Putting three receivers together!

[Dgdg]

I am building a house and I am looking at doing the following, but I don't know if it would work. I want to buy a Sony str da1800es to run my home theater. I would like to somehow connect it to an old Sony str k740p to run the speakers in another room, as well as, the tv in that room. Then, I would like to connect the k740 to an even older Sony str av770 for my outside speakers. The idea is to create a, sort of, pass through so that if I want I can listen to the same source in the two rooms plus outside. Please let me know if I'm crazy. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[fuzz092888]

BMX will probably be along to help you out, since this is right in his wheelhouse, but I can at least tell you that what you're proposing probably won't work. You're looking at a receiver with 3 zones or some other more eloquent solution. You could also use a single source and run that source to all three receivers.

 

[Dgdg]

Since I have the two older sony receivers I tried to hook them together using the tape in/out RCA connections with no luck. The only way I could get the two of them to work together is to use the 770 preamp or headphone jack to the k740. I'm trying to poor boy this together!

 

[markw]

You can use the "tape out" from any receiver (master) to feed an aux (or high-level, or tape input) on any other (slave) receiver. That way, one master receiver could share it's [b[two-channel analog[/b] source with any other slave receiver. Of course, any other adjustments (like volume, tone, etc.) woud be controlled by the slave receivers.

 

[KEW]

You can use the "tape out" from any receiver (master) to feed an aux (or high-level, or tape input) on any other (slave) receiver. That way, one master receiver could share it's [b[two-channel analog[/b] source with any other slave receiver. Of course, any other adjustments (like volume, tone, etc.) woud be controlled by the slave receivers.

This is the set-up I use to level match and A/B speakers.
However, with my Marantz SR6001 receivers, I discovered that if I had the signal coming in via the Tape inputs with Tape selected as source, there was no output at the Tape outputs. If I use the CD inputs for the source, then there is output at the Tape Out terminals.
I don't know if this is a common design or not, but I had a devil of a time trouble-shooting (or more accurately, random trial and error).

 

[markw]

This is the set-up I use to level match and A/B speakers.
However, with my Marantz SR6001 receivers, I discovered that if I had the signal coming in via the Tape inputs with Tape selected as source, there was no output at the Tape outputs. If I use the CD inputs for the source, then there is output at the Tape Out terminals.
I don't know if this is a common design or not, but I had a devil of a time trouble-shooting (or more accurately, random trial and error).

Looking at the signal flow in the receiver, the signal comes in from the source, goes out the tape output, and then back into the tape input. There's no way you can reverse that signal flow.

 

[KEW]

Looking at the signal flow in the receiver, the signal comes in from the source, goes out the tape output, and then back into the tape input. There's no way you can reverse that signal flow.

If I follow correctly, Tape would not be selected as the source in the instance you outline. In that situation, I have no reason to disbelieve what you are saying (though it does raise the question of whether you could monitor a 3 head tape machine on modern equipment).

I did not mean to imply that any signal flows got reversed.
It is that the Tape output gets shut off when you select Tape for the source.
I also tried the same thing with the CD/R input and output with the same result.
It seems that Marantz decided it was a good idea to disable the outputs for whatever Source is currently selected.

I input from my CD player and "pass" the signal to my 2nd receiver.
If I connect the CD to the CD/R inputs and select CD/R as Source, I cannot output via the CD/R output terminals.
If I connect the CD to the Tape inputs and select Tape as Source, I cannot output via the Tape output terminals.
As long as I output from different terminals than what is selected for the source, I have output.

I assume Marantz's logic is if you are listening to your Tape deck, there is no reason to send an output signal to your tape deck (and the same for CD/R).

I find this a little curious as it seems like a little extra effort to selectively disable outputs and I wonder what the intended benefit might be.

 

[markw]

Yes, what I described was the "tape monitor loop" scenario, which was common in the old days.

I tend to believe that when you select "tape" from the source selector, it simply takes what's coming in the tape input and ignores everything before that. If there's nothing going out the "tape out", then there's nothing coming in the "tape in" unless, of coure, you input a signal from an external source there.

And, just because one has a tape out and a tape in doesn't necessarially mean you have a "tape monitor" loop, which was the standard in old two-channel analog stereo units.

The rules have changed for AVR's in the digital age. They could simply be two unrelated sets of jacks, one for input of any line-level analog source, and the other for the output of any analog source. And, you are correct: You cannot use them in a monitor configuration, such as for a three head tape deck or inserting an eq into the circuit. You need them in that "monitor loop" configuration in order to do that.

As for CDR, well, I have never tried that and perhaps Marantz has it's own way of doing things.