Home audio and distribution.

[ddrueding]

I'm trying to rig my GF's house with sound. Here's what I'm trying to achieve:

6 Rooms in 4 Zones
multiple input sources
easy control

The first order of business is speakers. I'm looking for something relatively small and wall-mountable that will provide good sound for a small fairly acoustically active room. I'd rather avoid subwoofers, but that typically makes the speakers larger to keep the lower frequencies. Of course, if the speakers don't have built-in amplifiers, then I'm looking at some of those as well.

I would like the option of just jacking in an IPod or laptop into any of the zones (1/8" mini jack) as well as tying all the zones into a single input. Playing any of the inputs at any of the zones would be nice, but I suspect that would get really complicated/expensive. Control is tricky, I'd assume that an RF remote of some kind would be the best choice. At some point in the future there will likely be a media server in the front room and that makes some of the control/distribution system easier.

Right now I'd really like some reccomendations on speaker/amp options for the different rooms; distribution and control can be revisited later.

TIA

 

[timwhit]

You have another new girlfriend already?

 

[sechs]

Do we have a budget here? I saw one of those setups that uses the wall as the speaker... er, not cheap.

 

[ddrueding]

You have another new girlfriend already?

http://storageforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=74902#74902

 

[ddrueding]

Do we have a budget here? I saw one of those setups that uses the wall as the speaker... er, not cheap.

Yeah, cheap is better than not, but some money can be spent. I was thinking of installing Klipsch 2.1 systems in every room, but that would be the high-end price point (~$250 per room) and would involve hiding more subwoofers than I'd like. The entire house is raised hardwood flooring and the averade size of the rooms is 10'x12'. These are small rooms that are quite active; not much power is required to fill them. But at the same time I'd like full-range sound for as cheap as possible, ideally without subwoofers.

Thanks for reading my thread.

 

[ddrueding]

Looks like I'll be installing Klipsch ProMedia GMX 2.1 speakers in every room. Now for the distribution....any suggestions?

 

[timwhit]

Please not Klipsch. Horns are no good for indoor/home usage. You are not trying to create enough sound for a stadium, you are trying to fill a room with good sounding music.

 

[Mercutio]

I'm not a big fan of the Klipsch sound, either. Kef has some really nice full-range, retractable in-wall speakers.

I'd avoid getting a sub. Hell, for whole-home audio you might do just as well with mono, as speaker placement for stereo is a bit of a pain, particularly if the room has other potential sound sources (TV, computer).

If all you need to do is distribute sound, ABus-type equipment is basically ideal for anyone who is familiar with Cat5 wiring. You could get an Integra receiver and the wall controls, if you just need to handle one or two rooms. More than that, or if you want to distribute video as well (I did), and you'll have to get something bigger. Russound or ChannelVision, probably. Best thing to do is see if you can talk to an installer and possibly demo the products. That's what I did.

 

[Santilli]

OK:
I'm a Klipsch lover. You need a really good amp, but not a powerful amp, and they simply rock, like nothing else. You could put a set of Klipsch horns in one room, and be able to hear it in all rooms clearly, and down the block.

That said, check this link

http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=802

80 bucks for factory refurbished speakers, well, that's your alley.

My only complaint about most Klipsch speakers in our apartment, the main speakers, is I can't get them over an 1/8 volume, with the neighbors home.

The Promedia 5.0's IIRC, with 4 speakers and a sub give me sound that still screws with my neighbors, and, it's perfect for watching DVD's in the bedroom, on the 21 inch monitors.

http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=8&dmore=True&rmore=False


I've got the above, plus 3 more klipsch speakers, including a turned down 12 inch sub, for a home theatre. I can barely play it, but, on rare occassions, we rock...

gs

PS For old school, the klipsch horns, and the La Scala's are simply incredible. Look under Heritage speakers....

 

[ddrueding]

I'm working out a more simplified version to accomode my more modest budget. But I still need to send an audio signal as much as 150 feet. Will an analouge signal be significantly impacted? What would be the best wiring? Do I need to send the signal in a digital form? Are there standalone digital encoders/decoders that are relatively cheap?

TIA

 

[jtr1962]

I'm working out a more simplified version to accomode my more modest budget. But I still need to send an audio signal as much as 150 feet. Will an analouge signal be significantly impacted? What would be the best wiring? Do I need to send the signal in a digital form? Are there standalone digital encoders/decoders that are relatively cheap?

I assume you mean a low level audio signal. Given that it's low frequency (<20KHz) a pair of wires should do, or better yet a small coax so you don't pick up any interference. I don't think the signal will suffer any audible distortion going only 150 feet. No need to convert to digital and back again either. You'll probably suffer more distortion doing that than you would just sending the signal straight over a wire.

 

[ddrueding]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I mean a low-level audio signal. Considering that this will be directly spliced to a number of wires, should I use some kind of amplification at the source? I'd rather not, as that would complicate things.

 

[jtr1962]

That complicates things a bit if you're sending the signal to several places because the load is higher, and could drag down the voltage. That may cause problems, but then again it probably won't. Without knowing the specifics of your system, the only answer is to try it and see what happens. Connect one set of lines at a time and see if any of the loads cause problems. I believe signal splitters for audio lines might be available for this purpose if you have problems.

 

[ddrueding]

The simplest configuration would be 6 wires spliced at the source, running between 20 and 150 feet each, to independantly amplified speakers. I'm thinking of introducing some sort of switching system to it, but I'm not sure about that yet.

 

[Tannin]

So what's the batting average here? Umm ... 6 rooms x 2 speakers + 1 subwoofer / 1 girlfriend = .... er .... about 0.056 girlfriends per speaker.

Obviously, David, you need to have fewer speakers, or possibly more girlfriends.

 

[Mercutio]

ABus.

A B U S

 

[ddrueding]

So what's the batting average here? Umm ... 6 rooms x 2 speakers + 1 subwoofer / x girlfriend = .... er .... about 0.056 girlfriends per speaker.

Obviously, David, you need to have fewer speakers, or possibly more girlfriends.

You made an assumption in your math....but I am being a good boy these days...

 

[ddrueding]

ABus.

A B U S

You know what happens when you google for ABUS? A whole lotta crap. But eBay helped me out. It also informed me that a 6-room multi-source setup is $1500. I'm not even paying that much for speakers!

 

[Mercutio]

Another option for A/V distribution.

 

[ddrueding]

That does look fun. I was actually checking out the squeezebox as well.

 

[Gilbo]

That Squeezebox product looks terrific ddrueding.

 

[Handruin]

I've always been interested in the squeezebox. Some time ago Mercutio and ddrueding setup a slimserver that I could connect to. I was able to listen to their music via streaming. I also found a slim devices emulator so that you can use a computer as a device if you have a spare laptop sitting around. It connects to the slim server just like the actual device and it works rather well. I had two laptops synchronized last summer playing the same music upstairs and downstairs in my house.

The new squeezebox looks pretty nice. My only concern is with it's height. I'd prefer it to be shorter to fit in with the other devices in an entertainment center. The pictures may be deceiving.

-====
I recently read a large review in my CPU mag regarding the sling box. It was the only piece of hardware they've ever given a 5 out of 5 rating. I find it interesting, but not something I have a use for just yet.

 

[blakerwry]

oh that's awesome