Can I use stereo system with speaker selector for multi-room audio

[murthyg]

Hi,

I have built-in speakers in my home for two rooms. (2pairs in room#1, another pair in room#2), the input wires for all of them are in room#1.

I'm thinking of buying a stereo deck (http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00J5XPLTI) and connecting it with a speaker selector switch (http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004TBF90C) to get audio to my speakers.
Will this work?

Please help with alternate ideas that let me play tapes/CDs to my home-speakers.
A store person was asking me to buy 1000$ worth of distribution amplifiers and I'm hoping for an easier solution.

thanks
Murthy

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Your idea will work, but it’s highly unlikely the amplifiers in a cheap unit like that would hold up long to the load of the extra speakers. If you really need to do this on the cheap, I’d suggest picking up an old stereo receiver from a pawn shop. That would do the trick. Of course, you’ll need a cassette deck and CD player to plug into it – you can probably get them there, too.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[murthyg]

thank you Wayne!

Are you suggesting to use the stereo receiver because the stereo receiver will provide sufficient amplification?
I was also looking for a receiver that has tape and CD player, will there be such a thing? I don't need the turn-table.
I know some receivers have blu-ray players ... I know it is convoluted to have "receive"r also as be a player, but I don't want to spend a lot of money

 

[murthyg]

(continuation..)
I saw this PYLE 150-watt stereo receiver - http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B001P2R1RW
Will that work?
Not sure why I see two sets of white/red stereo outputs from the PYLE PTTCSM70BT tape/CD/bluetooth deck.. any ideas?

thanks a bunch,
Murthy

 

[murthyg]

starting afresh, as I have heard bad things about PYLE..
thought I'll explain my situation and desire so that experts such as you all can help with the solution

I have:
- marantz SR5007 receiver on one floor. (2 zones)
- on another floor: room#1 has 2 speaker sets, room#2 has 1 speaker set. (total 6 speakers).
these speakers are all built into the house - I have 12 wires hanging from the wall.

I am looking for:
- a way to play my tapes, CDs and bluetooth streaming to these 6 speakers.
- I want to be able to control audio-sources from the same floor as my 6 speakers.
- would like my equipment to be in small numbers (not more than 2 components, 3 at the max).
- I am not a audiophile - I want my audio to be clear without cracking or being too low. Don't need to be amongst the "most clear in the market".
- I can spend upto 1000$ on this new equipment - around 500$ is ideal. if 1000$ gives me high-standard equipment, I will go for that.
Hope this helps in making my situation clear.

I ruled out connecting my audio-source to my existing 2-zone receiver as it is a bit messy - I need to have the connections-through-walls, a way to control my receiver from another floor etc. Don't want too complicated a solution.

 

[TLS Guy]

starting afresh, as I have heard bad things about PYLE..
thought I'll explain my situation and desire so that experts such as you all can help with the solution

I have:
- marantz SR5007 receiver on one floor. (2 zones)
- on another floor: room#1 has 2 speaker sets, room#2 has 1 speaker set. (total 6 speakers).
these speakers are all built into the house - I have 12 wires hanging from the wall.

I am looking for:
- a way to play my tapes, CDs and bluetooth streaming to these 6 speakers.
- I want to be able to control audio-sources from the same floor as my 6 speakers.
- would like my equipment to be in small numbers (not more than 2 components, 3 at the max).
- I am not a audiophile - I want my audio to be clear without cracking or being too low. Don't need to be amongst the "most clear in the market".
- I can spend upto 1000$ on this new equipment - around 500$ is ideal. if 1000$ gives me high-standard equipment, I will go for that.
Hope this helps in making my situation clear.

I ruled out connecting my audio-source to my existing 2-zone receiver as it is a bit messy - I need to have the connections-through-walls, a way to control my receiver from another floor etc. Don't want too complicated a solution.

Well it is complicated. There is no simple solution for what you want to do. Receivers make lousy multi room distribution systems. A pro told you, you need a distribution amp, and you do.

We don't know where all those wires go, and the impedance of your speakers, or how they are wired.

We can be of very limited help to you on this forum, because we do not have nearly enough data about your current installation.

Due to you level of experience the chance of misadventure and blowing up equipment is high.

My best advice is to consult a professional installer. That will probably be your cheapest solution.

Another thing, people just are not playing tapes anymore. The players are wearing out. It was a Low-Fi medium anyway. It is time to archive them to digital. If you can archive them from a better source than cassette tapes, then that is what you should do. It is time to put any of that music you really want to keep onto a hard drive or two.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Glad to see you got serious with your budget and decided to ditch the toy equipment.

Multi-room by its nature is complicated, especially if you want features like being able to control source selection from a different location than the main equipment.

When you say you have 12 wires hanging out of the wall, I hope they are at least paired? If not you have a real mess on your hands.

Assuming the wires are paired, you could connect an amplifier to each playing a signal, and figure out which wires goes to which speakers.

Once you do that, use an ohm meter to determine the nominal impedance of each speaker. Hopefully the figure will not be lower than 4 ohms.

As far as electronics, your best bet is probably Home Theater Direct. They seem to make the most affordable multi-room equipment. However, that Bluetooth requirement is probably going to be a problem.

I’d agree with TLS about the cassettes. Unless they’re something unique (like recordings of your grandfather’s polka band), I’d recommend replacing them with CD versions. You can find virtually any CD you want on ebay these days, even obscure stuff. Used ones are dirt cheap.

If you’re determined to stick with the cassettes and want to limit the number of components, that’s a potential problem, as in the hi-fi world “all in one” components are typically lower end. If you want something that plays both CDs and cassettes I’d recommend a professional unit. They aren’t cheap but are well-made. TASCAM is the go-to brand for CD / cassette combination players, and to a lesser extent Marantz Professional and Denon Professional. There of plenty of new and used offerings on ebay.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[murthyg]

Thanks a bunch TLS Guy and Wayne -- sound advices from both of you.

TLSGuy said:
>>>>
Another thing, people just are not playing tapes anymore. The players are wearing out. It was a Low-Fi medium anyway. It is time to archive them to digital. If you can archive them from a better source than cassette tapes, then that is what you should do. It is time to put any of that music you really want to keep onto a hard drive or two.
<<<<<
Murthy: this is exactly what I had planned to do with PYLE device - it has audio recording to MP3s too

I also solved my bluetooth problem. Now, my deck/receiver/amplifier doesn't need to be bluetooth enabled.

I have an avantalk bluetooth receiver that can be connected to a speaker and can play songs over bluetooth
(got it as a freebie I can live with that for now.

Wayne,
Thanks a bunch for your advice on the speaker wires. I do have a mess in my hands. The painter painted on top of the wires; may be I can try with some paint removers. I also have an old deck that I don't mind breaking - should I try with that to figure out which speakers are which?

TLS Guy,
thanks for the equipment list. Will do the homework now