i hadnt planned on using separate volume controls for the outdoor speakers. i guess i was planning on using the master volume control. i mainly want to make sure i dont overload my amp. i will be hooking up 4 speakers through the 2 channels on the zone 2 of the yamaha v765. i can get volume controls if it would be best for the amp (or for other reasons)
thanks for the reply and anything to point me in the right direction is appreciated
If you leave the Zone 2 at one level, you'll never have to deal with the "I don't hear much" routine, caused by one person trying to turn it up near the speakers and another person having turned it down at the receiver, a la Clark Griswold, when he was trying to get the Christmas lights to stay on.
If the receiver will be close enough to where the other speaker zone is, the selector/volume control can be placed there. If the speakers are similar in volume with equal power (similar sensitivity), you can use a simple impedance matching switcher, like the one in the link.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-970
If they need to be adjusted separately, this will work-
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-610
Remember- the second one has four volume controls inside and you can't just use a generic "volume control", like they sell at a parts store. An L-Pad can be used if you're filtering the lows out first, but it still isn't the right way to maintain the correct impedance.