Yamaha RX-Z1 A/V Receiver Review
Yamaha RX-Z1 Flagship Home Theater Receiver Review
By Gene DellaSala (gds@audioholics.com)

Review Summary Pros

Fantastic sounding in all modes of operation. Excellent User Interface and Set-Up Features. Five-Year Extended Warranty.
Fixed global 90Hz crossover settings. No bass management on six channel inputs.
Associated Test Equipment

Hardware

Aragon SoundStage Aragon 8008x3 Aragon 8002 Aragon RPC-120 RBH 1266-LSE with Status Drivers RBH 661-LSE with Status Drivers Status Acoustics Decimos RBH 1010-SEP JBL Pro III Sony SCD-CE775 Panasonic DVD RP-91K Sony KP51-WS500 Kimber Kable Interconnects DIY Belden Cables Monstercable Monstercable Monstercable HTS-3500 EchoBusters

Description

Preamp / Processor 200 watt x 3 Channel Power Amp 125 watt x 2 Channel Power Amp Switched/Unswitched power box Main Speakers, 3-way Tower Center Channel Rear Channel 350 watt dual 10 powered subwoofer Front Effects Channel SACD Changer DVD Audio/Video Reference Player 51 Widescreen HD RPTV Hero Interconnects (twister pair, shielded) 12 AWG wiring Digital / Analog / Video Interconnects Power Center 2' x 4' Sound Panels
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Introduction

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. Its 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, Yamahas 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 DACs (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 Yamahas 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).
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Yamaha seemed to continue the tradition of excellence with the RX-Z1, much like the legendary DSP A1 Integrated Home Theater Amp and Flagship RX-V1 Receiver in that they produced a product with excellent build quality, operational flexibility, and high performance / dollar ratio. I was always a fan of Yamahas flagship home theater products, coming from the days when the DSP A1 was king and DTS was just a newbie and commodity to the home theater world, and investing in.com stocks was actually a good idea J What I liked about the DSP A1 was the ability to tweak just about every conceivable parameter to enhance sound fields or expand the musical realm of old two channel recordings. I felt that the DSP A1 really stood out at the time with its front effect channels because it allowed the user to apply DSP processing for music sources to a dedicated pair of front effect speakers and thus preserved the imaging of the main front speakers by un-altering the stereo signal feed to them. This greatly enhanced my enjoyment particularly when listening to two-channel CDs or old concert videos.

Everlasting First Impressions
I am sure you are all familiar with the sayings about first impressions. All I can say is that the Yamaha RX-Z1 left me with an everlasting impression that this was a handsomely crafted quality product, with an imposing stature. I couldnt help to feel a rush of excitement and impatience to hoist this unit on my rack and get it all connected to my reference system. Luckily my bodybuilding hobby affords me such luxury without causing bodily harm. For those of you not accustomed to lifting heavy objects, I suggest getting assistance because the RX-Z1 is literally a heavy contender.

The Set-Up

Making all of the connections was quite simple with the RX-V1. The back panel was well laid out and the connectors had adequate spacing between them to accommodate all of my exotic (gasp) interconnects and speaker cables with ease.
Notice how the Speaker Level and Power Level connections are totally isolated from Audio and Video Level connections. The layout is clean, concise and logical which is typical of a Yamaha Receiver.
Back Panel of the Yamaha RX-Z1 Flagship Home Theater Receiver Page 3 of 14 Copyright 2003 Audioholics.com. All Rights Reserved.
I did however have a problem using the external trigger of the RX-Z1 to power my Aragon RPC-120 and Monster HTS-3500 Power Center. While I measured the open circuit voltage of the RX-Z1 trigger to be about +12V, I could not get it to drive either of my power centers. Thus I wound up connecting my Monster HTS-3500 at the outlet level using one of the switched outlets of the RX-Z1 as the trigger. I suspect the RX-Z1 12V trigger output did not have ample current drive for either of these devices. Initially I decided to test the RX-Z1 as a Processor/Preamp only, by bypassing all of its internal amps in favor of my reference amplifiers, and rerouted the internal Yamaha front channel amps to the Front Effects Channels. This provided a whopping 130 wpc to the front effects channels which my wife referred to as overkill, but I said Honey when have youve ever known me to overdo things when it comes to audio ;). Scrolling through the On Screen Display (OSD) was a breeze given my familiarity with the DSP-A1 and the intuitive and logical layout of the RX-Z1 menus. I configured the bass management as follows given my speaker configuration and capabilities: Main: Large Center: Small Rears: Small Rear CT: None Bass: Both The wonderful thing about setting Bass to Both is that it allows subwoofer output in two channel mode even if the Main speakers are set to Large, while still preserving the analog bypass for all analog inputs for the best audio resolution. For those who are skeptical about the RX-Z1 having a true analog bypass mode, rest assured that I checked it via their system block diagrams and schematics. Even the Volume Control, although digitally regulated, keeps the analog audio in the analog domain with 0.5dB precision. Thus no processing whatsoever takes place to the main channels when the RX-Z1 is in two-channel mode and a signal is feed through any of the analog inputs. Now the downside to the Bass: Both setting is that when the RX-Z1 is engaged in a multi channel mode, the bass from the main channels is combined into the subwoofer channel, even if the mains are set to Large yielding a net increase of subwoofer output of up to 6dB. Ordinarily this wouldnt be a problem if the RX-Z1 allowed for independent channel level settings for each mode. But, since it doesnt, you may find the subwoofer output a bit too high when watching movies or listening to the RX-Z1 in a multi-channel music modes and thus may need to readjust accordingly. There are two ways Yamaha could have resolved this: Offer independent channel level settings for each mode. Allow different bass management settings for each mode.

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Why Yamaha didnt offer either of these options in their flagship model is beyond me. Perhaps they will do this in the next one. Hint, hint. While Yamaha Engineers are busy at work, may I also suggest the following features to be added? Variable Crossover settings for each mode of operation. On the fly channel level adjustments that are not retained when powered down.
Having the ability to choose the crossover setting will serve a wider variety of user speaker configurations. In addition, it would be very useful to have different crossover settings for each mode. I personally prefer setting the crossover of my subwoofer at around 40Hz for two-channel music and around 70Hz for home theater. These settings work best for my speaker configurations, capabilities and personal listening tastes. Unfortunately since the RX-Z1 has a fixed and non-defeatable 90Hz global crossover, I had to implement my subwoofer crossover to compensate. While it isnt usually a good idea to cascade two crossovers in series because of the added group delay and/or bumps and dips in the frequency band of concern, I did so with care. I configured my subwoofer crossover at 70Hz and thoroughly checked for phasing problems between my subwoofer and main channels using the infamous Avia set-up disc and excellent internal bass test tones of the RX-Z1. The internal bass test tones in screen #2 of the RX-Z1 allows the user to sweep bass frequencies from 250Hz down to 35Hz in 1/6th octave increments for all channels, or each channel individually. This is a great feature rarely found on most costlier dedicated Processors, let alone Receivers. I managed to get satisfactory results by cascading the crossovers and found a good compromise of level setting so that the bass wasnt too overpowering in a multi channel mode while still using the Both setting. One surprising feature I discovered was that the RX-Z1 did retain different channel level calibrations for its dedicated six channel analog inputs. However, for some strange reason, the levels defaulted back to my primary global settings on more than one occasion and I was unable to determine the mechanism that caused it. I recommend checking it from time to time to ensure this doesnt happen to you. For me it was obvious because when the RX-Z1 was engaged in six-channel direct, I had to boost the sub level by almost 10dB to achieve nominal levels. I dont fully understand why this was so, but it was no big deal considering that the sub out level of the RX-Z1 is more than ample to easily drive my subwoofer to its limits. I managed to get very precise level matching with my Radio Shack SPL meter thanks to the accurate internal channel trims and master volume controls 0.5dB incremental steps. Aside from the minor gripes I previously mentioned, which probably would only bother audio fanatics with elaborate speaker systems like myself, the RX-Z1 was relatively easy to set-up and was endowed with good tools to help you do so.

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Yamaha RAV-2000 Universal / Learning Touch Screen Remote
The Yamaha RAV-2000, is actually a Phillips Pronto replica dressed up in Yamaha clothes. Many other electronics companies also offer Pronto clones with their own signature and custom firmware to support their products. Pronto was the first LCD touch screen remote of its kind in a market segment it helped to create. I suppose as the old saying goes, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em".
What can I say about this sophisticated remote that hasnt already been said by various reviews of equipment incorporating a derivative of it since its inception several years ago? The Rav-2000 is one cool cat. It is certainly the most advanced and well thought out remote I ever had the luxury of using. I really enjoyed simply typing in the name of the manufacturer of the device I wanted the RAV-2000 to operate, while it gave me a list of options to test before I accepted any of the codes. Within 10-15 minutes I had all of the devices in my home theater system categorized and operated through this remote, and with the touch of a single button, I powered on and off my entire system! Many competing devices offer the user a sheet of codes to manually enter, or force the user to download codes via RS-232 from their websites to program their remotes to operate your equipment. This is certainly more time consuming, and can be a more painful process, than the RAV-2000 integrated solution. The RAV-2000 even offers firmware upgrades and expansions of features for custom installers through Yamahas website. On the downside, I wish the RAV-2000 would have incorporated shortcut keys to take me to a direct device without having to scroll through a series of menus. I cant tell you how many times I set the RX-Z1s DSP mode and then had to click through a few menus in agony to get my DVD configured before viewing. Also, I must warn to be careful when changing a code for a particular device. I accidentally selected the wrong code for a specific device and deleted the actual graphic instead of just the specific code forcing me to purge the entire memory and start all over again. I also recommend buying a spare set of batteries, as programming the remote significantly uses up battery power and you may find yourself replacing the batteries, as I did, with in a month of doing the initial programming. For more information about the RAV-2000 or to acquire extended IR codes, check out: http://yamaha.com/yec/products/RAV2000/ravinteract.htm For exclusive extended IR codes for the RX-Z1, use this link: http://yamaha.com/yec/products/RAV2000Z1/rav-2000Z1_warning.htm

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The Processor

Multi Channel Music
Some people may wonder why one would spend $2800 on a flagship 870 watt Receiver only to bypass the internal amps in favor of separate components. Well this is the $64,000 question that has been asked for a long time by home theater buffs with varying answers depending on who you pose the question too, and what the application is for. Amp vendors will attempt to convince you that Receiver power amps are not adequate for serious hi fidelity audio and/or home theater systems. But is this really the case? Lets come back to this question later and simply evaluate the RX-Z1 as a Processor only for the time being. The RX-Z1 comes with every imaginable DSP mode currently offered by Yamaha. DSP processing is handled by Yamahas proprietary twin 44 bit YSS-910 DSPs while digital decoding by the 32bit YSS-938 decoder. The DSP Processor offers 41 DSP sound fields with a total of 61 variations to tailor the sound to your liking, allowing you to transform your living room into the Village Gate Jazz Club of New York or the Roxy Rock Club of LA, and much more. While I found a majority of the DSP modes to be too overwhelming, I managed to tone down a few of my favorites to achieve an expanded and very enjoyable sound field which is ordinarily not possible with conventional Processors. The jazz club modes worked very well in my set-up when listening to concert DVDs such as those from Eric Clapton, and Steely Dan. The Rock Concert DSP modes favored concert DVDs from Shakira, Janet Jackson, and Fleetwood Mac. Even old VHS concerts such as The Way We Walk from Genesis took on new life when I engaged some of the Hall DSP settings offered on the RX-Z1. It really gave me the illusion of when I personally attended the last Genesis live performance, as we knew them. And, it had me longing for those days, wishing the band was still at the forefront in a world where two chord rock, prefabricated gangster Rap, and MTV cribs now seems more prevalent. I personally enjoyed the Pro Logic II and DTS Neo music modes over any of the DSP modes when listening to conventional CDs. These modes really helped expand some of my older recordings such as U2s Joshua Tree, and Marillions Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other making them listenable again on my reference system. However, when I decided to engage in serious two-channel listening on well recorded sources, I preferred bypassing all processing and letting my front speakers and sub handle all the music.

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Movie Theater Modes

Listening to movies decoded in Yamahas proprietary DSP movie modes, which utilizes dedicated front effects channels was a real eye opener. Yamaha offers dedicated front effects channels to help preserve the imaging of the main channels by sending the DSP signals to dedicated speakers located on the front wall usually a few feet above and slightly wider apart from the main speakers. I really like this approach with DSP processing and I personally wouldnt have it any other way after hearing just how effective this solution really was. I dont have any major qualms adding an extra two speakers up front since in my opinion, its usually easy for folks to add a couple of more speakers on the front wall then the rear wall in a typical living room environment, and the benefits to me are clearly worthwhile if you are a DSP enthusiast. My favorite mode for watching just about every DVD movie I threw at the RX-Z1 was the 70mm Digital Adventure mode. My past experience with the DSP A1 was similar in this surround mode, but I dont recall the center channel remaining so clearly focused and echo free on the DSP A1 without significantly turning down the parameters of this mode. The RX-Z1 DSP default settings seemed to be more conservatively chosen in my opinion. I never heard the center channel sound hollow or loose intelligibility when engaged in the major 70mm movie DSP modes. I was particularly blown away by the expansive rear surround field of these DSP enhancement modes, making me realize wonder what the beef is about THX, and just how silly it would be for my application to add another speaker to the back wall for a dedicated rear channel for ex/es modes. In case you didnt know, I am really not the greatest advocate of adding another speaker or pair of speakers for rear center channel applications since a majority of DVDs currently available dont even offer EX/ES encoding, and those that do take advantage of this feature are usually encoded only in Dolby Digital EX which simply matrixes the rear center channels from the rear channels much like old Pro Logic used to derive a front center channel from the mains. Only DTS ES offers a discrete rear center channel, however the software, at the time of this review, is very limited. In addition, most peoples rooms, mine included, cannot accommodate any more speakers on the rear wall. Usually the primary listeners are seated pretty closely to the rear wall where ideally the rear center speaker(s) would be located. Thus these speakers would fire at the listeners ear and may make them very localizable and unnatural sounding. Also, I believe if your rear speakers image well enough, the phantom center should be quite effective. Listening to the extended release four-disc box set of Lord of the Rings was breathtaking on the Yamaha RX-Z1. In fact, I never had such an involving experience with any other Processor I had the privilege of reviewing, including my own reference Processor which when it was current sold for over $1200 more than the RX-Z1. Since this movie was encoded with DTS ES, I briefly hooked up a rear center channel, using the Yamahas internal amps, and replayed specific scenes that I was familiar with.

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Adding the rear center in this case did have some advantages as it helped to focus the sound field specific for rear center placement, while providing a more fluidic rear surround sound field. Although the advantages were less obvious to me when playing DD EX movies with the added rear center and at times it was actually distracting to me given that the rear center was located too closely to the listening position in my living room. It wasnt long before the wife noticed the cosmetic compromise of our livening room with the added speaker, and thus its benefit was soon nullified. Switching back to 7.1 (5.1 + 2 front effect channels) I was continually amazed that the front to rear panning was so incredibly fluid and seamless, while the clarity and focus was second to none in my experience. I had similar experiences while listening to movies such as Monsters Inc, and Ice Age. I noticed that my movie viewing increased nearly double from my norm when evaluating the RX-Z1. I must have watched, or should I say listened, to some of these movies over again in their entirety just out of sheer sonic enjoyment that I perceived.
DTS 96/24 (http://www.dtsonline.com/9624.pdf)
I must say I was a bit skeptical of this new format and questioned just how significantly it would raise the bar of the fidelity of the DTS format and make it a serious contender in the high-resolution format wars. To my surprise the few DVD Audio discs featuring DTS 96/24 soundtracks I had in my collection turned out to be a wonderfully sonic treat in DTS 96/24 mode. In fact, given the set-up of my system, especially with the RX-Z1 as the Processor, I actually preferred listening to these discs in DTS 96/24 mode over the MLP soundtracks. I know many audiophiles are probably shocked to hear me say this, but let me defend my bold statements before you scold me. In this set-up, which unfortunately constitutes the majority of most of todays home theater environments, DVD Audio has no bass management or digital delay compensation via the DVD-Audio player or the Receiver. Currently, in order to get this, you have to spend considerably more on proprietary solutions from companies such as Denon, Pioneer Elite, or Meridian. Some Receivers do offer bass management and digital delay compensation via their analog six channel inputs. However, as I stated before, this is a mixed blessing. While it corrects the problems I previously mentioned, it does so by compromising resolution by taking the high-resolution analog signal, converting back to digital for processing, and then back to analog again for amplification. To me this seems self-defeating and I question why any serious audiophile would want to do this to an allegedly high-resolution signal. In addition, I felt the DACs and analog sections of the RX-Z1 audibly performed better than those in my Panasonic DVD-RP91K DVD Audio/Video player. Thus, listening to DTS 96/24 DVD Audio discs on a DTS 96/24 Processor sounded superbly to my ears.

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Brazilian Bossa: "Brazilian Bossa"
1. Batida Diferente 2. Wave 3. Brigas Nunca Mais 4. Ela e' Carioca 5. Para que Chorar 6. Insensatez 7. Corcovado 8. The Dolphin 9. Samba De Verao 10. Outra Vez 11. Minha Namorada 12. Ao Amigo Tom 13. Balada P'ra Luiz Eca 14. Influencia do Jazz
I was stunned by the quality of the recordings of track #s 1, 3 and 6. Incidentally these tracks were mastered in 96/24. I constantly had to convince myself by looking at the front panel of the RX-Z1 that I was listening to the DTS 96/24 layer and not MLP. The music was pristinely clean and dynamic, and the surround experience was involving, not artificial sounding, while the bass was tight and deep. This was just about one of the best multi channel audio experiences I could remember having in my home. I preferred using straight DTS 96/24 with no DSP processing because it was so clean sounding, I just didnt want to add anything to the mix that shouldnt be there. To me there was nothing missing as the surround field was fully enveloping. When I switched to the MLP soundtrack, it also sounded superbly, however the lack of bass management and digital delay compensation was apparent by the slightly thinner bass and less natural sounding panning between the front and rear channels.
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DVD AUDIO / SACD

For the ultimate audio experience for the serious audiophile, its hard to pass up DVDAudio or SACD despite the current hardware limitations.
http://audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/dvd_sacd2a.php
I started my critical listening evaluation with one of the fabulous SACD hybrids from Patricia Barber.
Patricia Barber Caf Blue SACD Track Listing:
-What A Shame -Mourning Grace -The Thrill Is Gone -Romanesque -Yellow Car III -Wood Is A Pleasant Thing To Think About -Inch Worm -Ode To Billy Joe -Too Rich For My Blood -A Taste Of Honey -Nardis -Manha De Carnaval I really dig this CD. Its lumpy jazz in a smooth jazz environment. You wont find repetitive and annoying saxophone scales, single stroke drumming, and simplistic guitar riffs; instead youre showered with snappy jazz and provocative lyrics, slamming drums and memorable instrumental solos. The SACD layer of Track #2, Morning Grace sounded phenomenal. In fact, I found myself repeating this track several times floored by its sound quality and utter coolness of the song. The RX-Z1 in this instance sounded quite transparent, and almost on par, with maybe only a touch of edginess compared to my dedicated Preamp Processor costing considerably more.

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The Internal Amps

So far the RX-Z1 proved to be a very competent preamp and home theater Processor. The only question remaining now is how would it fair as a multi channel amp to power a full home theater 7.1 channel speaker system? I suppose it was time to retire my reference amps for the moment (sniff, sniff) and switch the power duties to the internal amps in the RX-Z1 to answer this question. I rerouted the front effect channels back to their dedicated amps and connected all of my speakers to the appropriate speaker level connections on the RX-Z1. The majority of Yamaha Receivers, the RX-Z1 included, have a dreaded impedance selector switch. As always I recommend never setting this switch to the Eight Ohms or Less setting as it may significantly limit the available power and overall dynamics of the internal power amps. For more information on this, refer to the Impedance Selector Switches section of the Audioholics.com Receiver Buying Guidelines.
http://audioholics.com/techtips/buyingguides/avhardware/Receivers.php#impedance_selector
Before evaluating, I recalibrated the entire system using my handy Radio Shack SPL meter and the internal test tones of the RX-Z1. I was a bit concerned with the RX-Z1 driving my speaker system since my front and center channels are 4-ohm nominal impedance, and none of my speakers are particularly efficient loads to drive. My concerns were soon subdued after listening to a few two-channel SACDs and multichannel DVD-A discs. I was in awe that the Yamaha amps were delivering such solid amplification performance typically found in much costlier and bulkier separates. I never recalled the DSP-A1 sounding quite this good via its internal amps. Dont get me wrong, the DSP A1 was no slouch, but the RX-Z1 to me sounded as good as many high end rigs I have evaluated in the past. I was shocked by the refined and authoritative bass reproduced by my large floor standing speakers when driven by the RX-Z1s internal amps. All of the subtleties and nuances were equally conveyed, demonstrating a very low noise floor and excellent linearity. Grant it my reference amps did yield a bit more slam and dynamics when driven to the limits of comfortable listening levels, but the RX-Z1 never sounded bright or fatiguing to me like many other Receivers typically do. Multi-channel DVD Audio discs proved equally satisfying. Channel separation was excellent and tonal consistency and dynamics was also impressive. However, when pushed very hard, I did hear the RX-Z1 amps start to run out of gas, but they did so quite gracefully and at levels I measured with an SPL meter beyond 110dB in a 16 x 20 living room running inefficient 4-ohm loudspeakers. In movie theater modes, the RX-Z1, when driving my reference speaker system, did a bang up job at turning my living room into a state of the art surround sound theater rivaling a majority of THX Cineplexs I have recently visited.

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All Good Things Must Come To An End
Living with the Yamaha RX-Z1 for the past four months was quite an enjoyable experience. Its rare that I dread boxing up product to send back to the manufacturer after my evaluation has been completed. I was very much so dreading sending the RXZ1 back. The RX-Z1 really enhanced my movie viewing enjoyment and also taught me that a Receiver can provide high end fidelity equaling and sometimes rivaling costlier separates. This flagship proved itself in so many ways and earned my respect as a magnificent one box solution for home theater and multi channel playback. Its endless features, state of the art processing, outstanding fidelity, and user-friendly interface, makes it an uncommon value that only a few years ago was unheard of. In fact this flagship Receiver offers two advantages over all separate Processors currently available, that I know, of: DTS 96/24 processing and 100MHz Component Video Bandwidth switching. I undeservedly recommend adding the Yamaha RX-Z1 to your shopping list if a state of the art, one box, high performance; reliable and reasonably priced home theater Receiver is in your future. The extended five-year warranty is another nicety not commonly found in other products. I suppose all good things must come to an end. And, with this end I can only look forward to Yamahas next concoction, which I sincerely hope will address the issues I outlined earlier making it so irresistible to me that I will be forced to sell off my reference gear. Anyone who wants to start bidding, email me now ;)
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The Score Card

Audioholics Ratings Scale:
9 - 10 Outstanding 8.0 - 8.9 Above Average 7 - 7.9 Average 5.8 - 6.9 Below average < 5.7 Very poor Yamaha RX-Z1 Home Theater Receiver Metric Build Quality Ergonomics User Interface Remote Features DSP Modes 5 Channel Pro Logic II / DTS Neo Performance 7.1 / 5.1 Channel Dolby Digital Performance 7.1 / 5.1 Channel DTS Performance Dynamics 2 Channel Performance Multi Channel Music Overall Value Rating 9.5 9.5 9.9.9.5 9
Yamaha RX-Z1 A/V Receiver $2799 Yamaha Electronics (800) 292-2982

http://www.yamaha.com

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