Thank you for all that information! It was such a great help! I would like to do something that had keypads and could also be controlled with a phone. I don't have a budget in mind as I am in an information gathering mode. Plus, I don't even know what high, mid, or low end components even cost.
The first thing you want to do is look at all the rooms which already are prewired for audio. Do you have a location on the walls or ceilings where there are wires hanging out of the walls already? If not, you will want to reach out to the previous homeowner to find out WHERE those 2-conductor wires are going to. They could be ANYWHERE in the ceiling or walls of the rooms. You don't want to play cat and mouse, and there is no good way to find where those wires actually ended up. When I do wiring that will end up behind drywall, I take photos - a LOT of photos, and mark on the drawings where they have ended up. This way I can find those wires years down the road if necessary. So, you could have a headache if those wires are just hidden and can't be found.
Ignoring that...
Figure out which room(s) you would like audio in. Just for standard stereo audio. Consider any single room as a 'zone' of audio. So, the study, the patio, the dining room. That would be 3 zones (or areas) which will play audio.
A keypad will allow you local access to turn a room on or off and to pick a source for that room.
You will want to consider how many sources you may want for your audio system. A basic source may be a networked audio player, like Apple's Airplay, Chromecast, or perhaps a nicer device like a BluSound, or Sonos product. These audio sources would feed a whole house audio distribution system.
Brand new, something like this from HTD.com...
Whole-house audio systems you can install yourself and control with keypads and smart devices. All HTD systems include a 30-day guarantee, 2-year warranty.
www.htd.com
This provides you the capability to add up to 6 sources (of your own choosing) and can feed up to 6 rooms. You should expect ALL rooms to be stereo. So, get two speakers for each room. Keypads have cost which varies, so it's around $1,200 without sources or speakers.
Speakers... well, that can vary greatly. If this is just to enjoy some basic backround audio, then Monoprice has speakers which start at under $50 a pair...
Monoprice, Inc. (DBA. MonoPrice.com) specializes in the wholesale distribution of world class cable assemblies for home theater, PC, and high technology industries. MonoPrice.com offers a wide range of products from standard PC products, network cables, and HDMI cables to custom cable assemblies...
www.monoprice.com
My preference is their 8" design...
In‑ceiling speakers allow you to expand your listening environment throughout your entire home, as well as removing the clutter of giant box speakers, giving you back your
www.monoprice.com
So, about 80 bucks per room. If you have a full 6 rooms, that's $480.
So, pick up a networked audio player like a Sonos, and perhaps something easier like a ChromeCast or AirPlay device, and for right around $2,000 you can get 6 rooms of audio for your money.
If you want BETTER audio in a room, then you may want to invest in a BluSound music player. As well, you may want better speakers in the rooms, and that can quickly cost more money. A LOT more money depending on what you get. But, for basic background music that can still get pretty loud, even if the ceiling speakers don't sound 'excellent', but are only 'good', then this is a good way to go.
For your reference:
This past year I moved. My old home was pretty well setup, but didn't have any land and with young kids it was time for a new home a lot closer to my office. So, here I am, less than a mile from my office, with some land for the kids, but my old home A/V system left behind. You know what...
forums.audioholics.com
