I anticipate purchasing a 990 - but have some questions that should indicate may newbie status.

Does the 990 work well as a 5.1 processor? I doubt that I will use it for 7.1.

The 2nd zone does not offer XLR balanced outputs. Will that effect the sound quality?

I plan on using the 2nd zone capability for audio throughout my house. This means 10 zones. My question is how to acheive this - I know that I run the 2nd zone to an amp, but my concern is that I may need 2 amps in order to drive this many zones.

Could I run the 2nd zone to a couple of the monoblocks and, if so, how is this done? Is there a better way?

I want to use an IM speaker selector switch, probably a 5 speaker selector switch made by parasound. Obviously, for 10 zones, I will need 2 of these - how is this achieved?

Do I take the 2nd zone output, run it to a Y cable in order to split the signal, and divide it between the 2 amps?

Thanks in advance -

The 990 will work equally well as a 5.1 or 7.1 processor.

The second zone is essentially a two-channel analog pre-amp built into the unit. As there are no XLR analog inputs, the absence of XLR analog output for the second zone should be effectively meaningless. In the role of whole-house pre-amp with ten zones, you'll need to have some extra hardware between the 990 and the speakers (more than just a two-channel amp). If you use a switch box, you're likely going to be able to have audio in only one or two zones - having all ten zones active at once would create a very difficult load for a single amp to handle. If you don't mind being limited to two active zones, you could use a stereo amp and two of the 5x1 switch boxes (both wired to the outputs of the amp) and then engage at least two zones safely. Whether the amp could handle more than two zones depends on the amp and the speakers - the manual for the Parasound ZSelect touches on this load issue a bit on page 3.

An alternative to the stereo amp and Parasound switch boxes is to get an amp designed for this task, such as the CV-A1260 (60Wx12, capable of driving six zones from a single global input). Another alternative is a speaker switch box that includes impedance protection, such as this device , in which case you could use a decent two-channel amp and let the switch box handle the rest.

Yes
Without getting into a turf-vs-grass debate, I doubt it.
You will need enough amplification to support all your speakers.
However, you might be misinterpreting the meaning of "zones". You can only achieve two distinct zones with the 990. You may be planning 10 listening areas, but that doesn't mean the 990 will let each area listen, for example, to a different radio station.
Since we are not talking multiple sources (since all 10 "listening areas" will get the same zone), the degree of complexity is relatively low. There are many different ways to do what you want. You could keep all your amps in a central area and just run speaker wire, or distribute the signal to in-wall amplifiers with built-in volume control. Perhaps something like this .
I am not sure if this means you are trying to control all speakers from a central location. If you provide some sort of local control (see above), this may not be necessary.

I think some sort of connecting block is what you are looking for.

To be perfectly frank, if it was me, I would hire a professional for an installation such as this one. The range of problems and limitations go well beyond what the 990 does or does not offer.
I hope that helps.

My bad and sorry for the confusion - I wrote "10 zones" but what I want is actually 10 listening areas (10 pairs of speakers in 10 different rooms). 2 zones are sufficient for me: HT and audio.

I intend on using the 990 for HT and the 2nd zone out for audio throughout the house.

So, if we can back up a moment -

Gonk: the "extra hardware" that I would like to employ is 2 - 2 channel amps.

The question that I have is whether I can effectively split the signal, in order to divide it between 2 - 2 channel amps. Then, assuming that this can be done without degredation of signal quality, the signal would be amplified by the amp(s), and that signal would be fed into a 5 (or 6) way speaker selector box, which would feed the audio out to the different listening areas.

In this way, I would have the 2nd zone signal amplified to a total of 10 different areas.

Otherwise, if I were to use a multichannel amp, as you suggested, I would lose the ability to have central on/off control. Correct? I may be mistaken but I don't know how I could use a multichannel amp to feed into a speaker selector box.

Your reply does raise another question - what effect, if any, comes from using a IM speaker selector box with IM volume control knobs? Neutral, positive, negative? This may be theory, but I do plan on using volume control knobs in each listening area. Given my intended use of IM selector box, I was planning on using vc knobs that did not offer IM.

Therefore, Garcian, given my clarification, that I want 10 listening areas and central control, I would appreciate your expounding on "there are many different ways to do what you want." Specifically, "keep all your amps in one area" -as this is exactly what I want to do.

The question that I have, as stated above, is premised on the fact that I know that I can take the 2nd output from the 990 and run it to an amp, run the signal to a IM speaker selector box, and feed that out to 5 listening areas. My hurdle is how to effectivly double this in order to get it to 10 listening areas?

As for as professional help goes, right now, at 40, I guess I enjoy a challenge and learning something new. There is something to be said for understanding how all of this works together.

Thanks to forums, such as this, and people, such as you two, the learning process is enhanced, as well.

If you've got a pair of two-channel amps, you can very easily split the zone 2 output to feed both amps. You'll need to turn the second zone volume up a couple dB more than you would otherwise to compensate for the signal drop caused by the split, but you're not going to notice this happening. Those two amps can then each feed five pairs of speakers using a switch box like the Parasound Zselect, at which point you'd need to rely on something (either impedance protection inside the speaker switch or separate impedance matching volume controls at each listening area) to manage the zones. If you have volume controls at each listening zone, you could even consider using a speaker distribution block at each amp (similar to the JB-1 shown here) and simply eliminate the switch - this would leave all ten listening areas active any time the 990's second zone was on, with the volume control being responsible for managing levels in those spaces. You may prefer to have the ability to shut down listening areas entirely from the main equipment rack, though, in which case the switches are a better arrangement.

Bottom line: it can definitely be done with a bit of research, and the 990 could certainly serve as the audio source for such a setup. I haven't done it myself, but there are resources out there (including this forum, of course) that can help answer questions as they arise.

Don't give me too much credit. Gonk touched on several methods and he is by far a better source than I am.

Don't tell my wife but I have a "spare" 5-channel amp and another 2 channel amp around the house and have contemplated using them for a second zone system if I don't end up setting up a separate stand-alone system. So far all my knowledge comes from Google. In other words, I am dangerous.

The method that I was contemplating, involves only two channels, a connector block, and some in-wall volume control units.
The following are links to a couple of the installation manuals (pdf documents) that might give you some ideas:
Xantech cb18 connecting block
Xantech speaker volume control

I forgot to mention, when it comes to other ways of doing this, a type of speaker that has intrigued me since it first came out. I don't have the money to try this, but it sure would be neat, especially if your place is already wired for networking. Here is a link to one of Polk Audio's IP-addressable speakers.

Those are cool, but the price tag is pretty fierce at this point (list of $2400/pair). Plus you need to get power to them in addition to the network cable. In some ways, I like this idea more for speakers in the theater: powered monitors with a digital audio connection, sort of like what Meridian has done in some of their systems.

I have 7 zones in my house with two speakers per zone and I could turn on and off any combination of these as long as I'm listening to the same music. You might try this link:

http://www.nilesaudio.com/products_niles.php

Assuming it can be done, then, the mechanics of this "split" is what I would like to know. Is this what is called a vertical bi-amp arrangement? And, more importantly, is it accomplished by use of a Y cable out from the 990 / 2nd zone output?

And, for what it is worth, for the audio portion, this 10 listening area, I had considered using a seperate receiver, with line out capabilties to the 2 - 2 channel amps, instead of the 990, if the 2nd zone output of the 990 is potentially sub-par to other audio output. I know that this is all relative, but is the 990 2nd zone analog output as good a quality as any other receiver / pre-amp of this price range? Any thoughts? . . .

Thanks in advance -

Nothing like more research - I was reading a manual of Parasound, for their amps, they provide a loop out feature - essentially, it allows daisy chaining of their amps, takes the signal and passes it on. According to the manual, this eliminates the need for a Y cable. Now, I wonder if the Outlaw amps have this same feature and, if so, great. And, if not, why not. . . the research continues.

Vertical bi-amping relates to using two amp channels to drive a single speaker (specifically, using one two-channel amp to drive the high and low frequency drivers of one speaker and a second two-channel amp to drive the high and low-frequency drivers of a second speaker). We're not really dealing with bi-amping of any sort here (we're not using two amp channels to drive a single speakers, but using one amp channel to drive multiple speakers). We are simply splitting the left and right pre-amp outputs in order to drive multiple amps - all it takes is a pair of Y-adapters, which should not be a detrimental arrangement if you use a reasonably decent Y-adapter. Of course, if you use a single amp and a larger distribution system downstream of it (such as the 8-speaker distribution block I found earlier today) or a single amp with two sets of binding posts that can be used simultaneously, you wouldn't need the Y adapter.

The 990's second zone is an analog pre-amp. By that, I mean that digital sources are not routed to the second zone output. You would need to make stereo analog connections from sources that you want access to in the second zone. The analog section itself is good - you'll also be counting on the analog output of the source devices (CD or DVD player, etc.), and of course the amp and speakers. If it were me, I'd use the 990's second zone to drive a system like this.

Parasound's two-channel amps do include a loop out, but Parasound's multichannel amps (and Outlaw's multichannel amps, and Outlaw's monoblock amp) do not include the loop outputs - mainly because their usefulness in home theater installations is limited.

gonk wrote in discussion: do not include the loop outputs - mainly because their usefulness in home theater installations is limited.

gonk is correct...and zone 2 as well as record out provides partial functionality of this...BUT...it would be nice to have a loop.

It would be a great addition to pre/pros. One could then have the option to do an A-B comparison with EQ, for example. The loops should be available for all channels except sub. You could A-B each one any time you wished. It is easier to correct for the room with EQ. Some of us don't have the lujxury of changing the room around or configuring from the outset. Some, in all fairness, don't like the idea of outboard EQ.

OTOH between the 990s outputs and amps inputs an EQ can be inserted and A-Bd'd, but ost EQs are not balanced EQs so this defeats the balance function.

Just some thoughts for discussion

I have the 990 running to a single Rotel RB 1070 (2-channel amp) into 8 listening areas, each area controlled by a Paradigm VC-150 volume control, and each area has two ceiling speakers. Something I discovered that I thought was important, is that the Paradigm volume controls actually shut off all current drain from the amp when turned all the way down, whereas many volume controls are constantly drawing power, but simply don't put out sound when turned down all of the way. Anyway, mine sounds good, no like the theater room of course, but it sounds great for background music and the like. Hope this helps some. I have never payed attention to see about the daisy-chaining ability of my amp, but on their website, the model just down from mine, the RB-1050, does allow for daisy-chaining. Hope this helps some!