Denon 3806 Zone 2 configuration question

[jheard]

I have a Denon 3806. I want to use the Zone 2 for my patio speakers, Bose 201s. I have wired the speakers using 14/2 speaker wire. One speaker is about 40 feet away and the other about 30 feet from the receiver, measured by the speaker wire.

I have configured the system Power Amp Assignment to Zone 2 for the S. Back speakers. The speaker wires are attached to the S. Back speaker posts. From the remote, I have turned Zone 2 on and have tried setting Zone 2 to Source (I also tried DBS, from which I play the cable music channels.) However, I am getting no sound out of the speakers. When I put the speaker wires onto the Front Speaker posts, the speakers worked fine (although not very loud), so speaker wires are connected.

Am I missing something? Is my unit malfunctioning? Any help is appreciated.

 

[JonBaker99]

Your Zone 2 Volume is probably way down. Switch over to Zone 2 control and crank the volume up to somewhere around -20 to -10 and see if you get anything.

Hope that helps.

Jon

 

[jheard]

I tried that already, thanks. The default was -40db, I have put it up to 0db, and still nothing.

 

[audiofox]

Establishing control of Zone 2 through the remote is not obvious-you need to press the "amp" button on the screen until you get to the Zone 2 display. There are five amp remote control "states": the main state, a second state with what looks like player controls (didn't use that one yet), Zone 2, Zone 3 and System Call (which is a programmable set of commands that can be used to control multiple units at once). Once in the Zone 2 section, you can turn Zone 2 on and off, as well as select the source and control the volume. It took me a while to figure this out yesterday (I first tried to do it without reading the manual, like a true engineer!), but now I can control the Zone 2 volume independent of the main volume level. I am now trying to determine if I can send 2 channel music to ZOne 2 when playing a multichannel source (SACD, DVD-A, movie)-it should be possible, but I have not figured out how to do it yet. Good luck with your configuration.

 

[AVRat]

jheard,
Try using the tuner as your source first to get the zone 2 sytem working. Zone 2 only plays analog sources, so any source you want to use needs to be also connected through the stereo analog inputs.

 

[jheard]

Try using the tuner as your source first to get the zone 2 sytem working. Zone 2 only plays analog sources, so any source you want to use needs to be also connected through the stereo analog inputs.

OMG that worked. You can only use analog sources on Zone 2? You're kidding me! I spent a lot of time and money configuring my system to be totally digital. Now I can't use the Zone 2 feature? That was a big selling point for me. Who's the genius at Denon that figured this one out, and then forgot to mention it in the manual...

So what is the work around to play all my digital source to Zone 2?

 

[MDS]

So what is the work around to play all my digital source to Zone 2?

If the source device, like a dvd player, can output both analog and digital at the same time, then just connect the analog cables in addition to the digital; otherwise the only workaround is to spend the big bucks on one of the few receivers that can send digital audio to a second zone. The majority of receivers with mulitple zone capability have the same restriction of analog only.

 

[j_garcia]

OMG that worked. You can only use analog sources on Zone 2? You're kidding me! I spent a lot of time and money configuring my system to be totally digital. Now I can't use the Zone 2 feature? That was a big selling point for me. Who's the genius at Denon that figured this one out, and then forgot to mention it in the manual...

I'm sure it does mention it in the manual, however this is a very common situation because it is not PROMINENTLY mentioned in the manual. 90% of all multizone receivers are like this because they don't have DACs or processing for the other zones - those that do are generally quite expensive. I believe you have to step up to the 4806/5806 for this capability.

So what is the work around to play all my digital source to Zone 2?

Hook them up via stereo analog also...

 

[jheard]

Hook them up via stereo analog also...

If I do this, when does the receiver play analog, and when does it play the superior digital sound? Will it play the digital on the Main zone, then the analog on Zone 2? Any configuration necessary?

The other thing I am trying is setting the patio speakers to Speaker B. Unfortunately, only the B speakers play, and not the "A" speakers. Even my old Marantz could play Speaker A + B. Anything I can do here?