Building a house - help a newbie with the audio please

[drjordan]

Hello. I'm very new to learning about high-end home audio. So first let me tell you what I have. My main components are a Harmon-Kardon AVR 225 receiver, a Phillips (I think) progressive scan DVD player, and a Sony 300-disc CD player. I have a pair of Bose 301 speakers for the front loudspeakers. I have a 12" Bose subwoofer that is pretty old, but I like it (it’s a stand-alone sub; it’s not a part of some all-in-one package). The sub is one that you go from your receiver front right and front left outputs into the sub, then out of the sub into the front speakers (if that matters). I don't currently have a center channel speaker or surround sound speakers that I’m using.

I’m planning on keeping all of my components. I would like to keep as many of my speakers as I can, but if I need to upgrade all of them, let me know. I’m looking for a system that will be good for a room that’s roughly 15x17. I can buy some floor-standing speakers, but I would prefer bookshelf and my sub. I need to buy a new center channel and surround sound speakers.

In addition, I want to put speakers throughout my house. I want a set of speakers in each bedroom and bathroom and a pair of outdoor speakers for the back deck. I would prefer, actually my fiancé would prefer in-wall speakers. I would prefer the speaker with the best sound quality for the money that can be out of the way or it looks nice enough to be seen. We’ve not yet started to build, so my options are wide open. This will all be factored into the cost of the house so it’s a little difficult to give a specific price. I don’t want junk, but I don’t want to add an extra 10% on to the cost of the house. Somewhere in between would be fine ($1K, $2K?).

I'm not looking to entertain any audiophiles at my home anytime soon. So my ears will be the most discerning ears listening to my system, and the Bose have pleased me thus far. I’m looking for a brand/type of speaker that is around the price of a Bose (a little more expensive would be fine) with the best sound quality in that range.

Thanks a lot for the help,
Jordan

 

[bigpapa]

How do you want to control the speakers in the rest of the house? How many sources do you need? Do you expect to run all those other speakers with your 225?

There's in wall and in ceiling speakers for $50 each and up, way way up. So budget on those should be easy to select. If stereo imaging is important, go in wall, but for ease of layout and high WAF, go in ceiling.

 

[Rocky]

eek blowse.... heh... id go for a speaker upgrade

 

[drjordan]

The more I read about audio the more I think that I will put an all-in-one bookshelf system in the bedroom, use the Bose 301 and sub in my music room (I'm a musician), and buy a new set of surround sound speakers for the living room and let that be it. (Who needs speakers in the bathroom, really?)All of the information here that I've read about buying a system on a budget accounts for buying the receiver, TV, and everything in that budget. So I'll post a new thread about speakers.

For the record, if I do end up putting speakers throughout the house, I was going to buy another receiver, use IM volume controls, and use the RCA outputs of the cd player to go to that receiver and use the fiber optic output to go to the HK receiver.

Thanks.

 

[jcPanny]

Whole house system

One option for your whole house system is to use the "tape out" RCA from your existing receiver and connect it to the input of a two channel amplifier. AudioSoure and Behringer make some inexpensive models from $1-200. Use impedence matching volume controls in each room like you suggested. Divide the total pairs of speakers by the total power of the amp to determine the maximum power to each speaker. About 20 Watts per speaker should be fine for background music.

You should be able to get some decent in-ceiling speakers for around $100-200 per pair. Make sure you buy "outdoor" speakers for the patio or pool areas.

If you want the possibility of upgrading your whole house audio system in the future, run speaker wire from your amp location to a few extra rooms. Also run a Cat5 from the amp location to the VC location in each room. This would allow you to use touchpads and IR repeaters with a more sophilticated system, or for regular networking.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Let's start with the basics and the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING WHEN BUILDING A HOME.

PREWIRE, PREWIRE, PREWIRE, PREWIRE!!!

One shot, and one shot only, you can't easily get into your walls after drywall and insulation is in place to add wiring so you gotta do it now.

For a comparison, my (nice), setup includes about $3,000 worth of prewire labor. That includes lan, phone, data, video, conduit, speaker wiring, etc.

CONDUIT! Wow! What a concept! Thinking of putting a plasma over the fireplace, but don't want to put it in yet? Run a little plastic pipe (1.5" inner diameter minimum!) to the location, then run wires later if you want.

As long as you put the speaker wires in place, then you can put stuff where you want it later on as money and needs allow. FYI - I have 9 zones of audio setup in my home right now and wiring available for another 7 zones. Every room, every floor, everywhere. More than you need? Sure, but it may help with the resale to have wiring and conduit in place so you can retro things in later to your hearts content.

Not sure of the house setup, but including conduit to the attic is something that I would consider 'vital' as well. Antennas and attic access from your 'equipment room' location is key. It allows you to add a satellite dish, or run extra wiring as you need without going up the side of the house.

10% is not an unrealistic number to spend for most people on their low-voltage setup. But, it may be a bit much to add at one time, so why not maximize your ability to expand?

I actually was very surprised with the quality of the AudioSource 8" speakers that I picked up on eBay for under 100 bucks for the pair and put in the ceiling in my garage. They sound perfectly good in that less than stellar environment. Makes me think I may add them to a few more rooms around my house.

 

[jcPanny]

Example of good pre-wiring

http://www.audioholics.com/about/staffsystems/showcasehomestructuredcabling1.php

 

[JaceTheAce]

Get rid of the Bose first! hehe

 

[drjordan]

Thanks for the advice. I'll still keep the Bose for music practice...unless, of course, you would like to buy them from me.