Multiroom AV receiver?

GodAtum · 30 Mar 2020 at 12:57

As the Yamaha RX-v450 is oit of production, I cannot find any equivalents out there with the same features ... front left/right and rear left/right with A/B zones. Any ideas?

GodAtum · 30 Mar 2020 at 13:30

hornetstinger said:
Speaker and a and b are less common on avr nowadays, look for one with powered zone 2 speaker outputs.

Also you should not drive a and b at the same time, should be a or b.

Thanks. Apparently the Yamaha RX-A3070 has 3 multiroom out, which can be driven at the same time in "party" mode?

GodAtum · 30 Mar 2020 at 13:38

Interesting ... why would it sound crap driving speakers in the same room?

I'm looking to drive 3 pairs of speakers, each with it's own volume control, all from the same source.

GodAtum · 30 Mar 2020 at 13:45

Ah I see. I don't think that'll matter too much as there will be a big Boeing 747 metal fuselage right in the middle anyway.

GodAtum · 30 Mar 2020 at 14:12

hornetstinger said:
If you want three separate sources/songs you'll need to have three integrated amps (proper independant multiroom.

Also do you need to go as high as 3070 that's a £1500 avr?

No something a lot cheaper would be good but harder to find!

GodAtum · 30 Mar 2020 at 19:24

lucid said:
AV receivers that can do 3 zone multiroom are either going to be high-end, or you'll need something midrange with zone 3 out as a line level signal going out to a separate power amp. TBH though, it's a bit overkill for what you need unless you're open to buying a used amp.

The modern solution to this is amps such as Yamaha with a Musicast feature or Denon/Marantz amps with their version called Heos.

The basic idea is that the receiver does 5.1/7.1/Atmos for the cinema room, and then second and third and fourth and 5th etc zones are homes for either a wireless speaker or a zone amp then running a pair of conventional or in-ceiling speakers. This provides what you're looking for, which is any amp source spread across all zones but with individual volume control in each.

The Speakers A-B thing wasn't the same idea. It can be used for same source in two rooms, but the volume control works on both A and B in tandem rather than separately unless driven either A or B but not A+B.

Running A and B speakers at the same time isn't an issue unless the combined impedance rating is lower than 16 Ohms. Even then, as long as party-levels aren't needed it would be okay to pair 8 Ohm and 6 Ohm together; just watch the volume level.

So maybe something like the Emotiva BasX A-800?

GodAtum · 30 Mar 2020 at 20:33

hornetstinger said:
Don't touch emotiva with a barge pole. Their processors are crap, and they use cheap parts in their power amps. Under specced capacitors.

That Yamaha will outlive several emotiva bits and actually work

The new Yamaha RXV685 looks quite good at a nice price?

My input source is stereo and needs splitting over 6 speakers in the same room.

GodAtum · 31 Mar 2020 at 08:35

I'm a bit confused as to how it'll work ... tested a stereo source with my current AV receiver ... it only worked on the 2 front speakers, not the surround. So I think I need a multi-channel power amp like Marantz MM8077? The source is from a mixer.

GodAtum · 31 Mar 2020 at 12:26

Thanks for the info, unfortunately as you said the Marantz is way out of my budget. 6ch STEREO mode is exactly what I'm looking for thank you, I will read up more into it.

My scenario is I have a home flightdeck in my garage (see https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/747-flightdeck-simulator-build.18659273/). I am looking for 6 speakers (2 front, 2 middle, 2 rear) for my sound setup. I already have a mixer with some spare XLR line outputs. My 1st thought was just getting some active monitors, but I have read that they need careful positioning which they won't be, so I'm hoping bookshelf speakers might be more forgiving.