Hi there,
I am a total newbie looking for comments on both of these systems.
Here is what we'd like to do in an apartment that has been gutted - all speakers mentioned will be buried in the walls (not ceiling - our apt. building doesn't allow), and the contractor said that he wants to close the walls "in a week" so we need to hurry and decide! Ok, so here is our plan:
1. Have a TV in the LR - does not need surround sound, but b/c it is a super-thin flat panel it definitely needs speakers. We'll have a bluray, Tivo, and yes, a VCR (too many old home movies that haven't been digitized!) but they will be located in a closet in the hall.
2. Be able to play music in the LR. It is next door to the DR, so throw a couple of speakers in the DR, too, and pipe the same music in. (They are very open rooms, and this is an apartment, so I can't imagine having different stuff in the LR and DR - they can be on the same channel, but for instance if someone is watching TV in the LR, I would like to silence the speakers in the DR.)
3. At the same time, be able to play a different song or talk radio in the kitchen.
4. Also, put speakers in the master bedroom and master bath. It would be fine for them to be on the same channel, but they must have different volume controls.
HTD can do all of this, and I think Sonos can, too.
I am looking to find out the pros and cons of each.
When I asked HTD about playing music from my computer, wirelessly, they said, yes, I can just plug an airport into one of their input jacks. Also, HTD is coming out with new wall switches that will also function as intercoms. Don't know if that is good or bad.
With HTD, all my components would sit in a closet, and there would be a control panel the size of a double lightswitch on the wall in each room that is wired for sound. The speaker wire and CAT-5 cable would all run back to this closet.
With Sonos, they said I could also run everything back to that closet, OR, get another Sonos box and stick it in a closet in the master bedroom (which is at the other end of the apartment) and just run my bed/bath wires to that location. They made it sound like this would save me money somehow (less labor to run wires, maybe?)
Is it a pain to have to always carry your iphone around to control Sonos? Do you like having a touchpad in each room as with HTD or Russound? Or is that something that will become obsolete with fast changing technology and look bad? Or require an expensive upgrade?
Lastly, how much does Sonos run in the above configuration for 5 - 6 zones?
HTD.com quoted me about $2000 - 2500 plus installation, depending on whether I go with their mid-level or higher end system.
Please, anyone, I'm open to comments!
Thanks.
I am a total newbie looking for comments on both of these systems.
Here is what we'd like to do in an apartment that has been gutted - all speakers mentioned will be buried in the walls (not ceiling - our apt. building doesn't allow), and the contractor said that he wants to close the walls "in a week" so we need to hurry and decide! Ok, so here is our plan:
1. Have a TV in the LR - does not need surround sound, but b/c it is a super-thin flat panel it definitely needs speakers. We'll have a bluray, Tivo, and yes, a VCR (too many old home movies that haven't been digitized!) but they will be located in a closet in the hall.
2. Be able to play music in the LR. It is next door to the DR, so throw a couple of speakers in the DR, too, and pipe the same music in. (They are very open rooms, and this is an apartment, so I can't imagine having different stuff in the LR and DR - they can be on the same channel, but for instance if someone is watching TV in the LR, I would like to silence the speakers in the DR.)
3. At the same time, be able to play a different song or talk radio in the kitchen.
4. Also, put speakers in the master bedroom and master bath. It would be fine for them to be on the same channel, but they must have different volume controls.
HTD can do all of this, and I think Sonos can, too.
I am looking to find out the pros and cons of each.
When I asked HTD about playing music from my computer, wirelessly, they said, yes, I can just plug an airport into one of their input jacks. Also, HTD is coming out with new wall switches that will also function as intercoms. Don't know if that is good or bad.
With HTD, all my components would sit in a closet, and there would be a control panel the size of a double lightswitch on the wall in each room that is wired for sound. The speaker wire and CAT-5 cable would all run back to this closet.
With Sonos, they said I could also run everything back to that closet, OR, get another Sonos box and stick it in a closet in the master bedroom (which is at the other end of the apartment) and just run my bed/bath wires to that location. They made it sound like this would save me money somehow (less labor to run wires, maybe?)
Is it a pain to have to always carry your iphone around to control Sonos? Do you like having a touchpad in each room as with HTD or Russound? Or is that something that will become obsolete with fast changing technology and look bad? Or require an expensive upgrade?
Lastly, how much does Sonos run in the above configuration for 5 - 6 zones?
HTD.com quoted me about $2000 - 2500 plus installation, depending on whether I go with their mid-level or higher end system.
Please, anyone, I'm open to comments!
Thanks.
