Whole home audio

[kwoody51]

Sonos all the way! It's the most intuitive, user friendly system you can go with, but you pay for it.

I designed and installed my whole AV setup in our new house. 2500' of speaker wire with 14 in ceiling speakers and 4 outdoor speakers.

Apple airplay is an alternative, but know its limits. Dropouts can be a problem, it also has an no ability to "link" zones in party mode.

My system -
In ceiling speakers 8" from htd.com $80/pair
Amp - 12 channel by 50w episode 70a -$350 off eBay
Sonos - 3 connects ~$250 off craigslist
1 connect amp - $400 off craigslist
Audio rack - free off craigslist
Power strips - ~$50 a piece at Zoro

So for ~$2000 I have a super simple to use system that my non tech savy wife figured out in less than a minute.

AirPlay is a viable, cheaper option, but it's not that much cheaper of your score on Craigslist. Also go in ceiling speakers, don't do the "play" units. You'll get better sound with the in ceiling and they won't be "visible".

 

[bsmiddleton]

Wow. That's all I can really say. There's no way I have time to do that. Drywall goes up on the ceiling Monday. I might hit up RadioShack. Songs seems like the easiest answer though.

 

[kwoody51]

Wow. That's all I can really say. There's no way I have time to do that. Drywall goes up on the ceiling Monday. I might hit up RadioShack. Songs seems like the easiest answer though.

Thanks! Yes it took me, and some family help, a good solid 20+ hours to pull all the low voltage (speakers, network and cable). 8000' when it was all done.

Wife was giving me grief about how long it took and why I just didn't "pay" for it to be done. Once it was all up and running she was happy with how it worked!

Regardless it's great to have access to tunes where ever you go in the house!

 

[4t64rd]

I just picked up a pair of these... granted, they won't rattle the windows, but then again, if your grinder tosses a hunk of trim through them, you only have to pay $40 for a new pair.

http://amzn.com/B002RMPHMU

Dayton Audio B652

hide a $99 sub and you CAN rattle the windows.

http://amzn.com/B0063NU30K

I had an unpowered Infinity 10" sub in a MDF box I got from a garage sale, and I added one of these:

http://amzn.com/B0002YUMY8

and a garage sale Sansui receiver and I'm annoying my neighbors!

UPDATE: Sansui was given away, the wood sides had termites... Upgraded my home system with a Marantz with wifi and bluetooth ... So the 20 year old Pioneer goes to the garage and it'll be hooked up to a Yamaha powered sub and those Daytons... The B speakers are my old 1968 KLHs with new tweeters.

I noticed some limitations using bluetooth so I researched it and a Chromecast Audio puck, uses wifi... AND I have access to all 20K songs and playlists on my hard drive through Plex and the Wifi (controlled through an app on my Iphone).

 

[PT Doc]

In regards to in ceiling speakers. That is not be best location for getting good sounding music to your ears. In wall would be better. Also think about how things will look down the road. If you won't be there in 10 years them who cares. Wireless sound is so common now. Will your house look dated in 10 years with old looking ceiling speakers. Something to think about. This is how someone explained it to me. Gotta say, it does make sense. A system like sonos can always be moved in the house or sold when you want to upgrade. With a wired system, you have to get up to change to input or the volume. Lots of benefits with something wireless for sure.

 

[Showkey]

Another Sonos user..........moved to a new to me home..........never unpacked the regular stereo stuff.

Two play 5, one play 3 and two play 1 never looked back. Whole house and shop covered.

 

[Beemer533]

.... With a wired system, you have to get up to change to input or the volume. Lots of benefits with something wireless for sure.

Not really, it depends on what is actually the source.

My system consists of hardwired ceiling speakers. Each zone (I have 4 zones right now, with a pair of speakers in each zone) is powered by its own amplifier.

Each amp is driven by a Raspberry pi running Squeeze plug.

Music sources are local files on my server or any streaming channel available.

The system control is a Logitech media player app on my phone or tablet.

If I want to play music in the garage I just start the app on my Samsung, select the garage zone and whatever music/radio etc I want to listen to.

I can also select all zones to play the same source.

Granted, it isn't really an off the shelf solution that will work for everyone, but it works very well and is very affordable. As long as I have my phone or tablet nearby, I can control everything from that.

 

[Schwartzint1]

I use an onkyo TXNR 717 reciever. This reciever operates via wifi and an app that is for sure available via Iphone. (not sure about droid) I have three zones. Main, zone 2 and zone 3. I am able to listen to the same or different inputs on each zone. I have a set of in wall speakers on my main tv, an outdoor setup and a music room. Not positive, but I believe the main can only output 5.1 (instead of 7.2) if you are using the other two zones. It has proven to be a great setup for me. They make a wireless adapter, but I always use a wired connection when possible.