how to get surround speakers to act like fronts?

[Daejeon]

I'm hooking up my four speakers, eventually six but only two of the ones i have connected currently are working. The two that are connected to the surrounds aren't. Does anyone know what i should be adjusting to have all the speakers work at the same time? I'm using two Pioneer amplifiers at the moment, the VSX -1020 and 9040-TXH

[ScaryBob]

Go into the speaker setup on the receiver. Disable the two surrounds (and any other speakers) that are not connected. Set all the others to small. There is generally little difference between front and surround speakers but some people choose to use larger speakers for the front.

If you mean to have all speakers working at the same time, some receivers have a 5 channel stereo option that makes all speakers active with a standard stereo source. Be sure to set it back to Dolby for surround material.

Not sure why you are using two receivers.

[Jake]

Repeatedly press the audio buttons on the remote THX/STANDARD/ADV.SURR to cycle through the various options. There are many that will drive all your speakers and a few that will produce stereo (not surround) out the backs with a stereo input. I would also recommend you run the audio setup so that non-existent speaker channels will be disabled

[Daejeon]

Sorry maybe i wasn't clear but basically i have one receiver for my 5.1 HT set up. I purchased a second receiver to handle the speakers i have in various rooms throughout my place, currently 4 but could go up to 6-8 possibly. I thought i cycled through all the audio settings when i initially ran into the problem but will give it a shot again tomorrow, thanks.

[Jake]

I just checked. In the manual it is on page 58.

http://pioneerelectronics.com/Static...ctions0302.pdf

EXT.STEREO – Gives multichannel sound to a stereo source, using all of your speakers

[Daejeon]

Thanks Jake but i'm actually using the VSX-1020 for my HT and the 9040 for the rest of the speakers in my place, not sure if the "EXT-Stereo" is the same? I have it set up this way because the VSX is newer with more features but the 9040 is 400 w, opposed to the 1020, 250 watts. So i'm open to reversing the set up if i have to...

[Daejeon]

ok, it looks like both receivers have the "EXT-stereo" mode. I've tried it and am still not having any luck so i'm going to un hook the VC and see if that might be the culprit. I'm also finding that my receivers turn off automatically when i turn up the volume. It's not even loud actually but they just turn off for some reason when turning the knob to the negative numbers...

[57]

Sounds like you have a short in the speaker wiring. Make sure that there aren't any strands of wire shorting across the terminals at the AVR or speaker end. Disconnect all the speakers and all the wiring and then reconnect them one at a time, testing performance after each new speaker is connected. The issue could also be the speaker itself if it's not the speaker wire. Check out the following things to check FAQ:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=19694

And the following useful post:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=57741

[Daejeon]

Thanks 57, i will be sure to do that, i'm assuming banana plugs would help in this debt. as well? I don't think the short is affecting the 2 speakers that aren't working but probably is the cause of the receiver shutting down. The speakers and receivers are all brand new so i can't imagine it being anything else.

[ScaryBob]

If the receivers are stacked, the top receiver could be overheating. Receivers need lots of ventilation. As suggested, it could be a short (maybe bad wiring) or it could be low speaker impedance. Some receivers do not work well with low impedance speakers.

How are the receivers connected? The simplest way would be to run a stereo cable from a line out on the VSX-1020 to a line in on the 9040-TXH. The 9040 would then be set to EXT.Stereo to drive four speakers.

[Daejeon]

Hey Bob,
i'm just trying to get the one receiver to work on it's own for now. I did what 57 suggested and unplugged all my speakers. i hooked up one and it worked, the second one shut the receiver down when i started to connect it. when i turned it on again and raised the volume, it shut down again and the phase control light kept flashing. the receivers are not directly on top of each other, i have a shelf for each and they're not running for more than a few minutes so i don't think it's heat related...

[lapopal]

Every post you make you add more information that changes the solution to your issue, have you set your volume controls for impedance matching, usually little jumpers or dip switches on the volume control. How do you have your speakers wired? a pair of speakers should not cause any issues unless someone cheated or did an electricians method of running speaker wire...