Multi-room flexibility

Many home theater receivers are "multi-room" or "multi-zone" capable, which means they can play music in more than one area of your home at the same time. For example, you could enjoy a movie in surround sound in your main room while a housemate listens to a favorite radio station upstairs. Or, you could pipe the audio from the game into the kitchen and out on the deck so you can keep tabs on the score while you cook.

How do you know what the receiver you're considering will do? Take a look at the examples below to get an idea of the capabilities and rear panel connections to look for.

Most multi-room receivers max out at around three rooms. If you'd like to get music in every room of your house, take a more in-depth look at some of the additional options available for adding a wired or wireless multi-room system and powering your multi-room audio system.

Enjoy audio in two areas of your home at the same time
To hear the same sound in two separate places simultaneously, the easiest way to go is a receiver that can power two pairs of speakers at the same time — that is, one with an extra pair of speaker-level (powered) outputs, as opposed to line-level (not powered).

Here's what to look for: Check the back panel for "A" and "B" speaker outputs, as shown in the inset above. In text, you'll often see this capability referred to as "two sets of speaker outputs" or "two main pairs of speakers."

How do I hook it up? Just add a pair of speakers to your kitchen, patio, or anywhere else in your home, and connect them to the "B" speaker outputs — then you can listen in on Sunday's game while you barbecue, or enjoy your favorite CD while you dine.

Listen to stereo music in one room while a different audio source plays in one or two additional rooms at the same time
To listen to two different audio sources in separate areas (or "zones") of your home simultaneously, you can use a stereo receiver that has multi-source/multi-room capability. You'll also need a separate receiver or powered speakers in each additional listening room.

Here's what to look for: Multi-room receivers usually have a line-level (non-powered) output for each additional zone that they can support. The inset above shows a model with "Zone 2" and "Zone 3" line-level audio outputs (as well as composite video outputs for both rooms). Now, just looking at the back panel doesn't tell you whether you can hear different audio sources (or see different video sources) simultaneously in different rooms. To know that, you'll need to look for terms like "dual-zone/dual-source," or "3-room/3-source." You should also read the detailed specs for the receiver, so you can determine which sources can be selected and sent to different areas of your home.

How do I hook it up? You'll need to connect each line-level output to a receiver or pair of powered speakers in your second and third rooms. (You can also use the "A" and "B" speaker outputs for powering speakers in one or two rooms as in the previous example, but you won't be able to listen to different audio sources simultaneously.)

Enjoy surround sound in your home theater room and play music in another room at the same time without using a second receiver
If you want to watch movies with surround sound while a housemate listens to music in another room, you'll need a home theater receiver with multi-source/multi-room capability. Typically, this kind of receiver will have seven channels of amplification to power both your surround sound system and a second stereo audio source elsewhere in your home.

Here's what to look for and how to hook it up: Some 7-channel receivers use five of those channels to power home theater, and let you decide whether to use the remaining two for back surround channels or stereo speakers in a second room. In this case, you'll have to choose in advance whether you want to listen to a 5.1-surround setup and second-room speakers, or power a full 7.1-surround system. Receivers like this will have a label like "surround back/zone 2" on one pair of its speaker outputs.

Other receivers, like the one pictured above, let you alternate easily between using all seven channels for home theater and using two of those channels to power second room speakers. That's because they have separate speaker outputs, usually labeled "zone 2" and "surround back," so you can make permanent connections to both pairs of speakers. Keep in mind that you'll still have to choose where you want to send that power — it'll just be easier for you to switch between the two. [Note: If you want to enjoy full 7.1-channel surround sound and listen to a different audio source in another room at the same time, you'll need a surround receiver with zone 2 line-level outputs (see inset above) and a separate receiver or a pair of powered speakers for your second room.

Watch our short video on multi-room/mult-source audio to understand more about the basics of this cool receiver capability.