Rxv-659 and Zone 2

[JerryShane]

i just recently bought a rxv-659 receiver from Yamaha, and i would like to set some speakers up on the patio and listen to some music awhile cooking and drinking i not really concerned with playing audio in the house while it is playing outside, i understand that you can just run speaker wire outside to the speakers but how could i control or see what im playing without having to constantly go in the house and set up a playlist or something like that

 

[MDS]

The easiest solution would be to purchase a radio frequency remote. Then you could control the receiver from the patio just as if you were sitting in front of the receiver.

 

[Lt. Dan]

RX-v659 2 zone warning...?

Hello all, newbie here and I need some clarification. I have a 5.1 configuration in the family room, and I am running a Niles speaker selector (2 sets of speakers) off of zone 2 (internal amp). Why does the manual warn against using a speaker selector off of zone 2? Something about unusually low ohms...

Should I worry about this? The zone 2 speakers are kitchen ceiling speakers and 8" patio speakers. I will occasionally run them together, but mostly not. I don't intend to drive them hard at all! (unless I really want to anger the neighbors, of course).

Can someone please advise if I should disconnect this zone 2 configuration to avoid damaging the Receiver? THANKS!

 

[MDS]

Depends on the speaker selector

I haven't seen the exact warning but I can guess with a high degreee of certainty why such a warning would be given: Multiple speakers in parallel will lower the impedance and the receiver cannot deal with too low of an impedance. There should be a similar warning about using A+B speaker outputs as the A+B outputs are nearly always wired in parallel.

You need to verify what impedance the speaker selector will present to the receiver when both pairs of speakers are active at the same time. In product descriptions of Niles speaker selectors I have seen it almost always says 'must be used with an amplifier capable of driving a 4 Ohm load'. If your speaker selector is the same, then you have the situation about which the Yamaha manual is warning.

If you only drive one set at a time it will be ok. If you drive both sets at the same time but at relatively low volume, you may be ok. If that Niles speaker selector presents a 4 Ohm load to the receiver, then I would look for a different selector that can present an 8 Ohm load.

 

[jcPanny]

Volume controls

Dan,
You should consider wiring impedance matching volume controls for the kitchen and outdoor speakers. They will make sure that the receiver sees an 8 ohm, safe load, and allow you to conveniently adjust the volume. Also, you wouldn't need the speaker selector.

 

[Lt. Dan]

Thanks...

The Niles manual states that it features "Impedance Magnification" (there's a little knob on the back that you can set for how many speaker pairs are attached). So, I think that I am ok.