Rotel RSP 1570 Zone Disappointment

[Media Monster]

Here is an email that I just sent Rotel:


I have a RSP-1570. I use it for my main 7.1 theater room. I have 6 digital inputs connected to it. I am just getting around to connecting my other zone speakers. After connecting zone 2 to my zone amp, I was getting no audio. After reading the fine print on page 21:

Note: Only analog input signals are available at the Zone 2, 3, and 4 outputs. Source components connected to only the digital inputs are not available in the remote zones.

Are you serious???

Almost every input is digital! Why didn’t you guys convert the remote zones to analog??

There is little to no point in having these remote zones if the RSP does not do a DA converstion. Unless I am missing something, the only thing I can do at this point is to use the optical out to another pre-amp to control my remote zones.

What a serious disappointment.

End email.

I have read a little about the long awaited 1580 with HDMI matrix switching. That might solve the problem. but what about "party mode"? A matrix switch switches from one output to the next. What I want/need is the ability to turn on/off any zone sourced with HDMI/SPDIF.

Has anyone else encountered this problem with Zones 2-4? How did you solve it?

-Media Monster

[mjb]

Just run an analog interconnect to your source in addition to the digital one. Digital is used for main, analog for zone.

[Kevin D]

Before sending an over-excited email to Rotel, a little research would have shown that almost no manufacturer has D/A converters to the zone outputs. Almost all require you to send analog in addition.

There's no reason to require everyone to pay for 1-3 D/A converters that few will use.

Kevin D.

[srb]

There's no reason to require everyone to pay for 1-3 D/A converters that few will use.
Kevin D.

Understood that you would need a DAC for each zone to process a different digital input for that zone, but many also use zones to play the same input that the main is playing. It would be nice to have a function to at least be able to see the main D/A conversion available at all the zones.

Zone Clone Mode.

Steve

[Kevin D]

Which would add even more confusion. I could imagine the manual page:

All inputs are available on the zone outputs as long as you are currently listening to the same source on the main output, otherwise any source you wish to listen to on a secondary output that you are not listening to on the main zone will require additional analog connections to the appropriate source input.

Best to leave it as is until multiple DAC's are available.

Kevin D.