My second zone output just died !
This is the third 950 I've had in 6 months and the second to have 2nd zone problems.
I have lost faith in this product. I know Outlaw will want to send me another unit, (there is no denying they stand behind their products) but at some point they have to take a strong look at the issue of quality control.
I bought a 755 amp and an ICBM with the initial 950 and have had no problems with either of them.
So now what am I going to do for a processor? - I do not think I can gamble on the 950 again.

Xyzfla or other takers-

I'm just getting my 950/7100 hooked up. Plan to use 5 channels for HT also, with the last two powering my 2 outdoor speakers. If I want whatever is playing in stereo bypass on the mains to also go direct to the oudoor speakers, how best to do this 9on both the 060 and 7100) and not have the outdoor speakers treated like rear or surrounds? Can the stereo bypass still be used when sending that full audio signal ouside also?Couldn't figure it out from the manual.

Thanks.

The operation of the two zones is completely independent -- both volume level and input source. You can select any input for the second zone (so long as there is an analog connection from the source to the 950, since the second zone does not provide D/A conversion), including the input that you have selected for the primary zone. In the case you describe, you can select CD for the second zone and select CD as your main input. You can also select stereo bypass for the CD on the primary zone if you want. Just connect the two extra channels of the 7100 to the second zone outputs of the 950 and hook your outdoor speakers up to those channels.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Hi all,

My first post. Forgive me if this sounds dense. (My current audio system consists of a ten year old stereo receiver and only 2, count em, 2 things that you could possibly call speakers if you wanted to be generous. At least they make noise when you turn em on).

I found the forum after reading the OUtlaws ads and have been reading and learning a lot from you all. I have a question. We have a game room down the hall from our tv room. The game room was wired with monster cable when they built the addition. The cables go from the speaker locations in the game room to the equipment rack location in the tv room.

Just so I understand the multzone operation... Is it possible to use the Outlaw gear (950 and either of the 7 channel amps) to simultaneously play a 5.1 Dvd movie in one room and a CD in another room (say - use 5 channels of the amp for the HT and the other 2 for the speakers in another room)? Would I need a couple of M200s in addition to a main amp to do something like that? And finally, will the 950 process the two sources simultaneously? Any insight would be great. Thanks!

Cheers,
Bartman

Bartman -- Welcome to the forum! The 950 does include a second zone, which acts basically as a separate stereo pre-amp. It is in fact possible to have a 5.1 source (DVD, whatever) playing in the home theater and simultaneously have a separate stereo source (CD, tuner, whatever) playing in a game room or on a porch. In my system, I have a cheap wireless speaker that we cart outside when we're working in the yard so we can listen to the radio or to CD's.

As for the logistics of making it all work, the speaker wire you have in place is probably the biggest piece of the puzzle. You would need some sort of amplification for the game room. A pair of Model 200's would certainly do the job, but you could also use an old stereo amp of some sort -- eBay and Audiogon can be good sources for such gear, as can local audio shops selling stuff that was traded in or even pawn shops. Heck, you could even use your old receiver as an amp if you wanted to. It's not necessarily the most sophisticated approach, but it would work. Once you have amplification of some sort, the speaker cable that is already installed, and some speakers at the other end, you would need to make sure that any sources you wanted to use in the game room were connected to the 950 with stereo analog cables because unlike the 950's main system, the second zone does not convert digital sources to analog -- it requires an analog source to begin with. So while you would most likely connect a CD player to the 950 with a digital cable if the player supported it for the main system, you would also need to hook up the left and right channels from the CD player to the 950 for the sake of the second zone.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Bartman, Yes, you can play a DVD in the main room and another source in the remote room (or both at the same time-room 2 in stereo-)and you will need a 2 channel amp (or 2 m200
amps!) for the remote room (you can also power it on/off with the zone remote trigger and install the amp in room 2)

Thanks Gonk and Alfredo - that was FAST! It sounds like the 950 can process everything I want, but you can't divide up a 7 channel amp into different zones (say use 5 channels for source A in one room and use the other 2 channels of the same 7 channel amp for source B sent to the speakers in another room). Shows how much I know about amps. I'm thinking the best solution would be one 5 channel amp (for the HT) and then two M200 amps (for the game room) all connected to the 950.

Thanks again for the light speed service!

Cheers,
Bartman

Sorry, Bartman, I think we have misled you in the process of answering your question... Oops...

If you have a 5.1 speaker system and a seven-channel amp, you will have two amp channels sitting idle, unused, and lonely. There is absolutely no problem with using those two channels to drive speakers in a second system (such as the second zone on the 950). If you are planning on using the 950 in a 5.1 configuration (which many people do) and you get a seven channel amp like the 770 or 7100, you could easily use the other two channels for your game room. No need for a separate amp of any sort.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Gonk - thanks for the info that I can have my tunes (analog) in both places. The helpfulness of all on this forum (and seemingly good service on Outlaw's part) are making me feel pretty good on this purchase. Thanks.

Thanks Gonk!