Yamaha Z11 SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!

[gar1975]

Ok, this is my first ever post on this forum, although i have been visiting it for years, so please forgive me if i have posted this in the wrong place..

i finally bit the bullet and upgraded my yamaha dsp ax1 to the z11, and have been blown away by it, it surpassed my expectations, but i do seem to have a couple of 'minor' probs, i am hoping someone will take pity on me & help.

firstly, the front display on the amp, the speaker icons that light up, depending on how many channels are being used, i cannot get all the speaker icons to light up, my amp is doing the decoding. eg: a bluray with dts ma 7.1, my amp displays the dts ma & all the speaker icons light up, except the ones for my surround back left & right, the sound is coming from them, but never lights up the front display, any ideas as to why this could be happening???

am i also right in thinking that the z11 will 'matrix' the sound to the surround back speakers when playing a 5.1 soundtrack? just as my Ax1 would with 5.1 soundtracks to make use of the rear centre creating 6.1?? because as of yet, i have not been able to get any sound from them when playing a 5.1 soundtrack.

second prob, sky hd... connected via hdmi, output at 720p rather than 1080i (was told this was the best option??) my amp is set to upscale, but it seems to cause major motion jitter/blur, just cant seem to figure out why???

please could someone help me!!!

 

[Anonymous]

gar1975:

Ok, this is my first ever post on this forum, although i have been visiting it for years, so please forgive me if i have posted this in the wrong place..

i finally bit the bullet and upgraded my yamaha dsp ax1 to the z11, and have been blown away by it, it surpassed my expectations, but i do seem to have a couple of 'minor' probs, i am hoping someone will take pity on me & help.

firstly, the front display on the amp, the speaker icons that light up, depending on how many channels are being used, i cannot get all the speaker icons to light up, my amp is doing the decoding. eg: a bluray with dts ma 7.1, my amp displays the dts ma & all the speaker icons light up, except the ones for my surround back left & right, the sound is coming from them, but never lights up the front display, any ideas as to why this could be happening???

am i also right in thinking that the z11 will 'matrix' the sound to the surround back speakers when playing a 5.1 soundtrack? just as my Ax1 would with 5.1 soundtracks to make use of the rear centre creating 6.1?? because as of yet, i have not been able to get any sound from them when playing a 5.1 soundtrack.

second prob, sky hd... connected via hdmi, output at 720p rather than 1080i (was told this was the best option??) my amp is set to upscale, but it seems to cause major motion jitter/blur, just cant seem to figure out why???

please could someone help me!!!

Great choice of amp

Not sure if I can help but some questions

Are you using HDMI or phono outputs for the sound?

Is the amp doing the decoding?

Have you bi-wired you front speakers whch I believe disables the rears when bi amp is selected on the amp?

Are you using the player or amp settings for your speaker layout?

What is your speaker layout 5.2 7.1 or 11.1 ?

This extra info might help someone with tracing the cause

 

[gar1975]

hi, thanks for answering me.

all the connections are made via hdmi, for the bluray player & sky hd (sound for sky is via digital coax)

the amp is doing the decoding (the dts ma icon on the amp display lights up & only does this when its doing the decoding)

when you say bi-wired, i think you mean bi-amped... BI-Amp is switched off.

the system is set up according to the amp. the bluray is sending out audio to my amp & its doing the decoding.

i have a 7.1 speaker layout (last 4 speakers & new sub being added by feb)

just cannot figure out the probs i seem to be having

 

[moomin]

Yes great choice of amp,i have a dsp Z9 ,superb,it sounds like you need to go into setings via the gui,grahpical user interface,on your tv,go through to the speaker settings and sound settings and select the option to turn the extra surround speakers on or off,should explain it in the manual all though there not always that clear.let me know how you get on.

 

[Sorreltiger]

Firstly, there are very few 7.1 blu-ray disks - you will only light up all the speaker icons with these, as the display relates to the incoming signal. Of course, you can bring your back speakers into play with PLiix processing, but you won't get the icons to light up.

Secondly, I would be very surprised if your Pioneer TV isn't a superior upscaler. I would set your Sky+HD box on Auto and let the signal pass through your amp. You will find that most Sky HD programmes are actually broadcast at 1080i.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Sorreltiger's advice here is sound.

Yamaha amplifiers display the channels they are receiving from the incoming signal. Many discs have incorrect information on them - some may say they're 6.1 or 7.1, but if your Yamaha shows only 5.1 on it's display, then the disc is only 5.1. It's also a good way of knowing whether you're receiving 5.1 or Dolby Stereo/Surround from Sky boxes etc.

 

[gar1975]

hi, thanks everyone for your answers, but the speakers are switched on via the GUI, i get sound from the surround rears when i am playing a DTS MA 7.1, i would guess that if the disc information was incorrect and it was only 5.1 or 6.1 i wouldn't get any sound from the rear speakers? and surely not every single one of my discs have the incorrect info on it? so far i have tried: Ice Age 3, Hellboy 2, saw IV, My Bloody Valentine & chronicles of narnia : prince caspian. when i play a disc i always choose the DTS MA 7.1 sound in the dics menu then when playing, i double check via either the tools button or the audio button on the blu ray player that i am getting the right sound, then, i check via the amp's GUI what sound is being decoded, so i know for sure the amp is decoding 7.1, sound comes from all speakers, all speakers on the input channels/speaker indicators light up except for the ones relating to my surround back speakers.

with regards to the sky hd 720p vs 10801 : i was told that if you set it to 1080i, whatever is doing the upscaling would have to first de-interlace the signal, then upscale that signal to 1080p, rather than a straight upscale from 720p to 1080p, with the latter doing less with the signal, so in theory a better result?

 

[gar1975]

have had contact with yamaha re: the 7.1 issue & not lighting up the input/channel icons.... it's not a fault, its to do with how dtsma deals the the channels, its different to how most amps deal with them, so i get 7.1 but the icons will never light up, still raises some questions, but at least i know its not a 'fault'

would still be interested to hear any views on skyhd 720p vs 1080i though....

 

[Sorreltiger]

Sorry - I misunderstood your original post. I'm surprised that the icons don't light up - they do on my RX-V3800. At least you now know the sound is being output correctly.

As I said previously - with a Kuro screen, you will probably achieve the best result if you send the Sky signal to it untouched.

 

[The_Lhc]

gar1975:would still be interested to hear any views on skyhd 720p vs 1080i though....

Leave it set to Auto, your screen will upscale and (de)interlace far better than the Sky box can.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorreltiger:

Sorry - I misunderstood your original post. I'm surprised that the icons don't light up - they do on my RX-V3800. At least you now know the sound is being output correctly.

As I said previously - with a Kuro screen, you will probably achieve the best result if you send the Sky signal to it untouched.

Same here, also surprised they don't light up. They do on my Z7 when playing 6.1 and 7.1 discs.

 

[gar1975]

asked the guys at yamaha, why this only affects the z11 & not the z7 etc....it is purely due to the times the respective amps were released. so any other z11 owners out there, this will possibly be in a future update, not that its essential. loving my amp, cant wait till jan when i can get the 4 presence speakers & 2nd sub woofer

i do have the sky signal sent straight through to my kuro and the picture is much better when the sky box is set to output @ 720p than 1080i, but that could just be my eyes/preference.... anyone knows for sure what would or should upscale the picture best, the pioneer 6090 or the z11?

again, thanks to those who have answered me!

 

[Frank Harvey]

Double check the settings on your Bluray player - as long as you select the 5.1/7.1 soundtrack on the dics, and the player's settings are set correctly (bitstream via HDMI), then the Yamaha should automatically pick up what is coming in. It'd be unusual if it wasn't doing this.

 

[madonnalicious]

Hi all

I have heard this before on a US AV forum that has long since been deleted from my fave websites, this is a issue with how DTS MA speakers are mapped compared to Dolby True HD and how the Z11 understands this, as long as you get 7.1 in the GUI, go forth and enjoy the 5K Yamaha sonic beast! (lucky sod!)

Mean while i still like my 1900!! sob sob. lol

 

[gar1975]

madonnalicious:
Hi all

I have heard this before on a US AV forum that has long since been deleted from my fave websites, this is a issue with how DTS MA speakers are mapped compared to Dolby True HD and how the Z11 understands this, as long as you get 7.1 in the GUI, go forth and enjoy the 5K Yamaha sonic beast! (lucky sod!)

Mean while i still like my 1900!! sob sob. lol

hi, thats what yamaha told me, i just couldnt remember exactly what they said, but am def getting the 7.1. am sure your 1900 sounds great too, i am a long time fan of yamaha. but i didnt pay anywhere near 5k for it, i managed to get it for a shade under 3k i refuse to pay full price for anything

madonnalicious, great name, i take it you are a fan? me too!

 

[Anonymous]

I'm in the market myself for a Z11. Very interested to hear where you got yours from for under £3K.

I know they're now discontinued and in the US they're selling very, very cheap now (like £1,500) - although I would only ever buy a UK sourced machine.

 

[Frank Harvey]

In the UK, there won't be any new stock available for £3k, as they cost more than this for the retailers to buy. Possibly B Stock though.

 

[Anonymous]

keithlewin:

I'm in the market myself for a Z11. Very interested to hear where you got yours from for under £3K.

I know they're now discontinued and in the US they're selling very, very cheap now (like £1,500) - although I would only ever buy a UK sourced machine.

That makes 2 of us,I am thinking of upgrading my Z7 to a Z11 under 3 k would be great

Don't know why you think it is discontinued , news to me

 

[Anonymous]

FrankHarveyHiFi:

In the UK, there won't be any new stock available for £3k, as they cost more than this for the retailers to buy. Possibly B Stock though.

Hi David excuse my ignorance but what is B stock?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Products that may have been used for a show, faulty from new and repaired, or slightly damaged/marked which can't be sold as new.

 

[gar1975]

a quick google search and you can find it for £2999

 

[Anonymous]

gar1975:a quick google search and you can find it for £2999

Having searched previously cant find a UK Z11 at that price new

Can get a US model with transformer included for a lot less than £3000.00 but thats not for me

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmm... the cheapest I can find it on Google, new, is £3,679. Where did you see it for 2,999? Keen to know.

 

[Anonymous]

I read in the US media that it's been discontinued. That's why they're selling them off over there so cheaply. But I'd prefer a UK spec with full UK warranty.

 

[bigboss]

gar1975:

i do have the sky signal sent straight through to my kuro and the picture is much better when the sky box is set to output @ 720p than 1080i, but that could just be my eyes/preference.... anyone knows for sure what would or should upscale the picture best, the pioneer 6090 or the z11?

You're not doing any any justice to the picture quality by setting your Sky box to 720p. All it's doing, is partly upscaling SD images (576i) to 720p which is then further upscaled to 1080 by your Kuro or your amp! Too many cooks spoil the broth

Also, HD channels normally output at 1080i. Your Sky box is now downscaling them to 720p & then again upscaled to 1080i by the Kuro (or the amp)!

Just set your Sky box to "Auto" like others have suggested & your Yamaha to pass through.