I have setup my Family Room w/5.1

Now I have the rest of the house to complete. House is pre-wired w/Master, Living and Patio connections.

My plan was to get another receiver to handle the other 3 Zones so that the power could be drawn from it and let the Onkyo 906 that I have power the main room. I am sure the Onkyo could but I'd was thinking it would be better to do it this way. Surely not looking to get a big time 2nd receiver (~$500 and under price range; but something that could power ~50-80W per) The other Zones will be setup primarily for mood music.

Am I on the right track with this thinking? Is there a better setup?

Please chime in.....

You can definitely set up you whole house audio this way, with a couple considerations.
You will need a speaker selector box so that your second receiver can power all 3 zones with impedance protection. If you don't have volume control knobs in those 3 zones, you should purchase a box that also includes independent volume controls.
The source(s) for your audio distributed to these zones will necessarily be connected to the second AVR. Remember that source units connected to your family room's AVR (DVD/Blu-Ray/CD/TV/etc.) will need a second audio input to the second AVR if you intend to use them for both applications.

Alternatively, the 2 channels not used on your 7.1 receiver can also be connected to such a speaker selector box, though I am not familiar with the setup for multi-zone with your Onkyo. On many AVRs, the multi-zone source can be different from the main source being played through your 5.1.

Thanks alot for the reply.

Yes I do know about the impedence controls and the house is wired for that as well. I am not real sure if I want a selector box but I would install the independent controls in each location.

I also know the Onkyo COULD run the multi-zone but don't want to spread it's juice to far. Just want the front and surrounds handled by the Onkyo. I was looking at the Yamaha RX-V465 and although this isn't the forum for that I just want something relatively inexpensive to handle the other zones. With those independent controls that should protect the receiver correct such that the speaker selector box is purely optional?

Any other ideas from anyone else?

Thanks again.

anyone else?

bump