Sony STR-ZA1100ES (USA version)

Overview

Sony STR-ZA1100ES was introduced in 2017. It is equipped with 7 channel amplifier and is capable of 7ch + Phantom 2ch maximum channel processing.

We evaluated the Receiver and gave 81 overall score out of 100. Our ranking system is based on the amplifier specifications, audio and video features, connectivity, multizone capabilities, radio and many other details.

Amplifier score is based on power ratings, minimum impedance load, power supply, transformer type, total harmonic distortion, damping factor, signal to noise ratio and other small details. Audio score depends on the number of channels, front wide channel support, maximum channel processing, support of audio formats, DAC specifications, room calibration algorithm... Video score is based on HDR, Dolby Vision and video signal passthrough and upscaling, analog to HDMI upconversion. Connectivity score is defined from all wired and wireless inputs and outputs, internet and bluetooth connections, HEOS, SONOS and others. Multizone score depends on the number of zones with their outputs. Radio score is evaluated form digital radio support and analog tuner with its frequency range, signal to noise ratio, harmonic distortion...

Pros and Cons

In this section we present pros and cons of Sony STR-ZA1100ES.

Major Changes from its predecessor

Here we are comparing Sony STR-ZA1100ES to its predecessor STR-ZA1000ES and displaying the major changes.

UPGRADES	Sony STR-ZA1100ES	vs	Sony STR-ZA1000ES
Dolby Atmos	up to 5.1.2 plus 2 phantom rear surround channels	vs
Dolby Surround Upmixer		vs
DTS:X	up to 5.1.2 plus 2 phantom rear surround channels	vs
DTS Neural:X		vs
HDR10		vs
BT.2020 color space		vs
Dolby Vision		vs
HLG		vs
Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC)		vs

DOWNGRADES	Sony STR-ZA1100ES	vs	Sony STR-ZA1000ES
Less Component Video Outputs		vs	1

For more detailed comparison between the models please visit Sony STR-ZA1100ES vs Sony STR-ZA1000ES.

Amplifier

Sony STR-ZA1100ES has 7 channel amplifier and delivers 70 W (8 Ω, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 2 channel driven).

Video Features

The Receiver has 4K passthrough up to 60p and 4K upscaling up to 60p. It can bypass HDR10, Dolby Vision.

HDR10

High-dynamic-range (HDR) video has greater dynamic range than standard-dynamic-range (SDR) video with brigter whites and deeper blacks. HDR10 was announced on August 27, 2015, by the Consumer Technology Association and uses the wide-gamut Rec. 2020 color space. It sends static metadata via video stream to the TV which calibrates its screen brightness and color according to that. HDR10 supports up to 1000 nits of brightness and 10-bit color which corresponds to 1024 shades of the primary RGB colors.

Dolby Vision

Dolby Vision is an update to HDR10 by adding dynamic metadata that can be used to more accurately adjust brightness levels up to 10,000 nits maximum brightness on a scene-by-scene or frame-by-frame basis and supports up to 12-bit color depth (4096 shades of RGB) and 8K resolution.

Dolby Atmos and Dolby Surround upmixer

Sony STR-ZA1100ES supports Dolby Atmos with its Dolby Surround upmixer. It can be configured upto 5.1.2 channels using internal amplifiers.

Dolby Atmos is the first cinematic audio format in which sounds exist as individual entities, called audio objects. In Dolby Atmos, any sound - the helicopter, a car screeching around a corner, a melodic bird call - 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. You'll feel like you're inside the action, in ways you've never experienced before.

Dolby Atmos for the home represents every sound in the original cinema mix as an audio object. Extensions to the Dolby Audio™ codecs, along with an advanced scalable algorithm, allow Dolby Atmos to be delivered via Blu-ray Disc and streaming media. A spatially-coded substream is added to Dolby TrueHD or Dolby Digital Plus. A Dolby Atmos audio/video receiver (AVR) adapts the cinema experience to your home theater from seven speakers to as many as 34 in 24.1.10 configuration, recreating the original artistic concept. 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.

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 and Neural:X upmixer

Sony STR-ZA1100ES supports DTS:X with its Neural:X upmixer. It can be configured upto 5.1.2 channels using internal amplifiers.

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 is a new 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.

Digital Legato Linear

Sony STR-ZA1100ES 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.

Room Correction

Sony STR-ZA1100ES comes with D.C.A.C. EX room correction system and includes the calibration microphone.

Connectivity

Sony STR-ZA1100ES can be connected to internet using ethernet cable. It has 5 HDMI inputs and HDCP 2.2 (5 in / 2 out) copy protection.

Front panel has USB input.

Specifications

Here we list all the available features and specifications of Sony STR-ZA1100ES.

BASICS
Brand	Sony
Model	STR-ZA1100ES
Type	A/V Receiver
Country	USA
Release Year	2017

AMPLIFIER
Channels	7.2
Front Wide Channel Support
THX™ Certification
Continuous 6 Ω Rated
Certified 4 Ω Performance
Bi-amp Capability

AUDIO
Maximum Channel Processing	7ch + Phantom 2ch
Air Studios Monitor Certification
Dolby Atmos	up to 5.1.2 plus 2 phantom rear surround channels
Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization
Dolby TrueHD
Dolby Digital Plus
Dolby Surround Upmixer
Dolby Pro Logic
Dolby Digital EX
DTS:X	up to 5.1.2 plus 2 phantom rear surround channels
DTS Neural:X
DTS Virtual:X
DTS Neo
DTS-HD Master Audio
DTS-HD High Resolution Audio
DTS 96/24
DTS Express
DTS-ES	Discrete 6.1, Matrix 6.1
IMAX Enhanced
Auro 3D with Auro-Matic Upmixer
PCM	2-ch/Multi-ch Input
Music Playback via USB
DSD via HDMI	2-ch/Multi-ch Input
DSD via USB
DSD to PCM Converter
USB DAC
DTS Dialog Control
Dialogue Lift	Center Speaker Lift Up
Digital Legato Linear
In-Ceiling Speaker Mode
OP Processing
Sound Optimizer
Tone Control	All Channels
Audyssey Dynamic EQ
Audyssey Dynamic Volume
Audyssey LFC
Audyssey Sub EQ HT
Audyssey DSX
Direct Mode
Pure Direct Mode

CALIBRATION
Auto Speaker Calibration System with Mic.	D.C.A.C. EX
Calibration Microphone	Stereo
EQ for D.C.A.C.	31 band EQ
Speaker Relocation
Automatic Phase Matching

VIDEO
HDR10
HDR10+
BT.2020 color space
Dolby Vision
HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma)
QMS (Quick Media Switching)
ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode)
VRR (Variable Refresh Rate)
QFT (Quick Frame transport)
3-D Ready
Video Signal Passthrough	up to 4K/60p (YCbCr4:4:4)
Video Signal Upscaling	up to 4K/60p
Analog To HDMI Upconversion	Component, Composite
isf Certified Calibration Control

CONNECTIVITY
MHL Input
DLNA 1.5
FireConnect
FlareConnect
Music Connect
Remote Monitoring with ihiji
Chromecast Built-In
DTS Play-Fi
Works with Amazon Alexa
Works with SONOS
AirPlay
InstaPrevue Input Source Prevue
Ethernet
Ethernet Switch
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
HDBaseT Compatible
Enhanced ARC
HDCP Version	2.2 (5 in / 2 out)
HDMI Input	5
HDMI Output	2 (1 Main, 1 Sub/Zone2)
USB Input	1 (Front) for update and setting
USB DC Out Port
Analog Audio Line Input	4
Analog Audio Line Output
Phono Input
Optical In	2
Optical Out
Coaxial In/Out	1 /
Composite Video Input	2
Composite Video Output	1
S-Video Input
S-Video Output
Component Video Input	2
Component Video Output
PC In
Multi-Channel Input
Analog Pre-Outs	0.2
XLR Inputs
XLR Pre-outs
Front A/V Inputs	USB
Speaker A/B
Headphone Out

ZONES
Zones	3
Powered Zones	2
Zone 2	HDMI, Composite Video, RCA Pre/Line Out
Zone 3 Outs	RCA Pre/Line Out
Zone GUI	for Zone 2
RS-232
+12V Trigger Output	1 (80 mA)
Remote (IR) Input/Output	1 / 2

MISC
On-Screen Display	Graphical User Interface
GUI Languages	3
Remote Controller	RM-AAU217
Detachable Power Cord

RADIO
Analog Tuner	FM/AM
Presets	60 (30/30)
Digital Radio
Internet Radio
Pandora
Spotify
Tidal
Deezer
Napster
SiriusXM Internet Radio

CONSTRUCTION
Speaker Terminals	7
Large Speaker Terminals	7
Color-Coded Speaker Terminals
Gold plated RCA terminals

POWER
Power Supply	AC 120 V, 60 Hz
Power Consumption	290 W
Standby Power	0.3 W

GENERAL
Dimensions (W x H x D)	430 mm x 174 mm x 410 mm 17" x 6-7/8" x 16-1/4"
Weight	12.6 kg (27 lbs. 13 oz.)
Warranty	5 Years

SPECS
Power Output (8 Ω, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 2	70 W (0.09% THD)
Power Output (8 Ω, 1 kHz, 2	100 W (0.9% THD)
Power Output (6 Ω, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 2	90 W (0.09% THD)
Power Output (6 Ω, 1 kHz, 2	110 W (0.9% THD)
Power Output (6 Ω, 1 kHz, 1 channel driven, FTC)	140 W (0.9% THD)
Input Sensitivity and Impedance (Line)	150 mV/50 kΩ
Rated Preout Level and Impedance	2 V/1 kΩ (Subwoofer)
S/N Ratio (Line, IHF-A)	105 dB (20 kHz LPF, 500 mV)
S/N Ratio (digital)	96 dB (20 kHz LPF)
Frequency Response (Analog In)	10 Hz - 100 kHz/±3 dB
DSD Sampling Rates via HDMI	2.8 MHz
Video Input Sensitivity/Output Level and Impedance	1 Vp-p/75 Ω (Component Y) 0.7 Vp-p/75 Ω (Component PB/CB, PR/CR) 1 Vp-p/75 Ω (Composite)
Ethernet Standard	100BASE-TX
FM Frequency	87.5 MHz - 108.0 MHz
AM Frequency	530 kHz - 1710 kHz

* - 480i/576i and 480p/576p only
** - 480i/576i only
*** - no 1080p/24 upconversion
**** - 1080p signal is not converted