Yamaha RX-Z9 being discontinued?

[gcmarshall]

HiFi Buys (Tweeter) in Atlanta tells me the RX-Z9 is being discontinued. Can anyone confirm/deny this and/or comment on forthcoming replacements for the Z9?

 

[Doug917]

I haven't heard anything to that extent. I am considering picking one up so I can run 9.2, but am also curious as to what will improve on its replacement. I think quite a bit will change. The Yammy flagships only come out every couple years which means a lot of changes take place between models, unlike the mid-level stuff which gets new models several times per year. My guess is there will be a new flagship to at CES in January as it will be close to two years of the Z9 being in service.

 

[furrycute]

Any price drops?

 

[ht_addict]

HiFi Buys (Tweeter) in Atlanta tells me the RX-Z9 is being discontinued. Can anyone confirm/deny this and/or comment on forthcoming replacements for the Z9?

Maybe HiFi isn't carrying the Yamaha line and thats what they meant by discontiued?

 

[gcmarshall]

Hifi Buys (owned by Tweeter) is the only chain retailer of Yamaha RX series receivers in GA, as far as I can tell. Can't find anyone else in Atlanta that carries them. And, HiFi Buys insists it's being discontinued by Yamaha, while Yamaha insists it's not being discontinued. My guess is HiFi Buys is right and Yamaha is merely being tight-lipped about a new product until it's ready for public announcement. As with most retail environments, though, be careful what info you take as fact from salesmen, especially when those salesmen rely on you for commission. I have found that only in very rare cases have I been given good (accurate info) from salesmen; not just in electronics, but in most every field. Additionally, there is an inherent conflict of interest when someone who wants to sell you something works on a commission. Translation - do your own research and verfiy for yourself any info someone else provides you.

 

[Snap]

To my knowledge the only ones that are being discontinued are the 1500 and the 2500. The 9 is still going to be around for a while. It is there to match the 5805 stuff from Denon. I have not heard anything other than those 2 recivers going away.

 

[gcmarshall]

Well, something is afoot if the only store in the state of GA that carries the Yamaha RX series doesn't have access to an RX-Z9, even from its national warehouse.

 

[Sheep]

If it is ending soon, whats next?

Z10?
Z06 with 450 horsepower?

This ones going to be slightly better then the denon flagship, then denon will release of thats a bit better, and on and on and on and on and on. Bah


Sheepstar

 

[nickbardom]

I really hope that is true!! I am waiting for the Z9 substitute!! I am sure it will have HDMI upconversion, digital radio and other upgrades.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I got a Z1 the day they were available for order. I was a bit bummed when the Z9 came along, but not terribly as the Z1 is an excellent performer.

That was well over a year ago that the Z9 was released.

It is definitely time for Yamaha to release a new flagship. If it didn't happen at Cedia, then perhaps CES will be the venue where they make the announcement. The hard part is that if they are staying tight lipped, and not producing them, then retailers trying to sell them may have issues getting them if the warehouse is empty.

You know something is up - and with the new 2600 having so much technology in it already... what is the Z06 going to have in it? 450 horsepower is probably an understatement.

 

[Buckle-meister]

OTT. It's as simple as that.

I got a Z1 the day they were available for order. I was a bit bummed when the Z9 came along, but not terribly as the Z1 is an excellent performer.

I'm sure I will feel the same about the Z9 . Still, without (hopefully) coming across as really really really bitter () about the fact that one day soon Yamaha is going to bring out it's replacement, I cannot fathom what all the fuss is about. I mean, what is its replacement going to have that will make it unbelievably incredibly astoundingly better than the Z9?

HDMI upconversion. Sure. Big deal. I've seen a picture through both HDMI and component cables and really, there wasn't any huge gigantic stupendous difference. The fact of the matter was that there was virtually no, if any discernable difference to my eyes. Still, no doubt there are many golden eyed folk out there. Yeah right.

Then there's the latest High Definition decoders from Dolby and dts. Big deal. I mean come on. The Z9 can drive nine speakers and utilize two subs. The latest High Definition DVD/Blue Ray discs have enough storage for what thirteen discreet channels or so? Who in their right minds would ever place so many speakers in their home? Come back to reality. Only single folk would even contemplate doing such a thing, and I'd wager few would in practice. As for those married, no wife would ever allow that many speakers in a room no matter how nice they looked.

The new flagship may even be endowed with more power. But who needs it? Even with low sensitivity speakers, the Z9's current allocation of 170W for all but the Presence channels (50W for those) is more than enough. Besides, it's been stated time after time after time on this site that amps simply cannot achieve their specified power output continually.

We all want for the next big thing. Most of us have felt the bite of upgradeitus. But at some point, practicality must step in. Manufacturers cannot just keep beefing up power supplies and adding the facility to drive more and more speakers, because at some point, sane people will begin to realise that they are being brain-washed.

A bargain's only a bargain if you need it.

There! Maybe I am a little bitter after all!

Regards

 

[gcmarshall]

if any of you live in a city with one or several yamaha authorized dealers, i'd be interested to hear what those dealers tell you about the RX-Z9's current availability.

 

[MAX661]

I'm sure I will feel the same about the Z9 . Still, without (hopefully) coming across as really really really bitter () about the fact that one day soon Yamaha is going to bring out it's replacement, I cannot fathom what all the fuss is about. I mean, what is its replacement going to have that will make it unbelievably incredibly astoundingly better than the Z9?

HDMI upconversion. Sure. Big deal. I've seen a picture through both HDMI and component cables and really, there wasn't any huge gigantic stupendous difference. The fact of the matter was that there was virtually no, if any discernable difference to my eyes. Still, no doubt there are many golden eyed folk out there. Yeah right.

Then there's the latest High Definition decoders from Dolby and dts. Big deal. I mean come on. The Z9 can drive nine speakers and utilize two subs. The latest High Definition DVD/Blue Ray discs have enough storage for what thirteen discreet channels or so? Who in their right minds would ever place so many speakers in their home? Come back to reality. Only single folk would even contemplate doing such a thing, and I'd wager few would in practice. As for those married, no wife would ever allow that many speakers in a room no matter how nice they looked.

The new flagship may even be endowed with more power. But who needs it? Even with low sensitivity speakers, the Z9's current allocation of 170W for all but the Presence channels (50W for those) is more than enough. Besides, it's been stated time after time after time on this site that amps simply cannot achieve their specified power output continually.

We all want for the next big thing. Most of us have felt the bite of upgradeitus. But at some point, practicality must step in. Manufacturers cannot just keep beefing up power supplies and adding the facility to drive more and more speakers, because at some point, sane people will begin to realise that they are being brain-washed.

A bargain's only a bargian if you need it.

There! Maybe I am a little bitter after all!

Regards

In regards to this post, I am also an RX-Z9 owner and to tell you the truth I would like an upgrade.

1. I find HDMI does look better on my Set

2. My wife would most likely enjoy 13.2 channels as much as I would, she also loves surround sound and could care less how many speakers I put into out theater room, as long as it improves the sound.

3. I would like more power than the current unit provides. As we speak I am thinking of buying a 3 channel amp to power my fronts and center.

Dont get me wrong the RX-Z9 is an excellent receiver, but there is still alot of room for improvement.

I would like HDMI connections, More Power maybe Bi-amp like the Denon 5805, Latest HD Audio Decoders, Independant configurations available instead of just global, upconversion past 480p for DVD's, and a much better version of YPAO. This is all off the top of my head right now, I am sure if I put thought into it I could come up with a pretty long list.

 

[Doug917]

I spoke to a local dealer last week and he said he would have to order it, but he could have it here in a couple weeks. I am not ready to buy yet, but went ahead and checked it out just in case.

 

[themadreefer]

I am to a proud owner of the rx-z9.
i rarely ever listen to 9 channels this beast has to offer.
maybe if the codec was recorded for 9 channels, maybe 11 or whatever the case maybe. dd 5.1 or dd ext or dts sounds awesome.
i could not imagine how porcupine tree would sound if they recorded in something other than the aforementioned formats.
just my 2 cents.

 

[Buckle-meister]

My wife would most likely enjoy 13.2 channels as much as I would, she also loves surround sound and could care less how many speakers I put into out theater room, as long as it improves the sound.

Are we talking thirteen speakers in your living room, or in a dedicated home theater?

I would like more power than the current unit provides.

May I respectfully ask why?

[I would like]...upconversion past 480p for DVD's...

What for? You wont be obtaining any more detailed a picture, only a more finely pixellated one. If you currently have a 720p etc projector, you will already experiance this. In fact, having upconversion in the Z9's replacement is potentially daft because if your display device can't natively handle it, you'll never even see it!

Regards

 

[MAX661]

Are we talking thirteen speakers in your living room, or in a dedicated home theater?



May I respectfully ask why?



What for? You wont be obtaining any more detailed a picture, only a more finely pixellated one. If you currently have a 720p etc projector, you will already experiance this. In fact, having upconversion in the Z9's replacement is potentially daft because if your display device can't natively handle it, you'll never even see it!

Regards

1.The Movie room is in my basement so the speakers would be no problem

2.Because I have heard my speakers set up with a Bryston 6BSST and they sounded amazing with more clearity at higher volumes.

3.You may be right. But It couldn't Hurt

MAX,

 

[Buckle-meister]

The Movie room is in my basement so the speakers would be no problem

Ah, well, that's different then. My fault for not stipulating that I was really implying living rooms.

Because I have heard my speakers set up with a Bryston 6BSST and they sounded amazing with more clearity at higher volumes.

Hmm.

...It couldn't Hurt

Bah!

Regards

 

[BMXTRIX]

What for? You wont be obtaining any more detailed a picture, only a more finely pixellated one. If you currently have a 720p etc projector, you will already experiance this. In fact, having upconversion in the Z9's replacement is potentially daft because if your display device can't natively handle it, you'll never even see it!

I would like a GOOD image scaler in there. The one that ships with many projectors and plasma displays is not always as good as it could be. In a flagship product you are more likely to see better deinterlacers and better scalers which means that I can output 720p more accurately to my display(s) which they won't have to deinterlace to show.

This opens the door for me to focus more on the image quality of displays with a known high quality input. 720p or 1080i, instead of worrying so much about how SDTV will come across on the projector or plasma.

Specifically: The Sanyo Z4 is one of the top rated projectors out there right now, yet it is known to have poor image processing of 480i material. A good outboard processor will completely eliminate that worry and I would be able to get that projector without fear of a poor image from any sources I send at it.

 

[Buckle-meister]

BMXTRIX, I agree with what you say; it certainly makes sense. But given that terrestrial broadcasting will soon (-er or maybe later) all be High Definition, as will DVD's, I think the point you are making's importance is diminished. In other words, we won't be watching 'mere' 480i material in the near future, and so an excellent scaler won't be so important.

Unless of course, whoever buys the Z9's replacement is happy to lose a fortune selling their second-hand receiver every few years in order to upgrade to the next best thing (which in any event will always be fleeting).

I for one am not.

Regards