Question

connect to denon avr1200 and htd

  • 31 December 2019
  • 21 replies
  • 728 views

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I’m trying to use my existing HTD MCA-66 12 channel amplifier with 6 zones to play music throughout my home. Ideally I would keep the main zone running through my denon receiver and the audio would be as is today. The challenge is getting the other zones to play a different source while the main source is still running in my living room. So, basically I want to watch and listen to what’s on in my living room and still be able to listen to music in other rooms that doesn’t have to be the same as what is playing in my living room. I purchased the sonos connect because I was told by my audio guy that this is what would be required in order to accomplish this. I have tried all options I can think of, and havwnt had any success to this point.

any help / advice / guidance would be greatly appreciated.


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21 replies

You might need to explain a little more about how you have things hooked up. If for example you have the Denon on Source 1 of the MCA-66 and the new Connect on Source 2 of the MCA-66 then you can play both the Denon and Connect at the same time and each room can be set to whichever program you want playing in that zone. Is this how you have it set up?

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first and foremost, thank you very much for the response so quickly.

I recently bought the home were in, and this HTD system had already been installed and left behind by the prior owners. 

The HTD is in a cabinet on the left side, and the denon is in a cabinet on the right side. With a cutout hole in the back with speaker wire running between both systems. In another cabinet, I
have all of that other systems mentioned hereafter.  Today, I use the denon to run all audio and video for my tv, directv, Apple TV and PlayStation 4. However, if I turn on zone 2, the same sound is played throughout all rooms that is play8ng in the living room. I was under the impression that by purchasing a connect I would be able to transform my own outdated HTD and Denon setup into a serviceable zoned system. 
 

Thank you again for the quick response so late, and if it’s easier, I can snap a few pictures of the back of each system tomorrow morning.

Maybe a picture of the back of the HTD to show how the room speakers are connected and how the Denon is attached.

It would also be useful to know how you are selecting the music source for each zone Do you have an HTD keypad in each room or are you using the HTD app to control the rooms?

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Ok, here are a few pictures of the back of the HTD and Denon receiver:

 

first 3 pictures are of the HTD

last 4 pictures are of the Denon

 

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For the 2nd question, we have HTD keypads on the wall in each room. Whenever I turn one of those on, it plays whatever is on in the family room. I’m fine with all zones playing the same thing, just want to be able to control it and not have to listen to whatever is on in the family room. 

I don’t see the pictures of the Denon but it looks like the Denon is connected to Source 1 and the Sonos Connect is plugged in to Source 2. If that is true you should be able to start something playing on the Connect and then go to the keypad in any room and select source 2 to hear it. If you are not sure how to select the source from the Keypad you can go to the HTD site and look at the Manual for the MCA-66 which is available to view or download. I don’t think you have a Sonos problem and once you get the HTD controls sorted out you will likely find everything is already set up the way you need it to be. 

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My bad on the pictures, guess you can only attach so many to a single message: please see below for Denon pictures:

 

 

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So it appears from what I can tell the speakers in purple color are running from the HTD to the  denon. Then all video signals are run through the hdmi along with the audio, right? As you can see, I plugged the connect into the denon optical input for tv audio. when I change sources to tv audio, my tv is black and I can play music through the sonos app. Trouble is I still can’t watch tv and hear it in my living room while another room is playing music.

 

any suggestions?

OK I see you have the Connect wired to the Denon. I also see the Denon Zone 2 output is wired. The HTD has a connection on Source 1 and a connection on Source 2. Can you confirm what each of these is connected to? Is Source 1 connected to the Denson zone 2 out? What is Source 2 on the HTD connected to?

Also make sure the Denon is set to output the music from the Connect on output 2 and not just the same program that is playing on the Denon Main Zone. (You may have to consult the Denon manual on how to confirm this).

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Source 1 is connected to the directv receiver, which has an av connection instead of the rca cables that are coming out of source 1 on the HTD.

 

source 2 is connected to what you thought, which is zone 2 of the denon

 

the 2nd question you asked me about the denon being set to output the music is confusing to me. Can you possibly help me understand what you are asking in another way?

 

thank you again for the help with us as I truly believe we are getting close to having this setup exactly the way I want! 
 

So it sounds like your HTD is set up to play either DirecTV or the Zone 2 output from the Denon. The Denon lets you play one thing, such as a video program, on the main spaekers and something different, such as your Sonos Connect. on the Zone 2 output. If you want to watch TV in the room with the Denon while at the same time listen to music from the Connect in another room you have to do 2 things. First set the Denon to send music from the Connect to the Zone 2 output (you might need the Denon manual if you don’t know how to do this). Second, in the room or rooms where you want to listen to the Connect you need to set the keypad to shoose source 2 which is where you have the Denon zone 2 output connected to the HTD system.

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Are you saying that by doing what you recommend that zone 2 on my denon will now only be controlled using the sonos app? Or will I still be able to use zone 2 to play what is on the tv in the living room too? Do you th8nk any speakers need to be adjusted? I have sound in all of them throughout all rooms, but I think the reason it only plays what’s on in the living room because source 1 is running from HTd to directv. If I unplug from directv and run source 1 through the denon, then I should be able to use source 2 for connect, right?

There is no need to unplug or change wiring for source 1 on the HTD. Simply go to the keypad in the room and switch it from listening to source 1 to instead listen to source 2. When a room is switched to souce 2 it will play whatever is on the Denon.

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So are you saying I don’t need to make any changes to the current setup I showed you in the pictures? I have the sonos connect connected to the denon receiver using the toslink digital output to the tv audio on the denon. Do I need to unplug that and plug the zone 2 rca cables into the sonos connect and into the denon somewhere?

There are different ways you can wire things but the first step is to see what you can doo with the existing arrangement. Did you try setting the Denon to play a song from Sonos and then go to a room and set the source to 2 to verify it is playing? Until you do that I don’t see a reason to make any changes.

If you want a simpler test that does not involve the Denon then use an RCA cable to attach the Connect to Source 3 on the HTD. Then start something playing on Sonos and go to a room and set it to source 3 to verify it is playing. This will eliminate the Denon from the equation and confirm the basic operation of the HTD and Sonos gear.

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hey, so I tried the 2nd option you listed plugging the rca cables into the HTD source 3 and the connect, and it worked perfectly on source 3 of the keypads!! So that is a huge win because now I know we can play music in the other rooms while still watching tv in the living room. 

 

When I tried to use the existing setup and play a song from the sonos app through source 2, nothing happened. I don’t know that I am doing it correctly though, and was curious if you had any other ideas on how to accomplish what I am trying to do through the denon receiver and sonos connect. If I understood you correctly, you asked me to use the Denon receiver to change inputs to tv audio, then go to the keypads and adjust to source 2 to see if it played, right? 

No not quite. I think the confusion may come from the fact that using the zone 2 output on the Denon is adding a layer of complexity that makes it hard to understand what is happening. I suggest for the sake of simplicity that you go ahead and attach an RCA cable from the analog output of the Connct to the source 3 input of the HTD. This will remove the Denon completely from the test and let you verify the operation of the Connect. After you have it wired play something on the Connect and then go to a room and select source 3. You should hear whatever is playing on the Connect in that room.

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It works, and that’s what I’m gonna use. Thank you for the help and patience as I worked through this.

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Is their any way to play different music in each of the different rooms or only what’s playing on source 3? Meaning, if we want to play something different in each room, is that possible?

Try this: Leave the room you just tested playing Sonos on Source 3. Turn on your DirecTV box and go to a different room and set that room to Source 1. You should hear the DirecTV program in that room while the first room is still playing Sonos.