Denon AVR-3311 ...Zone 2 & Zone 3

[GoFastr]

I'd like to add some more zones to my Denon AVR-3311CI. I'm only using it in 5.1 mode now. After doing some research I see that the back of the unit has more speaker connections like Surround Back/Amp Assign, Front Height and Front Wide. I assume these must be for 7.1 and 9.1 respectively which I'm not going to use right now.

In the manual it says to use the Surround Back/Amp Assign for Zone 2 speakers. I plan to use these for my outdoor speakers.

I also want to use some speakers in the garage. Where do I connect the speakers for Zone 3?

Are the Front Height or Front Wide speaker connectors also Amp Assignable?
Thanks.

 

[highfigh]

I'd like to add some more zones to my Denon AVR-3311CI. I'm only using it in 5.1 mode now. After doing some research I see that the back of the unit has more speaker connections like Surround Back/Amp Assign, Front Height and Front Wide. I assume these must be for 7.1 and 9.1 respectively which I'm not going to use right now.

In the manual it says to use the Surround Back/Amp Assign for Zone 2 speakers. I plan to use these for my outdoor speakers.

I also want to use some speakers in the garage. Where do I connect the speakers for Zone 3?

Are the Front Height or Front Wide speaker connectors also Amp Assignable?
Thanks.

Did you look on the back, for output jacks? They're right there, for all to see.

Also, read the manual. You'll need to set up the amp assignment for Zone 2/3, too. Keep in mind that you won't be able to control the volume for Zones 2 & 3 independently- they'll go up and down in unison, but if you use volume controls for those zones, the receiver's volume setting can be set to -0dB and left alone.

 

[GoFastr]

Yes I have looked at the back of my unit and the manual regarding setup of zones. In the manual it states that the outputs that are labeled Zone 2 and Zone 3 are pre-outs that require running a seperate amp for each zone.

The other thing it says is that I can connect Zone 2 OR Zone 3 to the Surround Back/Amp Assign and get stereo from it.

However I interpret the diagram from the manual to say that if I want to use BOTH Zone 2 AND Zone 3 with speakers in seperate rooms that I will have to split the signal and then I will only get monaural out of each Zone. Left side connector split out to L&R for Zone 2 and the right side connector split out to L&R for Zone 3.

Is this really what they mean or am I missing something here? I can't get stereo for both zones at the same time without getting a separate amp fpr each zone?

 

[Adam]

My interpretation is that you're reading that correctly. It doesn't appear that you can assign any of the speaker terminals except that one pair.

You might be able to do what you want by connecting one of the zones to those assignable inputs and using it according to the zone directions, while connecting the other zone to one of the F.HEIGHT or F.WIDE pairs and running the Denon in the "MULTI CH STEREO" mode. In that mode, it should run those speakers just like the front left/right speakers. Might be worth trying out.

 

[GoFastr]

Yeah I was wondering if I could use either of the Front Height or Front Wide connectors for another Zone but I didn't see where they were amp assignable. I guess the only way to know is to try it out.

I'll try your multi channel stereo mode suggestion too. Thanks for that.

I kinda wanted to make sure before hand as it is a PITA to pull out this heavy a$$ stand so I can get access to the back of everything while I play around with the wires and settings and test to make sure it all works before putting it all back in place again.