Do I need a seperate Amp to run two zone 2 speakers...

[mtbound10]

I am going to be setting up a couple of speakers on my deck. I have a yamaha RX-V863 and it has a 2nd zone option. I have read different things on different sites and even going through the manual it is kind of vague on the requirements... it even says to "talk to my authorized yamaha dealer/installer" which happens to be Best Buy... if you get where I am going with this.

Does anyone have first hand knowledge about setting up zone 2 on the yamahas and whether or not a amp is necessary or the best way to go???

FYI~

Reciever to deck speakers will be approximately 40-55' respectively for each speaker in terms of cable. Outdoor speakers are yamaha NS-AW190BL and have a relatively decent ohm rating of 6 or 8... dont remember but can look.

 

[MDS]

I'd have to read the manual to be 100% certain but nearly all receivers that offer a zone 2 option can power that zone itself. If it is a 7.1 receiver, then you would only get 5.1 in the main zone because the rear surround amps are used to drive zone 2.

If the receiver has zone 2 pre-outs then you could use an external amp for zone 2 and retain 7.1 in the main zone.

 

[Adam]

The RX-V863 can actually power seven speakers in the main area plus another two speakers (for example, a second zone).

So, no - you don't need another amp. You can use one with the pre-amp outputs (as MDS said), but you don't need one.