Whole Home Audio Set-Up

[Wally009]

Howdy!
I recently moved into a new rental home that has speakers wired throughout the house with individual volume knobs in each room. All the wires run to a location under the bar but are not hooked up to anything. I would like to use the speakers, but I need something to connect the system. I'm under the impression I need a home PA amplifier? I'm not sure really, because I know very little about audio. Attached are some pictures of what I'm dealing with. My question is what kind of amplifier/receiver do I need to make the system work?

Thank you in advance.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Get in touch with a whole-house audio specialist like Home Theater Direct.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[2channel lover]

Howdy!
I recently moved into a new rental home that has speakers wired throughout the house with individual volume knobs in each room. All the wires run to a location under the bar but are not hooked up to anything. I would like to use the speakers, but I need something to connect the system. I'm under the impression I need a home PA amplifier? I'm not sure really, because I know very little about audio. Attached are some pictures of what I'm dealing with. My question is what kind of amplifier/receiver do I need to make the system work?

Thank you in advance.

BMX is our resident pro on such matters, hopefully he'll see this thread. If so he'll likely chime in.

In the meantime, I'll muddy the water a bit...lol

Nah, actually I know you need a source of some type, and a multi-zone amp like this one.

https://emotiva.com/collections/amps/products/a-800

I have this amp powering 3 pairs of speakers and it can be bridged, or connected mono. There are a few other brands out there.

 

[tmurnin]

The easiest option is to get a whole home distributed amplifier and a source like a sonos Connect to drive the amp. If you want to have different sources play in different rooms, then you’ll need to connect a different Connect (or whatever you use as a source) to each channel, which may be more $$ than you want to spend on a rental.

 

[Wally009]

The easiest option is to get a whole home distributed amplifier and a source like a sonos Connect to drive the amp. If you want to have different sources play in different rooms, then you’ll need to connect a different Connect (or whatever you use as a source) to each channel, which may be more $$ than you want to spend on a rental.

So I would like to stay as cheap as possible being a college student renting a house. Could I get away with a surround sound receiver like an onkyo or Sony or something?

 

[KenM10759]

Is it an 8Ω speaker system, or true PA type @ 70Ω?

 

[Wally009]

Is it an 8Ω speaker system, or true PA type @ 70Ω?

I assume a 70 V based on the existing volume control and the fact that all the speakers come to a single wire?

 

[KenM10759]

That's also what I think. Depending upon where you are located, distribution amps and switching controls for these are somewhat common on Craigslist and certainly eBay, cheap.

 

[Wally009]

That's also what I think. Depending upon where you are located, distribution amps and switching controls for these are somewhat common on Craigslist and certainly eBay, cheap.

Would these work?

Optimus PA Amplifier MPA-50
(2 of them)

 

[KenM10759]

You seem to have access to the back of at least one speaker. Dust it off and look for a label with specs before you go any further.

That wiring has been hacked, clearly evidenced by haphazard non-electrical tape. You need to sort that out before blowing up an amp.

 

[2channel lover]

So I would like to stay as cheap as possible being a college student renting a house. Could I get away with a surround sound receiver like an onkyo or Sony or something?

Yep...a simple 2 zone AVR and not worry about connecting the wall volume controls.

 

[KenM10759]

There is the issue of how many speakers are all connected and what is the collective resistance. Not all AVR's can handle very high or very low loads.

It's best to know what is there before blowing up a receiver.

 

[tmurnin]

You can use a receiver with an impedence-protected speaker selector box that you can find at Amazon or monoprice. No need to spend a lot of money on that.

Good article on how to do it here: https://www.lifewire.com/speaker-selector-multi-room-audio-3134647