RX-Z11 Introduction & Build Quality
Ever wonder why some special events seem to happen once every four years? Every four years we get an extra day, we have a presidential election, we have an Olympic game, and, incidentally, Yamaha seems to release a new flagship receiver. I can’t tell you how thrilling it is to be at the tail end of the 4 year cycle and it’s also pretty cool that Yamaha finally has a replacement to their venerable RX-Z9 which still sounds fabulous but has gotten a bit long in the tooth over the past couple of years.
There are too many changes to note between the RX-Z9 and Z11 but a few key ones include:
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HDMI 1.3a support and switching including audio and 1080p deep color
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HDMI upconversion with OSD
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Dolby Digital Plus / TrueHD and DTS HD Decoding
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iPod & XM radio connectivity and Network audio support
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11.2 channel HD^3 DSP processing with amplification on all channels
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The industries first THX Ultra2 Plus receiver with THX listening modes to optimize sound at low listening levels
The question that now remains: Do all of these features justify the long waiting process for diehard Yamaha and home theater aficionados? Keep reading to find out…
Build Quality
Just as in
the tradition of all past Yamaha flagship products, the RX-Z11 uses state of
the art construction and parts. I was relieved to see the old modular design
and horizontally mounted heat sinks of the RX-Z9 not find its way into this
unit. The RX-Z11 utilizes about the
largest E-core power transformer that I’ve seen, instead of the more space
efficient toroidal found on its predecessor flagship receiver. The RX-Z11 screams
flagship with its hefty and rigid chassis, huge power supply and ample heat sink
area. E-core and Toroid transformer
designs can be equally good provided they are used within their limits but an
E-core typically takes up more real estate which Yamaha managed to cleverly
tuck neatly into this hulking chassis. The
heat sink is tapered to minimize resonance and also provide for optimal heat
dissipation and the bottom of the chassis has two relatively large fans to keep
the unit cool during high sustained output levels. The input fuse to the power transformer is
rated at 15A / 250V and the power supply consists of two 27,000uF/75V capacitors
for the seven main power amplifiers and two 8,200uF/50V caps for the presence
channels. The audio pre-amp section, utilizes a bulk of capacitors that sum to
about 30,000uF. The amplifier is a wide bandwidth
design utilizing current mode feedback with virtually no phase shift to keep phase compensation to a minimum. This
contributes to the RX-Z11's excellent transient response allowing frequency
response to remain unchanged even when the gain changes (as you will see in my
test data), to help create a warmer, texture-rich sound. With such a large power supply, plenty of heat
sink area and ample cooling, and THX Ultra2 Plus certification, the amplifier
section in this receiver is ready to pump out some serious wattage when called upon but also handle the
most delicate musical passages with finesse to appease the heart of a true
audiophile.
See also:
Recent Forum Posts:
ggunnell;452784
As others on AVS have posted, I have had no luck getting the Z11 to recognize any HDMI video signals from my Oppo 983 except 480p.
Upgrading to the latest Oppo firmware has no effect.
Using the Z11's "Signal Info", 480p is recognized as such, and the Z11 will up-convert it to 1080p. Both 720p and 1080i are unrecognized (type = "???") and the Z11 will not process them further, they are simply passed through.
1080p doesn't get through at all (blank screen).
This is unacceptable performance. My 3800 has no problem passing 1080p from the 983.
What display are you using? Is it possible to send 480i unaltered and let the yama or the display scale?
Upgrading to the latest Oppo firmware has no effect.
Using the Z11's "Signal Info", 480p is recognized as such, and the Z11 will up-convert it to 1080p. Both 720p and 1080i are unrecognized (type = "???") and the Z11 will not process them further, they are simply passed through.
1080p doesn't get through at all (blank screen).
This is unacceptable performance. My 3800 has no problem passing 1080p from the 983.
3db;385227
is it possible to ake out a 20yr mortage on this? I want one!!
That would be very unwise, judging from the way receivers have aged in the past. Very probably, in 5 years, something better will come out, and then you will not be happy with a long loan for the old, outdated thing. If you doubt this, just take a look at the market value of the flagship receiver from Yamaha (or anyone else) from 5 years ago; you can check such things by looking at sales made on eBay.
For most people, buying a much less expensive model, such as the RX-V3800, would be a much wiser choice. Or, even more realistically, the RX-V663. The RX-V663 can do things that the 5 year old flagship receiver cannot do. Just check for yourself if you have any doubts about this. And, realistically, the near perfect performance of the flagship isn't likely to result in a performance advantage that you will actually hear. I went from a Yamaha RX-V730 to a Yamaha RX-V2700. Although a difference can be measured, they sound the same, unless one is using a processing mode not available on the other, or one requires the additional power. This is comparing an old $600 receiver with a fairly new $1700 one. I bought the newer one for features, and in that way, it is vastly better. But, even with my good speakers with quality ribbon tweeters, they sound the same.
Basically, a flagship receiver is only a good choice for people for whom the purchase price is not a big deal. Otherwise, it is almost certainly a mistake to buy one. If you need great video processing, a separate processor, or, if one only needs it for DVDs, an Oppo DV-983H DVD player is a much more sensible option. That way, one can replace the receiver in a couple of years, and keep the processor, when new sound formats or capabilities come out. And with the money saved just from stepping down to the RX-V3800 (as opposed to the RX-Z11), one can get an incredible video processor. Or, amplification for low impedances, if one needs more power than the RX-V3800.
