Yamaha Network Stereo Receiver R-N600A

The Yamaha R-N600A is a network stereo receiver: amplifier, streamer, DAC and FM radio in one case, with a phono input for a turntable.

Yamaha has been making this kind of receiver for a very long time, and the R-N series is the modern version: a straightforward two-channel amplifier that happens to have the network built in, rather than a computer with an amplifier attached.

What Apple Home actually does with it

This is an AirPlay 2 device rather than a HomeKit accessory.

• It appears in the Home app as a speaker you can play to, and as an AirPlay target in Control Centre.
• You can put it in a room and group it with HomePods for synchronised multi-room audio.
• Siri can send music to it by room name.
• It can be the audio output in a scene or an automation.

Power, input selection and volume stay with the unit, its remote and its own app. The Home app does not control those.

Before you buy

The phono stage matters if you have a turntable, because it saves buying a separate one.

Yamaha’s YPAO room calibration is included on this range, which is rare on a stereo amplifier and worth running.

The R-N1000A and R-N800A sit above it, and the R-N1000A adds an HDMI socket for a television.

Specifications