Pioneer SC-1228-K Zone 2 digital audio (1 Viewer)

[Mike1980]

Hi

I'm looking for some help regarding multi-room configuration please.

I have a Pioneer sc-1228-k AV Receiver with a 5.1 speaker setup in the main zone and 2.0 in zone 2. The zone 2 speakers are connected via the zone 2 speaker terminals. I'm able to output te tuner to the zone 2 speakers, but none of the digital sources e.g Cable box connected to the receiver via HDMI. I'm assuming this is a limitation with the receiver so I wanted to confirm if this was the case and to find out what alternative options there are.

1) Is this a limitation the receiver?

2) As a workaround can I connect a second AV Receiver via the HDMI Out 2 in an HDZone config and connect the zone 2 speakers to the second receiver? Will this allow me to output all of the various sources to the zone 2 speakers without limitation?

3) Are there any other options for my receiver that I maybe able to leverage?

4) Can anyone recommend a good receiver in the $809-1500 range that is an improvement on my current receiver and would also allow me to output all sources to zone 2 and also has Dolby Atmos support?

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Mike1980]

Sorry, the model is SC-1527-K

 

[Jason Charlton]

Most multi-zone receivers only pass analog connections to the second zone outputs. You generally have to step up to a top-tier model AVR before you start to see support for digital sources to the second zone. If your budget is upwards of 1-1.5k perhaps there would be options for you, but I'm afraid I can't offer any specifics.

The most common workaround is to make secondary analog audio connections for the sources that you want available to zone 2, then fiddle with the input assign menus on the AVR to facilitate the input selection for the second zone. Really, since you only have 2.0 speakers in the second zone, I'm not sure it makes much sense to try too hard to feed a digital signal to it...

I've not really done a lot of multizone configurations, so can't comment on your 2nd AVR suggestion other than it sounds to me a bit like overkill.

 

[Mike1980]

Most multi-zone receivers only pass analog connections to the second zone outputs. You generally have to step up to a top-tier model AVR before you start to see support for digital sources to the second zone. If your budget is upwards of 1-1.5k perhaps there would be options for you, but I'm afraid I can't offer any specifics.

The most common workaround is to make secondary analog audio connections for the sources that you want available to zone 2, then fiddle with the input assign menus on the AVR to facilitate the input selection for the second zone. Really, since you only have 2.0 speakers in the second zone, I'm not sure it makes much sense to try too hard to feed a digital signal to it...

I've not really done a lot of multizone configurations, so can't comment on your 2nd AVR suggestion other than it sounds to me a bit like overkill.

Thanks Jason, unfortunately I'm unable to create secondary connections for some of the sources as they only have HDMI outputs. I've tried searching for receivers that have digital output to zone 2, but the info from the various manufacturers is either lacking or misleading.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Thankfully, the manuals for most AVRs are readily available via the manufacturer's website. Downloading and reading them is often the only way to be 100% sure.

I would also suggest looking at the AVR details direct from the manufacturer's page. I was just browsing the Denon site and for each of their AVRs in the specs section, there's a drop down for Multi-Room/CI which DOES include the sources available for zone 2 (HDMI, Optical/Toslink, Analog, etc.).

At least for Denon receivers, support for digital inputs (HDMI) on zone 2 appears to start with the 3300 ($1k).

The Onkyo, Yamaha, Pioneer sites might offer similar information.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Looks like on Onkyo sites, the feature is called "Zone 2 Digital to Analog Audio Conversion" and seems to be available for HDMI on the 710, but not on the 610.

For all of these, best to confirm with the manuals.

 

[schan1269]

Read your owners manual.

The AVR does exactly what you want it to do. If...you set it up.

 

[Mike1980]

Read your owners manual.

The AVR does exactly what you want it to do. If...you set it up.

Thanks for that, very helpful. I'm pretty sure that the SC-1527-K does not output digital signals to Zone 2, only analogue which I have working as the tuner is being sent to zone 2 successfully. If you know a way to output the digital signals e.g HDMI 1 through 7, then I'd appreciate clear instructions as to how to achieve this please.

 

[Mike1980]

Thankfully, the manuals for most AVRs are readily available via the manufacturer's website. Downloading and reading them is often the only way to be 100% sure.

I would also suggest looking at the AVR details direct from the manufacturer's page. I was just browsing the Denon site and for each of their AVRs in the specs section, there's a drop down for Multi-Room/CI which DOES include the sources available for zone 2 (HDMI, Optical/Toslink, Analog, etc.).

At least for Denon receivers, support for digital inputs (HDMI) on zone 2 appears to start with the 3300 ($1k).

The Onkyo, Yamaha, Pioneer sites might offer similar information.

Hi Jason

Thanks for the leads, the Denon seems to do what I need it to.

Michael

 

[schan1269]

Nevermind what I said. Page 35 of the manual clearly states Zone 2 digital audio only works when Zone 2 is on the same input as Zone 1.

So...why did they include "Speaker B" and "Zone 2"?