I would love anyone's help on this as the idiots at Best Buy, etc. gave me blank stares when I asked about the following. My goal is to be able to drive three pairs of speakers from a single receiver, using a single audio source (I have no need for multi-source as the rooms are all adjoining). I have an existing 5.1 5x100W receiver with A and B speaker options. Before I attempt this and end up blowing up my receiver, was wondering if the following is possible and/or smart. I would hook up my deck speakers to the Speaker B pair. I would hook up my dining room speakers to the Speaker A front speaker pair and my kitchen speakers to the Speaker A rear speaker pair. The center channel goes unused. All of my speakers are rated at 100W, 8ohm. I would like to be able to run just Speaker A (kitchen & dining room), just Speaker B (deck), or all at once - Speaker A+B (kitchen, dining room, deck). My concerns are that the total wattage of all speakers (A+B) is 6x100W = 600W, so with a 500W receiver, if all speakers are running at once, is the sound underpowered, or does it overload the receiver? If either of of these scenarios are correct, could I do the same exact setup with a new 7.1 receiver, assuming 100W per channel such that 700 total watts exceeds the amount of speaker wattage that I need to power? Another assumption I am making is that I am okay with impedance since I have a dedicated two channel Speaker B pair and a 5 channel Speaker A set. Not sure if I am assuming correctly there or not. Lastly, if any of the above is possible, is it smart? Keep in mind, I am trying to make this setup as inexpensive as possible, so I am not interested in multiple receivers, distribution amp, etc. Thanks in advance!
