1. Very much possible.
2. Yes, getting a dual zone system will really bump up the price of your receiver.
3. That is possible and usually available on these dual zone systems. Do you want a volume control on a key pad or knob outside or do you want to control it via remote control from outside. You need to answer these questions before wiring and buying parts.
4. See #3. You have to design your system based on how you will use it.
I'm still in the planning stages of something similar. A music system in a few rooms of the house as well as the back porch. The main controller will be in the theater room with the rest of the equipment. That gives me access to my DirecTV receivers to feed the XM music channels to the system. I'm also planning on putting a network music player so I can listen to my CD collection as well. I picked up a couple of Zapco/BSG 6 channel amps (30w/channel) from Ebay that can power each pair of speakers. I haven't decided on volume controls but it will probably consist of an IR target in each room. I'll use a remote operated attenuator on each pair of speakers as well as a switching system so I can choose between multiple sources. Smarthome dot com and Parts Express have a lot of equipment that will help you decide what to do.
-Robert
2. Yes, getting a dual zone system will really bump up the price of your receiver.
3. That is possible and usually available on these dual zone systems. Do you want a volume control on a key pad or knob outside or do you want to control it via remote control from outside. You need to answer these questions before wiring and buying parts.
4. See #3. You have to design your system based on how you will use it.
I'm still in the planning stages of something similar. A music system in a few rooms of the house as well as the back porch. The main controller will be in the theater room with the rest of the equipment. That gives me access to my DirecTV receivers to feed the XM music channels to the system. I'm also planning on putting a network music player so I can listen to my CD collection as well. I picked up a couple of Zapco/BSG 6 channel amps (30w/channel) from Ebay that can power each pair of speakers. I haven't decided on volume controls but it will probably consist of an IR target in each room. I'll use a remote operated attenuator on each pair of speakers as well as a switching system so I can choose between multiple sources. Smarthome dot com and Parts Express have a lot of equipment that will help you decide what to do.
-Robert
