Help me with troubleshooting ZONE 2 on a Yammie!!

[jzac]

Hi,

I could use some help from you gurus. So, I have a Yamaha RX-V2400 that has served me well for many years now. I hooked up the Zone 2 speakers (5 rooms) yesterday for the first time to listen to the internal radio and I get absolutley no sound! I'm not sure what I missed out.... this is what I did;

1. Hooked up 5 rooms to Presence/Zone 2 speakers from the receiver through a Niles VCS-8 Speaker Distribution Box. All 5 rooms have impedance matching volume control knobs.

2. Manually configured the receiver to use Zone 2 and turn on internal power for zone 2, and also raised the volume for Zone 2.

3. Set the REC OUT/ZONE 2 on the front panel to Source/Remote.

4. Manually configured the remote to change the library component so I can use Zone 2 amp to turn on, off, and use source selections specifically for Zone 2. Powering it on and off, and selecting source worked fine.

5. Turned on Zone 2 amp as I can see it on the receiver as coming on, raised the Zone 2 volume, raised volume on speaker control knob in one of the rooms connected in distribution box with every other speaker at zero, selected internal radio that is a working station.... and NO SOUND!!

6. Troubleshot by connecting a pair of speakers directly to Zone 2 without a speaker distribution box and still no sound!

WHAT AM I MISSING here?? This is driving me nuts. HELP!

Thanks a ton in advance!

 

[Rickster71]

You can only use analog connections for Zone 2
So, optical and coax won't work.
Add some RCA patch cords and you'll be in business

 

[jzac]

I understand only analog signals can be passed through which is why I was trying to use internal radio first and not any other sources for now... and still no sound! What else do I try??

 

[bandphan]

I understand only analog signals can be passed through which is why I was trying to use internal radio first and not any other sources for now... and still no sound! What else do I try??

try another source

 

[Rickster71]

If you have any RCA cables around, I'd hook them to your CD player (out) & Zone 2(input) and test it that way.
I'm not sure how they route their radio.

 

[jzac]

Believe me, I did...! Tried using my new Squeezebox Duet using analog cables and still no freakin' sound from zone 2. No probs listening through the main zone for any of my sources. I know the zone 2 power comes on and off and I can raise the volume.

C'mon guys... put your thinking cap on and share me some wisdom!

 

[jzac]

If you have any RCA cables around, I'd hook them to your CD player (out) & Zone 2(input) and test it that way.
I'm not sure how they route their radio.

I did this using Squeezebox and it didn't work.

 

[bandphan]

did you try manualy selecting the source via the front panel as opposed to the remote?

 

[adk highlander]

Here are the instructions from the Yamaha Knowledge base. Is this exactly how you did it?

How do I set-up Zone 2 using the internal amplifiers, and the Presence/Zone 2 speaker terminals on the RX-V2400?
Speaker Connection:

Unplug the power cable on the RX-V2400.
Connect the Zone 2 speakers to the Presence/Zone 2 speaker terminals on the RX-V2400.
Plug the power cable back into the RX-V2400.
Setting up Zone 2 on the RX-V2400 remote

Set the [REC OUT/ZONE 2] dial on the front panel of the RX-V2400 to [SOURCE/REMOTE].
Press the [DVD] input button.
Press and hold the [LEARN] button gently with a paper clip for 3 seconds. L: DVD and DVD will flash alternatively on the remote LCD window.
Press the [ARROW] to the right button until L: AMP appears in the remote LCD window.
Press the [UP ARROW] button until Zone appears in the remote LCD window.
Press the [LEARN] button to complete Zone setup.
Amplifier/Receiver configuration:

Go into the Set Menu. (Instructions about getting into the Set Menu on page 48 of the RX-V2400 Owner’s Manual.)
Use the [ARROW UP/DOWN] button to select Manual Setup.
Press the [ARROW] button to the Right to enter Manual Setup.
Use the [ARROW] Down button to select the number Option Menu.
Press the [ARROW] button to the Right to enter the Option Menu
Use the [ARROW] Down button to select F Zone 2 Set.
Press the [ARROW] button to the Right to enter Zone 2 setup.
Set the Out Vol. (Output Volume) to VAR. (Variable)
Press the [ARROW] Down button to get to Zone 2 Amp
Set the Zone 2 Amplifier to On.
Press the [ARROW UP] button (Approximately 14 times.) to exit out of the Set Menu and return to the receiver normal operation mode.
Controlling Zone 2

Press the [SOURCE SELECT UP ARROW] button until Zone 2 appears in the remote LCD window.
Press the [SYSTEM POWER] button to power on your selected Zone.
Press an Input Selector button to select the desired Input Source for Zone 2.
The display window shows 2: (name of selected input) if the remote control is in the Zone 2 mode.
NOTE:
1. Inputs that are connected only with digital audio cables (Optical, Digital Coaxial and Multi Channel.), will not be output via Zone 2.
2. The V-AUX and PHONO jacks cannot be sent to Zone 2.

 

[jzac]

did you try manualy selecting the source via the front panel as opposed to the remote?

Did the manual way first with zone 2 amp on, and then tried it using the remote to pick the source and that did not work either.

 

[jzac]

Here are the instructions from the Yamaha Knowledge base. Is this exactly how you did it?

Yes, I had this print out with me actually when i did the whole setup exactly the way they mentioned. All the setup as far as setting the zone 2 amp and remote to turn on and off and selecting sources from the remote for zone 2 works like it's supposed to... and internal radio or any analog signal source should work when selected.....so what the hell is preventing the sound from coming out from the speakers?? Is this zone 2 that difficult!

There is one more thing to try out for sanity and that is connect a spare receiver to the speaker distribution box and see if that works.... you think that will help??

 

[jzac]

...and I know at least 1 set of speakers that it should work with because I removed it from speaker set "B" (that it was working with) and moved it to zone 2 setup. Any ideas??

 

[jzac]

Solved!

Aha.... problem solved! Like they say....when in doubt go back to basics! Hopefully the troubleshooting steps below will help other people who may have similar problems when they wonder why everything works like the manual says, BUT there is NO SOUND coming from the speakers....

(1) Check to see if you can turn your receiver zone 2 amp on and off as intended and mentioned in your manual (if you are planning to use the internal power).

(2) Check to see if your remote has been programmed to turn zone 2 on and off as intended and you are able to select analog sources as mentioned in your manual.

(3) Check to see if your speaker wiring was done correctly.

(4) If you are using a speaker distribution box check to see if the wire was stripped correctly with the copper fully exposed when you connect the receiver to the box on both ends. (This is where I screwed up! When I stripped the wires I did not strip deep enough and left behind a very very thin transparent white plastic sheet covering the copper wires, and the contacts were not fully made between the two. ) Duh!

(5) Turn everything on and select an analog source like your internal radio station that works. DO NOT expect any optical, hdmi or coaxial cabled sources to work through zone 2/3, unless the new receivers these days do let you.

Voila! You are good to go.

If you have a Squeezebox Duet connect both the optical and RCA cables to your receiver (yes!) because they send signal through both those cables same time - will play on your main zone and zone 2 simultaneously if you want. This is way too cool!! .

Thanks to the guys who tried to help me earlier. Appreciate it!

Enjoy!