[jimcu]

G'day! I have a few newbie audio distribution questions, and was hoping for enlightenment from the combined wisdom of this forum.


I have a PC in my home office, which stores my ripped CD’s, as well as receives streaming audio via the Internet. I want to be able to listen to this audio in the office, lounge and bedroom. I currently have an Audigy 2 sound card, with analog (1/8") and digital (RCA SPDIF) audio out connectors. I have separate stereo amplifiers and speakers in all the listening rooms.


I'm wondering what the best way is to connect them to the PC. Doesn't have to be audiophile quality, though should sound good, and be cost effective. Ideally, I’d like to avoid having to do any switching – if the PC is playing, I’d like to be able to just switch on any amp to hear it.


Office - amp is ~15' from PC

- Currently using analog out. Sounds fine.


Lounge - amp is about 20' from PC in office.

- Would digital coax be my best option here?


Bedroom - amp is about 60' from PC

- Is digital coax an option for this length?

- Would analog be useless for this length?

- Would 4 @ 15' active USB cables and an external sound card be an option?

- Any other ideas?


And two final questions - are digital coax splitters such as this one viable, or do they compromise audio quality too much? And what is the maximum recommended length for interconnects (analog RCA, digital coax)?


Thanks!


-jim.


[Oops - guess I'm not allowed to post the URL of a certain large auction site; inserting said site.com in the place of ******* will do the trick.]

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Whichever way you go, Jim, it’s going to require you running some cable between the computer and the other three locations. Unless you intend to string cabling across the floor, that means running them through attic or basement space, dropping them in-wall, etc.


Are you equipped to handle that – i.e., necessary tools and skills?


Regards,

Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[jimcu]

Yep, running cable shouldn't be a problem; I just want to make sure it's the right kind of cable

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Okay – well, you’d obviously have to have coaxial digital inputs for all the remote receivers to send the signal digitally. Since you describe them as “stereo amplifiers,†I’m guessing not. I’m not sure how well splitting digital works – I couldn’t get the link to work.


Of course, going analog will also require splitting the signal. It shouldn’t be a problem splitting it three ways, but if you find the signal is too weak at the other end you can always pick up a distribution amp from Radio Shack or someplace.


As far as the actual cable, there are a few options depending on if you intend to terminate yourself – i.e., solder or otherwise connect RCA’s – or not. If you’re going to solder on RCA’s you can run installation-grade shielded audio cable.


If you can’t solder, there are RCA’s connectors that have other means of making the connections.


Another option, you can run lengths of pre-terminated RG-59 or –6 coaxial, and use F to RCA converters. Alternately, there are twist-on RCAs for RG-59. That would allow you to buy the cable in bulk, which would be cheaper than pre-terminated.


Regards,

Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[EricJRW]

Do you have FM receivers in the other rooms?


My first thought was a "stereo fm transmitter", rather like they use for iPods and other MP3 players.


Typing the above terms into Yahoo! yields many results. The ones at www.bizrate.com caught my eye...


I also tried http://www.smarthome.com/hometheatermap.html, but the web site is not responding. Dive down to http://www.smarthome.com/avvidtrns.html and there are many audio options...



This seems a lot easier than running wires, but I don't know what the range is. Seems when the "vcr rabbit" went wireless, the range was pretty good. So perhaps something along that line. Unless I was building a new house, I'd personally be staying away from [having to run] wires/cables...


Good luck,


Eric

 

[jimcu]

My limited experience, and the feedback I've seen from others, suggests that the FM transmitters are lousy . Unfortunately, as that would be a perfect solution. I even went so far as to build a $100 Ramsey Electronics FM transmitter kit, which was supposed to be far more powerful, and better, than anything that could be legally sold as a completed unit. After all that work, its results were *very* disappointing.


I picked up a couple if Panasonic SA-XR25's at closeout at Sears for ~$100 each a few months ago, so I have amps with digital RCA and digital optical inputs. Running cable isn't a problem. Given that analog or either digital input is an option, as is running long USB and converting close to the receiver, I'm still wondering which would be best...

 

[EricJRW]

Thanks for the info about FM.


I was considering that for one of my projects. Perhaps I'll take a different approach or look into wireless speakers using the higher frequencies (being sure to buy from a local store with a good return policy).


Eric

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Quote:

I'm still wondering which would be best...

Well, RG-59 or –6 could easily be used for analog or digital. So you could do dual runs of both to each location. Try digital first. If that doesn’t work you already have the second cable in place for analog. Win, win.


One problem you might end up with however, is a ground loop hum. That’s what I got when I tried to run a long analog cable between my computer and stereo once.


Regards,

Wayne A. Pflughaupt