I've had several recent jobs with two displays in one area and speakers for the second TV driven off the AVR zone 2.
This creates a few problems:
1. Zone 2 Audio not in sync with Main zone (Denon AVR)
2. Issues with how to easily control volume between both zones
With the Denon AVRs I've never been able to overcome the Zone2 audio sync issue. Using the video game mode helps some, but doesn't eliminate the problem.
Here's something I came up with that is working very well for this scenario:
Family Room with 55" TV and 5.1 audio driven from AVR Main Zone open to a Kitchen with 46" TV and in-ceiling speakers driven from AVR Zone 2.
The solution was to use an Audio Control LC6i which is a 6-Channel line output converter with summing:
[Link: audiocontrol.com]This allowed me to take the speaker level outputs from the AVR Main Zone and convert them back to line level (with all channels summed into stereo left & right) to feed back into an input for Zone 2.
This solves a few problems:
- Eliminates audio sync problem between zones
- Allows the Zone2 volume to automatically ramp up & down with the main zone keeping volume in sync between both zones
This was accomplished by setting the jumpers on the LC6i to sum the inputs and wired in this fashion:
• Center channel wired into
both Left & Right channels on Main input of LC6i
• Front Left & Right channels wired into Channel 2 input on LC6i
• Rear surround channels wired into Channel 3 input on LC6i
In this configuration, the output of the LC6i provides a stereo left & right output that combines all 5 surround sound channels so no content is lost. This line-level output is then connected to an analog input on the AVR and Zone2 is set to always select this input.
The end result is that the ZONE2 speakers in the Kitchen are in sync with audio in the Family Room (Main Zone) and when you increase, decrease or mute the volume in the Family Room, the Kitchen speakers will also ramp up or down (or mute) too.
This was ideal for this situation because both rooms are very open to each other and it would have been impossible to keep the volume levels matched during use by trying to manually adjust the Main Zone & Zone 2 volume all the time using the remote.
One potential problem with this setup is that LFE isn't fed into Zone 2 so bass in the Zone2 speakers could be lacking. At this job, the in-wall sub in the Family Room provides enough bass in both rooms so it's not an issue.
Here's a photo showing the TV locations:
Rack was REALLY full already so had to mount the LC6i on the side:
Close up of LC6i and wiring:
Zone 2 page on MX-980 allows customer to fine tune Kitchen volume in relation to Main Family Room, mute the Kitchen, or turn the TV on/off. By default, the Kitchen TV always turns on with the Family Room TV.
Variables track the current activity, so the "Return" button takes you back to the last page you were on (wish URC could do this by default like RTI).
