How do I add multi-room audio to A/V Receiver setup?

[frank12429]

I have a Harman-Kardon 745 that I will use for 5.1 surround in my home theater room. I'm a relative newbie on the setup, just lucked out with a good receiver. Here's what I want to do: I want to be able to play audio in 3 other rooms in the house separate from the Home Theater setup. I want the ability to play music in one or all of the three rooms. I don't need wall/volume controls. I already have speaker cable run. Do I need a pre-amp? and even more basic, how do I connect the speakers? They have cable wiring inputs, not RCA plugs. Thanks

 

[MDS]

I I want the ability to play music in one or all of the three rooms. I don't need wall/volume controls. I already have speaker cable run.

Yes you do need impedance matching volume controls unless you purchase a speaker selector which is effectively the same thing (although many are not selectable and will yield a load that your receiver cannot deal with, making it a moot point to buy one).

A receiver with a Zone 2 capability, coupled with IM volume controls, can give you the 4 zones you want (main HT plus 3 other rooms) but the non-HT zones will play the same source. You cannot get 4 separate zones with 4 separate sources without paying a huge amount of money.

 

[jimfitz]

I have a Harman-Kardon 745 that I will use for 5.1 surround in my home theater room. I'm a relative newbie on the setup, just lucked out with a good receiver. Here's what I want to do: I want to be able to play audio in 3 other rooms in the house separate from the Home Theater setup. I want the ability to play music in one or all of the three rooms. I don't need wall/volume controls. I already have speaker cable run. Do I need a pre-amp? and even more basic, how do I connect the speakers? They have cable wiring inputs, not RCA plugs. Thanks

Does your receiver support multiple zones? If it does, just follow the instructions. If it doesn't, you're SOL. My Onkyo supports 3 zones. Zone 2 does not require an amp. Zone 3 requires an additional amp.

 

[jcPanny]

Distributed audio

As suggested, you will need an impedance matching speaker selector or VCs to maintain a 6-8 ohm impedance at the receiver. Here is my suggested connection scheme:

Receiver Zone 2 line output -> 100Watt/channel stereo amp -> IM Speaker selector -> Speakers in each room.

Most speakers provide a binding post or clip for connecting the speaker wire. If this is not obvious, post a pic of the speaker or the model number.

I recently set up a 5 room system with IM VCs in each room powered by 2 channels of my Emotiva amp. Also note that my receiver didn't have the zone 2 feature so I just used the "Tape/Record" line outputs. Most receivers will only do analog over zone 2 so you will probably have to add a couple cables from your source components to the receiver.