12-Zone Multiroom Audio Install Price

[den327]

I was wondering approx. how much in labor it would cost me to have an audio contractor Wire and install 12 zones of audio throughout my new construction home. To wire all zones and speakers, install keypads,brackets,speakers and program the unit. Labor only. Thanks

 

[highfigh]

I was wondering approx. how much in labor it would cost me to have an audio contractor Wire and install 12 zones of audio throughout my new construction home. To wire all zones and speakers, install keypads,brackets,speakers and program the unit. Labor only. Thanks

There's no way to tell without doing a walk-through and knowing what equipment you plan to use. It can't be done and anyone who says they can give any kind of accurate price has either never done a system like that in its entirety or has never programmed one. Approximate price can range from a couple of thousand to tens of thousands because the programming will cost more than the installation labor and some systems take a lot longer to program, test and troubleshoot than others.

You need to be a lot more specific.

 

[bandphan]

^+1 and if your looking for 12 zones how much are you willing to spend and what level of control do you need. Honestly unless your versed in this, pay for a professional company to work it out

 

[den327]

I was thinking about going with the Russsound MCA-C5 system. Thanks for your input

 

[markw]

Labor rates vary with location. Your best bet is to set out, on paper, what ypu want and send it to a few local installers and see what yoou get.

 

[T2T]

I'm sure it also depends on which part of the country you live in, too. Labor rates for such an install are going to be higher in/near metropolitan areas and less in areas where labor rates are lower.

I don't know if your specific question can be answered here in this forum. You might want to contact a couple of local contractors to bid on the job - and, select the one at that point. Of course, you could come back here with the bids to verify that you're not getting ripped off before giving the "go ahead" on the work.

 

[TLS Guy]

I was wondering approx. how much in labor it would cost me to have an audio contractor Wire and install 12 zones of audio throughout my new construction home. To wire all zones and speakers, install keypads,brackets,speakers and program the unit. Labor only. Thanks

Think very carefully about whether you really want all home audio. It is an expensive way of getting lousy sound in every room.

There is a lot to be said for quiet zones, actually most of the house. You really don't need your ears and senses blasted everywhere you go. Just because it is possible, does not mean it should be done.

My opinion is that you are far more likely to derive pleasure from one good well set up system, than terrible sound coming at from on high all over the house.

Next issue is that everything has a point of failure, especially those type of systems. Repairs and sorting them out can be complex, and when the system fails totally and has to be replaced, you are in for major sticker shock again.

So if you think I'm telling you to run as fast as you can away from such a system, I am.

 

[highfigh]

I was thinking about going with the Russsound MCA-C5 system. Thanks for your input

The programming of a system like that has as much to do with the sources as the controller. Are you thinking of buying a system like that online and doing it yourself? Do you have any experience with programming this kind of equipment, or are you trying to decide if you really want a system like this? You need to know that asking your original question and showing only the Russound system isn't enough information to go by when determining an installation cost. The size of the house will determine how much cable is needed, the speakers will determine the amount of labor for their installation and the other equipment and options will all add to the complexity of the system. It has 8 trigger outputs which may be needed- will these be used? A system like this needs Cat5e, speaker wire, it may require junction boxes for the keypads (some localities require these). Running the cables to the KP locations without providing some way of mounting them isn't an efficient way of doing the rough-in.

In order to be more specific with answers, we need more information from you.

 

[BMXTRIX]

A distributed audio system can be done a number of different ways and it truly depends on the level of sophistication of your system. I will completely disagree with the poster above who was talking about lousy sound or failure as a properly designed system will last for decades without any issue at all if you have decent gear.

12 zones typically would mean two 12 channel amplifiers for discrete amplification, which will run from $1,200 to $2,000 MSRP for new amplifiers, plus your audio distribution unit (preamp), controller, and keypads.

Keypads typically take a piece of CAT-5 and speakers will typically be run with 14 gauge speaker cabling.

I would plan on about $120 for labor and wiring per speaker location plus another $70-$90 per location for the keypad.

That would include cutting in speakers, putting in back boxes for keypads, terminating keypads, and all wiring.

Keypads would be per unit pricing.
Speakers, ditto.

Programming will depend on the complexity of the keypads and the sources.

As a full example of somethign I would do with new gear:
2 amps: $1,500 (B-stock)
Crestron Controller (MC2W) - $400
Crestron Power Supply: $100
Crestron 12 button keypads (12): $1,200
Crestron PAD8 preamp (2): $1,200
Speakers (your choice): About $100 pair (12 pairs): $1,200
About 1,000 feet of speaker cabling and CAT-5: $400
Misc Materials: $100
Labor: About $3500 total

Turnkey system with up to 6 individual sources available to each of 12 rooms at your choosing.

Total: (about) - $9,500 - $10,000 for a fully installed system in NEW construction (pre-drywall)

But, home size greatly impacts this as would a decision to change speakers to something nicer/cheaper. Inexpensive is $100 pair of speakers which work nicely for room/house music, but some Sonance 622TR speakers which are better will be $150 or so a pair while cheaper ones can be done for under $80 a pair and still sound perfectly fine.

I've used similar in my home and have had zero issues with my distributed audio for the last five years. One of the big things that can be done is going to a nicer amplifier setup, which costs a bit more, but can be more reliable long term.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Think very carefully about whether you really want all home audio. It is an expensive way of getting lousy sound in every room.

I think that people being overly cheap, or looking for excellent audio can really be disappointed, but a decent set of speakers allow for nice background audio throughout a home without the need to blast the 'nice' speakers to be heard during parties or around the holidays.

There is a lot to be said for quiet zones, actually most of the house. You really don't need your ears and senses blasted everywhere you go. Just because it is possible, does not mean it should be done.

Hopefully the blasting will be kept to the rooms designed for it, and this type of system is used for far quieter and thorough immersion in an environment that brings for enjoyable music listening in many zones without any blasting whatsoever.

My opinion is that you are far more likely to derive pleasure from one good well set up system, than terrible sound coming at from on high all over the house.

Except if you are in the basement, or out on the porch, or in the garage and the three or more hours you spend in that zone you don't get to enjoy any music at all because the really nice setup is located in a completely different location. It is key to put decent audio in every location as appropriate.

Next issue is that everything has a point of failure, especially those type of systems. Repairs and sorting them out can be complex, and when the system fails totally and has to be replaced, you are in for major sticker shock again.

This is why a properly designed and installed system is critical and speaks volumes to the system which is installed. I have (honestly) never had an issue with installations over 3 years old with hardware when I've used decent gear. But, when people have gone really cheap they've had issues within months. The key is going with reliable gear, even if it isn't the most expensive or best at times.

So if you think I'm telling you to run as fast as you can away from such a system, I am.

I certainly don't agree with this. I've definitely enjoyed my home system for the past five years and am looking forward to adding more zones as I finish my basement.

 

[TLS Guy]

That is a lot of change for a system that will not be high fidelity in any way.

I guess to each his own, but I just hate homes with ceiling speakers all over the place.

I stand by my hunch that I would bet most people would get much more enjoyment putting 10K into a dedicated one room audio system. I know I would.

If I had a system with audio everywhere from the ceiling, I would fell I was living in a commercial space.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I would love to have a full distributed audio system. I feel like I am about maxed out with my AVR but would love to have audio in each room. Right now, I am limited to zone 1 which is the main set up. Zone 2 which is the flat panel and outdoor speakers for the patio and zone 3 is the bedroom and is controlled by a Niles Intellipad. I would be very happy to add on a spare bedroom, the kitchen, the garage and the office.

I'm not certain if I will every go this route but I would love it. Of course, critical listening would remain separate and in my main room.

If you can afford it, do it. I would never run away from a system like this.

 

[BMXTRIX]

That is a lot of change for a system that will not be high fidelity in any way.

See, now this I just disagree with. We are talking about a quality amplifier designed to deliver a true 35-60 watts to each speaker as an 8ohm load. The wiring will be typically adequate to get that amplified audio to the speakers, and we are talking about a quality pre-amp not a volume control in the rooms or a lousy 70 volt system like in business applications.

The only real limiting factor of the setup is the speakers and acoustics of the room.

But, I promise you, it's going to sound a lot better listening to that audio in your study than cranking up the music room audio just so you might hear it, barely, in the study, while anyone near the music room is getting blasted.

I stand by my hunch that I would bet most people would get much more enjoyment putting 10K into a dedicated one room audio system. I know I would.

For music, I think there is nothing better than good distributed audio with one touch access and availability. It adds music to your home in a way that a single listening environment simply can't touch.

It doesn't replace the nice home theater setup, it just enhances the entire living experience, and when dropping $300,000+ on a home (which is low in my area), spending $10,000 on the audio to enhance it really isn't a ton of money. Another $10,000 for a home theater setup is appropriate as well.

 

[adk highlander]

I installed a 4 zone audio/video system in my house and the reliability has been as good (if not better) than my HT. I did all the wiring and programming myself so I was able to save a huge amount of cash.

I used a variety of speaker types and amplifiers to achive the sound quality that was required for each room. None of them are for critical listening but the bedroom ceiling speakers deliver as good sound quality as a pair of bookshelves and have decent bass.

 

[Nemo128]

This general idea screams for a server box with connected NMTs.

 

[adk highlander]

This general idea screams for a server box with connected NMTs.

Oh I agree. I will be adding a server and at least two NMT's later this year. Have to recover from the new amps I purchased and my 810 just died.

 

[bandphan]

This general idea screams for Bandphan to come over and get paid for doing the work

Super Fixed

 

[TLS Guy]

See, now this I just disagree with. We are talking about a quality amplifier designed to deliver a true 35-60 watts to each speaker as an 8ohm load. The wiring will be typically adequate to get that amplified audio to the speakers, and we are talking about a quality pre-amp not a volume control in the rooms or a lousy 70 volt system like in business applications.

The only real limiting factor of the setup is the speakers and acoustics of the room.

But, I promise you, it's going to sound a lot better listening to that audio in your study than cranking up the music room audio just so you might hear it, barely, in the study, while anyone near the music room is getting blasted.


For music, I think there is nothing better than good distributed audio with one touch access and availability. It adds music to your home in a way that a single listening environment simply can't touch.

It doesn't replace the nice home theater setup, it just enhances the entire living experience, and when dropping $300,000+ on a home (which is low in my area), spending $10,000 on the audio to enhance it really isn't a ton of money. Another $10,000 for a home theater setup is appropriate as well.

I guess we will disagree. I think our definitions of high fidelity are poles apart.

I just can't conceive of a system with speakers stuck in the ceiling giving me any enjoyment whatever. I'm certain it would irritate the life out of me.

I just got back from visiting friends last week. They have a professionally installed HT. The screen is a Pioneer elite plasma, the receiver a pioneer Elite. Speakers were all Paradigm Millennium 30 with Millennium surrounds, and Paradigm sub. This was my first extensive acquaintance with a "typical" HT. I have to say I was totally shocked at how appallingly bad it was. The only thing any good was the Plasma display. The sound was far removed from anything I would regard as high fidelity.

The center had a chesty bass, with some shout added to make speech intelligible. In no way could you forget you were listening to reproduced speech. The surrounds were so aberrant that any time they were called on your attention was drawn to them like a laser beam. The sub had a Q off the clock and spread gooey ponkey bass all over the place. To make matters worse the class D amps in the receiver did not like the load presented by the Paradigms at all. Any attempt to get a realistic volume just made things sound very gritty indeed. This latter reinforced my generally bad impression of receivers.

So I suppose of people will put up with that it is not a stretch to think people would put up with ceiling speakers.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I guess we will disagree. I think our definitions of high fidelity are poles apart.

I just can't conceive of a system with speakers stuck in the ceiling giving me any enjoyment whatever. I'm certain it would irritate the life out of me.

So I suppose of people will put up with that it is not a stretch to think people would put up with ceiling speakers.

See, now I can understand this completely, but remember that the choice for speakers is your own, not that of the installer, and a good installer will talk with the homeowner about their preferences. Yes, people will definitely put up with what you would consider poor sound, but they aren't listening for the same reason you are or with the same ears. People are happy with stock car audio systems and boom boxes and cheap headphones with MP3s playing.

But, if installed properly, the limitation will be in the acoustics of the room and the speakers which are used. My home definitely doesn't get serious bass response, but the speakers sound good as long as I don't crank them up. Rotel amplification, and decent speaker wire, with good sources, and a preamp. You can go to any amp you want or any speakers you want and any room acoustics you want - and you CAN get phenomenal sound from distributed audio. But, as a nice room can cost $2,000 or $100,000 or more, to maintain that with distributed audio, you just need to multiply you standard for that many rooms.

I would bet I could install a distributed audio system that would make you happy - but certainly not for $10K.

 

[highfigh]

I guess we will disagree. I think our definitions of high fidelity are poles apart.

I just can't conceive of a system with speakers stuck in the ceiling giving me any enjoyment whatever. I'm certain it would irritate the life out of me.

I just got back from visiting friends last week. They have a professionally installed HT. The screen is a Pioneer elite plasma, the receiver a pioneer Elite. Speakers were all Paradigm Millennium 30 with Millennium surrounds, and Paradigm sub. This was my first extensive acquaintance with a "typical" HT. I have to say I was totally shocked at how appallingly bad it was. The only thing any good was the Plasma display. The sound was far removed from anything I would regard as high fidelity.

The center had a chesty bass, with some shout added to make speech intelligible. In no way could you forget you were listening to reproduced speech. The surrounds were so aberrant that any time they were called on your attention was drawn to them like a laser beam. The sub had a Q off the clock and spread gooey ponkey bass all over the place. To make matters worse the class D amps in the receiver did not like the load presented by the Paradigms at all. Any attempt to get a realistic volume just made things sound very gritty indeed. This latter reinforced my generally bad impression of receivers.

So I suppose of people will put up with that it is not a stretch to think people would put up with ceiling speakers.

It's not a requirement that the speakers in a distributed audio system be mounted in the ceiling or the walls. While it's true that the long wire runs will degrade the sound in extreme cases, a person can use whatever speakers they want, where they want. Some areas of a house will be less cluttered with in-ceiling speakers, but you need to know that a lot of people like to have music, news or talk radio playing in the bathroom, office, kitchen, patio or exercise room. This isn't where they do their critical listening and you also need to realize that not everyone actually listens critically. Ever. Some people wouldn't know how to listen that way if you spent a lifetime explaining why, or how, you do this. They just don't care about the sound quality that much. They want their choice and volume of programming to be easy and convenient- not to sound like the concert hall.

In order to understand why so many people like distributed audio systems, you need to understand that you aren't like most people- you're far more obsessive about sound and that level of obsession makes convenience an impossibility. It also makes building a system like this, for anything close to a reasonable price, impossible.

Remember- this is America, where we can get what we want, when we want it, all the time, everywhere. Look at the most popular items in any category and ask, "Are they plentiful, or of high quality?". This isn't to say that a distributed audio can't sound good. It definitely can. It won't be the same as a dedicated listening room, and there's really no reason it has to. This is for convenience- the equipment isn't the reason it costs $10K for a decent DA system- it's the controller, parts/accessories and labor to install it. Look into Crestron- their large touch screens can be used for internet access, as an actual TV, security camera monitor and to control the entire system. The 15" panel was in the $15K range when I left a Crestron dealer. A keypad with custom graphics or engraving is $400. People want what they want. Don't try to change the world to hear things the way you do- you'll just be frustrated and they won't change. Don't get me wrong- there's nothing like great sound but most people will never understand what is needed to make that possible. If they did, many would completely lose interest. The rest would just be glassy-eyed.