Scott,

Thanks for working on this issue, and thanks for letting us know that you are working on it.

-Cliff

I don't mean to be rude, since you are obviously going through some effort to find answers to our questions, but don't you have the specifications for all this stuff? Not the set you put on the box, but the set your engineers (whether in house or outsourced) worked from?

It doesn't bode well that you have to set up tests to answer the question. You guys designed this thing, but don't know how it works?

This goes for the discreet remote codes, as well.

Again, sorry to sound harsh. I don't want to hurt any feelings, but I also don't want to spend a good chunk of money on something with a feature set that the manufacturer doesn't have a handle on.

--Mike

OK, less cranky, more helpful...

Perhaps someone that actually has a 950 can try something for us: Enable multi-zone, then exit the menus. Hit the multi button on the remote, then select an input from the remote, not the via the menu. Does this work? How about volume?

The manual doesn't say that this will work, but it does say that the multi button will take you directly to the multi-zone menu. I was reading through another manufacturer's (a receiver that wouldn't sound as good as a 950...) manual to see how they did it, and for them it was multi followed by the volume or input. Of course, you could also configure it so that signals received through the remote IR port were assumed to be multi, so you don't have to hit multi first, but I can't find any mention of anything like that in the 950 manual.

Thanks,

--Mike

Mike,

Good thought! At least it's worth a try.

Anyone?

-Cliff

Yes it works. Each time you hit the multi-zone button on the remote you cycle through the 4 menu options - ON/OFF, INPUT, VOLUME, MUTE. This is a really cool feature however my only complaint is that the output from whatever input you choose comes out totally flat regardless of how you have that input set so you can't adjust treble, bass etc. to those speakers. I suppose you could add a equalizer somewhere in the mix.

Someone mentioned on another thread that the multi zone is essentially a separate two-channel analog preamp within the 950, as such the signal is never digitized and sent through the DSP. So, it's like it was always set to "bypass" mode. You have source selection and volume control, and nothing else.

------------------
Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

Ed, I'm not sure what you mean by "it works." multi->input and multi->volume, or just paging through the menu with multi then selecting with the arrows?

The first you can do easily when not looking at the display (when in the other zone). While the multi->multi cycle could be worse, you are still somewhat in the blind when making changes, especially if you still need to use arrows to change sources.

None of this is stuff that you can't work around, but I'd rather have the work done for me by the electronics. I mean, my wife or I might have to walk 25 feet (and back!) to the main zone to go change the settings! I'm 33 years old. My knees can't take that kind of abuse.

Back to one of the original points: Why offer a multi-zone remote capability that requires a layered menu system? It just seems like this is something that could be, or could have been, adjusted in software so that anything coming in through the multi-zone IR port be mapped to the multi-zone settings. Oh, well, it's easy to point fingers after the fact. Perhaps a broader beta would have exposed a couple of these usability issues that don't affect everyone.

I may have to take this question to a different thread, but I may also want to determine whether a second zone driven by analog pass-through from a consumer-grade CD player, even going through a 200WPC amp, is the way to go. I might just go with a 5 channel amp for HT and use my old Yamaha HTR5150 in the other room for music. If so, the question of multi-zone usability is moot (for me). The decision isn't critical until I get the email.

--Mike


[This message has been edited by Llamas (edited May 15, 2002).]

Still wondering about the zone 2 operation. Have the tests been completed yet?

-Cliff

How about removing Zone 2 all together and lowering the price a little more. Then the people that really need it can pay an additional $1000.00 and buy something that supports everything that they need a pre/pro to do.

It probably cost them almost nothing to put in. I can't think of any other reason that was included, especially since there are very few buttons devoted to it and the half-baked way it was thrown in. Besides the fact that it doesn't add anything to the sound quality of the main zone, which seemed to be their benchmark for including features in this model.

------------------
Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net