[Cavemanhead]

Setting up a home network and HT on a new house being framed...


The house will have an HT area (probably 5.1 first, 7.1 later). The house will also have ceiling speakers in 5 rooms for home audio throughout. I'd like to independently control the audio for each of those rooms via a remote a year down the road or so...


Q: Are there any sub-$1k Rx that have enough speaker out pairs to do this or do I need a speaker "splitter" that can go from one input out to multiple lines?


Q: What are "zones" on an Rx? How is a zone different from a standard audio out for a speaker pair.


In summary, I'd like to get a

 

[Bob Pariseau]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Cavemanhead /forum/post/0


Setting up a home network and HT on a new house being framed...


The house will have an HT area (probably 5.1 first, 7.1 later). The house will also have ceiling speakers in 5 rooms for home audio throughout. I'd like to independently control the audio for each of those rooms via a remote a year down the road or so...


Q: Are there any sub-$1k Rx that have enough speaker out pairs to do this or do I need a speaker "splitter" that can go from one input out to multiple lines?


Q: What are "zones" on an Rx? How is a zone different from a standard audio out for a speaker pair.


In summary, I'd like to get a

 

[Cavemanhead]

Very helpful response. Thanks...


Yes, I'm wiring my house right now for stereo piped to 5 locations and a 6th location dedicated to 5.1 or 7.1 (based on the capability of whatever Rx I end up with).


If I understood correctly, I can just run the 5 pairs (each pair is left right stereo) of speaker wires back to the HT area where my Rx will be, and add an Audio Distribution Amp (ADA) later. The ADA takes only one speaker output from the Rx, amplifies it, and provides the distributon to the 5 stereo zones. I assume most $400-$1000 have at least 1 extra stereo audio out for this purpose?


YES! I definitely want to have the differnt zones independently controllable using a "good" RF remote like the Monster AVL300 or the new Logitech coming out soon. If I understood you right, a decent ADA will have this capability.


Any ballpark figure on what I might expect to pay for a decent ADA with 5-6 stereo pair outs and remote capability?


Thanks again.

 

[Bob Pariseau]

This is not something I've really investigated myself.


Others here may have the answer for you, but you also might want to ask over in the Home Theater setup forum here, since folks doing complicated speaker distribution and remote control setups tend to be over there.

--Bob