Need a decent dual-zone amp/receiver for HT and deck

[Jones]

Hi all, 

 

I'm finishing a room in my house which was was a storage room above the garage. Now,  it is going to be livable space with a sliding door that opens out onto a deck that extends a bit into the front yard. The room is about 600 square feet. I am going to have large Klipsch tower speakers and a subwoofer in that room. I will probably want to add a center channel speaker that that will control wireless rear speakers for that indoor home theater/music area. I am having the carpenter install speaker cable that will extend over to the wall (each side of the sliding door) that goes out to the deck. I will be purchasing outdoor speakers (just 2) for the deck and yard so that I could have music playing off the amplifier in the room either just in the room, outside, or both. Any outdoor speaker suggestions would be appreciated. 

 

My main concern at this point is what kind of receiver I should get. I don't want to spend more than $800. It need to be able to control music for 2 zones with pretty good but not incredible power. I like the idea of having Bluetooth capability to run YouTube music from my phone as long as the audio quality would not be significantly reduced. I probably would not need more than 5.1 sound (eventually) inside, and 2.0 sound outside. (Although I would entertain any suggestions about the possibility of adding an outdoor subwoofer. When the slider is open and I'm sitting on the deck, I assume that a lot of sound from inside would also be heard outside. Right now, I'm interested in something like this: Sony STR-DN1080 7.2-ch Surround Sound Home Theater AV Receiver: 4K HDR, Dolby Atmos, Bluetooth, WiFi, Google Chromecast Black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XKRWWSG?ref=emc_p_m_5_i

 

I would love to get advice from people on this forum who are much more knowledgeable about these things than I am; thanks in advance!

 

J

[jimjimbo]

https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrxa880bl-rb/yamaha-rx-a880-7.2-ch-x-100-watts-a/v-receiver/1.html

 

The current Yamaha lineup is quite good.

[Jones]

1 hour ago, jimjimbo said:

https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrxa880bl-rb/yamaha-rx-a880-7.2-ch-x-100-watts-a/v-receiver/1.html

 

The current Yamaha lineup is quite good.

 

This looks like a really nice amp. Are there things about the Yamaha that make it better than the Sony I listed above? One of my concerns is that I don't use Alexa or Spotify. I use google/android and YouTube music. I'm not sure if the Yamaha would be fully compatible with those. I do really like the idea of being able to have wireless speakers throughout the house controlled by the same amp. Would I have to buy specific powered Yamaha speakers for that, or would there be smaller external Yamaha amps that would power my existing speakers? 

 

[Jones]

I'm concerned about the following Amazon review below that I found on the Sony above: 

 

"The audio zone 2 and the HDMI zone 2 functions are completely useless. This device has too many disfunctional quirks to even list. But I will mention one... if you have a 2nd tv plugged in to HDMI Zone 2 and change the input on that TV it shuts down the Main Zone HDMI output. Also, if you change the Zone 2 audio output, it will decide on its own to change the Main zone audio as well. I’ve been working with this device for weeks and have dug into every setting in this system and there is no way to make this device work properly. Do not buy this device if you want to utilize any of the zone 2 features. Also, this device automatically turns off your 7.2 Setup if you turn on the Zone 2 audio. Also there is no pre amp out except for the Zone 2 audio out and it doesn’t work on any of the video input options like satellite or Blue Ray."

 

I want to emphasize that I REALLY need to have zone 1 and zone 2 working together at the same time when I want them to. Maybe this amp was defective, or it is due to user error, but I need to be able to listen to just zone one or two, OR both at the same time. 

[billybob]

I read through the first review on Amazon for the Sony by a user

(Photos graphics?) which seemed informed enough and covered quite alot.

Did not look for user whose review you posted, or even if he was a verified purchaser.

Some here use Sony A/V receivers and hopefully zero in on your questions.

What I see is other named brands here that are more popular.

Since you are researching it do yourself a favor and read up on the Yamaha model and line suggested by the member above. 

I and others Ike the brand also. Also, understand it is a decent place to shop for price,etc. Others may have more opinions.

Hope this helps some.

Thanks!

[Jones]

26 minutes ago, billybob said:

I read through the first review on Amazon for the Sony by a user

(Photos graphics?) which seemed informed enough and covered quite alot.

Did not look for user whose review you posted, or even if he was a verified purchaser.

Some here use Sony A/V receivers and hopefully zero in on your questions.

What I see is other named brands here that are more popular.

Since you are researching it do yourself a favor and read up on the Yamaha model and line suggested by the member above. 

I and others Ike the brand also. Also, understand it is a decent place to shop for price,etc. Others may have more opinions.

Hope this helps some.

Thanks!

 

Yes, I read that very long first review (most of it anyway) as well! I think I would have seen more users complaining about the zone 2 feature being broken if it really was. I have heard that Sony is more of a brilliant/sparkling sound while Yamaha is a bit warmer. One thing I think I like better about the Yamaha mentioned is that it seems better suited for wireless speaker connections than the Sony. Maybe that is why it was originally $300 more expensive. My only dislike is that it does not seem to be too friendly with the google platforms I use almost exclusively. Probably is not a deal breaker as long as I could just run whatever I want on my phone through it's Bluetooth operation. It also seems like the Sony is more powerful. I wonder if the difference in watts would be perceptible...

[jimjimbo]

I would go to the Yamaha website and do some research there on that particular model. I’m sure you will find all of the information that you will need. I will be surprised if it does not work with Google and android, etc.

[billybob]

If you are going to use Klipsch speakers, it is plenty of watts on the Yamaha.

 

Saw there was a chat function on the Ac4less website to ask questions. Didn't see one on Amazon but, there is a Sony link so... opinions and good information always desired.

[Jones]

23 minutes ago, billybob said:

If you are going to use Klipsch speakers, it is plenty of watts on the Yamaha.

 

Saw there was a chat function on the Ac4less website to ask questions. Didn't see one on Amazon but, there is a Sony link so... opinions and good information always desired.

 

The towers are R820f. At this point I still have to purchase the outdoor speakers, the center, and rear speakers. The rear speakers will probably have to run wirelessly through the center speaker or amplifier. I'll probably start a whole new thread here on those when I get to that. I want the amp to have enough power to run all of those speakers at the same time with good power/volume. Thanks for the advice. 

[billybob]

Yes look at that Yamaha website as was suggested above. They should put to rest about your Google/Android questions.

Cool...

[Jones]

Why does the Yamaha receiver have on the back ports for extra zone SP1 and extra zone SP2? Does this mean that I can run both 5.1 in one room and 2 speakers outside simultaneously? I'm liking the Yamaha more and more. It is sold out almost everywhere. 

[billybob]

Hope your research has answered questions for you. There are RCA ports and there are speaker connections. So, there is a difference.

Klipsch has different speakers that can be used for ceiling, wall, and can find more info in architectural sub forum here and speaker by speaker search by using the forum search engine.

There are some that use Kpt-100, etc. Thinking your patio of course.

[Jones]

Doing more research, I'm noticing lots of dual zone receivers are 6 ohms. I currently have an 8 ohm receiver. If I got one with 6, would that make a difference for my klipsch r820f tower or other speakers? 

[willland]

3 hours ago, Jones said:

Doing more research, I'm noticing lots of dual zone receivers are 6 ohms. I currently have an 8 ohm receiver. If I got one with 6, would that make a difference for my klipsch r820f tower or other speakers? 

No, the AVR companies are rating power at 6 ohms to artificially inflate the numbers.  Any upper midlevel AVR from any of the major mfr's should do the trick just fine.

 

Bill

[Jones]

On 5/12/2021 at 7:05 PM, willland said:

No, the AVR companies are rating power at 6 ohms to artificially inflate the numbers.  Any upper midlevel AVR from any of the major mfr's should do the trick just fine.

 

Bill

 

Thanks Bill. That is quite the household set-up you have there! Are any of those systems able to play the same music together at the same time?

[willland]

11 hours ago, Jones said:

Thanks Bill. That is quite the household set-up you have there!

Well than you sir.

 

11 hours ago, Jones said:

Are any of those systems able to play the same music together at the same time?

I am sure with some work I could make that happen.

 

Bill

[Jones]

OK, so I can get a great deal on either the yamaha tsr 700 or the onkyo tx nr595. Which do you think is the better receiver? 

 

I heard that the motherboard on the yamaha will have to be replaced and I definitely would not want to have to do that. 

 

Neither comes with chromecast unfortunately, but if it is wifi enabled, can I still cast youtube music just over the wifi? Or does that only work with their built in streaming services? Also, could I just plug a chromecast into one the HDMI ports, or is that not something that would work the same way? 

 

Thanks, 

J