Using Zone 2 for ten speakers

[Brown Hornet]

Hey everyone,


I have a situation were as I will be buying either the Denon AVR 2805 or the Yammie RX-V2500. Both have Multi zone capabilities. But the problem lies in that I want my "Mine all Mine !!!" room on zone one and all of the rest of the speakers thru-out the house on Zone 2 (10 speakers total). I have read threads that discuss using Zone 2 one set of speakers, but not for more. I have volume controls for each pair of speakers.



Any and all help would be greatful.


"only show'em your stinger if you plan on using it, grasshopper"

 

[Duffinator]

I suggest using a speaker selector. Many manufacturers make them including Speakercraft, Adcom, and Niles. Here's an example from Niles:

http://ww3.onecall.com/PID_22666.htm

 

[Audioholics]

Whatever you use you'll need impedance matching circuitry and you'll also need to realize that you will never be able to drive all those speakers at high levels off of the Zone 2 amps.

It's a much better idea to get an outboard multichannel amplifier and feed it line input from the receiver.

 

[Duffinator]

Clilnt's correct. If your volume controls already have IM you will be fine. The manufacturers I mentioned also make external amps for multiroom applications. I use a Harman Kardon PA 2000 for two zones driving four speakers with in-wall IM volume controls from Niles.

 

[RLA]

It's a much better idea to get an outboard multichannel amplifier and feed it line input from the receiver

I agree with Clint on this one
Its best to avoid using or taxing the internal amp of your receiver with zone 2
Regardless of the amount of speakers you are installing there are several
Small 2 channel amps on the market that you can use inconjuction with the.
Zone 2 pre-outs on the receiver These amps have independent volume control's and auto On/Off and input by-pass, loop for flexibility and they cost no more than a good switcher. For even more flexibility you can by pass zone 2 on the receiver if all you are going to do is play music through the zone 2 speakers

Using a CD changer with digital and analog outputs can do this. The digital output terminates to the receiver and the analog to the additional amp. This will allow you or your significant other to use zone 2 without having to turn on the rest of the system you would need to use analog VC's at the zones if you want volume control at each zone.

 

[BMXTRIX]

http://www.sonance.com/subs/products.php?category_id=37&option=get_category&thread_one_cat_id=29&thread_one_cat_name=Electronics&thread_two_cat_id=&thread_two_cat_name=

If the ten speakers are in 5 different rooms (5 stereo zones) then a product like the SS6 from Sonance will treat you nicely and allow rooms to be turned on and off. It also looks like they have a 12 zone (24 speaker) version that is there as well.

I am in agreement on the outboard amplifier. I would not want to put that level of wear and tear on the amp that is built into my nice A/V receiver. If you ever go to 7.1 you can't even use the amp inside the 2805, so why not just start off with a 60 watt per channel amp, or a 120 watt per channel amp to power your speakers? I've bought several used 60 watt Sonance amplifiers on eBay and have never had an issue with them - they are solid workhorses. (you would think I was a Sonance rep, but Niles & Speakercraft have excellent stuff as well, I just haven't used them so I won't talk about their quality).

Another consideration you may have is that your 2805 is a THREE zone receiver, so you could break the 10 speakers into 2 separate zones and run them separately if you wanted to. A little more cash, but some added versatility.