Yamaha RX-Z9 vs NEW RX-A3080

[JOHN FICKEL]

Was wondering if anyone could help me make up my mind. I currently have the Yamaha RX-Z9 and again love it. I bought the RX-A3070 and was dissatisfied. I want to know now that the RX-A3080 has a 32bit dac Sabre opposed To Burr brown 1792 that the Z9 uses, is that going to make a big difference?? On paper you would think the 3080 should kill the Z9, but I don’t want to be dissatisfied again , any thoughts?

 

[gene]

Was wondering if anyone could help me make up my mind. I currently have the Yamaha RX-Z9 and again love it. I bought the RX-A3070 and was dissatisfied. I want to know now that the RX-A3080 has a 32bit dac Sabre opposed To Burr brown 1792 that the Z9 uses, is that going to make a big difference?? On paper you would think the 3080 should kill the Z9, but I don’t want to be dissatisfied again , any thoughts?

The RX-Z9 is from the age of the Super receivers and has a better amp and power supply section than most of today's receivers, including the 3080. But, the 3080 has better codecs to handle today's latest surround formats. The 3080 has a good keep it section so you can always use its preouts to connect to your Z9 amps or another external amp if you need more power.

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

Thank you for your response, I do have a McIntosh amp MC-252, I have never used the main amp in the Z9. Just want to make sure the pre outs are the same quality? Didn’t seem to be on the 3070. And that DTS-MA is going to be better than core DTS. again didn’t seem to be. On the 3070 when features like YPAO VOLUME is turned off seems lifeless. Also MusicCast only streams at 128 with pandora so I will have to stick to Sonos for Pandora

 

[PENG]

Thank you for your response, I do have a McIntosh amp MC-252, I have never used the main amp in the Z9. Just want to make sure the pre outs are the same quality? Didn’t seem to be on the 3070. And that DTS-MA is going to be better than core DTS. again didn’t seem to be. On the 3070 when features like YPAO VOLUME is turned off seems lifeless. Also MusicCast only streams at 128 with pandora so I will have to stick to Sonos for Pandora

If you are using the preouts to drive external amp, the 3070 should not be lifeless compared to the Z9, no way. Maybe you have a defective unit, messed up settings?

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

I Checked all the settings, maybe there was something wrong. I have ordered the 3080 it has to be better. Maybe I did do something wrong. I have checked all the settings. I’ll will check everything again, the dynamic range was set to maximum like Yamaha said, and everything bass managed and everything small 80hz

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

I have a 5.2 set up. So in the amp configuration I should set to basic correct?

 

[PENG]

I have a 5.2 set up. So in the amp configuration I should set to basic correct?

That very basic for sure. You should be able to simply connect the pre out of the 5 channels to the power amp and the subout to the subwoofer and then just run YPAO.

 

[little wing]

Like Peng said, run YPAO. Than compare the sound of all EQ settings (Front, Natural, Flat) and then try the "Through" setting (No EQ). Also compare the sound with Extra Bass on and off. Some people like YPAO volume on. I think it's ok for late night listening. Also listen with the Enhancers on and off. There should be enough settings to find a sound you like. Good luck with the 3080. Would like to hear your impressions once it is set up.

 

[snakeeyes]

Like Peng said, run YPAO. Than compare the sound of all EQ settings (Front, Natural, Flat) and then try the "Through" setting (No EQ). Also compare the sound with Extra Bass on and off. Some people like YPAO volume on. I think it's ok for late night listening. Also listen with the Enhancers on and off. There should be enough settings to find a sound you like. Good luck with the 3080. Would like to hear your impressions once it is set up.

I like YPAO volume at lower to medium volume, but it sounds weird to me at high volume. So I have it off on my theater room and living room Yamahas but I have it enabled on my bedroom Yamaha.

 

[little wing]

I like YPAO volume at lower to medium volume, but it sounds weird to me at high volume. So I have it off on my theater room and living room Yamahas but I have it enabled on my bedroom Yamaha.

Ok, that makes sense. It seems to cut the higher and lower frequencies a bit, and emphasize the mid-range, to my ears at least. One of the good things about these receivers is that there are way to subtlety tailor the sound to your liking.

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

Ok I definitely will. I’m pretty excited. I’ll hook up my McIntosh MC-252 and run YPAO multi position, and let everyone know. I have my Subs leveled perfectly with the volume controls on the back of the subs to be 76 dB at the listing position with a Radio Shack DB meter. So YPAO should run great

 

[pbenj]

The RX-Z9 is from the age of the Super receivers and has a better amp and power supply section than most of today's receivers, including the 3080. But, the 3080 has better codecs to handle today's latest surround formats. The 3080 has a good keep it section so you can always use its preouts to connect to your Z9 amps or another external amp if you need more power.

Hi Gene,

Happy New Year! I hope all is well. I have a similar question. Should I refresh or not. Currently I have a RX-Z7 and am thinking of refreshing with a RX-A3080. I"ve been happy with the amp in the Z7 and currently do not use an external amp. The primary reasons for refreshing is Music Cast, streaming services and 4K. I have a UDP-205 also. Are you planning on doing a full review of the RX-A3080?

Thank you,
Paul

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

I have just found out The reason I’m having this problem with the subwoofers is the RX-A3070 sub preout is only 1.0volt the 3080 is the same. Crutchfield Says the CX-A5200 is 1.0 min to 6.5v via unbalanced sub preout. So I decided to see what the RX-Z9 was and those are 4 volt. Supposedly Many people have had this problem that the pre-outs of the new AVRS are weak

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

And keep in mind MusicCast only streams 128 kbps that is why every time I turned off the enhancer I was dissatisfied with the quality So I only use Sonos I’m using Pandora. Yamaha informed me that it didn’t matter what service you used The AVRS can only do 128 kbps

 

[snakeeyes]

I have just found out The reason I’m having this problem with the subwoofers is the RX-A3070 sub preout is only 1.0volt the 3080 is the same. Crutchfield Says the CX-A5200 is 1.0 min to 6.5v via unbalanced sub preout. So I decided to see what the RX-Z9 was and those are 4 volt. Supposedly Many people have had this problem that the pre-outs of the new AVRS are weak

On my Yamahas they trigger the Rythmik subs fine but for my HSU subs in my living room I had to use a RCA Y-Splitter so I could send the sub signal to both the left and right RCA input on the HSU.

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

I never had a problem with the subs coming on I just felt like they were never being driven under any authority like my Z9 does at all. And everything is properly done bass management everything small 80 Hz Klipsch R115sw x2. Set to LFE. Subs in the receiver were set mono and levels to 80db. And every time I turned off the enhancer or YPAO Volume is sounded dead compared to the Z9

 

[lovinthehd]

Hey John. Why you think the 3080 is much different I don't know, but I do remember our many conversations about your frustration before so makes me wonder why you'd consider the same basic unit now.

The pre-out voltage specs provided by many are but nominal values and don't reflect max values. I do think there was a Yamaha avr test Audioholics did not long ago that did show poor output, but that was a lower end model as well. Many sub plate amps don't need much in the way of pre-out voltage, some do. My Onkyo and Denon avrs have sufficient voltage for a variety of sub amps and external amps I've used them with but YMMV.

As to Music Cast that doesn't sound right that it is limited to 128kbps itself....the onboard apps in the avr may be, tho.

Good luck!
Chris

 

[snakeeyes]

And keep in mind MusicCast only streams 128 kbps that is why every time I turned off the enhancer I was dissatisfied with the quality So I only use Sonos I’m using Pandora. Yamaha informed me that it didn’t matter what service you used The AVRS can only do 128 kbps

What does Airplay stream at? Same?

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

The Z9 or everything that was manufactured in Japan just seems to be way better built . Now I’m looking to get myself A CX-A5200. But my Z9 is going nowhere until this thing does what I needed to do I’m just not convinced DTS-MA blows Core DTS out of the water

 

[JOHN FICKEL]

Hey John. Why you think the 3080 is much different I don't know, but I do remember our many conversations about your frustration before so makes me wonder why you'd consider the same basic unit now.

The pre-out voltage specs provided by many are but nominal values and don't reflect max values. I do think there was a Yamaha avr test Audioholics did not long ago that did show poor output, but that was a lower end model as well. Many sub plate amps don't need much in the way of pre-out voltage, some do. My Onkyo and Denon avrs have sufficient voltage for a variety of sub amps and external amps I've used them with but YMMV.

As to Music Cast that doesn't sound right that it is limited to 128kbps itself....the onboard apps in the avr may be, tho.

Good luck!
Chris

Two dealers have said that the internal guts are just about the same. And the pre-out specs are the same that’s why I looked into the 5200 preout specs