Can you use a 7 channel AV amp to drive a 5.1 system and 2 pairs of stereo speakers in Zone 2?

[bspringe]

I am looking to perform a small refurb at home and take the opportunity to put in some ceiling speakers. My room is long (13m) and thin and I want to have a 5.1 system at the TV end (Monitor Audio GS10 fronts and GSLCR centre and RSW12 sub already in hand) with ceiling mounted rear speakers. In addition I want to put a pair of ceiling speakers over the dining table and another pair at the kitchen end to work as Zone 2 (no need to have one set in a Zone 2 and one in a Zone 3 configuration). Of the AV receivers in my budget (£500-750) I have been drawn to the discounted Denon AVR-X4000 which has 7 channels of amplification but 11 speaker terminals (and 11 pre-outs).

Is what I am describing possible using just this amplifier? How would the amp drive the 4 speakers in Zone 2 off of only 2 channels of amplification?

Someone has also mentioned that I can mount an in-wall volume control on the speaker cable to offer the facility to turn off one or both of the Zone 2 pairs (to allow kitchen to be on but dining to be off for example). Does anyone have experience of doing this?

Lastly I would like the future option to have garden speakers (also running from Zone 2 most likely), how would these best be incorporated? I would envisage these being active speakers so would they just run off the relevant pre-outs? Does an AV amp output the signal to both the pre-outs and a speaker hooked up to the associated terminal thus allowing the same signal to be reproduced via a directly linked speaker and an active one?

I would appreciate the advice here as I have found a couple of hifi stores I've spoken to lacking in detailed knowledge in the subject.

 

[bigboss]

You can use a 9.2 channel AV receiver like Pioneer LX87 and have a dedicated zone 2 and zone 3.

 

[Tarxman]

The AVRX4000 supports 3 zones, so you'll be fine. Zone 2 = 1 pair, Zone 3 = 2nd pair

 

[bigboss]

Sorry, just saw your budget. Onkyo TX-NR727 is a 7.2 channel AV receiver offers a 'Whole House' mode that sends the same audio to up to three zones. In 5.1- or 5.2-channel systems two amplifier channels can be reassigned to drive a stereo output into a second zone, while there are also preamp-level outputs for Zone 3.

 

[bigboss]

Look at Yamaha RX-A830 as well.

 

[The_Lhc]

Sorry, just saw your budget. Onkyo TX-NR727 is a 7.2 channel AV receiver offers a 'Whole House' mode that sends the same audio to up to three zones. In 5.1- or 5.2-channel systems two amplifier channels can be reassigned to drive a stereo output into a second zone, while there are also preamp-level outputs for Zone 3.

You'd need an additional amplifier for Zone 3 though. If the amp supports 4 oHm speakers you could run two pairs of 8Ohm speakers off one set of speaker outputs. Or use impedance matching volume controls.

 

[bigboss]

Sorry, just saw your budget. Onkyo TX-NR727 is a 7.2 channel AV receiver offers a 'Whole House' mode that sends the same audio to up to three zones. In 5.1- or 5.2-channel systems two amplifier channels can be reassigned to drive a stereo output into a second zone, while there are also preamp-level outputs for Zone 3.

You'd need an additional amplifier for Zone 3 though. If the amp supports 4 oHm speakers you could run two pairs of 8Ohm speakers off one set of speaker outputs. Or use impedance matching volume controls.

The OP is considering putting active speakers in the garden.

 

[The_Lhc]

Sorry, just saw your budget. Onkyo TX-NR727 is a 7.2 channel AV receiver offers a 'Whole House' mode that sends the same audio to up to three zones. In 5.1- or 5.2-channel systems two amplifier channels can be reassigned to drive a stereo output into a second zone, while there are also preamp-level outputs for Zone 3.

You'd need an additional amplifier for Zone 3 though. If the amp supports 4 oHm speakers you could run two pairs of 8Ohm speakers off one set of speaker outputs. Or use impedance matching volume controls.

The OP is considering putting active speakers in the garden.

I was referring to the kitchen/dining table part of the question.

 

[bigboss]

Ah.....ok.

 

[his dudeness]

pioneer 57 does the 3 zones you need.

 

[bspringe]

Thanks to all for the replies. I think the Pioneer is going to be a bit beyond my budget unfortunately.

I liked the look of the Denon as well because of the Zone 2 HDMI output so I can carry a source down to a TV in my kitchen (although would only rely on TV speakers for the audio in this case to avoid any picture / sound lag between the run to the Zone 2 speakers.

Interested to hear that you can run 2 sets of 8 ohm speakers off the same terminals if the amp can output in 4 ohm. How would I know if it can, and would this be something I would setup in the preferences or would it just "happen"?

I agree that active outdoor speakers are going to be the way to go, I presume I would run these off of the pre-outs assigned to one of the Zone 2 speaker terminal sets

 

[his dudeness]

http://exceptional-av.co.uk/pioneer-sc-lx56-av-receiver-refurb.html?utm_source=whf&utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=SK916?utm_campaign=WHF

 

[mmg]

If the amp supports 4Ohm (probably not on your budget), just wire the speakers in parallel. Otherwise, wire the speakers in series. That's all there is to it. I don't think the Denon officially supports 4Ohm speakers, but it won't be a problem: their receivers are tested with 2Ohm loads.

If you want to be able to control the volume of the speakers separately, you can use this: http://www.ceiling-speakers.co.uk/QED-WM14-Wall-plate-with-volume-control-accessories-51.asp This won't work when the speakers are wired in series though.

 

[mmg]

By the way: any Pioneer receiver that starts with "SC" has 4Ohm speaker support and at least 2 zones