[beef1020]

We just moved into a new house that has in ceiling speakers in multiple rooms. I would like some help on figuring out what components I need, and what options will work the best. First, a bit about how the speakers are wired.

On one wall I have the terminals for all the wires:

Each set of inputs controls one set of speakers in the house:
1) 1) Kitchen – 2 speakers, 6ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
2) 2) Deck – 2 spearkers, 6 ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
3) 3) Sitting room – 2 speakers, 6 ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
4) 4) Office/front sitting room – 4 speakers, 4 ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
5) 5) Dinning room – 2 speakers, 6 ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
6) 6) Upstairs – 5 speakers, 4 ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
7) 7) Basement – 2 speakers, 6 ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
8) 8) nothing


I am leaning towards getting at least one, but possible three sonos connects. Ideally, with three I would have one control the basement, one control the deck, and one control everything else. I would like to have these sonos connects run into an amp, at least an 8 channel amp. There are no volume controls for the speakers, so each sonos would become the volume control for the zones. I like having the ability to control the audio with a phone or other wireless device.

Any help on specific amps that would work for this configuration would be very nice. In terms of budget, I would like to spend no more than $700-$800 on an amp. I was looking at a Niles SI-1230 series 2 120channel amp because they are on sale at amazon, although I think 12 channels is probably more than I need. Addtionally, I do not believe I have the option to bridge any channels as the most resistence my channels see is 6 ohms, is that correct? Is there an equivalent 8 channel amp? How is the Russound R850MC 8 channel amp for what I need,, it looks like it has 8 channels, but only 4 zones and I don't know if it can send a mono (l+r) signal to each of it's channels.


Additionally, would this setup work, some number of sonos connects, into an 8 channel amp, with no other equipment? Are there better options out there I have not considered? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[jaddie]

We just moved into a new house that has in ceiling speakers in multiple rooms. I would like some help on figuring out what components I need, and what options will work the best. First, a bit about how the speakers are wired.

On one wall I have the terminals for all the wires:

View attachment 649945

Each set of inputs controls one set of speakers in the house:
1) 1) Kitchen – 2 speakers, 6ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
2) 2) Deck – 2 spearkers, 6 ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
3) 3) Sitting room – 2 speakers, 6 ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
4) 4) Office/front sitting room – 4 speakers, 4 ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
5) 5) Dinning room – 2 speakers, 6 ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
6) 6) Upstairs – 5 speakers, 4 ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
7) 7) Basement – 2 speakers, 6 ohms resistance at the speaker wire terminal
8) 8) nothing


I am leaning towards getting at least one, but possible three sonos connects. Ideally, with three I would have one control the basement, one control the deck, and one control everything else. I would like to have these sonos connects run into an amp, at least an 8 channel amp. There are no volume controls for the speakers, so each sonos would become the volume control for the zones. I like having the ability to control the audio with a phone or other wireless device.

Any help on specific amps that would work for this configuration would be very nice. In terms of budget, I would like to spend no more than $700-$800 on an amp. I was looking at a Niles SI-1230 series 2 120channel amp because they are on sale at amazon, although I think 12 channels is probably more than I need. Addtionally, I do not believe I have the option to bridge any channels as the most resistence my channels see is 6 ohms, is that correct?

If by "bridge" you mean connect two speakers in parallel, perhaps. The Niles will drive 4 ohm loads comfortably. Your measurements sound like DC resistance readings taken with an ohm meter, so they're not representing actual speaker impedance. Speakers are typically 8 ohms, nominal. Two in parallel is 4 ohms, nominal, an acceptable load to the Niles. Three is not acceptable. The room with 5 has issues.

Is there an equivalent 8 channel amp? How is the Russound R850MC 8 channel amp for what I need,, it looks like it has 8 channels, but only 4 zones and I don't know if it can send a mono (l+r) signal to each of it's channels.

Looks like the Russound has built-in mono capability.

Additionally, would this setup work, some number of sonos connects, into an 8 channel amp, with no other equipment?

Some number of Sonos units, sure, but you have 19 speakers in 7 zones. How do you plan to do that with an 8 channel amp? You have a load issue, at least, in some zones. Are there any wall-mounted volume controls in place? You may actually want those for convenience. Otherwise everyone has to have the Sonos app in hand just to lower the volume for a phone call.

Are there better options out there I have not considered?

Hire an expert who does this for a living, get him to at least consult with you for an hour or so, take his recommendations into consideration. There are many ways to mess this up, and a few ways to get it right.

 

[neils]

Commenting high level on whole house audio, there are really 2 approaches when building it out in a new house. My approach and my brother and cousin's approach. Mine was more straight forward. I said to myself, how often will I listen to 2 different music sources in 2 opposing rooms. Just the sound mixing and competing with each other would sound awful. And since my family usually sticks together, we would not need 2 music sources playing at the same time.

So I feed the Zone 3 out of my prepro into 1 stereo power amp that is capable of low impedances (Carver PM-300). All of my speakers are connected to this one amp, and throughout the house I have in-wall volume controls to manage the sound levels locally. For switching the source, I just use the Marantz app or in-wall keypads (B&K 1.2) to switch source inputs or use the same app to control internet radio.

For my brother and cousin, different approach, they really wanted different music sources, with app volume control, so they went with the Sonos solution. It gets pricey since you have to buy multiple units per zone, but in the end, it is a complete solution, especially if you get the AMP model with built-in amp, you don;t even have to worry about multi-channel external amps, which can be VERY expensive. I think they bought Leviton 10 or 12 channel amps (built by JBL), and they paid well over $1K for each (two amps).

So if you go the Sonos route, consider getting the amplified version, but if you want each Sonos unit feeding many pairs of speakers, you would need to check how low of an impedance you can go with those amps.

If not, consider my approach, simple, and the wife factor is great, local volume control, and app or keypad to switch the source, only 1 amp to deal with. If multi room multi source is your thing, I think Sonos is a solid solution. Their wireless speakers are expensive (especially the sub), but their source stuff is not bad.