Yamaha RX-Z7 A/V Receiver Overview

[admin]

Yamaha is looking to expand their top end of their receiver line with the addition of the RX-X7 - a $2700 behemoth that is touting, among many other features, near unlimited connectivity and five HDMI inputs. At 140 watts x 7, the RX-Z7 uses Vista compatible DNLA support to stream files off your computer (WAV, Mp3, WMA, AAC) and Internet radio streams (Mp3, WMA). It supports Sirius Internet Radio, Rhapsody, and, of course, Yamaha's own MusicCAST system. You can pull music from your iPod, Bluetooth device, or USB device.


Discuss "Yamaha RX-Z7 A/V Receiver Overview" here. Read the article.

[Dezoris]

Minimal updates. (On paper)

Comparing the RXV3800 to the RXV3900 and RXZ7, most of the features are network related. Most which could likely be pushed into a firmware upgrade for the RXV3800 if they wanted to.

In terms of AMP and power supply they seem identical.
The Z7 has more DSP programs and probably better scaling options but lets face it, most people will use the Oppo or PS3 scaling anyway.

The addition of 2 HDMI outs is something I wished they had on the 3800 but you can solve that with a $150 Octiva or monoprice HDMI 1.3 distibution amp which would help with long cable runs something the Yamaha can't do. Here again a feature only projector users would care about.

Prices continue to rise with little benefit or break through.

[gene]

Minimal updates. (On paper)

Comparing the RXV3800 to the RXV3900 and RXZ7, most of the features are network related. Most which could likely be pushed into a firmware upgrade for the RXV3800 if they wanted to.

In terms of AMP and power supply they seem identical.
The Z7 has more DSP programs and probably better scaling options but lets face it, most people will use the Oppo or PS3 scaling anyway.

The addition of 2 HDMI outs is something I wished they had on the 3800 but you can solve that with a $150 Octiva or monoprice HDMI 1.3 distibution amp which would help with long cable runs something the Yamaha can't do. Here again a feature only projector users would care about.

Prices continue to rise with little benefit or break through.

According to my sources, the quality of parts (IE. dacs, amp drivers, etc) are better on the Z series. I will be reviewing this in October and will find out then.

The trend with all the major receiver manufacturers now is to sacifice amp quality for features and the latest HDMI features/video/ audio decoding/licensing is rather expensive. I plan on writing an article on this as well.

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by gene

According to my sources, the quality of parts (IE. dacs, amp drivers, etc) are better on the Z series. I will be reviewing this in October and will find out then.

The trend with all the major receiver manufacturers now is to sacifice amp quality for features and the latest HDMI features/video/ audio decoding/licensing is rather expensive. I plan on writing an article on this as well.

Look forward to those reviews. At this point with the complexity of the network and video processing how long will it be before they will be separating their audio processing and amps from the video and network stack.

It's also probably going to start being much more cost effective to start making a universal RXV chassis with plug in cards for new features. (ALA Onkyo's idea)

I mean its getting absolutely retarded to be spending $1500 on a receiver and 8 months later a model revision offers functionality updates that SHOULD be firmware based upgrades.

I say this because I have been through 3 receivers in the past 3 years and at this point with HD audio and HDMI on the last model the upgrade is no longer worth the money anymore.

[Clint DeBoer]

I think the Onkyo/Integra debacle put the nail in the coffin for card-based systems. What manufacturer wants to lose the hype and enthusiasm for a model update and replace that with some kind of "here's your new card" announcement? They stand to make more money putting out new products every year.

If the marketing guy who came up with the card idea for Onkyo/Integra wasn't fired, he's the luckiest guy in the world... lol.

[gene]

It's also probably going to start being much more cost effective to start making a universal RXV chassis with plug in cards for new features. (ALA Onkyo's idea)

This only makes sense for flagship type products that a manufacturer plans on keeping in their lineup for 4+ years or longer. To date, I don't know of any manufacturers that have successfully pulled this off.

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by Clint DeBoer

I think the Onkyo/Integra debacle put the nail in the coffin for card-based systems. What manufacturer wants to lose the hype and enthusiasm for a model update and replace that with some kind of "here's your new card" announcement? They stand to make more money putting out new products every year.

If the marketing guy who came up with the card idea for Onkyo/Integra wasn't fired, he's the luckiest guy in the world... lol.

I know we are agreeing with each other, but in terms of innovation...
These A/V receivers are turning into media centers as they should be.

I think they could save a massive amount of money by creating a universal chassis. Such as this:

• RXZ High End
• RXV High End
• RXV Standard
• HTR Budget

They could make 4 models for each market, build in all the needed hardware for each model to meet the range. You buy the hardware for a set price.
And then have the dealer configure your features you wanted added via a software package.

Additional upgrades could be purchased from the Yamaha store downloaded to your receiver for an annual subscription or one time fees.

Want to activate HD radio? Download the package for $50.
Need a hardware update? Flash the firmware.
They could easily go on a 3 year life cycle and be the first in the industry to make a standardized system while making money off the updates they release.

This would save massive manufacturing costs, massive dealer inventory savings, marketing, and they would have higher margins as well.
The side benefits they would be more environmentally friendly, and keeping people more dedicated to their brand.

[niget2002]

I've also wondered about some of those ideas.

Once you get beyond the amps for the outputs, you're mostly dealing with just a bunch of either analog or digital I/O's. Buying a chasis with a bunch of slots (similar to PCI slots) and then being able to select the I/O's I need would make a lot of sense for me. If I only need a handful of I/O's up front, then it will make it more affordable for me to get into a higher quality chasis with better amps for the speakers.

Until then, I'll just keep admitting that I'm a big fan of Yamaha, and will continue to drool over their latest and greatest no matter how similar it is to their other offerings.

(P.S. If someone needs a Christmas Idea for me... this receiver would be a good one )

[Doug917]

Being this unit is a "Z" series, where's the option to run surround back and presence channels simultaneously? For this reason alone, the Z7 does not belong in the "Z" category of receivers in my mind. Keep trying Yamaha!

[gene]

Being this unit is a "Z" series, where's the option to run surround back and presence channels simultaneously? For this reason alone, the Z7 does not belong in the "Z" category of receivers in my mind. Keep trying Yamaha!

What will be killer is if you can redirect the front channels to the presence channels and then run an external 2 channel amp for the fronts. I will determine if this is possible. This is something I've been requesting on lower than flagship models from Yamaha for years.