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Bronze Member Username: MvyvodaPost Number: 24 Registered: Apr-05 | i need a receiver that can switch between 3 rooms or play all 3 at the same time. one room needs 5.1. in reading stuff about receivers am i confusing this feature with dual-room or multi-room functionality? and what is a zone? thanks, mark |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 5966 Registered: May-04 | Multi-room is several rooms playing the same source material. Multi-zone is at least two areas (rooms) with each playing a difefrent source at the same time. Three different rooms playing three different sources is three zone. Three rooms playing two sources is dual zone. Three rooms playing the same source is multi-room. |
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Bronze Member Username: MvyvodaPost Number: 26 Registered: Apr-05 | could multi-room conceivably switch on/off the 3 rooms depending on setup (button, switch, jumper, etc)? |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 5970 Registered: May-04 | Multi-room capability does not imply it always has to be multi. Any one room could be playing or any combination of all three. What it can't do is have two different sources playing at the same time. |
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Bronze Member Username: MvyvodaPost Number: 27 Registered: Apr-05 | now i'm really confused. what feature do i need on a receiver that will allow me to have 3 rooms playing music from 1 receiver? where one of the rooms would be the "tv" room with 5.1. so, when i am watching a movie, for example, the other rooms won't be on? that is, i can turn the other rooms on and off at my leisure? thanks so much for the help. i really appreciate it! |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 5972 Registered: May-04 | If you want the same source (TV sound)distributed to all rooms, you want a multi-room system. You can have each room set up with it's own volume control and the ability to switch the system on and off in any of the rooms independent of the other two. All rooms/one source = multi-room. * Only if you want the 5.1 room to be playing one source (TV) while the other rooms are playing a different source (CD), would you require a multi-zone system. All rooms/multiple sources = multi-zone. * Multi-zone systems get the same treatment as mutli-room systems when you are disscussing switching and volume control. Each room, in either set up, should be able to contol the volume in that room and switch the sound on and off. * Multi-room can often run off of one amplifier. Multi-zone will require two stereo amplifiers to distribute more than one source. * A receiver and an amplifier are not the same thing. A receiver has an amplifier in it. To do multi-zone you will require (in most instances) a receiver and a second, stand alone, power amplifier. |
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Bronze Member Username: MvyvodaPost Number: 28 Registered: Apr-05 | in specs i never see anything for multi-room, only multi-zone (which i don't want). is multi-room an uncommon thing? is there a particular brand that is known for their multi-room functionality? |
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Silver Member Username: ChitownPost Number: 356 Registered: Apr-05 | Mark multi-room can simply be a matter of wiring. You can split the wires and then put a volume control in the room as Jan suggested. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 5980 Registered: May-04 | Very broadly, saying an amplifier is "multi-room capable" is somewhat like saying "we have a volume control". Most amplifiers can drive multiple speakers, so the selling point of multi-room is minimal. Most buyers are more concerened with whether they can have two sources playing in two different locations; so that is what is sold because it requires additional switching facilites in the receiver. Even though I've said most amplifiers can drive multiple speakers, I would add most receivers cannot do the job very well. What specs you should look for is not an easy question to answer since what you decide to drive as speakers and how you set up the multi-rom format will determine much of what you should buy in a receiver. Generally, look for reasonable power; 50 to 75 watts, minimum should do OK. Most importantly you will want a receiver which has the ability to drive impedance loads of less than 6 Ohms. I would avoid a receiver which has a switch for "8 0hm/4 Ohm" operation. Get a receiver which has the ability to drive low impedance loads without any other protection devices than just good design and construction. NAD and Harman Kardon are two good choices here. Expect to pay a bit more than a Sony or Pioneer. The simplest multi room system is no more than a set of speaker selection switches and volume controls. This is minimal and will be OK if one or two rooms are playing. The volume controls will load the amplifier down and should be switched to an impedance matching type of control in any system but certainly if all three sets of speakers are going to be playing at the same time. Even for this fairly simple installation, I would receommend a professional tackle the job if you are unsure of what the components are doing and how they fit together. https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/119086.html http://www.crestron.com/downloads/pdf/product_misc/surround_sound_primer.pdf#sea rch='audibility%20of%20time%20delay%20in%20a%20sound%20system' http://timefordvd.com/tutorial/index.shtml http://www.nilesaudio.com/ http://www.prillaman.net/ht_info_8-wiring.html http://www.inwallstore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=i&Categ ory_Code=impedance http://www.hometech.com/audio/ http://www.inwallstore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=i&Categ ory_Code=_info http://www.xantech.com/ |
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Bronze Member Username: MvyvodaPost Number: 32 Registered: Apr-05 | thanks for all this! very helpful. from reading alot of that stuff and what you guys are saying, i think i just need a ~<100W, multi channel receiver. all my stuff is already wired... so i can't really change it now and i don't even have speakers set up in the 3rd room. doesn't the master volume control all the rooms? if it means getting more equipment and complexity, i don't think i would even care to have the different rooms have different volumes. seems like all your helpful advice is kinda pointing towards just a mid range receiver??? |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 5986 Registered: May-04 | The master volume sets the ultimate level for all rooms. No room can play louder than what the master allows. Whether you want individual volume controls is your choice. They are ultimately very helpful. I would look for either an impedance matching speaker selector or impedance matching volume controls. You will, more than likely, need some way to turn the extra speakers off at some time. I would opt for an impedance matching selector with good volume controls. |
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Bronze Member Username: MvyvodaPost Number: 33 Registered: Apr-05 | is that part of the receiver? can't i turn off the extra speakers on the receiver? that's how my receiver was in the past. i could choose A, B, or A&B via the receiver remote... i would want a receiver that could that this exact thing with three rooms. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 5988 Registered: May-04 | That is something you'll have to look for. Many receivers have done away with speaker switching in favor of a dedicated speaker switch box which will usually give you some type of protection should you make a bad decision regarding what and how many speakers to have playing at one time. |
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Bronze Member Username: MvyvodaPost Number: 34 Registered: Apr-05 | Thanks Jan! you've been really helpful. last question, i promise. more of a summary question: would you agree that it's safe to assume i'll be able to use a 3 or more channel receiver as well as an impedance matching speaker selector to power my set-up? that is, head end room with 5.1, and two rooms with just a pair of speakers that can play off of the head end? |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 5990 Registered: May-04 | Yes, you can probably manage that. Remember that if you take the signal from the front two channels of the 5.1 system to run to the speaker selector, you will only get the program which is sent to those two speakers. When you're running a 5.1 program there will be a lot of information missing in the other rooms. About 80% of a 5.1 system is sent to the center channel only. You can defeat that by turning off the center channel or having the receiver downmix to two channel only; but does that suit your 5.1 set up? |
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Bronze Member Username: MvyvodaPost Number: 36 Registered: Apr-05 | thanks so much jan. really, this is the most attentive forum i've ever been in... thanks again, mark |
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Bronze Member Username: MvyvodaPost Number: 37 Registered: Apr-05 | i've been looking around, and i can't really seem to find a receiver with more than 2 "channels." and, what would be the technical term for what we've been chatting about? is channels the right terminology? |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6017 Registered: May-04 | "Channel" designates an output channel which can feed to several speaker outputs. "Speaker A-B switching" is probably what you want to look for. |
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Bronze Member Username: MvyvodaPost Number: 38 Registered: Apr-05 | so, a receiver with speaker A-B switching would be able to have this three room setup? pardon my ignorance. so, this doesn't have the three-room set-up features we're talking about (i.e. Speaker A-B) and this does? |
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Bronze Member Username: MvyvodaPost Number: 39 Registered: Apr-05 | errr... no, neither of these do. see... my predicament? |
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Bronze Member Username: MvyvodaPost Number: 40 Registered: Apr-05 | what about this one? |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6019 Registered: May-04 | The Denon appears to have the ability to switch A-B speaker outputs. You will still need a speaker switch box to get the third set of speakers attached unless you intend to run a series or parallel connection between two pair of speakers. |
