Multi Zone Surround Sound Basics

[CrazyDuffer]

Do multi zone a/v receivers provide full surround sound in each room or full surround in main zone and just two speakers in remaining zones. Looking at Yamaha 2020 and 3020. New to this area. Not even sure of distance limitations of HDMI cables.

 

[markw]

As far as I know, they only provide surround sound in the "main" zone and two channels in the other zones. And, to pour salt in the wound, I believe that only analog sources, not digiatal sources, are sent to the other zones.

 

[BMXTRIX]

The above post is correct. If you need to send surround to multiple areas then you need to have multiple surround receivers.

Really, you should explain more about what you are hoping to accomplish overall.

A good surround zone in a home is nice to have, but takes a fair bit of work and should have some money invested in it to do it properly.

Most of the time when people are adding speakers, they may want multiple speakers in other rooms or througout their home to act as 'background music' or similar for parties. You aren't limited to just two speakers if you set things up properly, but you won't get surround except from a few A/V receivers which are really pricey. It's cheaper to split your sources or buy new sources most of the time than buying a pricey receiver.

But, if you describe your setup and your goal, you can get a bit more help on this.