purchased yamaha rx-z7

zumbo said:

I almost didn't buy another Yamaha due to BM. Boy, am I stoked!

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Nice gift you got for your daughter for Christmas, Z!

BM? Bowel Movement? Naw...I know. Many congrats on the new rig!

Pics please.

I am now checking-out BR via Marantz BD8002 with standard dvd up-converted by Realta in the player, and then Anchor Bay in the receiver. I don't see that Anchor Bay is doing anything but making the picture better. It certainly isn't noticeably worse. My standard def dvds look amazing.

I had to choose up-conversion on my receiver due to the fact I want my cable up-converted. The receiver only lets you choose up-conversion for all HDMI inputs, or passthrough for all.

The only feature I see so far that I don't like is the fact that I can't choose which HDMI input to up-convert, and which one not to. But as I said, I don't see it causing any problem with my BR picture. As far as I know, it may see a 1080p input, and not process it at all.

So far, just tickled.

Tomorrow said:

Nice gift you got for your daughter for Christmas, Z!

BM? Bowel Movement? Naw...I know. Many congrats on the new rig!

Pics please.

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Welcome back! Where have you been?

I have got to get some back lighting for pics. The room is very dark, and pics don't turn-out too good. I will get them as soon as I can.

As far as my daughter, that is one of the reasons I decided against a Rotel pre-pro. I will not use all of these hi-tech gadget features on this unit, but I am certain she will be into all that soon enough. She loves music, and I think that is so cool.

At this price-point, I would put-up a very strong argument that this is the best receiver/pre-pro offered.

BTW, I have selected pre-amp mode in the set-up, and the display on the receiver displays pre-amp. I don't know if it helps anything, but it looks cool. Gives me that fuzzy feeling. Noooo, that's the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

What the Z7 does to regular tv channels is unbelievable. Since I have had HD, I have only watched HD channels. The picture on the non HD channels was just too bad. Now, with the Z7, it makes them pretty good. Good enough to watch again, and that says a lot.

zumbo said:

And, the sub x-over point is separate from that.

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In my excitement, I posted this information wrong. The Sub settings in the GUI are for phase, and bass-out.

zumbo said:

In my excitement, I posted this information wrong. The Sub settings in the GUI are for phase, and bass-out.

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What about the responsiveness of the remote; is it any good ?

Jeepers said:

What about the responsiveness of the remote; is it any good ?

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Not really. But, it works. It seems to stumble when you pick-it up, and try to use it. Once it lights-up, and the receiver decides to acknowledge it, it works good. It's just the initial response.

Someone had asked about the volume display, must have been in another thread. Anyway, it's pretty small. Doesn't seem to be a problem for me, as my 1400 didn't display the volume at all.

Ypao

Ran YPAO this morning.

Viewing a concert dvd, with YPAO employed. I can toggle between m/c input(analog 5.1), and HDMI on the Z7. I am using a Marantz BD8002 BR player which employs it's DAC's, and BM during 5.1 analog output. During HDMI input, the Z7 employs it's DAC's, and BM. The BM in both units are set the same, and there is no audible difference between the Marantz BR player and the Z7.

There was a major difference in the audio when switching from m/c input, and digital coax on the Yamaha RX-V1400.

This flat-out proves that the pre-pro/receiver employed has a major effect on the audio. Even within the same brand. So there is clearly no "Yamaha sound".

I don't know how far one has to go up the food chain in any brand to make a difference, but the Z7 is clearly audibly different than the 1400 it replaced.

I can state this not by remembering how the 1400 sounded, but by remembering that there was a major difference while performing the same tests on 1400.

EDIT: BOTH THE 1400 AND THE Z7 WERE BEING USED AS PRE-PROS, WITH SEPARATE AMPLIFICATION.

zumbo said:

What the Z7 does to regular tv channels is unbelievable. Since I have had HD, I have only watched HD channels. The picture on the non HD channels was just too bad. Now, with the Z7, it makes them pretty good. Good enough to watch again, and that says a lot.

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Was that with the default video settings, or did you have to play with the noise reduction? (e.g. block noise reduction, mosquito noise reduction).

I've seen reports that the RX-V3900 is not doing much for SD, so I wonder why the Z7 is better (same ABT2010, but you only have access to the video quality adjustments on the Z7).

kriktsemaj99 said:

Was that with the default video settings, or did you have to play with the noise reduction? (e.g. block noise reduction, mosquito noise reduction).

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The only thing I changed so-far is HDMI-HDMI from through to processing, and prog.-reprocessing to on.

kriktsemaj99 said:

I've seen reports that the RX-V3900 is not doing much for SD, so I wonder why the Z7 is better (same ABT2010, but you only have access to the video quality adjustments on the Z7).

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It may have something to do with the source. I am using Comcast, if that makes a difference.

Ran YPAO this morning.

Viewing a concert dvd, with YPAO employed. I can toggle between m/c input(analog 5.1), and HDMI on the Z7. I am using a Marantz BD8002 BR player which employs it's DAC's, and BM during 5.1 analog output. During HDMI input, the Z7 employs it's DAC's, and BM. The BM in both units are set the same, and there is no audible difference between the Marantz BR player and the Z7.

There was a major difference in the audio when switching from m/c input, and digital coax on the Yamaha RX-V1400.

This flat-out proves that the pre-pro/receiver employed has a major effect on the audio. Even within the same brand. So there is clearly no "Yamaha sound".

I don't know how far one has to go up the food chain in any brand to make a difference, but the Z7 is clearly audibly different than the 1400 it replaced.

I can state this not by remembering how the 1400 sounded, but by remembering that there was a major difference while performing the same tests on 1400.

EDIT: BOTH THE 1400 AND THE Z7 WERE BEING USED AS PRE-PROS, WITH SEPARATE AMPLIFICATION.

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This doesn't surprise me. The RX-Z7 has got some really good audio chops to it and IMO much improved over the 1400/2500 series of receivers. I don't want to reveal too much until the review, but this is one kickin receiver and an even BETTER preamp/processor.

The Z7 sounds like a winner, Z. Why did you select this unit instead of the RX-V3800? (The "Z"? )

I'd sure like to have a list of cost differences between the Z7 and the 3800. It must be more than the few features listed. But what parts are so much more expensive than the 3800? Gene?

Tomorrow said:

The Z7 sounds like a winner, Z. Why did you select this unit instead of the RX-V3800? (The "Z"? )

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New.

Got a deal.

Gut feeling.

Unit has pre-amp mode. I figured that if they went to the trouble to do this, there was something to it.

I wanted to have a better unit than you!

zumbo said:

I wanted to have a better unit than you!

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Booo!

LOL....okay, Z. I'll let you know when the Z9 comes in!

This thread was really helpful.

I just picked up a z7 last night. I didn't expect to or any store to have it even. I was just in an AWEFULL mood and wanted to go play at a store. Usualy Ultimate E pisses me off, but this guy admitted when he didn't know something, and gave me a few bits of info that helped, Then dropped trou and gave me a deal, I haggled for more off, and boom I walked out with a new one for a price much closer to the v3900. Better than any internet price I found save an Ebay shady deal even after tax, and no waiting on delevery.

I am really interested in Gene's review and details, but this thread helped a ton too! I just hope to have my theater built before family comes in for christmas.

Thanks again to Z and the rest, for all the details and input in this thread!

I'm so jealous, sounds like a really nice piece of equipment. I love my RX-V1800, and my RX-V663, but I really wish they would have offered separate crossover points for the different channels. Hopefully this is something they will employ on all future receivers, at least the nicer ones. Any idea what the preamp mode does differently than the regular mode?
I'm guessing it turns off the internal amps when it's in preamp mode, since you are using yours in this fashion, how hot does the unit get? I'm not using any of my internal amps on the RX-V1800 and it still gets pretty warm even when listening at normal volume levels.

More questions about Bass Management for the Z7

zumbo said:

Got unit connected.

Running through some quick start-up features to get the most important stuff done first.

Z7 has separate x-over points for f/fp/c/s/sb.

I was going to accept the fact that Yamaha doesn't let you set separate points, and am excited to find-out this one does.

And, the sub x-over point is separate from that.

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I have been a Yamaha fan for a long time. starting with the 2400, then the 2600, and now the 2700 all used as pre/pro's.

That is great that there are so many options for crossover settings in the Z7, but I am interested in the last item "And, the sub x-over point is separate from that."

I am curious to know how the Z7 will handle the following. If I set my front speakers to 50hz, my surrounds and surround back's to 80 hz (small) and the sub to 70hz what happens to the 10hz from 80hz to 70hz for the surrounds and the surrounds? Is the audio dropped or should I set my sub crossover to the crossover point for my surrounds? Will YPOA do all the settings for me ?

Then if I match the crossover of sub to my surrounds do I have an overlap of audio from 50hz to 80hz for my fronts.

zumbo said:

The Z7 has LFE settings of Front + SWFR, SWFR, and Front. Front + SWFR sends LFE to the sub during non LFE playback with all speakers set to SMALL. SWFR only sends LFE to sub if there is a LFE track. A Front option will not allow you to select the SMALL size in the GUI for the mains, and no LFE will be sent to the sub.

It's different, and better thought-out. I see why there has been so much confusion with this in the past.

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Z, Again thank you for all the great detail. Your information is much appreciated.

So to finish of the previous thoughts on Bass Manangement (BM) let me ask a couple of questions, if you don't mind.

1) If I set the LFE settings in the Z7 to "Front + Sub" can I set the front speakers to small and a x-over of 50hz and allo audio below 50hz for the Fronts will be sent to the sub? Or do I have set the fronts to large because I have chosen LFE to "FRONT+SUB"? If they are set to Large can I still set the cross over to 50hz?

2) If I set the LFE setting for "Front + Sub" and set the sub crossover to 50hz, the Fronts to small (if possible) and crossed over at 50hz, and the surrounds to small and crossed over at 80hz... Will the audio below 80hz to 50hz for the surrounds be sent to the fronts and then from 50hz and below audio for all channels be sent to the sub?

3) In complete auto setup mode for YPAO, how does it configure bass management? LFE to "Front+Sub" or Sub or Fronts? Seperate crossover points and size for each speaker group?

Thank all you guys for any help you can provide here.

Regards,

David

I ansewerd in the other thread. You must have skimmed this one.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?p=491910#post491910

Zumbo,

I picked up a Z7 last week, and so far it is incredible for both movie and music audio, I listened to Tool's Ænema disc at 100 db+ over the weekend, and it was truly an experience.

I am seeing some odd behavior with video output on the Tivo & Comcast HD DVR's (2 separate inputs) HDMI outputs being reset to 480p. I have set the tivo output to native, which should pass whatever resolution the program is broadcast in, but it has been reset to "480p fixed" 4 or 5 times in less than a week. The comcast dvr has the same issue, requiring me to cycle the output button on the front of the box back to 1080i. I never had this issue when both boxes were connected to my old Marartz 8500 via component cables.

Have you seen this behavior with your Z7, I believe you stated that you have comcast service.