Multi Zone Good but simple receiver

[maurice.rojas]

Good afternoon

Please forgive me if this question has been asked, but this is what I want to do.

I have a billiard room. I want to do a simple set up for it, and by that I mean NOT necessarily surround.
Just the good old L/R + Sub sound

I have 2 Bose 901 V and 2 Bose 301 V speakers.
I want to buy:
A receiver, a powered SUB and a set of outdoor speakers.

Are there any good quality receivers that can do dual speakers in a room. L+R 901 and L+R 301 and also do another zone for outside speakers that I can switch on and off?
Or a 3 zone receiver?

Any suggestions on a good quality powered sub? I can do a passive sub as well if the receiver has an amp to power it.

I would love a receiver that can also do Bluetooth, so my TVs can just Bluetooth into the receiver, and I can bluetooth into it as well.

I have 3 TVs mounted on the walls of the room with my pool table, and it would like to be able to switch which TV goes through the speakers since they will be playing different games, videos, music, etc.
I would wire the TVs to the receiver, but my walls and ceiling are finished.

Thanking you in advance

Mo

 

[TLS Guy]

Good afternoon

Please forgive me if this question has been asked, but this is what I want to do.

I have a billiard room. I want to do a simple set up for it, and by that I mean NOT necessarily surround.
Just the good old L/R + Sub sound

I have 2 Bose 901 V and 2 Bose 301 V speakers.
I want to buy:
A receiver, a powered SUB and a set of outdoor speakers.

Are there any good quality receivers that can do dual speakers in a room. L+R 901 and L+R 301 and also do another zone for outside speakers that I can switch on and off?
Or a 3 zone receiver?

Any suggestions on a good quality powered sub? I can do a passive sub as well if the receiver has an amp to power it.

I would love a receiver that can also do Bluetooth, so my TVs can just Bluetooth into the receiver, and I can bluetooth into it as well.

I have 3 TVs mounted on the walls of the room with my pool table, and it would like to be able to switch which TV goes through the speakers since they will be playing different games, videos, music, etc.
I would wire the TVs to the receiver, but my walls and ceiling are finished.

Thanking you in advance

Mo

You can't use modern receivers with those Bose speakers, as there is no tape loop. They are just awful speakers anyway, so just get rid of them and then we can talk.

 

[maurice.rojas]

You can't use modern receivers with those Bose speakers, as there is no tape loop. They are just awful speakers anyway, so just get rid of them and then we can talk.

Ok… a suggestion on wall mounted speakers that I can replace the Bose with them?

 

[TLS Guy]

Ok… a suggestion on wall mounted speakers that I can replace the Bose with them?

I need to know a bit more about your project. Program, room size, drawing or picture if possible.

Speakers specifically designed for on wall use are not plentiful. You might want to also consider an in wall installation.

I really can't give you sensible advice without understanding a lot more about this project and intended uses.

 

[lovinthehd]

If you want a sub, that will be main zone only generally. Some might keep the sub pre-out active in zone use as long as the source remains the same (think one of my avrs did this even if I wasn't using main zone). Several models of avrs that have three zones, tho. Modern avrs won't allow use of the Bose 901 equalizer, tho (no tape or processor loops).

You can always use an external amp with a passive sub, but avrs won't directly support such through their own amp sections (with the exception of some htib units that use passive subs, but doubt zones are an option with those).

As to subs, what is your budget?

 

[DigitalDawn]

Triad makes fantastic OnWall Speakers.

More info on Triad:

Triad is a Portland-based company that hand builds speakers in just about every configuration you can imagine. They will even color match the speakers and grills to match the paint on your walls. In addition to InRoom speakers, Triad has In-Wall and angled InCeiling speakers and subwoofers that work amazingly well for spaces in which you have no floor space, or when you wish to hide the speakers from view. The company has speakers in many different price ranges, starting at $300 per speaker.

While not a household name, Triad is a favorite of custom installers and has won numerous industry awards. The company is also a development partner for Dolby, helping to design speaker systems for immersive audio. Most recently, Triad Gold Monitor speakers won Best of Show at the 2019 CEDIA Expo in Denver. How Triad's Are Built:

If you need any more info, please feel free to contact me.

 

[Eppie]

Lots to consider here as you can see from the posts. The 901s require the Bose equalizer to sound even half decent, which requires either a tape monitor loop or per-out and main-in jacks. Modern receivers don't have that feature any more. As TLS Guy mentioned, the 901s used very cheap drivers, which most people are not aware of, so we tend to discourage people from using 901s unless they are dead set on the nostalgia aspect.

How old are the 301 Vs? Likely about 20 years or more but if they are in good condition they may be usable. I would get a good pair of speakers and subwoofer for your main listening area and if budget is a concern then the 301s might be ok for the second listening area if you don't need it as loud (say for background listening). If you want an on-wall or in-wall then you should consider something else. Triad above does make good speakers if you would like a custom solution and DigitalDawn is a long time forum member.

For outdoors you want a weather proof or all-weather speaker. There are several options like Polk, Yamaha, Dayton and others. Consider whether the speaker location will be sheltered or exposed to direct weather as some have better weather proofing than others.

If you want to connect the TVs you will need a modern audio video receiver (AVR) or integrated amp but with 3 TVs it may get complex. For starters, you can not stream audio from a TV to an AVR via bluetooth; at least not directly. The bluetooth in TVs is typically for connecting bluetooth headphones. I can't think of any AVR or TV that will support streaming in this way and at best the AVR would only support one connection, not 3. So you are left with a wired connection. For a single TV you can use the ARC or eARC connection on the TV to feed audio to the AVR via HDMI, but AVRs only have one eARC/ARC connection, so 3 TVs is not possible.

That's leaves only a couple of options. One is an HDMI switch box to connect the TVs and connect the switch box to the AVR, but it must support ARC on both inputs and outputs. The other option is to use the optical audio out on the TVs to connect them to the AVR. That requires making custom length optical cables and also an AVR with 3 optical inputs. Problem is, most AVRs only have 1 or 2 optical inputs and requiring 3 will limit your selection to higher end AVRs with more inputs.

For 3 pairs of speakers, there are AVRs that have 3 zones, but those tend to be in the higher end. The less expensive AVRs typically just have a second zone. You need an AVR with 3 zones and assignable amps so that the zones can be assigned to the built in amps. Watch out for AVRs where the zone 2 or zone 3 only works through the line level (pre-amp) connection, which will require another amplifier for that zone.

So, given your requirements, I would recommend that you hire a custom installer. If it was just one TV and 3 zones, you might be able to handle this yourself, but adding 2 more TVs into the mix makes this much more complex. We have some custom installers in the forum that may know of other options that I am not aware of.