Thanks for clearing things up guys. One of the reasons I was inquiring if all zones excluding the main should be turned off if not in use is excess heat dissipation from the reciever. I had an Alpine head unit for the car which had a feature that allowed the internal amplifiers to be turned off. The manual stated that if an external amplifier is used to power speakers instead of the internal HU amp it is recommended to disable the HU amp which will reduce heat and increase the longevity of the product with a cleaner source signal. My sometimes over analytical mind was thinking in that regard and I was wondering if disabeling secondary zones would reduce heat resulting in a longer life for my reciever. It looks like at the rate I going thus far I'll need 10yrs just to figure out the many features of the 3808. When I disabled secondary zones I heard the internal amps in the reciever click off.
