# Good (not great) 5.1 receiver with zone 2?



## astro2001 (Sep 9, 2012)

I'm looking for a 5.1 receiver for my family room/great room area, which will also run two additional speakers to a nearby a zone 2 (via speaker wire, not RCA) when I'm streaming Pandora, radio, etc. 

I will also have a dedicated home theater, so this family room space will be more for casual movie watching, game playing, regular TV, kids shows, etc. Because of this, I am hoping to find a decent system, but not too expensive. I'd say budget is $300-400 or so for the receiver.

Thanks for any recommendations!


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Can you push the budget just a fraction more? This Onkyo 709 is a steal for the price and has a powered zone2 that you want and many features that are only found on receivers costing over $1000 including a very good amplification section.


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## astro2001 (Sep 9, 2012)

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm very new to this, but this receiver appears to be 7.1. What am I missing?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

You wont find a receiver with only 5.1 channels that has a powered zone 2. You just simply dont need to use the 6th and 7th channels.


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## astro2001 (Sep 9, 2012)

Gotcha. I was just hoping I could save some money staying at 5.1 since I will never use 7.1 for my family room.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

In many receivers the amps used for the 6th and 7th channels are used to power the zone 2 area. Almost all 9.1 channel receivers will do this also and still give you 7.1 in the main room as well.


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## Lazerboy2000 (May 7, 2012)

I'm also looking for a receiver with similar requirements. The Onkyo 709 looks good, and I've also been looking at the older Yamaha V667. Are there any other receivers you'd recommend in this price range? 

Is the 709 capable of a "party mode" where it can send a signal from HDMI to both zones?


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## lovebohn (Mar 6, 2009)

Do you need HDMI? If not find an old Denon 3803 or something similar. A good 110 watts per channel with zone two features plus 7.1. They can be found for $250 or so online.


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## astro2001 (Sep 9, 2012)

The 709 is shown as discontinued on Crutchfield. It also shows the price as $899. Am I looking at the wrong item, or is this an old ad on Crutchfield?


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## 8086 (Aug 4, 2009)

astro2001 said:


> The 709 is shown as discontinued on Crutchfield. It also shows the price as $899. Am I looking at the wrong item, or is this an old ad on Crutchfield?



Crutchfield is expensive. Try amazon, its $599. Alternativly, i would get the current generation Onkyo TX-NR717 and it's on Christmas Speical for $539. The 717 also includes a bonus zone 3.

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-NR709-7-2-Channel-Network-Receiver/dp/B004V8KWQO


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## astro2001 (Sep 9, 2012)

Thanks. Unforunately, my budget is $300-400. Is is possible to get a 5.1 or 7.1 with zone 2 for this?


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## vann_d (Apr 7, 2009)

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...ter-Receiver-w/Airplay/1.html#!specifications

something like this may work for you...

-V


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