Does the 3802 have enough speaker terminals for a 6.1 home theater setup, plus a pair of speakers in another zone? From what I've read here, the speakers in the other room can be connected directly to the 3802, but I can't tell if those speakers take the place of the 3rd surround.
Jonathan, You can have 5.1 in the main room with powered speaker level outputs to the second zone, or you can have 6.1 (with 2 rears) in the main room with non powered pre amp level output to the second zone. Hope this helps.
You can have both, but you would need an extra amplifier. The 3802 has pre-outs for either the surround back channel(s) and the multizone stuff. You could (as I have) get an outboard amp and power one or the other giving you the use of BOTH.
thanks for the info---I now realize I'll need an outboard amp...any recommendations about a cheap one? (Just need it for a pair of outdoor speakers.) Thanks for the help!
There are a couple of ways you could go. A great source for a good used amp is audiogon.com Tons of stuff - but much if it is pretty high end. You can check Ebay too. You could also go pick up a $100 receiver from Best Buy or CCity and use it - just plug the pre-outs into any receiver input but Phono and you'd be good to go. Or you can do what I did. Picked up a 5 channel amp and use three of the amps for the front soundstage (L,R & Center) and then the remaining two for the multi-zone. That way the 3802 only has to power the side and rear surrounds. I was able to find a Sherwood Newcastle AM-9080 (125 wpc into 5) for a GREAT deal. Awesome amp and REALLY improved the stereo sound (as well as theater, TV, Satallite sound!!) So much so I went out and bought a better CD player - actually a single player to add to my Yamaha 5 disc changer because it got me back into redbook CDs!! MAN it sounds good!
