Lot 954: Vintage Early 2000's Flagship YAMAHA Natural Sound AV Reciever RX-Z9 TESTED A+ w/ Remote

Coming in at almost $4,500 Retail bqck in 2004, the coolest thing about the RX-Z9 is its built-in, automated audio-calibration routine, which can accurately determine speaker distance, level, and required equalization for flat frequency response in your room. The RX-Z9 offers 5 individual EQ Selections (Flat, Front, Low, Mid, and High), plus a "Skip" feature. I placed the long-corded measurement microphone (in-cluded), which is mounted on a small, weighted, circular base 2 inches in diameter, atop the seatback cushion of my listening chair (essentially at ear level) and initiated the test-signal sequence. With built-in test tones of the burst and noise variety and more brains than your average reviewer, I gave the Yamaha the reins, at least the first time around. When I reviewed the results, it turned out that the Yamaha had mistakenly determined that the Paradigm Signature S4 speakers in the rear of the room were of the Large variety, while the identical ones in the front of the room responded as if they were Small. According to Yamaha, the loudspeaker position and room characteristics can cause the system to alter some of the initial settings. Fortunately, you can run through the procedure in a stepped fashion, skipping those steps in which wrong conclusions are drawn. After manually setting all the speakers to Small and reducing the 90Hz crossover to 80Hz to be compliant with THX, that's exactly what I did. Most of the setup can be done from the best seat in the house, using the RX-Z9's remote control to follow the onscreen menus. The menu system itself is too clever by half, making it likely that novices and experts alike will occasionally lose their bearings. Menu hierarchies are explored from left to right, while options at each level are listed vertically. This is fine in concept, but the implementation is slightly off the mark. For one thing, some menus can be four or five levels deep, but the Yamaha displays only the layer you're on and the one directly under and to the right of it. For another, each level can display only five entries before it starts to scroll vertically. Given the huge amount of blank space that Yamaha provides around each option, perhaps so as to make the task appear not too daunting, users will need some time to get used to this. Once that happens, Yamaha can justly claim credit for a novel and, overall, solid approach to processor setup. Please view all pictures to determine if the condition meets your standards. Please ask any questions prior to bidding to ensure your satisfaction.