[jlozan84]

long time listener, first time caller............oh wait............long time lurker, first time poster


Anyway - quick question that I couldn't find the answer to anywhere about the Nuvo GC (and really any whole-house audio system). Is it possible to listen to the same source in different zones, but to a different track. Say your source was an .mp3 library and your two kids wanted to listen to a different song in their own rooms' - is that possible?


Same source, different zone, different track.


Thanks!

 

[Neurorad]

Depends on the source.


If you're using the Nuvo Music Port or MPS4 Music Port Server, then you can listen up to 4 differerent mp3s. You can theoretically listen to more than 4 sources using 2 Music Ports and a 2nd audio card, but I've never heard of anyone doing that - it's discussed on the Nuvo website in a ProZone document.


If your source component is a dual radio tuner, then 2 zones can listen to FM simultaneously, 2 different stations. You can use 2 dual radio tuners to listen to 4 different stations simultaneously.


Discussion of the Nuvo Music Port at this cocoontech thread .


Your local pro installer would love to walk you through how the Nuvo GC works, at your convenience.

 

[jlozan84]

Are there any other systems that allow this? Can the GC not host an .mp3 library as a source out of the box?


Looks like the music port server is fairly pricey combined with the cost of a GC. I'm building a new house and I had settled on the GC, but would be open to anything at this point.


My main goal for the whole-house audio would be to listen to different songs from my mp3 library in different rooms at the same time.


Thanks!

 

[jlozan84]

oh and thanks for the link - checking it out now.

 

[Neurorad]

The MPS4 Music Server, I think, is priced at the cost of 2 components ($1250 x 2) because it provides 4 sources to the 6 source GC, twice as many as most components (tuners).


It's unlikely you'd buy FM or satellite tuner components if you bought the MPS4, because you can get almost all FM stations, and sat radio, over the internet, via the MPS4. You'd basically just need this one component, with the GC, unless you want to listen to 5 or 6 different songs simultaneously.


With Sirius/XM provided over the internet, you don't have to worry about an external roof-mounted antenna, either.


Edit - The MPS4 Server is part of your home network - it's configured to grab all music from all PCs in your house.

 

[jlozan84]

Ok, so let me make sure I understand this. I would purchase a GC (~$2500) and MPS4 ($2500, 1250x2)? This would provide me with the ability to have 4 sources dedicated to the mp3 library? The other 6 sources that come with GC would be used for some other sources - basically the GC doesn't do mp3 library source out of the box?

 

[jlozan84]

ok, so along with my previous question above - what about the normal Music Port that is only like $500? Is that an option?

 

[Neurorad]

The MPS4 Music Port Server, and the Music Port, each provide up to 4 sources to the GC. The GC then distributes those sources to the different zones. If that is the only source component that you have, then you can have only 4 sources coming from the GC, playing through any/all of the zones.


The Music Port (not the MPS4) takes the audio output of a PC and routes it to the GC multichannel amplifier. Nuvo recommends a dedicated PC. The PC needs 1 or more serial connections to the MP. If the PC sound card has 5.1 output, then the PC can provide 3 sources. If it is 7.1, it can provide 4 sources. People seem to be having trouble with MP setup and operation if only some of the outputs are used (e.g., 3 of 4).


The setup of the Nuvo GC is not something the average person can do, one needs to spend a good deal of time figuring it out. Most people don't want to bother. Yes, you can buy the equipment yourself, but if you want a pro installer to set it up, expect to buy the equipment from him. He'll probably sell it for less than MSRP, but it will be more than wholesale. It's part of the agreement, when you use a pro. He needs to make a minimum amount of money from each job. If he doesn't sell you the equipment, he'll charge more for installation and setup.


I bought a dedicated PC to use with my Music Port. Serving music is all that it does. If you buy a dedicated PC, make sure it's configured correctly. You need to use the right OS, for a start. XP is ideal, I'm using Vista. I don't know if W7 would work. It wil be running 24/7, buy one that doesn't use much power. But be careful, as running 4 streams of music needs a good deal of 'power'. I chose not to use a fanless PC, but maybe they've improved by now. Configuring the serial ports was a headache for me, as I hadn't had to configure any before. I tried using a PCI card with 2 serial ports, but I failed; I chose poorly. I ended up using an Edgeport/2 USB-serial adapter. Mapping the 3.5 mm audio outputs of the PC to the GC was a little tricky, too, but I eventually got it figured out.


Or, just get the MPS4.

 

[jlozan84]

Wow - great information, thanks!!


So, it sounds like the MPS4 is the way to go since I would have to buy a dedicated PC anyway.


What about just getting the GC and getting a $12/month subscription to rhapsody? Does GC stream rhapsody? If so, would that work as far as diff songs in diff rooms?


Is Nuvo the only system that can stream from your library? I only latched onto Nuvo because I really liked the keypads that were included with the GC & it wasn't terribly expensive.

 

[jautor]

MusicPort doesn't support Rhapsody, at least not yet... Between the music library support, Pandora and RadioTime, they may not need to once people discover the variety they have access to with those choices.


There are other solutions that support digital music libraries (CasaTunes), but IMO the NuVo with MusicPort has the best combination of features and a great looking keypad.


Jeff

 

[jlozan84]

arrgh, this is frustrating


All I want to be able to do is have a whole house audio system that I can setup playlists for either through my music library or rhapsody and make it available to my two kids & wife. I chose the nuvo because I thought the keypads were wife-friendly.


Is there some other system out there that would suit my needs? I see russound supports rhapsody - how are they in price compared to nuvo gc? will it support listening to different rhapsody playlists simultaneously? different songs from same library simultaneously.


I love pandora and will utilize that along with am/fm sources, but for my wife & kids it needs to be simple. my kids are young, so I don't want them to just listen to the radio and my wife is about as non-technical as my shoe. she just wants to be able to listen to her list of songs and have it randomly shuffle through them.


ideas?


thanks so much everyone for the help & time to read through this.

 

[Neurorad]

Have you considered Sonos?


I've never touched one myself, but everything I've read about it is positive.


If you like the Nuvo GC keypads, I think you'll really like the Sonos controller.

Sonos can use bookshelf, tabletop, in-wall, and in-ceiling speakers. Amps can be located within the zone, or in the closet. Very versatile. And it does Pandora, Sirius, and Rhapsody. Color keypads, cover art, metadata. 32 Zones max, and also up to 32 different songs. DRMed (Apple iTunes) music may be a problem, however, with this system. New, non-DRM music from iTunes will play fine.


Be sure to let everyone know what you end up with.

 

[jlozan84]

I haven't looked into them much because it appears that they cost quite a bit more as you scale out with the number of zones, but I'll look into them more. Plus, I didn't think their control interfaces could be flush mounted into the wall. I'd be worried about my kids losing the keypad - although they do look really nice.


I'll be driving 8 zones initially and probably more down the road. I'll take a look - didn't realize they supported all of those source inputs.


thanks..........

 

[jlozan84]

Looks like Russound CAV and C-Series both support rhapsody - any reason I shouldn't use them?