Interconnecting two AV receivers

[jkrazy]

Hello all,

I had a quick question

I have a Denon 4806CI receiver connected to my home theater system. I also have a very basic Yamaha receiver in my bedroom. I ran 2 RCA cables from my home theater to the bedroom with the intention of connecting the two systems. I would like to be able to simply switch to "Aux in" on the Yamaha and hear the audio from the Home theater. I don't wish to use Zone 2 or 3 because the Denon cannot send digital audio to those zones and one of the audio inputs that I wish to send to the bedroom is the computer which is connected to the home theater system via Toslink.

Which two RCA outputs should I use on the Denon receiver to send all audio to the Yamaha? Possible connections that I'm leaning towards are "CDR/Tape" out or maybe "Pre-Out" Front?

 

[Adam]

Does the Denon have a free digital audio output, and the Yamaha have a free digital audio input? That's the way that I'd connect them together. You'd only need to run one cable, and you could pass multi-channel audio to the Yamaha.

EDIT: BTW, welcome to the forum!

 

[jkrazy]

Thanks for the response Adam,

I don't think the Yamaha does, it's very old and basic. Will the Pre-out or CDR outputs work?

 

[Adam]

Normally I'd look up the owner's manual, but I'm at work, so I'm sorry that this reponse will be a little lacking.

The CDR outputs should work and be independent of the volume setting on the 4308. The pre-outs will be dependent on the volume setting on the 4308, though. With the CDR outputs, you might even be able to set a different source for those outputs (perhaps called "Rec Out") versus what you're listening to on the 4308.

 

[jkrazy]

Great I'll try the CDR, I completely forgot about independent volume and that's very important. So how does the CDR change volume?

 

[Adam]

So how does the CDR change volume?

You would use the volume control on the Yamaha for that.

 

[jcPanny]

Analog audio

Connect an extra analog audio cable from each source to the receiver so that the music will be accessable for the zone 2/3 or tape outputs. This is how I route my audio to the amplifier (analog input) for my distributed audio system.

 

[jkrazy]

Adam,

I was referring to the standard volume that the Denon sends to the CDR output. Is there a preset level the CDR output sends?

 

[jkrazy]

JC,

Can you ellaborate, I don't wish to use zone 2/3 on the Denon since you can't send digital audio to these zones, what are you refering to when you say extra analog audio cable from each source?

 

[Adam]

Adam,

I was referring to the standard volume that the Denon sends to the CDR output. Is there a preset level the CDR output sends?

If I remember to, I'll look up your owners manual when I get home to verify this. The CDR output should be independent of the volume setting on the 4308. It would be like connecting a CD player (or the like) to the Yamaha, in that the signal strength was just a function of the source material.

 

[jcPanny]

analog audio

JC,
Can you ellaborate, I don't wish to use zone 2/3 on the Denon since you can't send digital audio to these zones, what are you refering to when you say extra analog audio cable from each source?

For example, the DVD player uses a digital optical or coax connection to the "Main" receiver. Also add an anlaog audio cable so that the sound can be routed to your other receiver via the tape output or zone 2/3 connection.

Don't expect the CDR or other analog output to be a decoded version of a digital input. This is likely a loop of the CD, Tape, or other analog inputs.

 

[audioman00]

Simply put: it is all LINE LEVEL, so it would be like the denon is no diff. than a CDP to the yamaha, it doesn't care whats connected, as long as it's the right level. CDR OUT is fine as well as TAPE 1 OUT, or even TAPE 2 Monitor OUT.
Those outputs should follow the input that you select, sometimes the denon's have a REC OUT selector that you need to switch accordingly.

 

[jkrazy]

Does this mean I will not need to do what JCPanny is referring to?

 

[Adam]

Does this mean I will not need to do what JCPanny is referring to?

JC is normally spot on, so I'm downloading the owners manual now to check this out. I'll let you know what I find.

 

[Adam]

After a skimming of the manual, it's not obvious to me if the CDR outputs would work or not with a digital input.

One thing that should work for sure are the front left/right pre-outs that you mentioned before. Even if you have a digital input, the receiver will convert it to analog for those outputs.

So, I'd suggest hooking it up to the CDR output (like you mentioned) first, and see if it works. The reason I'd try that first is because those outputs aren't influenced by the volume control on the Denon. If those outputs don't work with a digital input, then you've always got the back-up plan of using the front pre-outs.

So...you had it right to begin with! Just give it a try, and I'd like to know if it works out for you. Thanks.

 

[jkrazy]

So I connected everything the other day through the preamp front left and right and I do receive sound from the yamaha receiver. Unfortunently it seems that only the right speaker connected to the yamaha is producing sound and the quality is very bad. I completely rotated the RCA's to ensure it wasn't a bad RCA cable and the problem stayed on the left, which leads me to believe there is something strange with the left channel in this type of configuration. Any suggestions?

 

[jkrazy]

Almost forget to mention I also tried the CDR and the quality was unbareable.

 

[Adam]

So I connected everything the other day through the preamp front left and right and I do receive sound from the yamaha receiver. Unfortunently it seems that only the right speaker connected to the yamaha is producing sound and the quality is very bad. I completely rotated the RCA's to ensure it wasn't a bad RCA cable and the problem stayed on the left, which leads me to believe there is something strange with the left channel in this type of configuration. Any suggestions?

Almost forget to mention I also tried the CDR and the quality was unbareable.

Hmmm. Some suggestions for you (which you may have tried):

1. Try playing another source (e.g. tuner, CD player) on the Yamaha and check if any sound is coming out of the left speaker. Also check the sound quality.

2. If the left speaker works and everything sounds good when you do the above, do this (if not done as part of 1): Connect another source (e.g. CD player) to the same inputs on the Yamaha as you are using with the Denon and again check if the left speaker produces sound and if the quality is good.

3. If #1 sounds good, and #2 sounds bad, try another input on the Yamaha if available and do the same checks.

These checks are intended to determine if the issue is local to the Yamaha and not related to the Denon or the RCA cables that you ran between the two. If you still have the same issues, then it is with the Yamaha, the speakers, and/or how they are connected to each other.

If you don't have the same issues, then it's caused by either the Denon or the RCA cables. So, I would then do the following: disconnect the RCA cables from the Denon, connect a CD player (or some other source with left/right audio outputs) to those RCA cables, and try to play that source through the Yamaha. If you have the same problems as before, then the issue is with the RCA cables. If you don't, then the issue is with the Denon.

We can help you troubleshoot some more or try to help you fix whatever is wrong once you (and then we) know better what the source of the problems is.

Adam

 

[santeini]

Since you mentioned that your Yahama is two channel, you should connect the RCA that is coming from the Yahama to the stereo out put of your DVD player.If that is connected to the Denon than ues a Y adapter to split the signal.