Second zone audio from a digital source?

[rossonero3]

Hello,

I've been leaning toward purchasing the Fusion 8100 receiver as my next AVR upgrade (currently i have an older Onkyo).  My question for now is regarding audio output to a second zone.
Recently i read that it is possible to hook up an additional pair of speakers  to the SBL & SBR speaker terminals and use the button on the rear to dictate how they are used, either as a part of the 7.1 system or a 5.1 with the SBL/R being 'zone 2'.   Will the receiver pass along the stereo audio to that 2nd pair of speakers if the 'source' is only coming digitally through HDMI? I ask because most all receivers when using "B" speaker terminals for instance, can only pass along audio if the source is analog, not digital.
In my current system, i have a 5.1 setup in the main room with 2 speakers in another room hooked up to the B speaker terminals.  With my first gen Apple TV i had both digital and analog output to the AVR which would allow us to just use the AB speaker button to turn on or off the speakers in the other room.  Since i've 'upgraded' to the ATV3, which has only digital output, we can no longer send the audio to that second zone.  
So…apparently the Fusion can do this over HDMI, is that correct?  


Thanks

[AudioHTIT]

Yes, this feature is somewhat unique. The caveat for passing an HDMI source is that Zone 2 must be set to 'Sync' with the main zone, that is you can't play one source in the Main Zone and play a different HDMI source in Zone 2. I find this to be an acceptable compromise to get HDMI (or any digital) sources to Z2.

[fusioneer]

Well, yes and no.

If you don't need zone 1 to be playing something else, then it's a full yes like AudioHTIT says.

According to the manual, Zone 2 can take a digital input different from Zone 1, as long as it's coaxial or optical. So no HDMI, but there is a solution to this: you can get a $35 gizmo that splits an HDMI signal into an HDMI output and an optical output which you can then use for Zone 2. The other limitation is that the separate Zone 2 input has to be 2.0; the Fusion will not downmix it for you. Still, the capability to have two digital inputs for different zones (i.e. two DACs) is rare and a nice plus for the Fusion if you need it. It would be even better if the gizmo was not needed of course.

However, I have to warn you: when I tried to use that gizmo with my Chromecast to play music over TV video (more details in my review: emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/39585/fusion-8100-review), I was getting audio drops between songs, the optical output was dropping briefly even if the HDMI output didn't and the Fusion is slow to resync (1-2 seconds) when that happens. Ultimately I found this intolerable so I gave up on the SPDIF music idea. You might run into the same issue with the Apple TV.

[rossonero3]

Nov 13, 2014 12:40:35 GMT -5 AudioHTIT said:

Yes, this feature is somewhat unique. The caveat for passing an HDMI source is that Zone 2 must be set to 'Sync' with the main zone, that is you can't play one source in the Main Zone and play a different HDMI source in Zone 2. I find this to be an acceptable compromise to get HDMI (or any digital) sources to Z2.

This is fine with me and is all i need it to do, it sounds exactly the same as the old AB speaker switch.  

[rossonero3]

I realize there is the button on the back for the SBL/R terminals to activate / use this feature, but how does one actually control which set of speakers are being used? Is there a button on the remote? Again, i would want the option of playing the same music in both rooms, just the main room, or just Zone 2 speakers by themselves, similar to having speaker set A on, AB or just B.
I would like if this could be switched rather easily without going into an onscreen menu system etc, having a something on the remote or the face of the receiver would be ideal.

[fusioneer]

There are buttons on the remote you can use to switch. Specifically, there is a "Z2" and "Z3" and when you press those a subsequent on/off or volume or input command applies to that zone. This seems to be temporary; I don't think there's a way to switch the remote into "zone 2" mode for more than a few seconds.

It's hard for me to test this well because I don't have the zones connected. See the manual.

[rossonero3]

I also realize it might be just as easy or easier (although costs money) to buy a 2 channel amp or a multi zone amp and hook it up to the Zone 2 or 3 line outs. Something like this would provide more flexibility for more speakers also…

www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/shrbnpa4z75/sherbourn-4z-75-4-zone-amplifier-w/speaker-selector/1.html