7.1.4 Dual Receiver Config

[tompaly]

Hello All,

I have a Denon x3700h and an older Yamaha v2095 receiver that I want to use for my 7.1.4 setup.

My Speakers:
2x Fronts: 4ohm (Emotiva T0+)
1x Center: 4 ohm (Emotiva (C2+)
2x Rear: 8 ohm (Emotiva E2+)
2x L/R Surrounds: 8ohm (Emotiva E2+)
4x Heights: 8ohm (Sonance MAG6R)

The Denon only has 9 amplifiers, leaving 2 of my 11 speakers without an amp, which is where my Yamaha comes in. I would want to prioritize the best amps for the fronts and center, and I was wondering what config would be best for my situation:

1: Power Fronts with Yamaha, others with Denon
2: Power Fronts and Center with Yamaha. others with Denon
3: Power 2 of the heights or rears with Yamaha, others with Denon
4: Another config not listed here

Sorry if my questions come off as noobish, I am relatively new to the AV/Home Theater game.

Thank You
-Tom

 

[swechsler]

The most straightforward way to do it would be to use the Yamaha for one pair of height or rear speakers, since you can remove the preamp/amp jumpers and connect the output from the Denon directly into the Yamaha's power amp inputs. My initial response would have been to use the Yamaha for the 4Ω speakers and the Denon for everything else, but I see that it requires you to flip a switch on the rear to use 4Ω speakers, which reduces the power output. With only the 3 front speakers connected, you might be able to get away with using it in 8Ω mode, but I'm not sure how sophisticated the protection circuitry is on a receiver that old, and it could potentially give you trouble. If you did that you'd use the external processor input on the Yamaha and turn all processing off.

 

[whoaru99]

The Denon is advertised as a 9.x unit but you have 11.x speakers.

Can the Denon actually do 7.x.4 processing or are you planning to run some channels (the heights??) in parallel?

 

[swechsler]

The Denon is advertised as a 9.x unit but you have 11.x speakers.

Can the Denon actually do 7.x.4 processing or are you planning to run some channels (the heights??) in parallel?

According to the Denon website it can do 7.1.4 processing. This is a welcome change from older receivers. Some midrange models from other manufacturers offer similar capability, which means you don't need to invest in an expensive pre/pro or TOTL receiver to do a full Atmos installation.

 

[kryten79]

Yea, the recent vintage of the Denon and Marantz AVRs can process more channels than they have amplifiers.
OP has an Interesting situation so I did a bit of reading:
I think I would run the center and mains off the Yammie and the rest out of the Denon. I'd hate to pull too much current through your x3700. Unless you are really cranking the volume, It's probably a wash. With either of your AV Receivers you WILL go into clipping before you are able to "max out" the center channel (Power handling: 150W continuous / 300W peak.) or your mains (100W continuous / 200W peak.).

As was pointed out, you can set the impedance switch on the Yammie to the upper position (Center and mains 4 ohm or higher) and run the center and mains off it. Then, of course, disable the other speaker connections on the Yammie. The Spec section doesn't call out the power ratings for 4 ohm loads, weird - right? I would guess it'll be around 130W. THey do say Dynamic peak capability at 4 ohm is with a short peak ability of 220W (and that is PEAK, not for long term, like even several seconds).

Doing it this way, you'll have roughly the same available power to all channels and should be safe from smoke. Now if you want to get into noise, distortion and other details , well, you're on your own .


and your denon manual says
Carry out the following settings when using a speaker with an impedance of 4 – 6 Ω/ohms.

Press and hold the main unit’s ZONE2 SOURCE and STATUS at the same time for at least 3 seconds.
“V.Format:< NTSC>” appears on the display.

Press DIMMER on the main unit three times.
“Sp.Imp.:<8ohms>” appears on the display.

Press TUNER PRESET CH + or TUNER PRESET CH － on the main unit to select the impedance.
8ohms
(Default):

Select when the impedance for all of the connected speakers is 8 Ω/ohms or over.

6ohms:

Select when the impedance for any of the connected speakers is 6 Ω/ohms.

4ohms:

Select when the impedance for any of the connected speakers is 4 Ω/ohms.

Again, they really don't call out a power rating for 4 ohms, but at 6 ohms it's 135w and at 8 ohms it's 105W.