Can someone suggest a remote controlable A/V receiver in a modest price range, that A: will give me volume control over the middle channel and B: Allow me to remote control A-B speakers? Does one exist? Thanks.

a/b volume? no such thing i believe - these terminals are paralleled within

if your looking to only turn b on and off thats doable.

if your looking for amplified zone 2 that is remote controlable that too can be done

Define modest - is $800 modest?

Yamaha RX-V1500

Does the middle channel suggest that it is the center channel?

Mike

Thanks guys for your responses. Here's my situation. Home theatre is in basement. I use a remote extender to operate CD Tuner etc on main floor, but I still have to go down stairs to punch in "b." I'd like to avoid using a second amp for a zone 2 set up. Currently using a Yamaha 800,but it does have a few restrictions. Like more volume control for centre channel. Sounds like the RX v1500 is the way to go. Currently using an MX500 remote.

Glance at my post, "Totally confused, need receiver". Great info on the RX-V650. The 650 also sports a built in zone 2 amp. Every discrete code needed for what you are doing. Same wattage as the 800. Extreemly reliable. The 1500 is the first choice. You will hear a marked difference in surround quality even with the 650.

Any decent 7.1 receiver should have this capability. From Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, etc. What they do is have rear surround channels that double as zone 2. So you can have 7.1 in your HT or 5.1 in the HT and stereo in another room.

Or there is the new Denon flagship (over $4k) which has both built-in.

i dont think this is correct. the 1500 is the cheapest receiver that has built in amp for zone 2|

Nope. Both the 650 & 750 have built in zone 2 amps. The 550 has lowlevel z2 outs only. Really. I mean no kidding. If I was kidding I would have said, "a horse walks into a bar and the bartender asks, Why the long face?"

Yamaha has always had 2 product lines. The 1500 is probably the same as the 650 or 750 with a different label. I haven't bothered to look these particular models up, but somewhere the lines always cross over.

The RXV 1500, 750 and 650 are all in the same product line. The seperate product line referred to is the HTR series from Yamaha, normally carried at Best buy and other big box stores.

All three of these models have an assignable surround back channel to use as second zone amplifier; one or the other, not both. The big advantage of the RXV1500(over the 750) is it is THX certified and has more inputs(both 1500 and 750 have component video upconversion and auto setup), the 650 lacks the parenthetical features but can be used as the original post described his needs to be.

Yamaha has often had extra channels where other manufacturers did not. This turns out to be a benefit here. These are BACK channels, not surround channels, that we are talking about, so you can switch them to Zone 2 use and still have your 5.1.

Is there such a receiver? As a matter of fact, yes, there is a such a receiver. Their names are Rotel and Denon. Both are awesome for music and movies. Go try them out.

The Denon AVR-1905 (MSRP $499) will do 5.1 in one room, stereo in another, all amplified from the single unit. You can change volume on zone 2 and adjust all the relative volumes of the channels in zone 1 via on-screen display or on the unit itself.

Aaron
www.al.net

There is a basic problem with using Speaker B for the other room. If you EVER put the main room into surround, you will need to not only switch speaker B on, but also put the receiver back to two-channel stereo, to use Speaker B. Otherwise, you will get very little audio, with no center, in Room B. This usually is cumbersome enough that nobody wants to deal with it.

The next level of cumbersome comes when you actually put volume controls on the outputs of Speaker A and Speaker B so that you can, for instance, have Room B on full with Room A on at a low volume. Of course this is possible, but then you have to ALWAYS turn Speaker A's volume control all the way up when you go into surround; otherwise Room A's left and rights will be lower than they should be and your surround volumes will be all out of balance. Again, nobody I ever mention this to wants to deal with it.

But it is easy to set up. Just not easy to use.