MultiZone Question (Digital Out)

[musei]

OK I have a quick question regarding MultiZone Receivers. I've noticed a lot of the receivers (such as the Onkyo I recently picked up) only allows Zone 2 & 3 to use inputs that are Analog only.

So if I had my PS3 connected VIA HDMI, there is no way to listen to the music coming out of it in Zone 2 or 3 because it's Digital.

Is this an issue with all Receivers or are there other Receivers that allow for MultiZones to use Digital Siginals?

And if it is a problem, should I be looking for Receivers that allow for an A set of speakers and a B set? Or do I need to buy something completely different.

 

[bandphan]

OK I have a quick question regarding MultiZone Receivers. I've noticed a lot of the receivers (such as the Onkyo I recently picked up) only allows Zone 2 & 3 to use inputs that are Analog only.

So if I had my PS3 connected VIA HDMI, there is no way to listen to the music coming out of it in Zone 2 or 3 because it's Digital.

Is this an issue with all Receivers or are there other Receivers that allow for MultiZones to use Digital Siginals?

And if it is a problem, should I be looking for Receivers that allow for an A set of speakers and a B set? Or do I need to buy something completely different.

Only a handful will allow for digital out. It will become more of the norm, however denon leads the pack it that production currently.

Most run both analog and digital out from their sources, however not all allow for dual output as is the case with the PS3 IIRC.

 

[musei]

So there are some Denon models out there that will allow for digital out to Zones 2 & 3?

Or again should I be looking for a receiver with an A set of speakers and B set?

 

[bandphan]

So there are some Denon models out there that will allow for digital out to Zones 2 & 3?

Or again should I be looking for a receiver with an A set of speakers and B set?

You should be using analog sources for zone2 if your avr doesnt support digital out for zones.

 

[AVRat]

If you want multi-source capability, you need to use the zone feature. If you'd only use one source using either A/B, not both simultaneously, then that feature would work. The few Denon receivers that do digital to the extra zones require it via digital coax/optical 2-channel PCM only, not HDMI.

Analog input is easiest/cheapest if possible.