Official Yamaha RX-Z7 Receiver Review Thread

[Buckster]

what makes the Z7 that much better than the 3900 ?

I won't argue with people saying it sounds better than the 3900 - just trying to work out what the construction/what parts over and above the 3900 give it the edge - well more than an edge I would hope ?

 

[cdub]

Picked up a Z7 last week, just couldn't hold out any longer So far it is incredible for both movies as well as 2 ch music audio.

I am seeing some odd behavior with video output on the Tivo & Comcast HD DVR's HDMI outputs (2 separate 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.

Wondering if Gene, or anyone else with Z7, has seen this behavior. I haven't been able to find anything obvious in the Z7 config settings, I find it had to believe it's an issue with both the comcast and tivo DVR's.

 

[bigdwest]

Any update on when the audioholics review would be ready for Z7?

 

[gene]

Any update on when the audioholics review would be ready for Z7?

Honestly I am not sure anymore. Yamaha sent me a 2nd RX-Z7 and it has the same video problem as the first. I also tested it on a different display to rule out my Samsung. This will now have to be elevated further with Yamaha engineering in Japan. Stay tuned....

 

[sticknstones]

What to do or not to do?

Honestly I am not sure anymore. Yamaha sent me a 2nd RX-Z7 and it has the same video problem as the first. I also tested it on a different display to rule out my Samsung. This will now have to be elevated further with Yamaha engineering in Japan. Stay tuned....

Gene, you are now at the crossroad....Do you complete a review that is going to be pointing out these problems or does yamaha want a chance to remediate before having to make a recall or major fix? The price for this unit is not a trivial sum!

It seems that many audio/video manufacturers are struggling with their implementations and integrations to the HDMI standards, calibration technology, partial implementations on some models to full implementations on other models for conversion chips and all of this making the task harder for end consumers. NAD T785, Sherwood 972, Onkyo, and just about all other forums are either experiencing product delays or issues like here.

I have a Denon 3803 and have decided to add a Emotiva XPA-3 Amp which made a substantial improvement on audio and have an older Anchor Bay DVDO VP20 that I am using for the conversions.

I personally am going to pass on the Yamaha and wait for the Emotiva release of the XMC-1 processor as I like the smaller company and ease of talking to the company engineers.

I do however lean very heavily to your company as you do a great job of squeezing the truth out of these products. These forums are invaluable as an intellectual exchange for our experiences.

It might be interesting to do a paper on the "State of the Industry" and cover what is the true root cause to the problems facing everyone.

It is my novice understanding that HDMI is not the Utopian solution for quality audio and video but more as a standard that protects the data from license infringement where HDCP was more the goal than creating a superior AV connector plus other standards it embodies. HDMI institute charges a license fee to use their standard and half the world thinks if they do not have HDMI then their products would be inferior.

I think it would be awesome to do a paper on all of this as I have a hard time blaming any one vendor as there are so many third party additions at play!

Tread lightly on my comments you eager beasts as I too am one of the end consumers that want to own the products but expect that I not be part of the Test and Development circle. I expect products to perform as marketed without all the headaches.

 

[Jeepers]

Probably this was already discussed a few times before but why do manufacturers feel the need to release AV receivers/amps including all the latest bells and whissles; provided these work the way they should ? I can understand that people prefer to have one product that does everything but do we all need/want this ?
The fact that Gene has now received 2 faulty (HDMI video processing wise) Z7's says a lot. I have a Z11 and I quite like it but I don't use most of its possibilities; I bought it for the audio part only and I used to have it drive a 5.1 setup and 2 weeks ago I switched to a 3.1 setup with better speakers and I don't miss the surrounds at all. Several other Z11 owners are disappointed with this 'flagship' and some of them have already sold it.
My point is why don't manufacturers release AV receivers/amps which do the basic stuff in an excellent way ? E.g for the video part; only component/HDMI inputs and outputs without any upconverting/upscaling functionality; no iPOD/USB/Network/Web/radio features; no useless sound field programs; 5.1/5.2 or 7.1/7.2 only and powerful & stable amplifiers.
This would end up being cheaper, more reliable and a lot of people would be more happy and less disillusioned with their purchase.
I know I am dreaming since the manufacturers won't do this because this would mean they couldn't release each year a new set of AV receivers/amps.

 

[gene]

It might be interesting to do a paper on the "State of the Industry" and cover what is the true root cause to the problems facing everyone.

It is my novice understanding that HDMI is not the Utopian solution for quality audio and video but more as a standard that protects the data from license infringement where HDCP was more the goal than creating a superior AV connector plus other standards it embodies. HDMI institute charges a license fee to use their standard and half the world thinks if they do not have HDMI then their products would be inferior.

I think it would be awesome to do a paper on all of this as I have a hard time blaming any one vendor as there are so many third party additions at play!

Tread lightly on my comments you eager beasts as I too am one of the end consumers that want to own the products but expect that I not be part of the Test and Development circle. I expect products to perform as marketed without all the headaches.

I am trying firmware updates to see if it helps but I am hitting a brick wall of sinking alot of time into this and not getting resolve. I am confident that Yamaha will do whatever is necessary to fix this however.

I'd be interested in hearing more about the white paper you'd like to author as well as your qualifications, please PM me. thanks.

My point is why don't manufacturers release AV receivers/amps which do the basic stuff in an excellent way ? E.g for the video part; only component/HDMI inputs and outputs without any upconverting/upscaling functionality; no iPOD/USB/Network/Web/radio features; no useless sound field programs; 5.1/5.2 or 7.1/7.2 only and powerful & stable amplifiers.

agreed, the industry moves too fast for its own good always trying to cram down newer gear on us. I remember the good old days of component video that simply just worked!

OTOH, I guess its good for us that new equipment keeps coming out, else what would be the point of A/V websites like Audioholics

 

[sticknstones]

I'd be interested in hearing more about the white paper you'd like to author as well as your qualifications, please PM me. thanks.

a

Gene, thanks for your reply! Minor point of clarification....ummmm...I am the novice here....and I was kind of volunteering you to do the paper

 

[cdub]

Honestly I am not sure anymore. Yamaha sent me a 2nd RX-Z7 and it has the same video problem as the first. I also tested it on a different display to rule out my Samsung. This will now have to be elevated further with Yamaha engineering in Japan. Stay tuned....

Hearing that you are seeing this issue on a 2nd unit is certainly bad news, I am wondering if I should take advantage of 30 day no questions asked return policy (have ~2 weeks left) now. It's too bad because it really is an amazing sounding unit.

Just for the sake of argument, have you tried taking the Z7 out of your enclosed cabinet and seeing if the issue persists? At least then we would know that it is in fact a heat dissipation related issue.

I have my Z7 mounted in an open air style rack and have not had any issues with it (yet), my current display is a sony 60" XBR 1080i so I can not replicate your criteria to see if it happens in a more ventilated area.

 

[benamaster]

I updated to Firmware 1.05 and still see the Blue Lines I noticed some vertical lines also now. It only happens when the unit is set to output 1080P. I notice it with the Re-Processing on and off. I don't seem to notice it much with a 1080i source or 1080P of any kind but it shows up on all other formats. Yamaha has been 0 help on the customer end just saying to exchange the unit. No person that I have spoke to at Yamaha will even admit there is a problem. I am frustrated and will probably return the unit and switch brands.

 

[gene]

Just for the sake of argument, have you tried taking the Z7 out of your enclosed cabinet and seeing if the issue persists? At least then we would know that it is in fact a heat dissipation related issue.

Yes I even connected the unit in my primary theater room between my Epson projector and Denon DVD Player. So I ruled out the rack heat issue and the Samsung as the source. The only other possible issue would be the cables (Impact Sonicwave) but doubtful b/c I use them on all my other gear and I only get this problem when the Z7 is used to transmit the HDMI source to my display.

I updated to Firmware 1.05 and still see the Blue Lines I noticed some vertical lines also now. It only happens when the unit is set to output 1080P.

Hmm I swear I saw it at other resolutions but I will check again. Also try toggling the input to see if it goes away. It does on mine but then you see little blue dots randomly appear on the screen. It appears to be a low voltage issue slighly above blacker than black as it doesnt do it with high IRE images. I will use AVIA to see where it becomes most noticeable.

 

[Jeepers]

Yes I even connected the unit in my primary theater room between my Epson projector and Denon DVD Player. So I ruled out the rack heat issue and the Samsung as the source. The only other possible issue would be the cables (Impact Sonicwave) but doubtful b/c I use them on all my other gear and I only get this problem when the Z7 is used to transmit the HDMI source to my display.

Could it be a faulty lot ? Might be interesting if the people owning a Z7 could provide the serial number and indicate whether their Z7 has this problem or not. Does this issue only occur with Z7's for the US market ?

 

[pbenj]

Yes I even connected the unit in my primary theater room between my Epson projector and Denon DVD Player. So I ruled out the rack heat issue and the Samsung as the source. The only other possible issue would be the cables (Impact Sonicwave) but doubtful b/c I use them on all my other gear and I only get this problem when the Z7 is used to transmit the HDMI source to my display.

I have great interest in your review as I sold my 3800 to eventually get a Z7. I'm not quite ready to pull the trigger but will do it within the next month or two and am hoping this issue will be resolved and there will be a completed review.


When I was reading your last update of the situation earlier today ... I was thinking cables. It most likely is not the cables but I guess I would try swapping out both the input and output cables....you never know.

Paul

 

[DougSmith]

I bought a Z7 recently, from a US supplier. I have looked closely for blue lines/speckles and haven’t been able to detect anything (I guess they would be obvious if they were there). The receiver is hooked up to a Comcast SA8300HD DVR, a Samsung BDP2500 BluRay player and a Sharp 46D92U LCD. I have run the Z7 for prolonged periods of time upconverting to 1080p from the Bluray playing Netflix streams at 720p or a standard DVD at 480p (I have also watched Bluray movies with both the receiver and player set to 1080p). I have also tried upconverting to 1080p from the DVR with programs broadcast at 480i, 720p and 1080i. It sounds like temperature is probably not an issue, but for the record my receiver is located on a shelf, open in front & back, with ~1” clearance on the sides and ~3” on top (the top gets warm, but not hot). I upgraded the firmware to v1.04 when I first got it but haven’t opted 1.05 yet (firmware upgrade over the net was a breeze, by the way).

In response to cdub, I can report that my Comcast DVR box also interacts a bit strangely with the receiver. I set the DVR to “auto HDMI” to pass through whatever resolution it is receiving. When tuned to a channel broadcasting at 480i, I briefly see a message from the DVR saying “the DVI/HDMI output is blocked” then it finally locks in the picture. If I toggle the zoom control, I get the same message again before locking in at “zoom2”, “normal” or “zoom1” (no “stretch” setting is available). If I tune to an HD channel (at 720p or 1080i) the zoom toggle works normally between all 4 settings without any error message. If I set the receiver to output 1080i, 1080p or 720p, I get the same behavior, but the “normal” view is stretched regardless of the receiver aspect ratio setting (“through” or “16:9/normal”). The best solution for 480i material with this DVR, therefore, seems to be to either pass through the resolution or zoom the upconverted picture.

-Doug

 

[quenthal]

Hmm I swear I saw it at other resolutions but I will check again. Also try toggling the input to see if it goes away. It does on mine but then you see little blue dots randomly appear on the screen. It appears to be a low voltage issue slighly above blacker than black as it doesnt do it with high IRE images. I will use AVIA to see where it becomes most noticeable.

Could this be somehow connected to the other issue reported (near BTB there is some noise): forums.audioholics. com/forums/showpost.php?p=512165&postcount=34

EDIT: Couldn't make direct link with my postings yet.

 

[gene]

Could it be a faulty lot ? Might be interesting if the people owning a Z7 could provide the serial number and indicate whether their Z7 has this problem or not. Does this issue only occur with Z7's for the US market ?

Excellent suggestion. I encourage any users here with this problem to please list the serial # of your unit. thanks.

 

[benamaster]

I will try with Avia and DVE to see also. I am getting it both with the Re Processing on and off. I will also try another output resolution. The only time I haven't noticed it is if I set it to Through instead of Processing.

 

[jayhawk069]

Cosmetic comment/question

My RX-Z7 came with a perforated plastic cover attached to the metal cover (the top that is). The perforations exactly match the primary cover. It's pretty ugly and has no discernible use that I can see. It's held on by a bunch of plastic clips. They could be cut but pieces would probably fall inside -- not a good plan. Anybody have a clue why this thing is in place? The 180-pg manual doesn't mention this particular "feature."

 

[cdub]

My RX-Z7 came with a perforated plastic cover attached to the metal cover (the top that is). The perforations exactly match the primary cover. It's pretty ugly and has no discernible use that I can see. It's held on by a bunch of plastic clips. They could be cut but pieces would probably fall inside -- not a good plan. Anybody have a clue why this thing is in place? The 180-pg manual doesn't mention this particular "feature."

Mine did not come with anything attached to the top of the unit, not sure if is a Canadian thing? As long as the perforations match up, it shouldn't affect the heat disapation imo.

cw

 

[rbhudelson]

Excellent suggestion. I encourage any users here with this problem to please list the serial # of your unit. thanks.

I recently purchased and installed the z7. I have an XBox 360 connected via the component cables, a panasonic blueray attached via HDMI and Motorola Cable box connected via component.

When the re-processing switch is set to on I get the blue lines on the XBox but not the blueray. the lines go away immediately if i switch to no.

my serial is k024756jh . My tv is a Samsung L52A650.

I'm a noob so go easy if I have shown my ignorance.