Help needed for New Build including 5.1 system and additional 4 zones

[beanz690]

I hope everyone is staying safe and off to a good year.

I am helping my father-in-law built his audio system in his new house. He is interested in having a surround system in the open concept living room with an additional 4 zones of audio (rooms and outdoor speakers). I have no experience with multizone audio and was wondering what would be the best bang for your buck system and easy for an older couple to control and enjoy.

Zones: Total of 5
Main surround system
Master bedroom (might have to be a surround system and will likely have multiple sources like directv, streaming services, and music)
Master bath
Outdoor zone 1
Outdoor zone 2

Can this be achieved with some AVR or home theater processor or do I need a specific multi zone controller? I'm trying to get him good quality sound quality but not necessarily high end since he will only be streaming audio thru Spotify and movies thru streaming services anyway.

I was looking at sonos port and amps but the prices get so high without even factoring in speakers.

Any ideas, suggestions and tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[XEagleDriver]

I recommend using two AVRs;
1) A two-zone capable AVR in Master with the Master Bath as 2nd zone.
2) A three-zone capable AVR in Main Surround room with Outdoor zones 1 & 2 as 2nd/3rd zones.
- Better yet, use another two-zone AVR and add a push button Speaker Selector Switch to activate the two outdoor zones. This is simpler to operate.
This is close to what I did at my home, except I use a "fake bi-amp" instead of Zone two (can discuss if interested).

2) assumes the Main Surround room is conveniently placed in relation to the outdoor zones.

Buy both AVRs from same maker and as similar ,model as possible for ease of operation.
- In fact, consider getting two of the same AVR so operation is identical.

All the above have tradeoffs between ease of operation and more control.
I would bet your FIL will appreciate ease of operation over more control.

Last thought, sound quality will be driven by the speakers you choose. The make and model of AVR is nearly immaterial to SQ.

Have Fun,
XEagleDriver

. . .

Zones: Total of 5
Main surround system
Master bedroom (might have to be a surround system and will likely have multiple sources like directv, streaming services, and music)
Master bath
Outdoor zone 1
Outdoor zone 2

Can this be achieved with some AVR or home theater processor or do I need a specific multi zone controller? I'm trying to get him good quality sound quality but not necessarily high end since he will only be streaming audio thru Spotify and movies thru streaming services anyway.

I was looking at sonos port and amps but the prices get so high without even factoring in speakers.

Any ideas, suggestions and tips would be greatly appreciated.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[lovinthehd]

Can't think of a five zone avr, altho I do have a four-zone model (but only use main zone on it ).

How/where are you planning to run all that speaker wire (or interconnects if you're planning on having amps elsewhere)? I only ran a zone from my workshop avr to my outdoor deck as that was simple to wire through an existing hole

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I agree with using 2 AVRs (Denon, Marantz or Yamaha).

Or get an inexpensive Yamaha MusicCast Receiver (R-N303) for each Zone.

Or get the MusicCast Wireless Speakers (MusicCast 20 or 50) for some of the zones and stream directly to these Wireless speakers.

MusicCast Wireless Multi-Room Audio - Yamaha USA

usa.yamaha.com

 

[TankTop5]

You’ve made a great case for an AVR (surround system) and sonos for multi room. There are endless possibilities for multi room audio but Sonos should be the least brain damage and can be attached to an AVR for music. Sonos bridge and individual Sonos amps and you can run whatever budget/quality speakers you can afford.

 

[lovinthehd]

You’ve made a great case for an AVR (surround system) and sonos for multi room. There are endless possibilities for multi room audio but Sonos should be the least brain damage and can be attached to an AVR for music. Sonos bridge and individual Sonos amps and you can run whatever budget/quality speakers you can afford.

Or you can just use the wireless systems that some avrs offer, such as Heos and Musiccast? (which I forgot to mention in my previous post ).

 

[TankTop5]

Or you can just use the wireless systems that some avrs offer, such as Heos and Musiccast? (which I forgot to mention in my previous post ).

Is musicast better than HEOS? My Marantz connects with my iPhone via Bluetooth or HEOS whenever it feels like it but it doesn’t feel like it very often.

 

[lovinthehd]

Is musicast better than HEOS? My Marantz connects with my iPhone via Bluetooth or HEOS whenever it feels like it but it doesn’t feel like it very often.

Haven't used either as none of my avrs have it (no need for it either, pretty much have an avr in each room)....have read of some issues with musiccast and some high praise. Haven't seen HEOS mentioned as much, tho.

 

[beanz690]

I recommend using two AVRs;
1) A two-zone capable AVR in Master with the Master Bath as 2nd zone.
2) A three-zone capable AVR in Main Surround room with Outdoor zones 1 & 2 as 2nd/3rd zones.
- Better yet, use another two-zone AVR and add a push button Speaker Selector Switch to activate the two outdoor zones. This is simpler to operate.
This is close to what I did at my home, except I use a "fake bi-amp" instead of Zone two (can discuss if interested).

2) assumes the Main Surround room is conveniently placed in relation to the outdoor zones.

Buy both AVRs from same maker and as similar ,model as possible for ease of operation.
- In fact, consider getting two of the same AVR so operation is identical.

All the above have tradeoffs between ease of operation and more control.
I would bet your FIL will appreciate ease of operation over more control.

Last thought, sound quality will be driven by the speakers you choose. The make and model of AVR is nearly immaterial to SQ.

Have Fun,
XEagleDriver





Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Thanks for the reply and suggestion. That seems like a good idea but I have some doubts.
Would he be able to run all 5 zones at once if he choses to using both AVRs? I like this idea since in the master he will likely have multiple sources and the avr can handle that and the 5.1 system will be close enough to the outdoor zones I just get worried about the apps for the receiver companies not working too well. I have Yamaha receivers and never really liked using the music cast app. I need to check if music cast allows you to pick the specific zones from within the app.

 

[XEagleDriver]

. . .
Would he be able to run all 5 zones at once if he choses to using both AVRs? I like this idea since in the master he will likely have multiple sources and the avr can handle that and the 5.1 system will be close enough to the outdoor zones

Worried about the apps for the receiver companies not working too well.
I have Yamaha receivers and never really liked using the music cast app. I need to check if music cast allows you to pick the specific zones from within the app.

1st bolded question: Not in the way I believe you are implying. As in sync'd up for seamless listening through all five zones.
- That capability only comes from a whole-home audio (WHA) approach. IMHO, while WHA might appear cool in theory, it is very rarely used or needed.
- The speaker selector switch would most easily sync the 5.1 and two outdoor zones for "party mode" operation.

Bottomline: IMHO syncing the Master Bed and Bath zones to the other three zones will over complicate/increase costs for very limited actual benefit. YMMV.

2nd bolded question: I would use app sources from either the associated Smart TV or a streaming device like FireStick, Roku, Apple, etc.
Cheers,
XEagleDriver

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[lovinthehd]

FWIW I use Audio Chromecast units to simultaneously play over several systems at once. Nice for parties and such (if we ever get back to that ). Discontinued but some units still avail on fleabay.....but can't think otherwise how you might get two different avrs to play same content altho seems I might have seen something about Airplay 2 can do something along those lines....

 

[beanz690]

Last night I did some testing using the Music Cast app. To my surprise, it worked very well for all the features I think my in-laws would need. I must confess I never use the music cast app because I don't really have a need for it with my systems, so when I opened it up it asked to update the app and both my Yamaha devices. After that, I played with it for a few hours to simulate the possible situations and it worked pretty well and was much more stable and quick than my previous experiences.

I was able to choose my bluesound node 2i digital connection on my pre/pro and play it in sync with my other AVR in the other room. In the settings it also gave me the option to enable 2nd or 3rd zones in both the devices but I don't have any so I couldn't physically try it out.

It seems like this will be the best solution since I already own Yamaha's and would be able to help him when he has doubts or problems. I don't even think I'll need to put the receivers in the server room; doesn't seem like its necessary at this point.

Now I just need to start shopping for the AVRs, any recommendations within the Yamaha line? I was thinking about the 2080 or 3080 for the living room system and something cheaper for the master. I just hate that now with HDMI 2.1 rolling out I might buy something "out dated" I kinda feel that way about my cxa5200 I bought a few months ago.