# One receiver, multiple sets of speakers, volume control



## duhaas (Jun 13, 2010)

I have the following setup:

Stereo Receiver
5.1 Speakers Connected
Speaker Selector connected to output A on receiver
Front left/right connected to speaker selector
three sets connected to independence matching volume control, volume controls connected to speaker selectors

Problem I'm having is I have to crank the volume controls all the way up to get decent sound from those speakers, the front left/right speakers get good sound, this is the only set not on volume control but still connect to speaker selector, the speaker selector also have an independence matching setting, wondering if i should turn that off? also wondering if i really even need the speaker selector anymore since I have the volume controls? Just trying to understand what the ideal setup would be when limited to one receiver. any help you folks can provide would be great.


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

Start with the most simple setup you can get, speakers, speaker wire, and AVR. In your AVR, turn on a stereo mode, pure mode, or any other mode that bypasses surround sound decoding. Let us know what the results are.


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## duhaas (Jun 13, 2010)

are you suggesting then that I run all the speakers sets into input A, just binding all the speaker cables together? so basically 4 sets of speakers including front left/right from 5.1 into A,with the three other sets coming off volume controls? basically eliminating the speaker selector?


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

Yes, by making the setup as simple as possible, we're reducing the number of component that could be causing the problem. Right now, you have 6 to 7 things that could be causing the problem. We're going to reduce that down to 2 or 3.


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

I think this is what Marshall is recommending, but I had to think about it for a sec, so hopefully this is a clarification:

Step 1: L/R speakers directly to the amp. Should sound good.
Step 2: Your other impedance matched speakers bundled together, directly to the amp. I am assuming you set the impedance matching for all three sets to be run at the same time. Hopefully this will sound good.
Step 3: L/R speakers through the selector and then to the amp. Should still sound good since this is just a pass-through.
Step 4: Add in the impedance matched speakers to the selector.

Are the front L/R impedance matched? If not, are you trying to run them with the cluster of matched volume control speakers simultaneously? That could throw off the impedance shown to amp considerably and possibly drop it too low.

If you are selecting either/or (L/R fronts OR the sets with the volume controls) then it should work fine.

I hope this clears things up a bit. I have degugged in-walls with volume controls before and it can be a pain to get everything right. Always run the amp up slowly to volume in case you set the impedance too low and check the heat coming off of it. If it seems like it is running way hot (with the speakers not that loud), then recheck the wiring.

Good luck.


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