Help with choosing correct receiver setup

[americoperez49]

Hi everyone,

First time poster here. I am doing some research for a future home theater/music listening setup and I haven't found answers to my questions online. So, I figured I would post here to see if anyone with first hand experience could help me.

The plan is to have a 5.1.4 setup in an open concept living room and 2 speakers out in a patio in the backyard. I would like to be able to control the patio speakers independently/simultaneously of the 5.1.4 setup.

I was looking at receivers like the Marantz cinema 50, Denon x3800h, & Onkyo RZ50.

My question is, do any of these receivers have the capability of running this kind of setup? If not, what would you guys recommend instead? I'm trying to stay at or below $3500 for the receiver but am willing to pay more if required for what i'd like to do.

I know that the receivers say they can process 11 channels if you add external amps but would they be able to be configured to work the way I want them to?

Thanks in advance for the help

 

[lovinthehd]

You'll need 11ch of amplification to do a 5.1.4 plus 2 ch zone....so either an external amp or an avr with sufficient onboard amplification. Some avrs can process a few more channels than their onboard amps can as you've noted, but you'll generally need to add external amps to take advantage (or perhaps not use a zone simultaneously).

 

[americoperez49]

You'll need 11ch of amplification to do a 5.1.4 plus 2 ch zone....so either an external amp or an avr with sufficient onboard amplification. Some avrs can process a few more channels than their onboard amps can as you've noted, but you'll generally need to add external amps to take advantage (or perhaps not use a zone simultaneously).

Right. I guess I should phrase my question better. Do you know if any of the AVRs support this kind of configuration in software? Hardware-wise I know that I will need 11 channels but do you know if I will run into any software limitations, specifically with running the two configurations simultaneously?

I've read through the user manual of one of the receivers (image below) and it seemed like software-wise, I was limited to a 7.1 channel surround if I wanted to utilize a Zone 2 at the same time

 

[lovinthehd]

Right. I guess I should phrase my question better. Do you know if any of the AVRs support this kind of configuration in software? Hardware-wise I know that I will need 11 channels but do you know if I will run into any software limitations, specifically with running the two configurations simultaneously?

I've read through the user manual of one of the receivers (image below) and it seemed like software-wise, I was limited to a 7.1 channel surround if I wanted to utilize a Zone 2 at the same time

View attachment 58459

Using the avr's speaker terminals? I don't see how software would help.

 

[americoperez49]

Using the avr's speaker terminals? I don't see how software would help.

what I mean is that, I know that I need 11 channels (whether that be 11 right on the AVR or 9 on the AVR plus 2 on an external amp). What I am asking about is the software. Will the software let me configure these 11 channels to run in a 9.1 + zone 2 setup?

Looking at the manual, it doesn't seem like any of these receivers supports that in software even though all receivers support up tp 11 channels

As another example that I just found, the Denon x6700h has a page in the manual that explicitly talks about how to setup a 9.1 + zone 2 setup.

So, it's unclear to me whether the Marantz Cinema 50, Denon x3800h, or Onkyo RZ50 support a 9.1 + zone 2 configuration in software, evem though they all technically support 11 Channels

 

[lovinthehd]

what I mean is that, I know that I need 11 channels (whether that be 11 right on the AVR or 9 on the AVR plus 2 on an external amp). What I am asking about is the software. Will the software let me configure these 11 channels to run in a 9.1 + zone 2 setup?

Looking at the manual, it doesn't seem like any of these receivers supports that in software even though all receivers support up tp 11 channels

As another example that I just found, the Denon x6700h has a page in the manual that explicitly talks about how to setup a 9.1 + zone 2 setup.

So, it's unclear to me whether the Marantz Cinema 50, Denon x3800h, or Onkyo RZ50 support a 9.1 + zone 2 configuration in software, evem though they all technically support 11 Channels

Should just be an amp assignment setting in a Denon or Marantz unit.

 

[everettT]

what I mean is that, I know that I need 11 channels (whether that be 11 right on the AVR or 9 on the AVR plus 2 on an external amp). What I am asking about is the software. Will the software let me configure these 11 channels to run in a 9.1 + zone 2 setup?

Looking at the manual, it doesn't seem like any of these receivers supports that in software even though all receivers support up tp 11 channels

As another example that I just found, the Denon x6700h has a page in the manual that explicitly talks about how to setup a 9.1 + zone 2 setup.

So, it's unclear to me whether the Marantz Cinema 50, Denon x3800h, or Onkyo RZ50 support a 9.1 + zone 2 configuration in software, evem though they all technically support 11 Channels

Yes, and if it were me, I'd use a separate amp to power the zones even on the models that have the amp channels aviable to do it.

 

[Trebdp83]

It can be confusing when setting up Zone 2. If you are NOT going to use an external amp for Zone 2, you will lose two amps in the receiver to power Zone 2. This means losing two height speakers in a 5.1.4 configuration in the Main Zone while powering Zone 2 with a 9 channel/amp receiver. You will need an 11 channel/amp receiver such as the X6700H that can power a 5.1.4 Main Zone and a 2.0 Zone 2 simultaneously and configure it to 9.1 + Zone 2.

If you do plan on using an external amp for Zone 2, you can configure the Main Zone to 5.1.4 in a 9 channel/amp receiver and lose nothing when Zone 2 is on and the signal is sent from the Zone 2 pre out to the external amp. The controller app of a network attached receiver will allow full control of each Zone. However, there are source playback limitations regarding output to Zone 2 so check the manual of the selected unit for details regarding those limitations.

Powering two zones with eleven amps using one receiver is a tall order for any unit but offers the most control and convenience when using a controller app. You can select streamed music from various services for Zone 2 and adjust the volume levels of the 2.0 speaker configuration while others are in the Main Zone watching a movie using all of the speakers of the 5.1.4 configuration.

If one is already using a network connectable receiver of a particular brand and will use it to power Zone 2, staying with that brand when shopping for a new Main Zone receiver may make network control easier as both receivers may be able to be controlled from a single controller app if they aren’t too many years apart in production and are supported.

 

[americoperez49]

Awesome! Thanks everyone for the answers!