Help! I bought a Niles ZR-4630 recently to put in a good starter multi-zone system. I only had one set of speakers at the time and one keypad. I tested it as best I could with one set of speakers and all the outputs worked. Tonight I hooked up another set of speakers and a keypad. The problem is when I push any of the master control buttons ALL the zones come on. It is supposed to turn all zones on with a 3 second press and only the zone the keypad is in with a short press, however it seems to do just the opposite. Also changing sources will turn on all zones unless you do the 3 second press thing. Even more frustrating, turning a zone off turns off all zones regardless of a short button press or a long one. Individual zone volume controls work fine and so does mute. I've scoured the manual and can't find anywhere this can be set. I even erased all programming per the manual and the problem persists. Did I get ripped off? I searched the forums but didn't see any posts with this issue.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

What did Niles tech support suggest you do?


That depends on what's wrong and how much you paid.

Niles has an amazing tech support and repair department. They may not be able to walk you through an entire set up, but they should be able to get you sorted out easily.

Niles support said
"That is not a programmable feature of the ZR4630.
You can only program which zones turn on via the dip switches on the front of the 4630.
You are correct in stating the "all on" feature is executed by a 3 second press and hold of a source key.
If all zones turn on, regardless of dip switch setting, button press or zone the keypad is connected to, you have a damaged unit.
It will need to be sent in for service."

Waiting to hear back from them. The seller (through eBay) said:


hey man those niles people are a buncha wise guys... download
the manual from their site and just change it back to factory
defaults, i set it that way to make sure every channel was
working i'm in the a/v industry and i'll tell ya that thing is fine
just look at the manual and don't be afraid to mess with some of
the settings... if you still have trouble i'll look at the manual and
see if i can be of any help... good luck

Found the issue. I had an older version of the manual which didn't include any information about zone linking. The zones HAD been linked. I found a more recent copy of the manual online and was able to un-link the zones. Everything is working now.

Thanks for your help!

Whew! You dodged a bullet there! Yeah, I know, I'm profiling here, but I'd get a little nervous when asking for exact technical information from a guy who writes "ya" instead of "you" (except as a joke). Saying that the people who made the equipment are a "buncha wise guys" also takes the seller down a few pegs.

I was in the field and worked over the phone with Niles during the massive improvement of their IR sensors about 18 months ago, and they are very professional and thorough, except for one thing. That was when I asked a detailed question and the tech said "I could ask engineering, but a)I don't know when we'd get an answer and b) I wouldn't know if it was the truth." I'm still waiting for someone from Niles to speak up and say that tech was not being accurate!

I realize this is a very old post but I have the opposite problem. I have a early version of the ZR-4630. Several of the features of the unit are different than the manual (speaker connections are different, AM and FM antenna connections are different than shown in the manual). I am trying to link all zones but the programming as described does not work. Does anyone have na earlier version of the manual or do you know how to link the zones?
thanks,