Recommendations for long wiring run for zone 2 audio

Dave Daverson

Dave Daverson

Enthusiast
I'd like to use the Zone 2 analog RCA outputs of an AVR (Denon avr-x3600h) to play audio in another room. I'm going to need a cable run of around 50-75 feet. Ideally I'd just like to run a long RCA cable, but I'm thinking this is really pushing it for an unbalanced connection. Could I get away with it?

As an alternative, I've been considering using either an analog to digital converter to run digital coax, or an unbalanced to balanced adapter with XLR cables (my zone 2 equipment accepts unbalanced & balanced analog and digital coax.

The digital solution would be cheaper because both the adapter and cable are comparatively cheap compared to their unbalanced counterparts, but I wanted to put this question out there just in case there would be a big advantage to going with one route over another.


So in summary:
  1. Analog RCA: Concerned about noise/insufficient signal
  2. Digital coax via adapter: Concerned about signal loss plus noise introduced by the converter
  3. Unbalanced XLR via adapter: Concerned about noise introduced by converter and expense of the adapter + cables
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
None of the solutions you propose are balanced. It seems you should just get some RG6 rated cable with RCAs and call it a day.
The Monoprice option, sold as their High Quality Subwoofer Cable has an 18awg solid copper conductor and is double shielded. There are of course other options out there, but the 25' lengths I run parallel to power cables and past a power strip in one instance have no noticeable distortion. Just short of building your own cable, I don't think you can find a better solution for anywhere near the cost. Lots of people will talk up Blue Jeans Cables, but their offerings are more expensive (a 50' stereo length of LC-1 runs $187.75!).
 
Last edited:
Dave Daverson

Dave Daverson

Enthusiast
@ryanosaur Thanks for the reply!

Those Blue Jeans cables do look awesome, but they are out of my budget for this application. Definitely considering them for shorter runs. I'm not afraid of building my own cables, but if the Monoprice options will do the job, even for a little extra scratch, that's perfect.

To clarify, I was considering something like this ART CLEANBoxPro 2-channel Balanced / Unbalanced Level Converter for option 3 (which looks like it converts from unbalanced to balanced), but that starts getting pricey regardless once the cables are added.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Things always add up in this hobby. :p

But seriously, two 50' Monoprice High Quality cable I linked to above runs like $37 plus shipping. Unless you have a weird situation, I think you will be fine. And if not, a $37 mistake is way more palatable than a $188 mistake.

For the record, I use all Monoprice cabling in my system:
Choice 12AWG speaker wire
Affinity Banana Plugs
Certified Premium HDMI cables
Cat6A Ethernet cables
and an 8-Port Gigaswitch.

My interconnects are the only non-Monoprice cables in use... and those are just some old, unshielded Rat-Shack stereo RCAs that I 'unzipped' into mono cables. I will replace those when I redo my rack this Spring.

Though they are well respected, I have found zero reason to spend extra money on even Blue Jeans' cables.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
A wireless solution via Heos not a consideration?
 
Dave Daverson

Dave Daverson

Enthusiast
Thanks again, @ryanosaur! Definitely leaning towards those Monoprice RCAs. Was going to go with their 12 gauge speaker wire too.

@lovinthehd I'd consider using Heos but I'm not super familiar with how it works and wasn't sure if it would be suitable for my particular configuration.

A little more background... My zone 2 setup is a PC running Windows 10 with an audio interface connected to powered speakers and a sub. I was planning on sending audio from my main zone to zone 2 but also running outputs from my audio interface in zone 2 back out to the main zone. This would allow me to use zone 1 and 2 as a source or a destination.
 
Verdinut

Verdinut

Audioholic Spartan
@ryanosaur Thanks for the reply!

Those Blue Jeans cables do look awesome, but they are out of my budget for this application. Definitely considering them for shorter runs. I'm not afraid of building my own cables, but if the Monoprice options will do the job, even for a little extra scratch, that's perfect.

To clarify, I was considering something like this ART CLEANBoxPro 2-channel Balanced / Unbalanced Level Converter for option 3 (which looks like it converts from unbalanced to balanced), but that starts getting pricey regardless once the cables are added.
I would suggest that you check with Redco Audio. They build cables using brand name companies' products. I have used them once for RCA to XLR cables and they did a good work. They are located in Connecticut and their prices are cheaper than those of Blue Jeans:

 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Not all that familiar with Heos but believe you'd need a separate Heos enabled amp, but since you already have gear in zone 2 and just need to connect the systems maybe cabling makes more sense. What remote control would you be using?

Another suggestion is fellow AH member @afford-hifi who makes cables from good stock as well.
 
Dave Daverson

Dave Daverson

Enthusiast
What remote control would you be using?
@lovinthehd I was gong to use a low end universal remote or the Denon phone app to control the receiver from zone 2. I really only need volume control I think. Haven't put too much thought into this part of the setup though.
 
afford-hifi

afford-hifi

Junior Audioholic
Not all that familiar with Heos but believe you'd need a separate Heos enabled amp, but since you already have gear in zone 2 and just need to connect the systems maybe cabling makes more sense. What remote control would you be using?

Another suggestion is fellow AH member @afford-hifi who makes cables from good stock as well.
Hey Lovinthehd,

Thank you for the shout out!

Dave,

If you need any help please let me know.

Thank you,

James
affordhifi.com
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Hey Lovinthehd,

Thank you for the shout out!

Dave,

If you need any help please let me know.

Thank you,

James
affordhifi.com
My pleasure, James, thanks for your give-aways....last guy I recommended won the February cable giveaway....
 
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top