[wakame]

So we will be building our home, the builder gave us an option where he prewired the whole home for speakers. We can have him install all the speakers for a low fee ($100). We will need to provide all the equipments to do so. So far this is what I picked out, but still have no clue of what amp or controller I'll need.

There will be 4 zone inside and 1 zone for outdoor.

This will not be a surround sound build, but more for music and such.

I'll get the Yamaha NS-IC600 (probably 8 speakers).
I'll get a pair of Polk RC85i for the living room.
and something for the outdoor set.

What equipment do I need to buy to power them? where can I get them?

 

[hoyalawya]

I would say up the zone count to 6 zones and use something like this - http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=109&cp_id=10918&cs_id=1091801&p_id=10761&seq=1&format=2 or this - http://www.htd.com/Products/mid-level-whole-house-audio. A system with zoned keypad is much nicer that the regular speaker volume knobs. A keypad system needs Cat 5e/6 cable for the keypads. You will need to work with the builder on that.

 

[impmonkey]

You could always go the sonos route and get either a couple of connect amps or a couple of connects and a multi channel amp. Control it all from your phones and get rid of the ugly on wall controls.

 

[XJBaylor]

You could always go the sonos route and get either a couple of connect amps or a couple of connects and a multi channel amp. Control it all from your phones and get rid of the ugly on wall controls.

What he said. More money up front, but you won't care when you are using it every single day.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I don't know why anybody would go Sonos (or other wireless) for new construction.

If I were building new I'd still wire up all the speakers and homerun back to my wiring closet. I agree on wall keypads being old-school now, but I'd be tempted to wire up everything anyway.

 

[oktoberrust11]

I don't know why anybody would go Sonos (or other wireless) for new construction.

If I were building new I'd still wire up all the speakers and homerun back to my wiring closet. I agree on wall keypads being old-school now, but I'd be tempted to wire up everything anyway.

Sonos (and other "wireless" systems) and hard-wired aren't mutually exclusive terms. I think the scenario both impmonkey and XJBaylor were implying is to still hard-wire ceiling speakers to a central location (however, no volume controls), and install them to several Sonos Connect Amp units. Control would be "wireless" via phone/tablet.

A perfectly reasonable way to go for new construction, IMO.

Matt

 

[wakame]

looks like Sonos is out of my price range. We are on a tight budget so trying to get it as low as we could.

For the controller, do I need to get an amp to power what I have listed? I saw that the HTD has a gateway module to connects it to the home wifi. It should work similar right?

 

[Neurorad]

As low as you could?

Install impedance matching volume controls in each zone, use a $50 AVR from Craigslist for driving the speakers, wired in parallel.

Downside - single source plays on all zones at one time.

If you run a category cable to each VC location (to thermostat height - typical height of keypad), and bury it behind drywall, you'll be set to upgrade (if keypads are your thing - most people like control from mobile devices).

When it's time to upgrade, remove the VCs (patch and paint), and install your system of choice.

I used this setup for a couple years, works fine.

 

[XJBaylor]

I don't know why anybody would go Sonos (or other wireless) for new construction.

If I were building new I'd still wire up all the speakers and homerun back to my wiring closet. I agree on wall keypads being old-school now, but I'd be tempted to wire up everything anyway.

The Sonos components we were referring to (Connect and Connect:Amp) are wired systems. The reason you would use Sonos is to take advantage of their UI, which is fantastic.