playing 3 sets of speakers simultaneously

[Johnnydale]

i know of only one receiver that will play 3 sets of speakers at the same time and that is the mac 4100. does anyone know of any other receivers or integrated amps that can do the same?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Maybe one with zones 2 and 3 capabilities. If that’s what I wanted to do, I would just use external amps and Y splitters from the AVR pre outs.
What is the application for?

 

[lovinthehd]

Why would anyone want to? Suspect even the blue lights might have trouble if they were very low impedance, tho....

 

[davidscott]

Why would anyone want to? Suspect even the blue lights might have trouble if they were very low impedance, tho....

Yeah the impedance would be pretty (very) low and I wouldn't turn the volume very much...

 

[Johnnydale]

i don't expect many people to understand. although there is a very few that do understand. the thing is i'm very serious about listening to full rich quality sound. you can take the greatest pair of speakers out there and add another pair just like them to the mix and your sound is gonna be fuller and richer. then add a third pair and well maybe now you get the picture. i'm from deep south louisiana. i throw outside parties on a regular basis. my nearest neighbor is out of hearing distance. now, get the point?

 

[lovinthehd]

Not really, altho could be an spl advantage if all you want is loud....better ways of going about the amplification, too.

 

[Johnnydale]

i like loud yes. but you people apparently do not have a clue as to what full, rich sound really is. because if you did you would just answer my original question with a sensible answer, instead of questioning me with all this stupid nonsense. most of y'all so called audiophiles out there are what me and true audiophiles refer to as drugstore cowboys. y'all want to be a true audiophile, but are buying your supplies from a drug store. for instance my main stereo is a pioneer sx 1250 (made in 1978 for those of you that don't have a clue) which is the greatest pioneer unit ever made to this very date. even better than the 1280 and the 1980 if you talk to a true audiophile, not a drugstore cowboy. now, what black face plastic chinese garbage do you have? that you think is totally awesome? because you paid a stupid amount for it and that's why you think it is awesome. you people just ain't my type because i'm a real cowboy, not the drugstore type. ideose you fagots. i never did like a fagot.

 

[nbk13nw]

That was a whirlwind appearance

 

[everettT]

i like loud yes. but you people apparently do not have a clue as to what full, rich sound really is. because if you did you would just answer my original question with a sensible answer, instead of questioning me with all this stupid nonsense. most of y'all so called audiophiles out there are what me and true audiophiles refer to as drugstore cowboys. y'all want to be a true audiophile, but are buying your supplies from a drug store. for instance my main stereo is a pioneer sx 1250 (made in 1978 for those of you that don't have a clue) which is the greatest pioneer unit ever made to this very date. even better than the 1280 and the 1980 if you talk to a true audiophile, not a drugstore cowboy. now, what black face plastic chinese garbage do you have? that you think is totally awesome? because you paid a stupid amount for it and that's why you think it is awesome. you people just ain't my type because i'm a real cowboy, not the drugstore type. ideose you fagots. i never did like a fagot.

There are some setups using Ambiophonic DSP that incorporate multiple speakers. Those setups are not very common and can be difficult to setup. Using multi channel music from an AVR is typically simpler if you want a more enveloping sound. All of this will be limited by the source material.

Typically the goal is to reproduce the recording as faithfully as possible. This is can be achieved by using better speakers, not more. Your room will become the limiting factor in the end.

I'm sure that a majority of members know exactly what full rich sound is.

 

[TLS Guy]

What a pleasant intrusion from redneckaudio.com.

 

[KEW]

Isn't that what the "multi-channel stereo" mode common to AVR's is?
I would think a 7 channel AVR would do it better because you are sending the same signal to three channels rather than trying to drive three speakers off of one channel.
Now, if your speakers are a difficult load and since you are using them outside where volume levels can quickly get high, there may still be problems, but certainly it is a step closer to using gear as it was designed to be used.
However, if you really want to do it right, get some good pro-audio speakers made for this type of application! As long as your AVR has pre-outs let six of these speakers with their built-in amplifiers fill your neighborhood!
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/K10.2--qsc-k10.2-2000w-10-inch-powered-speaker?&mrkgcl=28&mrkgadid=3325658007&product_id=K10.2&campaigntype=shopping&campaign=aaShopping%20-%20SKU%20-%20Live%20Sound%20&%20Lighting&adgroup=PA%20Systems%20&%20Speakers%20-%20QSC%20-%20k10.2&placement=google&creative=324206626744&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKCAjwlovtBRBrEiwAG3XJ-5ORoYdl_4fnHIUEBLUT0vmLL0C1hI_ogzavIEa0FoXn5Mh-vIbZsxoCyY8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Of course you can go with less speaker depending on the volume you want in your yard, but this is the approach that will give you the AVR interface you are familiar with combined with using gear as it was engineered to be used without any (reasonable) concern of blowing anything (most pro-audio gear is well protected against abuse - under most conditions, I would expect these speakers to just shut off before you blew a driver).
If you go with this option, talk with the guys at Sweetwater (link above). They are pretty knowlegeable and will help you figure out which speakers might best fit the area you want music for, at the volume you expect.
I linked the QSC speakers simply because they are a well-established high quality speakers.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

Once upon a time, over 20 years ago, I worked in this hellhole. Saturdays were the worst. One particular Saturday a guy pulls in, fills up his red Cadillac (I even remember the car), and while cashing out asks how to get back to Interstate 85.

"Go back to the street, take a right, drive half a mile, and you'll see the signs." I had told these same words to probably thousands of people in the three years I wasted there.

"No, you don't go right," he said back to me sharply. "You take a left."

"Uhhh, no sir, you take a right and it'll put you right back on 85. I live out here; I wouldn't lie to you."

"No, you go left."

I sighed. I was over it. "Okay, go left then." He exited the store and returned to his car. "Terri," I said to my coworker. "Watch and wait."

We saw the red Cadillac take a left on US-1. We continued ringing up customers, but kept our eyes on the front windows. Surely enough, 10 or 15 minutes later we see a red Cadillac zooming past like a bat out of hell, heading to our right... towards the interstate.

 

[Pogre]

I know when I first come to a forum to ask advice I try to use homophobic slurs and insults right in the first post. I can't respect a guy who waits until the 5th post.

I'm sure this will be a productive thread...

 

[highfigh]

i like loud yes. but you people apparently do not have a clue as to what full, rich sound really is. because if you did you would just answer my original question with a sensible answer, instead of questioning me with all this stupid nonsense. most of y'all so called audiophiles out there are what me and true audiophiles refer to as drugstore cowboys. y'all want to be a true audiophile, but are buying your supplies from a drug store. for instance my main stereo is a pioneer sx 1250 (made in 1978 for those of you that don't have a clue) which is the greatest pioneer unit ever made to this very date. even better than the 1280 and the 1980 if you talk to a true audiophile, not a drugstore cowboy. now, what black face plastic chinese garbage do you have? that you think is totally awesome? because you paid a stupid amount for it and that's why you think it is awesome. you people just ain't my type because i'm a real cowboy, not the drugstore type. ideose you fagots. i never did like a fagot.

You can go now.

I was going to give you some info, but I won't bother.

Oh, what the hell.

The SX-1250 is a good receiver (I sold many of their products, starting in early 1978) but it gets a lot more praise than it really deserves. As for the SX-1980, even with all of that power, I still couldn't get enough output from a moving coil cartridge (Audio Technica AT-30E) using its phono preamp, but I could when I used the 30W/channel Sony integrated amp I had at the time.

As for receivers that allow using three sets of speakers at one time, it's a rare thing but mainly for reasons of price- they were trying to move more boxes than McIntosh, so the extra cost would have limited their sales. However, if you think you'll get full output from your 4100 at all levels at full power, guess again- the manual has this-

"When the MAC 4100 operates normally the SENTRY MONITORING CIRCUIT has no effect on signals passing through the power amplifier. If the power dissipation in the output transistors should rise above normal design limits the SENTRY MONITORING CIRCUIT restricts the drive to the output stage which reduces the dissipation in the output transistors. The SENTRY MONITORING CIRCUIT acts instantaneously for any input signal or load combination."

That means it won't play as loud under some conditions.