RX-Z1 Technology Overview
Some day Yamaha is going to build a bigger, badder, and more feature packed Receiver, but for now we will have to settle with the RX-Z1. I say this in a humorous tone considering the recent trend for Receiver Manufacturers to continually push the envelope of ludicrousness with each generation of their product offerings by packing the new units with more power, more features, more surround modes, etc. Just a decade ago, a $4000 Home Theater Receiver was not only unheard of, but probably inconceivable. Today it is common practice amongst some of the top Receiver Manufacturers such as B & K, Denon, Marantz, and Pioneer Elite. It's not my point to criticize or devalue these products based on their asking price, but to point out a trend in High End Receivers of our current day. With that in mind, I must commend Yamaha for not giving into that trend, by retaining relatively the same pricing structure on their higher end models from their predecessors while still consistently offering more bang for the buck.
Enter the RX-Z1, Yamaha's current flagship home theater masterpiece. The RX-Z1 is the
successor to the highly acclaimed RX-V1. While the two units share the same price points, the former
offers many new key features previously not available on the latter:
- New Touch Screen Remote (Phillips Clone in Yamaha Dressing).
- DTS 96/24, PLII, DTS Neo.
- 20 watts/ch more for all five channels, and 15 watt/ch more for the front effects channels.
- Upgraded DAC's (Burr Brown PCM 1704) and Front End Processor.
- 100MHz Component Video Switching (Only a select few Receivers offer this).
The RX-Z1 incorporates just about every major commercially available surround format and music enhancement mode, including Yamaha's renowned DSP processing which has algorithms based on real world measurements in various acoustical environments as opposed to just computer simulated concoctions. So you are probably wondering at this point, what do the mega $4000 Receivers have that this 64lbs beast does not? Well, here are a few significant features absent from the RX-Z1 that some of the other hard hitters do offer. Keep in mind however, that not all of the $4000 Mega-Receivers and a majority of the dedicated $4000 and up Processors offer many of the features listed below:
- Adjustable cross over options (very useful).
- Bass management and digital delay compensation on 6 Ch inputs (somewhat of a mixed blessing, more on this later).
- Independent bass management and level control settings for each mode of operation (IE. Two channel, Digital Inputs, Six Channel Analog Inputs).
