Amplifier
| Sony STR-ZA3100ES |
Yamaha RX-A1060 |
7 channel Amplifier: Sony STR-ZA3100ES features 7 channel power amplifier. It is rated at 80 W (8 Ω, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 2 channel driven). |
7 channel Amplifier: Yamaha RX-A1060 features 7 channel power amplifier. It is rated at 110 W (8 Ω, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 2 channel driven) and is able to drive 4 ohm speakers. |
Speaker Configurations
Sony STR-ZA3100ES's and Yamaha RX-A1060's amplifiers can be assigned for different speaker configurations.
- Dolby Atmos Configurations: The following speaker configurations are supported for Dolby Atmos:
- Sony STR-ZA3100ES: 5.2.2 with internal amplifier and 5.2.4, 7.2.2 with addition of external 2 channel amplifier.
- Yamaha RX-A1060: 5.2.2 with internal amplifier.
- DTS:X Configurations: The following speaker configurations are supported for DTS:X:
- Sony STR-ZA3100ES: The speaker configurations for DTS:X are the same as for Dolby Atmos - 5.2.2 with internal amplifier and 5.2.4, 7.2.2 with addition of external 2 channel amplifier.
- Yamaha RX-A1060: The speaker configurations for DTS:X are the same as for Dolby Atmos - 5.2.2 with internal amplifier.
- Configurations without height channels: There are also other speaker configurations available which do not include height channels:
- Sony STR-ZA3100ES: 5.2, 7.2 with internal amplifier.
- Yamaha RX-A1060: 5.2, 7.2 with internal amplifier.
- 2-ch Bi-Amp: Both models are able to bi-amp up to 2 main channels simultaneously. During bi-amplification two amplifiers are used for one speaker. One amplifier powers the midrange and tweeter section of the speaker and another amplifier powers the low frequency woofers. Each amplifier is less loaded and performs better. In order to use this feature speakers must have 2 pairs of connectors.
Dolby Atmos
Sony STR-ZA3100ES and Yamaha RX-A1060 support Dolby Atmos. It is a cinematic audio format in which sounds exist as individual entities, called audio objects. In Dolby Atmos, any sound can exist as an independent audio object, free of channel restrictions. They can be precisely placed and moved anywhere in your room, including overhead, to flow above and around you in three-dimensional space. Through the use of audio objects, overhead sound, and all the richness, clarity, and power of Dolby sound, Dolby Atmos turns your room into an amazing place for entertainment. The format supports up to 128 simultaneous independent audio objects in a mix for rich, realistic, and breathtaking sound. It recreates the director's original concept through descriptive metadata to provide customized playback for home theater and delivers sounds above you through overhead speakers, special upward-firing Dolby Atmos speakers, or a Dolby Atmos enabled sound bar.
- Dolby Surround Upmixer: Both models support Dolby Surround Upmixer. If the content is not mixed in Dolby Atmos then the Dolby surround upmixer will expand the audio to all channels including ceiling speakers. The upmixer has replaced the Dolby Pro Logic II family with improved upmixing algorithms.
DTS:X
Sony STR-ZA3100ES and Yamaha RX-A1060 support DTS:X. A technique used in DTS:X is similar to the one used in Dolby Atmos. Instead of a fixed number of channels, DTS:X defines object locations from the listener in polar coordinates. An a/v receiver then dynamically renders sound according to the current speaker configuration. The speaker layout employed by DTS:X is the sum of Dolby Atmos and Auro-3D. It has standard 7.1 channel base layer, a 5 channel height layer above the base layer on the front and side walls, and 3 rows of speakers on the ceiling.
- DTS Neural:X: Both models feature DTS Neural:X which is an advanced upmixer that can take non DTS:X content and upmix it to the DTS:X speaker layout. It has replaced the DTS Neo family with improved flexibility.
- DTS Dialog Control: Sony STR-ZA3100ES supports DTS Dialog Control. This function adjusts the dialog levels during playback of the DTS:X stream. It allows you to separately increase the dialog levels in contrast with the background sound and hear dialog easily even under noisy circumstances.
Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC)
Sony STR-ZA3100ES supports Audio Return Channel (ARC) which allows the compatible TV to send audio signal to the a/v receiver through the same HDMI cable which is used to send audio and video signals to the TV. So one HDMI cable is used to transfer audio signal in both directions. New Enhanced ARC will support uncompressed audio formats such as Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio whereas the previous ARC could support only Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS, DTS HD, and PCM.
Sound Processing
- Digital Legato Linear: Sony STR-ZA3100ES features Digital Legato Linear (D.L.L.) to play audio signals with high-quality sound. The D.L.L. function is a technology developed by Sony that allows low-quality digital and analog audio signals to be played with high-quality sound. This function is available for Linear PCM signals, as well as lossy compression audio formats and analog audio signals. It works when [2ch Stereo], [Direct], [A.F.D.] or [Multi Stereo] is selected.
- Compressed Music Enhancer: Yamaha RX-A1060 features Compressed Music Enhancer which enhances the quality of the music files with lossy compression.
Room Calibration
Sony STR-ZA3100ES comes with D.C.A.C. EX and Yamaha RX-A1060 comes with YPAO (R.S.C. with Multipoint measurement) room correction system.
- YPAO: The Yamaha Parametric room Acoustic Optimizer (YPAO) function detects speaker connections, measures the distances from them to your listening position(s), and then automatically optimizes the speaker settings, such as volume balance and acoustic parameters, to suit your room.
