Am a new 990 owner and have spent the day going over the manual (7500 hasn't arrive yet). My current Denon receiver has "B" speaker capability and I have them going to a Russound splitter which feeds speakers in the kitchen and on the deck. They each pass though wall mounted volumn controls by Russound. My question is how can I get the second zone of the 990 to feed these speakers? Do I have to buy another amplifier hooked to zone 2, or are there other options? If yes, what hardware choices are there (preferably with 12v trigger) and not costly?

Here's the deal on the 990's second zone: think of it as an additional analog stereo pre-amp tucked inside the Model 990. If you have sources that you want to use with the second zone, you'll need to make sure you run stereo analog cables from the source to the 990 - even if you are using a digital connection under normal circumstances. Then you'll need to have some form of amplification for the second zone, connected between the second zone output and the speakers in question (just like the 7500 is connected between the main pre-amp outputs and your main speakers).

There are a number of options for that second zone amplification, depending on the type and number of speakers in question. There are distribution amps intended for whole-house audio setups (although they can get a bit pricey - a Model 7075 would probably be more cost effective than some of the more readily-available options), there are used two-channel amps on places like Audiogon, there are old stereo receivers from eBay or yard sales, and there's even the Sonic Impact T-Amp if your load isn't too difficult to drive.

The T-Amp is a little digital amp (something like 10Wx2, although some places claim it's closer to 15Wx2) that can be had online from places like Parts Express . The T-Amp doesn't have a tremendous amount of power (if you have two sets of speakers, I'd consider getting two amps and split the second zone output rather than trying to double-up on it), the volume control is apparently pretty cheap (the solution to that is simply to turn the amp all the way up so the volume control isn't messing with the signal - which works fine for this application since the 990's second zone has a volume control), and you'll need to pick up an AC adapter to power it (assuming you don't already have one that'll work). All those qualifications fall away when you consider the T-Amp's rather diminuitive $30 price tag, and the tiny power consumption makes the absence of a trigger less of an issue (just leave them turned on all the time).

Thanks Gonk. I think I'm understanding the amplification part ok (too bad my Denon 2800 doesn't have pre-in/out capabilities or I could use that as the 2nd amp). I'll have to check on the most cost affective method. One thing you said about the "sources" though, now has me confused.
"If you have sources that you want to use with the second zone, you'll need to make sure you run stereo analog cables from the source to the 990 - even if you are using a digital connection under normal circumstances."
I thought the sources for the 2nd zone were any that are hooked to the 990 (tuner,cd, dvd, turntable) and that when you called the 2nd zone into action you are simply choosing one of those inputs. I guess I don't follow your explaination of the 2nd set of analog cables.
Thanks as always for your help with this "Newbe stuff". (I'll be asking more quesions about DVI switching when I get time to compose them.)

The second zone is purely analog - if you're CD player is connected with a digital cable, the second zone won't have access to it. Obviously, this isn't an issue for some sources (tuner, turntable), but there are other sources that you wouldn't normally connect with analog cables.

I have a distributed speaker system throughout the house that uses Russound technology, and is fed by a Denon Receiver. Not sure if yours are the same, but my in-wall Russound volume controls also have small built in amplifiers, which amplify the signal without the requirement of an additonal amp. It just takes the signal as provided from the receiver outputs. Although I don't use my 990's Zone Two for this application (I feed speakers from my 7700), I believe it would work the same.

Gonk, after I read your 1st post, then went to the 990 manual, I figured out what you were saying-thanks. Kim K, if you're feeding the 2nd set of speakers with your 7700, what channels are you feeding them? I will be running the 7500 with all 5 speakers in the main room so there's no additional speaker outputs to choose from. I do know the Russound volumn controls have electronics on them, I didn't realize they were amplified, thought the primary volumn came from whatever the receiver was set at. I'd love to do this (2nd zone) with little to no more expense.

I use my 990/7700 for a 5.1 theater room. I run the Zone 2 outputs of the 990 to the SBL/SBR inputs of the 7700 since I don't use it for a 7.1 system. Then the 7700 powers the zone 2 speakers in the other room. I use mostly optical inputs for my theater room, but as mentioned above, you also need to hook up analog cables in order to get anything in zone 2.

If you're looking to keep the expense down, first find out if your russound gear amplifies a direct output signal, and you're done, no additional money. If you find that you definitely do need an additional amp for your zone two, you may want to look at swapping out the 7500 for a 7700, or as gonk points out, there are affordable amps that you could add separately. Good luck!

Here's a "Zone 2" question: One amenity my Adcom GTP500 had that I appreciated, and that the 990 lacks, was separate input switching for recording and listening. It was nice to be able to make cassette dubs of CDs or LPs while listening to FM or playing a videotape or DVD, but not possible with the 990. Unless: can an audio recorder (analog signal only, I know) be connected as a Zone 2 amp, and then, here's the tricky part, can its output feed back into the 990 in such a way that you can listen to it instead of the selected input? This kind of hookup could also function as an "external processor loop". Just a thought -

gonk wrote:

The second zone is purely analog - if you're CD player is connected with a digital cable, the second zone won't have access to it. Obviously, this isn't an issue for some sources (tuner, turntable), but there are other sources that you wouldn't normally connect with analog cables.

My CD player has optical and analog outs...and I would guess that most which have digital outs have analog. The optical feeds the CD input and when I run the room with 7700 I hear this path. The CD's analogs are also hooked up to CD input. This is for my zone 2 functions.

I use zone 2 a little differently than others here, and perhaps differently than outlaw planned.
I found, for example that VIDEO 1 did not output to REC OUT jacks. More nuisance than problem, and confirmed by Scott. Maybe fixed with upgrade. Haven't checked.

So I record thru the ZONE 2 function, which also allows me to watch/listen in the room while dubbing something. Additionally I use it to run headphones for a dual use room (i.e. kids watching cartoons and me wanting to watch something else or listen to music on headphone--dumb cartoons

The zone 2 out jacks are split and run to a small preamp-amp-electrosatic headphones--secondary TV---and---DVD recorder.

Very convenient setup. Convenient features

As a follow-up to my original post concerning powering the second zone I'll offer what I finally did. I found (online @ J&R Music) a reasonably priced ($130 +s&h) 50 watt power amp. The brand is "AudioSource" and it goes by "Amp 100".

In addition to being more than powerful for a secondary zone in my kitchen and deck, it has a neat auto shutdown feature. It will turn off if it doesn't see any signal coming into it's line 1 input. (It has 2 line level inputs). It also has the capability for "A or B" speakers. It measures 3" H x 16.5" W x 9.25" D, so it fits into my rack nicely.