ntode,
Are you looking for solutions for new construction? Or retro-fitting something to an existing house?
If the former, you might run into the issues I did, in that the builder severely limits what options you have by only allowing you to pick from certain "pre-packaged" systems. In my case, I was offered a single take-it-or-leave it turnkey solution (including controller, keypads, speakers and wiring), and I was not allowed to pre-wire or bring in an outside low voltage firm; the only choice I had was how many rooms to include. If you have the luxury of working with a builder that allows more flexibility, you won't have your hands tied like I did.
If the latter, there's potentially a lot of costly--in terms of money and/or your time--things to contend with, like ripping out sheetrock, etc. to pull the wiring and cut-in speakers.
I'm by no means an expert, but I'd argue that outside of the DIY world like the PC-based solution described above, there are three basic ways to do turnkey whole house audio, increasing in cost.
1. The "el cheapo" (but potentially effective) route. Run speaker wire from a receiver to impedance-matching volume attenuators (volume knobs), then to speakers. For example, a $200 receiver plus $50 per zone for a decent volume attenuator, plus the cost of speakers and wiring. Note that not all attenuators are created equal, and you can end up with harsh sound, constant hiss, etc. You can "upgrade" and get volume attenuators that can also act as an IR pickup--assuming you run the necessary cable in parallel to the speaker wire--giving you some degree of control of the source equipment. Sample equipment suppliers are almost limitless, but some "big" names include AudioSource/PhoenixGold, Speco and Nutone.
2. An A-BUS setup. A "step up" in terms of control, but somewhat limiting in terms of audio quality (or how "loud" you can play music), as you're letting the A-BUS keypad act as a 7W/channel analog mini-amp for each set of speakers. Wiring is "easier," in that you run Cat5e from the back-end controller to each keypad, then speaker wire to each speaker. You gain "affordable" matrixed multi-source/multi-zone options (e.g., unlike the "el cheapo" route, you can listen to Source A in Room 1 and Source B in Room 2, etc.). There are even "high power" A-BUS solutions using digital keypad amps, but they may require more cable to be run to support getting the extra power to each keypad. Prices are all over the place, say $200-500 per zone, 4 zone minimum, plus the cost of speakers and wiring. IR repeating is baked into A-BUS, so you have some degree of source control. With A-BUS, you can start small (e.g., a single source, 4 zone system) or big (e.g., an 8 source, 8 zone system), and you can "upgrade" without too much pain, including some limited integration (e.g., an intercom). Sample solutions are available from players like ChannelVision, OnQ, ZON and Russound.
3. The (usually) kick-ass route. Think the flexibility and control of A-BUS with much better audio quality, as you're using dedicated multi-channel amps vs. wimpy keypads to power your speakers. A typical wiring setup for audio is Cat5e to each keypad, with speaker wire run from the centralized amp to each speaker zone (typically installers will run the speaker wire for each zone to the keypad for each zone, loop it, then run it up to the speakers, providing more flexibility for things down the road). There is a huge amount of differentiation in this category, with prices going from $200 a zone to infinity and beyond, plus the cost of speakers and wiring. Customization, integration and expandability are hallmarks of these types of setups--distributed video, IP transports, etc. Sample solutions are available from players like HTD, Breathe Audio, SpeakerCraft, Russound and NuVo.
In my case, with my builder, I had the choice of either nothing or this turnkey OnQ lyriQ A-BUS kit, plus OnQ evoQ 7000 6.5 in-ceiling speakers:
http://dalcohome.com/ProductDetails2...136&selection=
I have since, with a little pain, expanded this to a 4 source, 8 zone* system by replacing the controller and adding a new input module, essentially ending up with this kit:
http://dalcohome.com/ProductDetails2...182&selection=
* I was able to bribe the builder/installer to run extra wiring for 4 more zones once I signed the contract for his turnkey 4 zone system. I am a negotiating genius.
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My audio sources are two AppleTVs (acting as music servers), a DirecTV STB and a CD/DVD player. Using the new Remote Application from Apple on my iPhone with the 2.0 software, I can use the iPhone to control either AppleTV over Wi-Fi, so I can sit on my deck and change playlists, etc. with total feedback on the iPhone...this little gem from Apple has *greatly* improved the usefulness of my system, and if I were doing it all over again, I would probably just have stayed with the single source OnQ 4 zone setup and piggybacked an extra 4 zones off of the controller, vs. going multi-source...I find that being able to call up any song, any artist, any playlist using my iPhone essentially negates my need for multi-source (I used to dedicate one AppleTV to "casual" music and one to "party" music and use the OnQ keypads to switch as desired). In fact, I have never used taking advantage of matrixing...if I'm playing X in Room 1, I'm probably just going to play X everywhere.
So, if I were able to have DIY'd a single source version of my current system, which is really all I need now, I'd have invested (rough numbers):
OnQ lyriQ AU7400 1 Source/4 Zone Kit $700
OnQ lyriQ AU7396 4 Zone Module (Daisychained) $80
OnQ lyriQ AU7394 Keypads (4) $440
So, about $152/zone, exclusive of the cost of the AppleTV ($229), iPhone ($399, ouch), speakers (about $130/pair) and cabling.
P.S. Please note that my system is essentially relegated to background, non-critical listening...I'm not rocking the house with this puppy, but I've found it's satisfactory for most situations, including cocktail parties, even on the deck. If I had more coin, I'd have a
NuVo Grand Concerto setup.
