Crestron Adagio ... overpriced?

[parinshah]

I am going to meet my AV guy in a week, and by email he mentioned that he has Russound and Crestron products, but seems he really would like to push the Crestron Adagio. I know Crestron has great customer service, but for audio distribution is Crestron worth it?

I know its nice to have lights, blinds, thermostat at the touch of cool keypad..but seems overpriced for something not used too often.

I am looking for 4-6 zone audio distribution. I was initially debating between Russound or Sonos (all my music is on my mac, and i currently stream it to my receiver via an airport express).

Any thoughts?

 

[Booger]

Yes, you are correct Adagio is way....overpriced.

Look into the Niles ZR6.

6 zone - 6 source includes tuner for 1750.

All plug and play!

 

[bandphan]

Yes, you are correct Adagio is way....overpriced.

Look into the Niles ZR6.

6 zone - 6 source includes tuner for 1750.

All plug and play!

Way overpriced? Niles makes great gear but its not crestron crestron is just a couple of levels up and id rather do crestnet than niles.

 

[InTheIndustry]

My custom A/V firm switched to doing exclusively SONOS as a whole house audio solution. Why? After the 1st trial installation I realized that there's nothing else but SONOS. It's that good.

Take the money the Crestron piece would cost you (as well as the programming fees) & get yourself 2 (for four zones) or 3 (for six zones) SONOS Bundles & add some Parasound ZAMPs (for the ZP90 non-powered zones).

Couple the SONOS with BG Radia in-ceiling speakers. The PD-6Ci ($600 per pair) is the absolute best in-ceiling speaker I've ever heard (& with 10 years InTheIndustry, I've heard a LOT of them). Got high ceilings 10' or above? Go with the PD-8Ci. On a budget? Do the RT-6Cj ($300 per pair). Nothing touches the BG pieces anywhere near their price point or above (a rep even gave me a $2500 pair of Sonance for a comparison shootout in my own home... $600 BG was still obviously better sounding). I can’t say enough about the BG line of speakers. I’m going to do an indepth review & write up on a theatre system we just did using some of their in-walls in the speaker section in a few days. Absolutely phenomenal, unique sounding product.

Want sound in Master Bed & Master bath? Use the BG’s in your Master Bed & a Jamo I/O6.52DVCA2 dual voice coil in-ceiling speaker. It sounds great, is cheap $139, & is weather proof so steam won’t hurt it. Also, put an A/B toggle switch OUTSIDE of the Master Bath (Parts Express has a good one for cheap) so you can switch the sound into there if someone’s asleep.

It's that simple. Save on wire & have the electricians put outlets in the closets of each of the rooms you're doing so you can put the zone players on the closet shelf keeping the speaker runs short.

I’m sorry that this was so short. Usually I take a lot of care to write an answer for someone with a cool project & a good budget. I’m just short for time right this second. If you come up with specific questions about my post please just ask & I will answer in a day or two!

I am going to meet my AV guy in a week, and by email he mentioned that he has Russound and Crestron products, but seems he really would like to push the Crestron Adagio. I know Crestron has great customer service, but for audio distribution is Crestron worth it?

I know its nice to have lights, blinds, thermostat at the touch of cool keypad..but seems overpriced for something not used too often.

I am looking for 4-6 zone audio distribution. I was initially debating between Russound or Sonos (all my music is on my mac, and i currently stream it to my receiver via an airport express).

Any thoughts?

 

[BMXTRIX]

I'm a big fan of Crestron, but I don't think that for basic audio distribution you get the best value out of it. Reliability is second to none, but the price is a bit high unless you already have some need for it. They do have Adagio zone amplifiers which are competitvely priced...

Yet, if you simply want basic distributed audio, there are a half dozen less expensive solutions which will still work very well. I have heard good things about Sonos as well.

For a fully integrated home, or a complex home theater, if you already were putting Crestron in, then the addition of multiple sources (XM, FM, iPod, etc.) throughout your home could be well worth it, and any company worth a darn is going to have some pretty stock programming which won't run to crazy a number, but should work well.

 

[parinshah]

Thanks guys!

I was looking into Sonos and saw it at best buy and find it very compelling. I also saw the Logitech Squeezebox, but that is probably OK for 1-2 zones.

I haven't found much on Audioholics concerning Sonos, but i was told to check out AVS forum, and and have a lot of threads there. I think for people like me that have all their music on the computer, its an easy way to stream music all over the house.

I am going to have all my wiring from all the rooms come into one closet. Although it may cost more to wire, if i sell the house and someone else wants to use russound or crestron, they can easily do so. I plan on getting 3-4 zone players and put them all in the closet and then a zone bridge. There is a great iphone app that lets you control everything from your phone!

I will need in-ceiling speakers, and was looking into polk and infinity.

 

[parinshah]

So, sonos has just about won me over. Before i get too excited, any thoughts about russound? how easy to use are the controllers and pads when looking up music?