Advice please, complete home audio.

[beam3]

Hey guys, once again I'm hoping someone here can help me out with some information. I'm installing a complete home audio system and need some suggestions. Here are the details....there will be 14 speakers broken up into 7 pairs. I know how I want the system to work but I'm not sure what components to look into.

Ok, ideally I'd like to have a volume control for each set of speakers...but I want it to control the level from the amp, I don't want amplified volume controls. (Defeats the purpose of buying a quality amp, right?) So line level volume controls will do. But for one room I'd like to have four speakers on one volume control, will that be possible? I'd also like the ability to turn the speakers completely off in any of the rooms at any time. Are there IR controlled line volume controls?

I was looking into buying Denons DCM-380 cd changer and their DRA-395 stereo receiver. What 12 channel amp should I look into? I've looked at the Niles SI-1260. Now can this be hooked up to the Denon to privide what I'm looking to do?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just hoping to get a better understanding on what I'm going to need.

Thanks guys.

 

[jcPanny]

Whole house audio

One of the easiest and cheepest solutions would be 1 or 2 stereo amplifiers with impedence matching volume controls in each room. Not sure about the 4 speakers on a single VC and I am curious about this myself.

High quality Russound VCs are available on Amazon for $31 each. They have a jumper for the impedence setting so you can have 1, 2, 4, or 8 pairs of speakers attached to the amp and maintain an 8 ohm impedence.
1 or 2 of the $180 Behringer A500 amps should be plenty of power for your needs. The Behringer will deliver over 200 Watts into 4 ohms so you calculate 200 / 8 = 25 Watts per speaker.

There are VCs with IR repeaters like the ones in the AH house, but a nice RF remote is probably a much cheeper and easier solution. If will work anywhere in a 100+ ft. range of the basestation which covers most homes.

 

[beam3]

Thanks for the reply!

Will the Behringer give me excellent sounding music at 50wpc?

Sorry if these questions are redundant, this is my first project aside from HT's.

Thank You.


*EDIT* After looking at the amp I see what you mean at 25w/speaker.....duh, run 4 speakers parallel off each channel.

 

[beam3]

jcPanny, do you think the Niles SI-1230 would be a better option if I got it for under $500.

 

[beam3]

Guys, how does this sound.....

Denon DCM-380: 5 disc cd changer
Denon DRA-685: am/fm amplifier
Niles SI-1230 (or 1260)

All for under 1k. With the 1260 it will probably be 1100ish.

 

[jcPanny]

Niles amp specs.

What is the power spec on the Niles? Judging by the model number, probably 30 Watts per channel. A single Behringer A500 will give you comparable performance for $180. If you want more power to blast music at the pool, get two Behringer's for $360, less than the lower powered niles amp.

If the niles has multisource features and/or keypads, then maybe those extra feature are worth it to you. Keep in mind that the keypads are probably $100+ each vs. $31 each for a good impedence matching volume control.

 

[jcPanny]

Niles info

Looks like you can bridge a couple of the extra Niles amp channels for up to 80 Watt into 8 ohms. Also, you are getting a good deal with a retail price of over $1k for the less powerful Niles amp.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-ZdEpVz7yHar/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?wm=fp&I=190SI1230

 

[beam3]

What is the power spec on the Niles? Judging by the model number, probably 30 Watts per channel. A single Behringer A500 will give you comparable performance for $180. If you want more power to blast music at the pool, get two Behringer's for $360, less than the lower powered niles amp.

If the niles has multisource features and/or keypads, then maybe those extra feature are worth it to you. Keep in mind that the keypads are probably $100+ each vs. $31 each for a good impedence matching volume control.

The 1260 is 60w/ch. I get Niles for about 60% off through a work account so that's why I'm leaning this way.


FEATURES

* Micro Processor Controlled, Fully Discrete, 12-channel High Power Amplifier, Designed For The Most Demanding Distributed Audio Applications
* 12 Channels X 60W RMS/channel Into 8 Ohms (all Channels Driven)
* 12 Channels X 80W RMS/channel Into 4 Ohms (all Channels Driven)
* All Channels Are Stable Into Low-impedance Loads (2.66 Ohms)
* Adjacent Channels Are Bridgeable When More Power Is Required. Perfect For System Applications Like Powering Several Pairs Of Outdoor Speakers.
* Bridged Channel Power Output Is Rated At 120W RMS/channel Into 8 Ohms .06% THD (all Channels Driven)
* Microprocessor Controlled Protection Circuitry Ensures That If A Problem Occurs In Any Channel, That Channel Is Automatically Shut Down, While The Remaining Trouble Free Channels Continue To Play Music Uninterrupted
* Gold-plated RCA Jacks
* 2 Buss Inputs Provide Outstanding Flexibility When Running Multiple Pairs Of Speakers In Two Different Zones
* Dual Input BusMatrix Selector Allows Each Channel To Select From Seven Options: Left1, Right1, Left1+ Right1 (Mono1), Left2, Right2, Left2+ Right2 (Mono2), Or Each Channel’s Dedicated Input.
* Gold-plated 5-way Binding Posts
* Independent Installer-adjustable Level Controls, Provide A Simple Way To Balance The Volume Differences Between Large And Small Rooms Using The Same Type Of Speakers
* Three Turn-on Modes Provide Both Reliability And Flexibility, When Configuring The Amplifier To Power On And Off. They Include: Music Sense, Voltage Trigger (accepts 3-30V AC/DC) And Manual Mode.
* 12V DC Control Output (3.5mm Mini Jack) Can Be Used To Automate The Power On And Off Of Another Component In The System
* Cascade Audio Outputs Conveniently Allow Additional Amplifiers To Be Hooked Into The Same System Without The Need Of Additional Audio Distribution Devices
* A DB-25 Connector Simplifies The Connection To A Niles MultiZone Preamplifier By Transferring All The Audio Signals To The SI-1260 Amplifier On One Cable
* Removable Two-wire IEC Line Cord