Sometimes more is merrier, and in the case of receivers, that can be true as well. Yet you may wonder to yourself what the benefits may be and how it would even be possible since one receiver already seems like enough for any sophisticated sound system.
Well, some additional benefits make it worthwhile, and as long as it’s integrated correctly, you’ll be able to reap said benefits.
Why should I even consider connecting two receivers together?
The primary reason to connect two receivers together is that it will allow you to amplify your existing speakers. Receivers are there to help ensure that the music quality is as high as possible, and adding an additional receiver correctly will do just that.
It’s also possible to add two receivers together when you’re looking to expand the number of speakers you’re using and if you want to upgrade from stereo sound to proper 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound options.
How to actually connect two receivers together
Now that you can see the potential benefits of connecting two receivers together let’s go through the most straightforward way first.
Step 1
Make sure that all the audio receivers are turned off first. This is more of a precursor but should be noted before handling this connection. Next, plug both receivers into a wall outlet (or surge protector) to ensure they’re getting power but leave them off.
Step 2
Select which receiver will be the primary device and look in the back. Locate the group of plugs that are labeled together under “input.” Take your RCA cables and plug your cables into their respective outlets. RCA cables will come with red and white colored connectors that need to match the jacks in the back.
Step 3
On your secondary receiver, locate the area behind that has the jacks that are grouped under “Output.” Take the RCA cables that are already plugged into the primary receiver and plug the cables into the “Output” jacks. Make sure again to properly color code the red and white cables with the red and white jacks.
Suppose you do not properly connect the cables with the color-coded system, or you didn’t put one set of cables into the “Input” section and one into the “Output” section. In that case, this connection of two receivers will not work correctly, and you will not be able to have the right type of audio, if any, come out.
How to set up the option to have surround sound or stereo sound
Another great part when connecting two receivers is that you won’t have to choose how you listen to audio. Having two properly connected receivers in this configuration will allow each receiver to control the audio in stereo or surround sound formats.
Step 1
First, select which one will be your stereo receiver. For this one, you’ll only connect your primary two speakers (i.e., the left and right speakers in the front usually).
Step 2
Plug the remaining speakers into your surround sound receiver system.
Step 3
This is where it gets a bit chellenging, but here you’ll be connecting your surround sound receiver system to your stereo receiver system. The cables used here will go into the “output” for the surround sound receiver system and the “input” section for the stereo system.
Step 4
Turn it all on and start listening to music. If you want to make any adjustments, you can do that from the receiver used for the surround sound system.
Connect two receivers directly to one speaker and alternate audio
There’s an additional way to be able to connect your receivers together with a single set of speakers that will also allow you to play two sets of music between the speakers. It’s a great way of saving money as well, without having to switch back and forth between audio and music and without the need for additional separate speaker and receiver setups.
This time around, you’re going to want to get familiar with all the connections and jacks for all the receivers and be aware of where the “input” and “output” are. We’re going to be running cables a bit differently. If this isn’t done correctly, there’s a chance of burning out your speakers and making them unusable.
Step 1
Take the speaker wire that’s already connected to the back of the primary amplifier and put it into the first input into the speaker. Do the same with the second amplifier (have the wire from the back of the amplifier already plugged in) and have it go into the other output in the speaker.
Step 2
This is more of a check, but before turning anything on or testing the audio, you want them to look like parallel lines and have the right connections happening. You’ll want to see straight lines.
Step 3
Now we’re looking at our output sections. It’s the same idea as above, but this time we’re taking the speaker wire and connecting it to the primary and secondary receiver’s outputs. AGAIN, make sure that they run parallel as you did when checking in step two.
There’s also a way to simplify this if you’ve got the resources to acquire a speaker switch. What this does, in essence, is what you were building in the above steps, but it actually is an additional component specifically used to connect two receivers directly to one speaker. It might be a better option in some cases if you feel as if you’re not going to link the devices correctly and accidentally break them.
If you ever want a reason to see what you would do with a second receiver or want to get a new receiver, but your current one is still working perfectly, the above options are a great way to utilize all your hardware.
They will either offer amplification or more versatility with how you listen to music and other audio. As always, it’s a good idea to work with experts for more complicated system setups.
