Outdoor / Bedroom receiver (1 Viewer)

[Chris Tsutsui]

I have 4 outdoor speakers (JBL N26AWii) right now with no power or source. I also have a bedroom that needs a 5.1 receiver. I have one DVD/CD player that I can put into the mix. I was wondering what the cheapest options are for a receiver/amp to get it all working. I'd like to stay between $300-600 total.

The HT and outdoor setup will never run simultaneously so I suppose I could run speaker switches between the indoor and outdoor speakers. (Like use 5 channel stereo mode to operate 4 of the outdoor speakers from a 5.1 receiver). Problem here is that the switches could be a pain to operate for uninformed users.

Or, I could buy a 4-ohm stable 2ch amplifier and have it run off a "B" pre-out from a 5.1 receiver. Then the amp would power four parallel wired JBLs.

However, since the outdoor speakers do not have to be stereo, I can wire the four JBL speakers in series/parallel to see an overall 8 ohm load, and then use a bridged or mono amp to power all four of them.

I'm not looking for dual source, but am looking for a dual zone receiver with pre-outs because if it has pre-outs, then I can daisy chain the signal to two amps so they can power 4 speakers. The problem is buying a dual zone receiver + 2 stereo amps doesn't sound like the cheapest option.

Or, I could buy one 5.1 receiver for the bedroom, and one stereo receiver for the outdoor system (A stereo receiver that can power four (A+B) speakers). I would have to use the same DVD/CD player for both of them though.

Any suggestions for components or additional ideas as to how to get it all working? I'd like to stay away from auctions and used equiptment and am not against paying an extra $100 or so if it's at a local best buy or good guys.

If the 4 speakers arn't enough to get the 6000sqf backyard filled with sound, I may add an additional pair near the corner. It would also be nice to be able to turn down the volume of some sections like using an indoor L-pad. Backyard Map. Any ideas appreciated as I havn't mounted the speakers nor purchased the receivers/amps. The only thing I have right now is a DVD player to start with. (I don't even know what speakers the bedroom will have... they will likely be in-ceiling surrounds and tiny bookshelf fronts with a sub.)

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

I know this is like answering my own question, but I just saw that the Denon 1803 has dual-room/dual-source output (powered and preamp-level outputs for second room).

I wonder if the preamp-level outputs work along with the powered outputs. This way I would only need to buy one 2 channel amp to get the other 2 outdoor speakers working. The problem here is the amps don't match and the separate powered speakers will probably be very nice sounding compared to the Denon powered speakers.

Or would buying a $300 5.1 receiver and a $300 stereo receiver be best? The $300 stereo receiver would have to somehow operate 4 outdoor speakers though. It would be something like the Denon DRA-395 which is 4 ohm stable and would have two 8 ohm speakers for each 80w channel. I'd have the CD/DVD player run stereo L/R RCA to the stereo receiver, and an optical digital link to the 5.1 receiver.

Remember, we're not talking audiophile sound since the bedroom HT is secondary to a dedicated one and the outdoor system has to compete with traffic and wind noise. No critical listening, but the occasionally neighborhood blasting may occur.