Denon 3806 - Zone 2/Front B Help

[Tellsch]

I installed some patio speakers this weekend and ran into some problems getting the amp setup correctly. All I want to do is play music from my PS3 both inside and outside. My PS3 is connected via HDMI. Inside I have a standard 5.1 system and outside I have two 8ohm speakers.

After setting the surround amp to “Front B”, I could listen outside no problem, but it would not play inside. After that I tried setting the surround amp to Zone 2 and hooking up the PS3 via the analog connections and that worked ok, however the receiver had to be set to the analog PS3 connection for the inside to play since the PS3 does not output sound on both HDMI and analog. The only way I can get the music both outside and inside is to set the PS3 to analog and have analog on the inside and outside.
All I really want is to have everything that is going to my fronts go to the patio speakers, I feel like this should be much easier than it is. I have no idea why “Front B” only lets me listen outside and not inside.

Another thing I might try is hooking the outside speakers to Surround B (instead of surround back) and only having them come on for 7ch stereo which is my main listening point inside. I think that might work.

Any other ideas? I am all ears, thanks!

 

[bandphan]

I installed some patio speakers this weekend and ran into some problems getting the amp setup correctly. All I want to do is play music from my PS3 both inside and outside. My PS3 is connected via HDMI. Inside I have a standard 5.1 system and outside I have two 8ohm speakers.

After setting the surround amp to “Front B”, I could listen outside no problem, but it would not play inside. After that I tried setting the surround amp to Zone 2 and hooking up the PS3 via the analog connections and that worked ok, however the receiver had to be set to the analog PS3 connection for the inside to play since the PS3 does not output sound on both HDMI and analog. The only way I can get the music both outside and inside is to set the PS3 to analog and have analog on the inside and outside.
All I really want is to have everything that is going to my fronts go to the patio speakers, I feel like this should be much easier than it is. I have no idea why “Front B” only lets me listen outside and not inside.

Another thing I might try is hooking the outside speakers to Surround B (instead of surround back) and only having them come on for 7ch stereo which is my main listening point inside. I think that might work.

Any other ideas? I am all ears, thanks!

WHAT MUSIC SOURCE ARE YOU USING FROM THE ps3?..CD NET, ECT

 

[Tellsch]

WHAT MUSIC SOURCE ARE YOU USING FROM THE ps3?..CD NET, ECT

Directly from the PS3 hard drive.

 

[agarwalro]

I believe the issue might be that the 3806 can output different sources to Main, Zone2 and Zone 3.

From looking at the manual, for "Power Amp Assign" setting select "Zone 2" and use the Surround Back Speaker Outs for the patio speakers.

For the first time you will need to select the Zone 2 source. For this have your PS3 up and running. Then from the remote, have it control the Zone 2 amp and select the input to be the PS3.

If everything works like the manual says, you should be in business. Also, since the amp defaults to previously played input, you should be able to control the patio speakers by simply turning on and off the Zone 2 amp and will not need to select the PS3 input every time.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

If the PS3 is set up to run HDMI in the main zone, you can't run a redundant analog signal for the 2 zone.

 

[Tellsch]

If the PS3 is set up to run HDMI in the main zone, you can't run a redundant analog signal for the 2 zone.

That is exactly it. After messing with it for a couple hours, I decided the best way to set it up is to change the PS3 audio setting to analog when I want music to the patio. Kind of a pain, but it is manageable.

I tried messing with the amp assignment but found there are far more limitations to using Surround B or Surround Back - especially if you need additional volume out back or want to use the Aud EQ inside. Zone 2 is definitely the best setup for this scenario.

This is really two problems - for one the PS3 should be able to output both HDMI and analog. My comcast box is setup up like this and I have no problems. I am really surprised a device as powerful as the PS3 lacks this function. Disappointing. The second problem is the lack of digital source support for zone2. Oh well.

Thanks guys,
Brian

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Yep, I ran into the same issue with my PS3 and couldn't belive that it wouldn't do this. I finally gave up and switched to the 3808 and now I can play anything from my computer to any zone I want.