AV Receiver Reviews

Speaker delays can be set in milliseconds, feet, or meters. If milliseconds are used, settings are provided only for the front and rear center channels, because their delays are adjusted relative to the front and rear L/R, respectively. If you choose feet or meters you can set delays for the Main L/R, Center, Rear L/R, and Rear Center. Because my seats are off-center, I always prefer to set speaker delays individually rather than in pairs. The Yamaha does not give you that flexibility; the L/R settings are for both channels and cannot be set individually.

Performance
Starting at the bottom of the video hierarchy, I tried various simulated surround modes with conventional stereo television programming recorded on my Philips TiVo. I ended up preferring Dolby Pro Logic II Movie mode; DTS Neo:6 seemed to move the dialogue around unexpectedly at times, and the other modes were a bit muddy and indistinct compared with Pro Logic II.

I started my DVD auditions with Blue Man Group's Audio (Virgin 4 77893 9), a wonderful 5.1 mix of the music they play during their shows. The Rx-Z1certainly emphasized the bass-heaviness of this recording. (The DVD has both Dolby Digital and DTS versions; this problem was slightly worse with the DD track, but both were obviously bottom-heavy.) During setup, I had left the sub's internal level at the THx reference setting, and the two sub-level controls in the receiver at their default values. Once I turned one of the level controls down by 6dB to balance the bass with the rest of the mix, the music sounded wonderful.

Next, I tried Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Warner Bros. 22467), which has lots of dialogue, effects, and music mixed together—I thought it would be a good test of the receiver's Cinema DSP effect. Admittedly, I didn't have front effects speakers hooked up, so I didn't expect the depth to be as pronounced as if they were. Still, it was clearly there, with dialogue in the foreground, effects behind it, and the music yet farther back. This was most ably demonstrated during the scene in Diagon Alley, especially when the bricks magically rearrange themselves to form the door to the alley, and the Quidditch match, with players whizzing around tossing the Quaffle, avoiding the Bludgers, and chasing the elusive Golden Snitch. All three elements were clear and distinct within a well-integrated surround soundfield.

The sound of HDTV was equally excellent, particularly the 5.1 soundtrack of A Bug's Life, broadcast on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. The receiver's performance in different frequency ranges was superb, with clear highs, clean mids, and a reasonably tight, well-articulated bass (once the level was trimmed down). In addition, the picture quality through the Rx-Z1 was indistinguishable from a direct component connection to the display, proving that the 100MHz bandwidth of the component signal path is plenty for HDTV (and progressive DVD, for that matter).

In the audio-only realm, I found that I liked DTS Neo:6 and Dolby Pro Logic II Music equally well with stereo CDs; they seemed to affect the sound quality little, if any, while effectively spreading two channels into 5.1. Among the CDs I listened to was a demo disc from Hsu Research (not commercially available), the subwoofer company, so you can imagine how bass-heavy it is, with Taiko drums and electronica along with many other genres that include lots of bottom end. With the receiver's bass level turned down as before, this CD sounded fine, with well-defined bass, uncolored mids, and crisp (but not strident) highs.

I also listened to two studio CDs by my acoustic trio, Many Axes, which I'd mixed and mastered, so I know them intimately. The group uses many different wind and percussion instruments from around the world, encompassing a very wide range of pitches and dynamics. The Rx-Z1 reproduced them with aplomb, yielding no quarter even at high volume levels. In fact, this receiver could play much louder than I could stand, especially in my small room.

For the highest available resolution of audio sources, I turned to the Marantz DV-8300 DVD-Audio/SACD player (see review elsewhere in this issue), which I connected to the 6-channel passthrough inputs on the receiver. As usual, these inputs bypass most of the receiver's internal circuitry, including bass management, EQ, and speaker levels. In addition, the Marantz's bass management doesn't let you specify Small front L/R speakers, and my Atlantic Technology System 450 fronts don't go much below 80Hz, so the bass was somewhat lacking overall. Mind you, this was definitely not the fault of the Rx-Z1.

Starting with DVD-As, Steely Dan's Two Against Nature (Warner Bros./Reprise 24719-9) sounded a bit antiseptic, even anemic. However, Eric Clapton's Reptile (Warner Bros./Reprise 47966-9) was much more robust, demonstrating the difference a mix can make. Yes has a new DVD-A, Magnification (Rhino R9 78250), which includes a full orchestra and almost no keyboards. Each element of this thick, complex mix was clearly discernible within the cohesive surround soundfield. Graham Nash's Songs for Survivors (DTS 69286-01092-9-2) is also complex, with instruments all around. I was surprised by the strength of the acoustic bass on "Dirty Little Secret," given the low-end limitations noted earlier, but the electric bass on "Blizzard of Lies" was much weaker.

Turning to SACDs, I listened to several classical selections, including Paavo Järvi conducting the Cincinnati Symphony in Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique (Telarc SACD-60578). The Rx-Z1 did this excellent recording full justice; the first movement, "Dreams, Passions," was delicate and finely etched, while "March to the Scaffold" was full-bodied, with the low bass-trombone blasts thundering to underscore the main theme. The last movement, "Dream of the Witches' Sabbath," includes clangorous bells that were—pardon the expression—clear as a bell, and the fiery finale was rendered with full intensity; the final brass chord parted my hair!

Another fine SACD recording is Sacred Feast (DMP SACD-09), recorded at the Trinity College Chapel in Hartford, Connecticut, by the a cappella choir Gaudeamus. This recording is an exquisite rendering of human voices, which the Rx-Z1 reproduced with distinction. I especially liked the two versions of "O Sacrum Convivium," one by the renaissance composer Thomas Tallis and the other by the much more contemporary Olivier Messiaen, who gave the text a completely different treatment. In both cases—and, indeed, throughout the entire album—each section and solo was clearly discernible within a smooth, enveloping surround soundfield.

Conclusion
Audiophiles often complain about the sound of digital audio, but I seldom agree with their blanket condemnations. For me, the clarity, low noise, and consistency of digital audio far outweigh any coldness or brittleness exhibited by the medium. And with the advent of high-resolution formats such as DVD-Audio and SACD, the naysayers' concerns might finally be laid to rest for good.

The Rx-Z1 is about as digital as they come, as evinced by the stated goal of Yamaha's Digital ToP-ART design philosophy: to maximize digital quality while minimizing analog circuitry. This is fine with me; the Rx-Z1 clearly demonstrated that a mostly digital receiver can sound clean, clear, crisp, and finely detailed throughout the audible range—all the qualities I really like about digital audio. True, I found it to be rather bass-heavy at the default settings on DVDs and CDs, but that was easily tamed by tweaking the subwoofer level.

There are a few items on my wish list for this receiver, mostly in the ergonomic category. They include video upconversion to component, better navigation through the setup menu, OSD on a solid background, manual test-tone advance during speaker setup, more integrated subwoofer-level adjustment, and individual speaker delays. However, most of these are niggling annoyances, and adding video upconversion would undoubtedly increase the cost.

The bottom line is the sound. The Rx-Z1 is a highly admirable performer in this regard, and a real value at $2799. It continues Yamaha's tradition of excellent receivers, and justifies my continuing appreciation of their many fine qualities.