In article ,
smb wrote:
I've got an AV Receiver in my living room, and want to feed some extra
speakers (stereo only) in the kitchen. I want to be able to mute the
sound in the living room if I want, whilst still hearing the sound in
the kitchen, and vice versa. The cable run will have to be about 10
metres.

The AV Receiver only has one set of speaker outputs. However, it does
have pre-outs, as well as tape loop phono outputs and digital outputs,
both optical and electrical.

What's the best way to connect extra speakers? I assume that if I use
the pre-outs, the sound will mute in the kitchen if I mute it in the
living room. The digital outputs only work if the input is also
digital, which isn't ideal but I might live with it if it means thinner
cable and better sound. This just leaves the tape output, but I'm
worried about the cable lenght, and hiding a thick cable might prove
difficult. Are there any other possibilities I've missed?

Presumably I would need some kind of amp or powered speakers to make use
of any of these outputs. Can anyone recommend a simple small amp or
powered speakers that can handle digital input?

I'd use the tape outs in analogue - these won't mute and are at a
constant level, so altering the level of the main system won't alter the
remote one.

Then any old amp you can think of will be fine for the kitchen. But make
sure it doesn't have a three core mains lead, as you might run into hum
loop problems if it has.

For 10 meter cables, probably best to buy a suitable cable by the metre
from the likes of Maplin and fit the plugs yourself. Something like XS93
which is a twin 'figure of eight' co-ax at a quid a metre.

--
*Never miss a good chance to shut up *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.