In the great tradition of excellent bass management, Yamaha offers a variable crossover point from 40Hz to 200 Hz and +- phase adjustment for the subwoofer(s) so you can determine the best setting without having to go behind your subwoofer(s) to change it. Yamaha also provisions for subwoofer output in 2CH mode if the speakers are set to “Large” via the LFE/Bass Out set to “Both”. Please note however that “Pure Direct” and “Stereo Direct” modes bypass the bass management altogether and will NOT send signal to the subwoofer for 2CH sources regardless of speaker settings. In this case, either don’t use “Pure Direct” or disable the “auto” setting for stereo direct mode in the OSD to engage the DSP and bass management.

Yamaha took bass management up a notch by allowing variable crossover settings per speaker group (IE. Mains, Center, Surrounds but didn’t give you a choice for the subwoofer crossover which I found through my testing to be dependent on the main channel crossover setting. Thus I highly recommend you keep each speaker groups crossover setting within 20Hz else the bass in the channels crossed over higher than the mains will NOT be recombined into the subwoofer channel.

Yamaha offers dual subwoofer outputs on the RX-Z11 just like they did in previous flagships. This time however, they allow you to assign them as (stereo, mono, or front/back). Do NOT use the “front/back” setting as they made the classic mistake Denon did on the AVR-5805 where the back subwoofer gets LFE info and the front sub gets the bass from all the other channels set to “small”. Ideally in a multi subwoofer system, you want all subs playing identical signals or at least split between Left/Right with LFE going to all subwoofers so you can take full advantage of modal averaging to achieve the smoothest bass response across all of the theater seats.

If you are connecting only one subwoofer, select “mono” and be sure to use the “left” sub output since that is the only one with level control in that particular configuration. Strangely the RX-Z11 still outputs signal via the “Right” subwoofer output but its referenced to a 0dB trim setting so you don’t have independent level control over it other than master volume. I also noted that if you set the main channels to “small”, the RX-Z11 still allows you to set the center and surround channels to “large”. I would have preferred Yamaha to automatically set all speakers to “small” if the mains were set “small”. But, since they didn’t, pay extra attention to this when configuring your bass management settings.

The crossovers worked as expected for a THX Ultra2 certified receiver as indicated by the 12dB/oct High Pass Filter (HPF) slopes on speakers set small and 24dB/oct Low Pass Filter (LPF) slopes on the subwoofer output which I measured with my Audio Precision SYS 2722 Audio Analyzer.

Video Set-Up

Yamaha made some significant upgrades on the video side of the equation with this receiver. For one, the HDMI inputs now accommodate up to 1080p resolution with OSD support. The RX-Z11 is powered by Anchor Bay Technologies' ABT1018 10-bit precision video scaler engine for advanced analog video up-scaling. The scaler engine will take 480i or 480p analog video and scale it up to 720p, 1080i, or 1080p HDMI video (up-scaled video is only available from the HDMI output). The ABT1010 scaler engine independently scales images horizontally and vertically to improve high resolution picture quality. It’s important to note that you cannot convert HDMI signals to any other type of output other than HDMI. The RX-Z11’s i/p converter features a 10-bit processing Motion Adaptive Deinterlacing Engine with Enhanced Motion Detection Filter, Diagonal Processing and 2:2/2: Pull-Down Detection. You can convert 480i analog video signals input as composite video, S-video, and component video to 480p signals output as component video.

For most of my testing of the RX-Z11, I defaulted HDMI to the “through” setting which allowed my source components to do the upconversion and scaling as needed. I did however set my Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player to 480i to see just how well the RX-Z11 could do.

Audioholics/HQV Bench Testing Summary of Test Results

Perfect Score is 130
Yamaha RX-Z11 Benchmark Score: 90 (average compared to many displays and source components. In comparison, my Silicon Optix enabled Denon DVD-5910CI scored a 130.)

*Source component was the Toshiba HD-A2 upscaled to 720p via the RX-Z11
and fed to Yamaha LPX-510 LCD Projector. For the HD-A2 tests, the HD-A2 was set to 720p.

Overall I found the scaling features of the RX-Z11 to be better than what’s found in most A/V receivers these days, with the exception of it handling some of the cadences on these specific HQV tests which was a bit puzzling to me. The RX-Z11 bested my Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player on standard definition DVD playback, so unless you are using an exceptionally good source component for upconversion (IE. a DVD player or display with a Silicon Optix chipset) you may want to consider using the RX-Z11 for your scaling needs. Of course if you are running a true HD signal such as the output of an HD DVD or Blu-ray player, you would want the player to be set to the native resolution of the disc or the highest supported resolution of your display.

Multi-Zone / Multi-Source Audio & Power Amp Assignability

Yamaha has really outdone themselves with all of the power amplifier options on the RX-Z11. The RX-Z11 comes equipped with a “preamp mode” which essentially shuts down the amplifiers not being used and will allow you to reassign all 11 channels to zones 2, 3 and 4. So basically if you desire to add a high quality 7-channel amplifier for the main zone, this receiver can support simultaneous 4 zones, 4 source audio. Alternatively you can connect external power amplifiers to each of the additional zones to power them. This is an extremely thoughtful and useful feature for those integrating a multi zone distributed whole house audio solution with their primary home theater room. There is even a bi-amp mode which takes the surround back channels and duplicates the signal from the main channels for those wanting to biamp their main speakers. I don’t understand why Yamaha forces you to enter the advanced setup menu as opposed to provisioning that option on the main power amp assignability page. Keep in mind however if you bi-amp you sacrifice the back channels.

The RX-Z11 doesn’t just stop with all these cool amplifier assignability options for the additional zones. Zone 2 also features a coaxial digital output so you can play back any of your digital audio sources to remote zones. A prime example here would be someone connecting a YSP-4000 in another room wanting to pass through the audio from their main zone DVD player and Cable box. Please note however that when you connect the external amplifiers in Zone 2, Zone 3, and/or Zone 4 to the ZONE OUT jacks of this unit, the RX-Z11 can only transmit the analog audio signals. In this setting, this unit cannot play back the digital audio sources input at the Digital In jacks and HDMI In jacks in Zone 2, Zone 3, and/or Zone 4. When this unit is in the “Party mode”, it can output the audio signals input at the HDMI In jacks or Digital In jacks at the analog Zone Out jacks. When you connect an external amplifier in Zone 2 to the Zone Digital Out (Coaxial) jack, you can play back the digital and analog audio sources in Zone 2.

The RX-Z11 also comes fully armed with video support allowing component video upconversion in one of the zones and composite video for the additional two zones. So not only can you distribute audio all around the house, but you can do video as well. The DSP “Party” mode is a must have feature for those hosting social events. It allows you to play the same source through all of the speakers in the main zone and any or all of the other zones simultaneously. The RX-Z11 offers some of the most comprehensive multi zone / multi source options in a receiver that I haven’t seen the likes of since the Denon AVR-5805. It truly is a one box solution for distributed whole home audio and video especially when paired with a Yamaha MusicCAST MCX-2000 music server.

Network Streaming, XM Radio, iPod

The Yamaha RX-Z11 is packed with all of the same great features found on the RX-V2700 such as network streaming from MusicCAST, USB devices or internet radio, XM radio, HD radio and iPod connectivity with music enhancer mode that is said to be an enhancement over their prior generation receivers that employed this feature. Rather than rehashing the details, I encourage you to read my Yamaha RX-V2700 Review that discusses the functionality and setup of these features in great detail. I will note however that the RX-Z11 adds web browser control and the ability to use your iPhone as a remote control which is pretty cool. I am surprised Yamaha didn’t arm this receiver with WiFi capability so for now you will have to settle using Ethernet for all of your music streaming needs. Most people installing a sophisticated home theater system have an Ethernet connection near their rack for their gaming system or cable box so it shouldn’t be much of a concern.

Remote Control(s)

The RX-Z11 comes with two remote controls: one that operates the main zone (RAV380), and the other (RAV33) for multi zone control. These remotes score no points with me, especially the main zone remote which I feel is the poorest design they’ve offered in a flagship product since the DSP-A3090. It's basically a glorified version of the remote found on the RX-V2700 only its silver and looks nicer. The RAV380 isn’t fully backlight and the buttons are so numerous and so closely spaced together that it makes it a quite a painful chore figuring out what function you want to control. During my review, I was almost tempted to spring for a new Apple iPhone just so I could have a better control system to operate this unit. I suspect (and strongly encourage) most people will be using a universal type of remote or their iPhone to operate this complex beast of a receiver. I suppose it’s a good measure on Yamaha’s part to not offer a more elaborate and hence expensive remote solution to keep the product cost down but I really wished they would have met half way and offered a remote that was half push button and half touch screen to simply it just a bit. The little RAV33 is actually not a terrible multi zone remote as it allows you to select input, basic source control, memory settings, and volume level and on/off. Overall it’s a handy little remote but the experienced installer would likely integrate an RF remote or touch pad at the zone location(s) where audio is being fed.