Yamaha RX-Z9 First Look

[Audioholics]

<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>As we mentioned on our forums, we now have a review sample of the </FONT><A href="http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/YamahaRX-Z9.html"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Yamaha RX-Z9 receiver</FONT></A><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2> and are putting it through its paces in </FONT><A href="http://www.audioholics.com/about/staffsystems/system1.php"><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Reference System 1</FONT></A><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>. Once we have thoroughly reviewed and tested it we'll post the comprehensive review of this new Yamaha flagship product. Some items that are noteworthy so far:</FONT></P><UL><LI><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Most massive power supply we've yet seen in an A/V receiver</FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Large torrodial transformer (a Yamaha first)</FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>GUI interface</FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Faroudja DCDi video processing</FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSD support for component video</FONT></LI></UL><P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>We'll keep pluggging away at the review, but wanted to give you some quick glances at the product since it was so readily available.</FONT></P><P><FONT face=Arial size=2>[Read the RX-Z9 First Look]<FONT></P>

 

[Unregistered]

Thanks for your first look.

You say:

"Active Room correction for all channels via adjustable PEQ (no Boost greater than +3dB; 250Hz Bandwidth limited option) Yes no correction for frequencies below 63Hz, no ability to limit correction to low frequencies only. "

Is this right? Maybe you are referring to the manual Cinema EQ? I know that the PEQ page in the manual says "Frequency: This parameter is adjustable in one-third octave increments between 63 Hz and 16 kHz." but the auto setup page says "YPAO equalizing calibration incorporates three parameters (Frequency, Level and Q factor) for each of the 10 bands in its parametric equalizer (plus 5 subwoofer bands) to provide highly precise automatic adjustment of frequency characteristics." Does the 63Hz limit not apply only to the 10 main bands?



"True Analogue Bypass Yes Only for 2CH and Multi Channel Direct inputs "

I don't understand this. The 2CH/Multi are surely analogue, so what is being bypassed?



"Supports DVD-A / SACD Decoding Yes Firewire currently supports DVD-A, but not SACD"

I have managed to get "DSD" on the Yahama's display when playing SACD via i.Link from a Pioneer DVD player. (Denon DVD i.Link doesn't seem to work, even though several reviews have said that it does, presumably using bespoke Denon firmware.)


Happy listening!

 

[gene]

Unfortunately the Yamaha YPAO room correction does NOT operate below 63Hz. Please see my review of the Yamaha RX-V2400 for more details.


Analog Bypass means that there is no analog to digital conversion. In other words its a true analog direct path, more like a pass thru. Ah I see the confusion. I suppose the nomenclature "Analog Bypass" which has become an industry term is somewhat misleading Maybe we should change that convention

Did you actually get decoded SACD when you did this connection via iLink? Unfortunately my Denon DVD-5900 review sample also has a disabled firewire output. Denon is supposed to send me an updated version.

 

[Unregistered]

Thanks.

I used a Pioneer 868 to get DSD across i.Link; it does not work on the A11 and may need a harware mod to do so.

I'd be interested to see what you find about the application of YPAO to the LFE channel in the Z9 v the 2400. At the very least it should help bass integration anyway.

 

[av_phile]

Thanks for your first look.


"True Analogue Bypass Yes Only for 2CH and Multi Channel Direct inputs "

I don't understand this. The 2CH/Multi are surely analogue, so what is being bypassed?

I had that same question in our local forum. I think what is being bypassed are the bass, treble, subwoofer controls of the preamp section. But since the yamaha, as in most receivers out there, have these controls in the digital domain, bypassing them would mean no analog-to-digital conversion of your analog inputs. Except perhaps the volume control, which may be odd, since that means there'd still be ADC. Bypassing this would be a good thing if you route your digital players via their analog connections. That means your signal path doesn't have to go through 2 DACs, one form the player and another from the receiver. Just one is enough.

 

[gene]

AV_Phile;

The volume control in the Z9 and many other quality receiver/processors are digitally controlled analog potentiometers. Thus there is no signal conversion being done.

Analog Direct mode / Analog Bypass usually implies the analog signal has no postprocessing and hence A/D and D/A conversion done. With the Z9 this is true via the 2CH and multi Channel analog inputs.

 

[av_phile]

Ah, ok, so those are digitally-controlled analog potentiometers. Thanks. Gene.

 

[Unregistered]

An Owner's Candid Review

I am in LOVE with my RX-Z9. The video section is setting a new standard for home theatre that is required on high def monitors with the various input standards. We have a new 6th gen 50inch plasma and it really showed up the noise in the low def signals. The RX-Z9 does amazing things with analogue and low def signals. I once read that the real test of a system isn't "The 5th Element" or "Finding Nemo" but an old, cruddy print. Well this is where the RX-Z9 just will blow you away - as all the DSP and Faroudja circuits make a difference.

The audio section is awesome. I have never heard music soooo loud without distortion.

Ignore the needles and specs. Look and listen with your gut.

Price? Well its not cheap - actually its downright expensive!! Except that the only alternative is seperate audio and video pieces -- and expect to pay 2 to 5 time more. Well worth every penny though.

 

[Unregistered]

review

gene,

when will the rx-z9 review be finished.
i keep coming everyday waiting for it.

thx.

 

[gene]

Haha;

Hang in there. I just got my sample a week ago and working out a few things with it. Hopefully if all goes well I should be publishing the review in June. I am waiting on some test gear to do amplifier measurements, cross your fingers

 

[Unregistered]

june!!

eeeeeeeeeee june.
well i guess i can busy myself with other things until then.
by the way this website is probly the best review site i have ever seen. i was wondering, for fun, would you ever test out a booze speaker system. i was at absound today and saw a cross-section of one of there "famous" 2 inch driver twisty turn speakers. i didn't really know what to think, looked like foam surround.

one more thing, i am canadian obviously(absound) and i was wondering if you have ever heard of this speaker company.
www.prolinear.com
i have some of their speakers(5 series) and they are a great bang for buck.

thx.

 

[canuckle]

Hi Gene, and fellow Audioholics,

I recently purchased the Z9 and the review you guys did of the 2400 was very helpfull and instrumental in making my decision. Largley though, I bought the unit without hearing because of the feature set that it contains. It is the perfect "fit" for my HT.

What concerns me is what the YPAO does for my room. It way over-emphasizes the high frequencies to a point where it is almost intolerable. (I've run it everyway possible, low, high, mid & flat) In order to get it to sound the way I like without the fatigueing top-end, I run the YPAO for distance and level only then I run the unit with the manual EQ with everything set to flat.
I can tell that the YPAO SHOULD have a positive effect on the sound, especially with the bass frequency integration with the sub. And I can tell there's better separation and definition, but right now it's under the cloak of too high a gain in the high frequencies. (If I use the YPAO settings.)
I'm no techie and when I check the EQ settings that it does, I can't figure out what it's doing by looking at those black & green charts with no reference points, I know that it's boosting some frequencies and reducing others. But by how much and where ..........?

Is it possible that my YPAO is defective? When I run it, and it's doing the final measurements for the EQ part there are no sounds generated, except perhaps a slight hiss. Is that because it's analyzing the data it has already collected with the test-tones it used for distance & speaker check? (In which case the GUI should say "Analyzing Data" not "Measuring".) Or is that slight hiss the noise it is analyzing?

Also there's nothing in the manual that tells you how to reset the YPAO settings to flat or factory default. I'd like to run it to just do the low frequencies, but when I've done that there's no difference in what it does for the top end. Is that because it's not re-setting the previous top end settings? (The first time I ran it, I ran it "flat" so it did the whole range)

Any ideas or insight as to what I may be doing wrong would be much appreciated.

(Just so you know my point of reference, my previous set-up was an HK AVR8000 as a pre-amp and Anthem PVA's for amps. My speakers are Paradigm Studio 100's & CC v.2's and ADP470 v.3's with PSB Image 2B's for back surrounds and B1's for presence. I'm using the Pioneer AV-59i through the i-Link and analog direct as a source. )

 

[Yamahaluver]

I too own the Z-9 and my advice for you would be to keep your settings flat and not to use the YPAO. I have been setting it up like this with my Yamaha NS-300 spekers which are quite accurate and flat to start with just like your Paradigms so no EQ is neccesary.

 

[canuckle]

That may very well be the case. I certainly sounds great that way, in fact better than my previous set-up. Especially for multi-channel music and movies.
But, like I said in my earlier post, the improvements that I hear underneath the overstated treble seem to be worthwhile to persue. - I should clarify that what I mean by overstated is not that it is distorted, it's more like the high frequencies are "louder" than the rest of the frequencies. And when I said "fatigueing" in my previous post, that might have been a bad choice of words, it's not fatigueing in the way that overly "bright" systems can sound, it means more that I'm frustrated that it's not right.
I'm bi-wiring my mains using the A & B outputs, I wonder if that could have any effect? It does show this set up in the manual with no mention of it affecting the YPAO.

 

[Unregistered]

(I've run it everyway possible, low, high, mid & flat)

I found FRONT to give the most satisfactory results...

 

[canuckle]

Haven't tried that because the manual said that was for if your speakers were not all of the same "quality" which I consider not to apply in my case. But I'll give it a try. You're the second person that I've read that's done that.

 

[Ben]

I recently read a review in an Australian HiFi magazine and they have rated the RX-Z9 has the best Home Theatre Amp ever built. They compared it to the new Dennon and the sound of the Yamaha won hands down.

The only problem is the in Australia the RX-Z9 is expensive and cost $10,000, which makes it out of most peoples price range. Even a Amp like the RX-V750 costs $1599 compared to $599 in America.

 

[Unregistered]

I recently read a review in an Australian HiFi magazine and they have rated the RX-Z9 has the best Home Theatre Amp ever built. They compared it to the new Dennon and the sound of the Yamaha won hands down.

The only problem is the in Australia the RX-Z9 is expensive and cost $10,000, which makes it out of most peoples price range. Even a Amp like the RX-V750 costs $1599 compared to $599 in America.

If that's Australian dollars it's about $6800 US which might be the MSRP which would be in line given the extra shipping costs.

 

[Unregistered]

I found FRONT to give the most satisfactory results...

This actually worked quite well, what I like is that it left the mains at flat and blended the other speakers with them.
The "brightness" that the YPAO created running the other modes is gone. This is more what I like in multi-channel sound and it is an improvement over running them all flat. And the sub integration is slightly better in two channel. I was extremely happy with the sound running everything flat, and doing this just kicked it up a notch.

 

[Unregistered]

Which universal player

Unfortunately the Yamaha YPAO room correction does NOT operate below 63Hz. Please see my review of the Yamaha RX-V2400 for more details.


Analog Bypass means that there is no analog to digital conversion. In other words its a true analog direct path, more like a pass thru. Ah I see the confusion. I suppose the nomenclature "Analog Bypass" which has become an industry term is somewhat misleading Maybe we should change that convention

Did you actually get decoded SACD when you did this connection via iLink? Unfortunately my Denon DVD-5900 review sample also has a disabled firewire output. Denon is supposed to send me an updated version.

I own the RX-Z9 and love it. I'm currently looking for a universal dvd player to mate with it so I can take advatage of the ilink connection for dvd-a and sacd.

Are you saying that iLink won't work for sacd?

Home Theater Mag just did a review of the RX-Z9, pairing it with the Pioneer Elite DV-47Ai. They said using the iLink was noticeably superior to the analog connections and never mentioned a problem with sacd.

I am about to pull the trigger on the DV-47. Any other suggestions before I do?