Need Info On Multi-Room Audio Setup.

[bones138]

So my parents asked me to pick out an hook up a multi-room audio setup for 3 rooms and I have no idea what I need.

I assume I could just get a receiver that would accept 3 pairs of speakers correct? Would this be the best way to go about it or will i need an amp and selectors and other crazy stuff?

By the way this does not need to be high end by any means and should be more budget oriented. My folks just want this so they can cook and do other things around the house without lugging around the stereo wherever they go. No home theater set up is necessary, just for music(ipod) and radio in the living room, kitchen and outside. It would be nice if each room could be turned on and off on the receiver although they only need to play the same music source and not different ones.

I'm leaning towards wired since that is pretty straight forward and I don't mind crawling around the attic. I did see some nice looking wireless speakers and receiver at costco which might work.

If someone can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it, I've been getting lost in google and have only found setups for around 1k and over.

I hope this post wasn't too confusing. Maybe I'm just over complicating it.

[JDay]

Here's a good place to start.

http://www.eoswireless.com/

http://www.crutchfield.com/wholehouse/index.html

[jmlivingston]

First off, you're going to need to find out what they mean by a "multi-room" setup. Is it as simple as the same audio source split to multiple sets of speakers in various rooms? Or (more likely) will the different rooms need their own audio source?

[bones138]

First off, you're going to need to find out what they mean by a "multi-room" setup. Is it as simple as the same audio source split to multiple sets of speakers in various rooms? Or (more likely) will the different rooms need their own audio source?

Just one audio source. For example an ipod playing on all the speakers. With a single receiver would I be able to select specific rooms while omitting others or would I need a selector? Am I going to need an amp as well?

Excuse my ignorance on the subject. I just want to make sure I get the proper equipment for the job while not going completely overkill.

[JDay]

You can hook this up to the receiver output for the radio and it has a wireless speaker you can move around.

http://www.eoswireless.com/eos_wireless_home_audio_base.html

[armygunsmith]

Have you considered the Sonos? pretty easy setup from what I have seen.

[wooward]

I used to sell/install high end audio equipment so I think I can give you some advice. If you want to do this as simply as possible you will need a 2-channel (Stereo) receiver and a speaker selector box (ideally with volume controls). http://www.nilesaudio.com/product.ph...rdcdID=FG01043

A receiver is essentially a preamp and amplifier packaged into 1 unit. The easiest way to do this is to have a receiver with outputs for 1 set of speakers. Hook up the speaker selector box directly to the receiver. Then hook up the three pairs of speakers to the speaker selector box. The Niles SSVC-4 speaker selector box keeps the impedance to your receiver constant regardless of how many speakers you hook up to it. This is important as to not blow up the receiver. If only using the system as background music you only need about 25W per pair of speakers. A 75-100W Stereo receiver should work fine for you.

The volume controls on speaker selectors work as attenuators. i.e. you can not turn the volume up only down from what is coming out of the receiver. So you should set the receiver to what you think is the max you would want to hear in any 1 room and then turn the others down accordingly.

I can elaborate much further but don't want to confuse you anymore than I already have. If it was me, I would buy something like a Denon DRA-397 and a Niles SSVC-4. Both are reputable companies that I have used and own.

[bones138]

Wooward, perfect explanation, thanks. Those are the types of components I was considering but I wasn't sure they would work. Good to know about the impedance protection as I had a selector chosen without it, probably saved me a blown receiver.

Thanks for all the suggestions and hopefully it all works out and my next post is one of success.

[wooward]

No problems. Happy Holidays. Let me know if you have other questions.