A/b Speaker Switch On The Receiver

[ritesh]

Hi,

Just curious if any of the members are using the a/b switch, and if so in what way? I am a bit confused as to the purpose of this switch?

Ritesh

[betty boop]

its usually jsut if you have two sets of speakers hooked upto the same amp. select A and sound should go to A and B and sound should go to B. its an old remanent of the stereo avr days where thats how you used the one receiver to funnel soudn ot one room or another.

either way have a read in yoru manual, shoudl explain what the function is for your avr.

[glennb]

I'm using my A/B to bi-amp my mains. No particular reason other than I can, and doesn't give any benefits on the old Yamaha. Took the links out of my speaker binding posts, A goes to the top set of terminals, and the B terminals on the AVR go to the bottom pair of speaker terminals.

[ritesh]

Thanks guys.

So just to confirm, if I have 3 set of speakers, first in the main room, second in say the kitchen and third in say the bathroom. And connect the A to the Kitchen and B to the Bathroom. Then potentially I can toggle the A/B switch and listen to the sound in 3 different room/s (although not simultaneously). Have I got this correct?

Al, the manual is really scant on the details around this, hence the question, the receiver is my Marantz SR7200; which also has the multizone output to confuse matter further :-)

Ritesh

[betty boop]

Thanks guys.

So just to confirm, if I have 3 set of speakers, first in the main room, second in say the kitchen and third in say the bathroom. And connect the A to the Kitchen and B to the Bathroom. Then potentially I can toggle the A/B switch and listen to the sound in 3 different room/s (although not simultaneously). Have I got this correct?

Al, the manual is really scant on the details around this, hence the question, the receiver is my Marantz SR7200; which also has the multizone output to confuse matter further :-)

Ritesh

that was typically what it was for ritesh but only for two pairs of speaker. A in one room and B in another. and yes one or the other not simultaneously.

reason I asked to check the manual as some avrs might have other ways to utilise and would specify in the manual you'd think.

my hk avr for instance implements multi room in other ways. they give you a separate little remote for it. the rear speaker terminals can be configured for multi room plus its abus configurable as well which can alos be utilised in a multi room system I understand. so can be quite different on different avrs.

[glennb]

I have audio to going to both A & B at the same time on the Yamaha. I can either select A, B, Both, or none (good for checking the sub output).

Might need to read your manual and see what it says.

[Gutty]

I have audio to going to both A & B at the same time on the Yamaha. I can either select A, B, Both, or none

Ditto. I have B speakers out back over my pool. But will often have the A's running inside at the same time.

Now if only i could get my head around zone 2 and 3...

[xr06t]

I'm using my A/B to bi-amp my mains. No particular reason other than I can, and doesn't give any benefits on the old Yamaha. Took the links out of my speaker binding posts, A goes to the top set of terminals, and the B terminals on the AVR go to the bottom pair of speaker terminals.

is this common practice guys? sounds like a good way to get more power to the mains.. was going to get a 7.1 receiver to run speakers outside but figured it would be easier to use an old hifi system

cheers

[aztec]

is this common practice guys? sounds like a good way to get more power to the mains.. was going to get a 7.1 receiver to run speakers outside but figured it would be easier to use an old hifi system

cheers

No real benefit in doing this.

[glennb]

I'm using my A/B to bi-amp my mains. No particular reason other than I can, and doesn't give any benefits on the old Yamaha. Took the links out of my speaker binding posts, A goes to the top set of terminals, and the B terminals on the AVR go to the bottom pair of speaker terminals.

is this common practice guys? sounds like a good way to get more power to the mains.. was going to get a 7.1 receiver to run speakers outside but figured it would be easier to use an old hifi system

cheers

You can always try it and see if it sounds any different, but in my setup there is no difference what-so-ever. I just tried it and haven't bothered to change it back again (and it sounds cool when I tell people i have it bi-amped :ph34r: ). You won't really get more power to your mains by using the same AVR to do this, as it's better to actually have a power amp and use 2 channels, or even better, 2 power amps and use one for the mids/tweeters, and the other amp for the woofers. Again, the difference will be dependant on your components and will be marginal at best anyway.

[xr06t]

thanks for your replys guys..

am i right in assuming the the amp pumps out the same power whether you are using 5 or 7 channels, the maximum output?

might have to change amp if 7.1 is going to be of no extra value!

cheers

[glennb]

It depends on your amp or AVR. Basically, there is a set amount of power available from the power supply and depending on how many speakers you have connected, the power will be distributed between them all. It doesn't really get spread evenly though, as most of the sound is coming from the front 3 speakers, and the rears normally only play background stuff. This is why you'd put more power to your mains, as they normally need it.

If you have a part in a movie which has a lot of sound coming out of all speakers at once (eg Explosions), then the AVR is trying to send out full power to all 7 speakers, and this is where you would benefit from having extra grunt from a power amp. Typically, AVR's will struggle to produce maximum power on all speakers, where as power amps are designed specifically for this.

[Anthony123]

so is it possible to have a DVD in 5.1 playing in zone 1 and then say the radio playing at the same time to zone B?

[ritesh]

so is it possible to have a DVD in 5.1 playing in zone 1 and then say the radio playing at the same time to zone B?

Yes it is, although that is not a/b switching but multizoning... my current avr does support a 2nd zone however I am not currently using it.

Someone else, who is using this may offer more words...

Ritesh

[byte-me]

I was using the A/B switching for 2 pairs of main speakers.

One pair was for HT and the other was for music.

If I was watching a movie I would set it to A and use those and when listening to a CD I would use the B to use that pair.

[anagy]

is this common practice guys? sounds like a good way to get more power to the mains.. was going to get a 7.1 receiver to run speakers outside but figured it would be easier to use an old hifi system

cheers

You can always try it and see if it sounds any different, but in my setup there is no difference what-so-ever. I just tried it and haven't bothered to change it back again (and it sounds cool when I tell people i have it bi-amped :ph34r: ). You won't really get more power to your mains by using the same AVR to do this, as it's better to actually have a power amp and use 2 channels, or even better, 2 power amps and use one for the mids/tweeters, and the other amp for the woofers. Again, the difference will be dependant on your components and will be marginal at best anyway.

I also was using my A/B outputs to bi-amp my main speakers. I recently bought some better quality cable and have switched back to a single connection. It was hard to dectect any difference. Note I didn't get the better quality cable because I got sucked into the whole expensive cable thing, I just wanted nicer looking cable runs. I'd have to say that while my new cable didn't sound any better, I did think it imaged better, i.e. the timing was more coherent, if that makes sense. I'd like to setup a 2nd room now that I have the B terminal free, but running the speaker cable around the house is gonna be painful. Also toying with the idea of running the multi room pre-outs to another amp in my other room for a proper 2nd zone...

[RichardN]

Just in case there is any confusion given the discussion on A/B and biamping.

My AVR has the A/B functionality BUT even though I can have a cable run to the high/mid and another one to the low (from the separate A/B terminals), this is essentially bi-wiring NOT biamping. It is still using the same amp module for each channel.

If you have a second set of speakers connected to the B terminals, then the left and right amps (mains) are driving the 2 sets of speakers. Some AVRs can drive A or B BUT NOT both, some can drive A or B OR both.

With some AVRs, usually 7 channel jobbies, you can do away with the rear surrounds, and configure these two channels to use as a biamped scenario, connecting these speaker terminals to high/mid and your main L & R to your low (or vice versa)

Make sense?