multi zone / multi source whole house audio

[JayGree]

I have prewired my home using shielded cat5e for multipe zone. Basement will have main room with 3 large tvs (sports nut), 7.1 surround. I will have 7 other zones in the house. All cables terminate in basement and I intend to have everything run from there.

What I don't know is what components I actually need, and what is more fluff than anything. My goal is to be able to have all components out of site in the basement, and the ability to watch tv in one room, while the wife listens to pandora in the kitchen. I want to have the ability to watch 3 distinct programs on the main wall in the basement at once. I'm not opposed to mirroring a few of the zones upstairs, but really dont know what is best. I recieved a bid from the builder selected vendor and absolutely cannot decipher it, other that to know it is much higher than I anticipated. Do I really need an ELAN S1616 multi channel amp and an ELAN HC6G! automation controller? I don't understand what a Binary 4x4 HDMI video matrix is? The vendor is putting together some additional information for me so I hope to be able to make an informed decision, but any thoughts would be great regarding overall components and setup.

Again, very much a novice here, so thanks!

 

[jotham]

I ask this not to be snarky but because I really want to know. Is it worth the complex system integration to allow multi-zone functionality or would it be easier/cheaper to simply duplicate components for each usage scenario?

I could understand storing all of my music/video on a central server but I would probably set up a single receiver or streaming device for each zone and let them all pull from the central data storage as opposed to doing complex video switching such as the 4x4 hdmi switch.

There is certainly some attraction to having a central location for all the gear but of course, if a major component breaks, then all zones will break. Plus, the cost of the custom integration has simply got to be higher than separate setups.

Thankfully there are some real experts/professionals on this board so I look forward to their discussion.

Jotham

 

[BMXTRIX]

Welcome to reality. A centralized distribution system for video is FAR more expensive than a distributed system.

It is far less money to simply send your audio everywhere and then have local video setups as appropriate.

If you think a $1,000 or so HDMI matrix switch is expensive, imagine how much a 8x8, or a 16x16 HDMI matrix switch is from a high-end manufacturer? Think well over $10,000 for that piece alone!

So, what you were quoted matches up with what you are trying to accomplish.

1. It is cheapest to just put stuff in every room of your home.
2. It is more money, but cheaper than a full system to put all your equipment in the basement, but still have each room separate. That means a HDMI switcher for each room (instead of a matrix) which may cost $100 per room, then your audio amplification/preamp/switcher.
3. Most expensive to matrix all your video and audio - with far more expense on the video side.

Now, for audio, and the ability to listen to anything, anywhere, I would likely go with a couple of 12-channel amps. Elan is a perfectly fine manufacturer, but there are others out there and other options.

For example: HTD Mid-Level Whole-House Audio System

Two of the above systems will be under $2,000 and allow you up to 6 sources to up to 12 total rooms (two systems). This is the cheapest fully discrete system I have ever seen with keypads in each room and an offer of iPhone control.

For the basement and 3 TVs, I would dedicate one cable box to each TV and then have the 'main' TV be the primary audio one. Run digital audio for the other two boxes to the surround receiver... perhaps add an external digital optical switch to allow selection of different audio sources while not changing what is on any of the TVs.

And a really good universal remote control to run it all.

 

[JayGree]

Appreciate the feedback. I really dont know if its worth it or not, and I agree - if one of these things craps out.... them my entire system is down. If I went with multiple components, I'd really like some way to control them all via a single remote from wherever in the home. For example, if I am in my bedroom, I'd like to be able to click on the TV or Pandora without needing to go downstairs. Possible? RF?, IR?, And wtf is Binary HDMI over a cat5e reciever? I thought I put in cat5e so I could do all this without anything else....

I ask this not to be snarky but because I really want to know. Is it worth the complex system integration to allow multi-zone functionality or would it be easier/cheaper to simply duplicate components for each usage scenario?

I could understand storing all of my music/video on a central server but I would probably set up a single receiver or streaming device for each zone and let them all pull from the central data storage as opposed to doing complex video switching such as the 4x4 hdmi switch.

There is certainly some attraction to having a central location for all the gear but of course, if a major component breaks, then all zones will break. Plus, the cost of the custom integration has simply got to be higher than separate setups.

Thankfully there are some real experts/professionals on this board so I look forward to their discussion.

Jotham

 

[JayGree]

Thank you for the ideas! Again, this is all fairly new to me so at this point, Im trying to get as many ideas as possible and then make an informed decision. From your post, what I think may be a possibility would be the 2nd option you noted... with a matrix switch per room (although i'll need to figure out what all that means) at roughly $100 vs. the $2000 for the 4x4 matrix switch... I appreciate the link. I'll have to check it out. We have it prewired with cat5e, and there are volume controls in all the rooms. The drywall is up now so I want t get rolling on some decisions pretty quickly. Appreciate it!

 

[jotham]

While I could come up with some good suggestions, based on what I think you're looking for, here is what I would do. I would list out the different rooms and what I think I want to achieve and then I would probably contact BMXTRIX for a phone/email consultation.

Putting in cat 5e wire is a great first start. As a programmer, I tend to believe that everything should be streamed over a network

Anyhow, I think the idea of controlling everything with a single remote is kind of over promoted. You don't really want to be able to turn off the bedroom system from the living room. If you did that, you would just interrupt your wife in the middle of her tv watching. What you really want is a consistent interface. If you bought the exact same system for each room and then the same universal remote, all you would need to do is leave a remote in each room and know that they behave the same way.

For example, a Sonos system coupled with some external audio amps would satisfy everything you want to do audio-wise (probably) and would be really easy to add onto later on.

For video, HDMI is weird enough without involving switchers and such. Better to just get a good AV receiver per room and run coax for the cable tv feed.

For me, this is a hobby and fun, for BMXTRIX, it's a job so he's who I would talk to if I didn't want to dive deep into this stuff.

good luck!

Jotham
P.S. As long as you take ventilation into acct, contractors can do great things to tuck away A/V equipment so it isn't an eyesore.

 

[JayGree]

Thank you again! I think what I am leaning towards is just having recievers and cable box dedicated to each zone or having a few zones tied together. Given I have already wired the house to have all gadgets in the basement, I'll stick with that. Now, how I connect all of this together ... I'll have to figure that out, but I dont imagine its too tough. On the remotes, You are absolutely correct.. I was not clear in my desire. What I want is for each room to have ONLY 1 remote which would control everythign for that particular room. I guess I will still need some type of IR or RF device give the location of the cable box, reciever, and dvd players, etc.. I don't know about the switches, etc.. but will do more homework. Thank you again!

While I could come up with some good suggestions, based on what I think you're looking for, here is what I would do. I would list out the different rooms and what I think I want to achieve and then I would probably contact BMXTRIX for a phone/email consultation.

Putting in cat 5e wire is a great first start. As a programmer, I tend to believe that everything should be streamed over a network

Anyhow, I think the idea of controlling everything with a single remote is kind of over promoted. You don't really want to be able to turn off the bedroom system from the living room. If you did that, you would just interrupt your wife in the middle of her tv watching. What you really want is a consistent interface. If you bought the exact same system for each room and then the same universal remote, all you would need to do is leave a remote in each room and know that they behave the same way.

For example, a Sonos system coupled with some external audio amps would satisfy everything you want to do audio-wise (probably) and would be really easy to add onto later on.

For video, HDMI is weird enough without involving switchers and such. Better to just get a good AV receiver per room and run coax for the cable tv feed.

For me, this is a hobby and fun, for BMXTRIX, it's a job so he's who I would talk to if I didn't want to dive deep into this stuff.

good luck!

Jotham
P.S. As long as you take ventilation into acct, contractors can do great things to tuck away A/V equipment so it isn't an eyesore.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I have done similar to what you are asking for. I installed 12-button keypads from Crestron (about $150 a keypad) into every audio-only area (kitchen, decks, living room, dining room), then gave the client a Crestron ML-600 clone (URC MX-850) for their theater, family room, bedroom, and bar areas. The 4 remotes were programmed almost identically so they could use them easily no matter which room they were in. The rooms all had similar devices (FIOS, Blu-ray), but only the theater was a surround area with a projector. The excellent control system (Crestron) managed everything to keep it working properly with top-shelf control. In 2+ years since installation, I've been called back twice - only to deal with their FIOS network crashing due to their router resetting (Cisco consumer). Not one issue otherwise. It wasn't inexpensive, but provided them a long-term solution without a need for regularly maintenance.