s 20 new MusicCast components. Those include receivers, speakers, speaker bars, and even professional grade monitors.

Recommended Videos

Related: With Dolby Atmos and MusicCast, Yamaha’s YSP-5600 is the Rolls Royce of sound bars

Yamaha-RX-S601 front manual — Image used with permission by copyright holder

In addition, the receiver offers Airplay, DLNA, and Bluetooth support, the latter of which with an added twist. Not only can users stream audio to the receiver via Bluetooth, the receiver can also send the signal back out to other Bluetooth enabled speakers — Yamaha, or otherwise.

Of course, the RX-S601 also comes loaded with the same feature set we’ve come to expect from top receivers in the ever-evolving home theater landscape, including support for streaming multiple hi-res audio file formats at 24bit/192kHz resolution, decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, as well as Yamaha’s Cinema DSP 3D and 17 DSP effects. Digital-to-audio conversion is covered by a 24bit Burr-Brown converter. On the video side, the system is equipped with the latest HDCP 2.2 copyright protection for 4K UHD passthrough at 60Hz.

Other features include Yamaha’s YPAO speaker calibration technology, and Compressed Music Enhancer designed to improve the sound quality of streaming music and MP3s. Pandora and Spotify are also built right in. Power is rated at 60 watts per channel.

Yamaha’s sleek and slim new RX-S601 AV receiver will be available this month at a suggested retail price of $650.

A version of this post first appeared on our “brother site” Digital Trends.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Waniata is an audio engineer, musician, composer, and all-around lover of all things tech, audio, and cinema. Hailing…

Culture

4 reasons Hacks is the best comedy on TV right now

The Max original comedy deserves all of the love it's getting and more

Jean Smart in Hacks Season 3

When Hacks took home the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2024, it might have been the first time many TV fans had heard of this incredible little gem. Starring Jean Smart as a fiery, washed-up comic who never quite fulfilled her potential, she hires a mid-20s writer (played by Hannah Einbinder) who has nowhere else to turn after her career starts going haywire. Together, the ladies form an unbreakable bond that propels them to new heights both on a personal and professional level. The show's foundation is stellar, but the execution makes it the best comedy on TV right now.

Hacks differs from other comedy series airing in the 2020s because it has new school dynamics that complement old school heart and soul. The series is a love letter to laughs, love, and strong female leads who are messy and not afraid to show it. If you aren't watching Hacks during its fourth season, what are you waiting for? These are the four reasons Hacks is the best comedy series you can watch right now.

Culture

Ranked: The best John Cusack movies of all time

Check out John Cusack's top films

John Cusack in Say Anything

John Cusack comes from a large family of Hollywood veterans, most notably including his big sister, Joan Cusack. The '80s lover boy of old, turned dramatic actor of late, has had quite a durable career. Those who barely know his work would consider him a type-casted actor, playing the same character over and over, or simply portraying his own persona on screen. Those who love and appreciate him, however, might consider him to be one of the best actors in the business, bringing life to every role he signs on for.
Thanks to his ethereal screen presence, Cusack was also able to become one of the more unconventional leading men in Hollywood history. As a slightly dorky boy growing up, his performances were often the ones I most latched onto. Although he's never received the kind of awards recognition that he undoubtedly deserved, there’s no denying that he has been a key player in film history, most particularly the '80s and leading up to the mid-2000s.
Like him or not, Cusack is cemented in history as a true on-screen talent. So, without any further hesitation, these are the 10 best John Cusack movies ranked from least to best.

10. Never Grow Old (2019)

Culture

The first trailer for I Know What You Did Last Summer proves that no franchise is truly dead

Almost 30 years after the original, we're following a new group of hunted teens.

Jennifer Love Hewitt in I Know What You Did Last Summer

If you were one of those people who was wondering when we might get a third I Know What You Did Last Summer movie, then you're in luck. The first trailer for the new film is here, and it features Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. reprising their roles as Julie James and Ray Bronson from the first two films in the franchise.

The film, which is somewhat confusingly called I Know What You Did Last Summer, was directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and will serve as a direct sequel to the original 1997 film. In that film, a group of friends are hunted by a killer with a hooked hand one year after they killed someone in a hit-and-run accident.