We are working on the finishing touches of a new theater with 6 zones of audio. The theater has a Yamaha RX-A830 fed to an Episode 12 channel amp. The place is small so the plan is to only run in Party Mode. When in party mode, everything is in synch, but the zone2 volume is way lower and cannot be adjusted. If we run it in zone2 (not party mode), we cannot adjust zone2 volume. If I change it over to regular audio out (not zone 2) then we have plenty of volume, but it is no longer in synch. Is there no way to adjust the zone 2 volume with external amp?

Do you remember the recent thread by Phil, regarding the Zone 2 adjustment causing the remote to stop functioning? Look for it- it might save some trouble.

Do you need volume control of zone 2? If not, go into the Zone 2 settings of the rcvr. Set the turn on volume and max volume to the same level. This way the volume will never get louder or too low to hear.

There is no volume control at all when using external amps via low level outputs. This is the problem. The end result is the second zone is not outputting enough volume

At that point, you could consider putting a line driving device like Calrad offers to give you a gain stage. Available at my favorite supplier....

Thanks for the suggestion Fred. This could work. Have to figure out if it will boost the audio level enough for this client's needs. He certainly tests the limits of the system if you now what I mean.

Calrad device adds up to 15 dB worth of gain.