Newbie Question about audio distribution

[joeyg2391]

Hello Guys,
I'm in the process of remodeling my house but i am stuck in the audio portion of my design. I currently have a pioneer VSX-94TXH with a Aperion Audio 5.1 system in my living room. I will like to put a speaker in each room(5 rooms) of my house with the longest run about 50ft. In each room I will like to have my own volume control. I am planning on using the zone output and connect it to a channel vision A1260-12-Channel Multi-Zone 60w Amplifier to distribute audio. What i want to know is if i use speaker wire to go to each room or can i use CAT5e cable? Also, I want a basic knob to control the volume in each room. I plan on purchasing in wall speakers for my rooms and will like to use my tower speakers in the living room at the same time to listen to music all over the house. Is this possible? My budget is at most $2000 for speakers and amp.

Thanks

 

[lsiberian]

Hello Guys,
I'm in the process of remodeling my house but i am stuck in the audio portion of my design. I currently have a pioneer VSX-94TXH with a Aperion Audio 5.1 system in my living room. I will like to put a speaker in each room(5 rooms) of my house with the longest run about 50ft. In each room I will like to have my own volume control. I am planning on using the zone output and connect it to a channel vision A1260-12-Channel Multi-Zone 60w Amplifier to distribute audio. What i want to know is if i use speaker wire to go to each room or can i use CAT5e cable? Also, I want a basic knob to control the volume in each room. I plan on purchasing in wall speakers for my rooms and will like to use my tower speakers in the living room at the same time to listen to music all over the house. Is this possible? My budget is at most $2000 for speakers and amp.

Thanks

50 ft is the longest run I'd suggest for speaker cable. For a nominal 8 ohm speaker you can use 16gauge up to 50ft according to

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#wiretable

Buy it here
http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239

Get the in wall stuff for your in wall runs. The 4 conductor is good for running other zone stereo systems.

Others will say get 14 gauge. I see it as a wasted expense for 40 bucks i can do a lot of other things.

Some might suggest 12 gauge but that's just ridiculous for this application IMO.

 

[joeyg2391]

thanks for the advice. As far as volume control knob connection is it always from the amp to control knob to speakers? Since i dont want to make that many holes in my wall, is there a good single speaker that can serve stereo output? My room dimensions are 8X12. If i put the amp on zone output, will that eliminate my 2 front speakers from my home theater setup, meaning no sound coming out of those? Will i have to purchase two additional in wall speakers for the living room with it's own control knob as well? Ideally i would like to use my front two towers and all the speakers in the rooms at the same time, without having two additional in wall speakers in the living room.


Thanks

 

[adk highlander]

thanks for the advice. As far as volume control knob connection is it always from the amp to control knob to speakers? Since i dont want to make that many holes in my wall, is there a good single speaker that can serve stereo output? My room dimensions are 8X12. If i put the amp on zone output, will that eliminate my 2 front speakers from my home theater setup, meaning no sound coming out of those? Will i have to purchase two additional in wall speakers for the living room with it's own control knob as well? Ideally i would like to use my front two towers and all the speakers in the rooms at the same time, without having two additional in wall speakers in the living room.


Thanks

Unless the volume controls also have an amplifier built in then yes it would go amp - volume - speaker.

For a good single stereo speaker I like the Polk RC6s - Link I replaced some lower quality models with these and they made a huge difference.

For your living room you will not need anything more for sound in that room. You can just tune to the same source for both zones and have the main zone (living room) be on the same source as zone 2. One thing to note is that you will need to use analog connections for the sources you want available for your zone 2 playpack. Meaning that if you want to use your CD player which you have connected with an optical cable you will need to also hook up the analog (red & white) to be able to use that source in zone 2.

 

[joeyg2391]

I really appreciate the help. so here it goes. Purchase amp(Channel Vision A1260 - 2-Channel Multi-Zone 60w Amplifier what do you think about this one?), connect it to my Pioneer Reciever zone output, and then feed 4 speaker wires into each room connecting them at the volume knob(recommendations please). I did stumble upon these polk speakers but wasnt sure but will def get them. In all i plan on spending 2grand for this setup including speakers, amp, knobs.

Thanks

 

[adk highlander]

I really appreciate the help. so here it goes. Purchase amp(Channel Vision A1260 - 2-Channel Multi-Zone 60w Amplifier what do you think about this one?), connect it to my Pioneer Reciever zone output, and then feed 4 speaker wires into each room connecting them at the volume knob(recommendations please). I did stumble upon these polk speakers but wasnt sure but will def get them. In all i plan on spending 2grand for this setup including speakers, amp, knobs.

Thanks

I am not familiar with that amp but I have found it in a few places on line ranging in price from 700-900 bucks so look around. I would also suggest niles products. They have been around for many years and have an excellent rep from custom installers. The niles I found in your price range only offers 30wpc and you channel vision is 60.

I don't use volume control like you will be because I have a multizone receiver and each keypad controls the volume for that zone via cat 5. I looked at parts express and this one looks like a very good deal - Link

 

[highfigh]

Hello Guys,
I'm in the process of remodeling my house but i am stuck in the audio portion of my design. I currently have a pioneer VSX-94TXH with a Aperion Audio 5.1 system in my living room. I will like to put a speaker in each room(5 rooms) of my house with the longest run about 50ft. In each room I will like to have my own volume control. I am planning on using the zone output and connect it to a channel vision A1260-12-Channel Multi-Zone 60w Amplifier to distribute audio. What i want to know is if i use speaker wire to go to each room or can i use CAT5e cable? Also, I want a basic knob to control the volume in each room. I plan on purchasing in wall speakers for my rooms and will like to use my tower speakers in the living room at the same time to listen to music all over the house. Is this possible? My budget is at most $2000 for speakers and amp.

Thanks

If you use 14-4 speakers wire and run a Cat5e along with it, you should be fine for most uses. Shop around for the cabling and you'll find a good deal. If you don't want to disturb others when you turn the distributed audio on, buy muting volume controls. You could use the Cat5e to power these (they use a low current 12VDC supply at the system and have a button on each control to un-mute) and any 2A power supply will work. Also, if you use muting volume controls, you don't need to go back to the system when you want to turn a room on/off or up/down.

Since you are looking at the Channel Vision with keypads, you'll need 4 conductor speaker wire and Cat5e anyway because it's controlled with keypads. You can buy a complete package with the amp and 4-6 keypads, or buy the pads separately. If you want to make it possible to run more/different cabling to each keypad location later, that's up to you.

If you want a basic volume control with one knob, there's no reason to go with that Channel Vision setup since you won't be able to switch sources, anyway. How many rooms? If the speakers are more than about 10' apart, use dual voice coil speakers or set the amp to mono. Stereo separation is less important than even coverage.

 

[joeyg2391]

i was planning on using a pc music server connected to my pioneer reciever to play music throughout the house. I was planning on using itunes to play music and with my netbook remote into the pc and control what i play. I have 3 bedrooms around 8X12, Living Room, Dinning Room, bathroom, and Kitchen. I wanted to place 1 polk speaker in each room with volume control. I want something simple with one source distributed all over the house and was planning on setting the volume knobs in each room to mid level and give people the option to turn it down or up. So which amp do you recommend i hook up with my pioneer elite 94x receiver? Many of the keypads i saw have mutliple sources which i dont need. It would be nice to control the volume of each room remotely if possible.

Thanks

 

[adk highlander]

The amp you choose is fine. The model you are looking at does not use keypads. It does have the ability to use a local source or a global input (which is what you want). They make other models that use a bus system that do have keypad control but you will be fine if you want to use this one.

Here is a link to the manual [link]http://www.parts-express.com/pdf/183-240m.pdf[/link]

 

[joeyg2391]

thanks. i will go that route.

 

[joeyg2391]

since i plan on putting one in each room what will be the optimal location for in ceiling when the center is not available?

 

[adk highlander]

I put mine in the corner of the room due mainly to keep it visually out of the way and keep the wife happy. The other will go on the front porch in the center. These are mostly for background music so really put them where they are most convenient to mount and keep them out of site.

 

[highfigh]

i was planning on using a pc music server connected to my pioneer reciever to play music throughout the house. I was planning on using itunes to play music and with my netbook remote into the pc and control what i play. I have 3 bedrooms around 8X12, Living Room, Dinning Room, bathroom, and Kitchen. I wanted to place 1 polk speaker in each room with volume control. I want something simple with one source distributed all over the house and was planning on setting the volume knobs in each room to mid level and give people the option to turn it down or up. So which amp do you recommend i hook up with my pioneer elite 94x receiver? Many of the keypads i saw have mutliple sources which i dont need. It would be nice to control the volume of each room remotely if possible.

Thanks

If you buy the muting volume controls I mentioned, a decent power amp and nice speakers (dual voice coil), you shouldn't have any problem keeping it well under $2K. You don't really need the multi-zone amp for this if you don't plan to switch sources. However, if you decide that you would like to and doing that remotely isn't a big deal, I would look for a 2 channel receiver with preamp out. That immediately ads a source (if you have any decent radio stations in your area) and gives you tone controls. You can get the receiver later, if you want.

 

[highfigh]

since i plan on putting one in each room what will be the optimal location for in ceiling when the center is not available?

In the middle of the occupied area. You don't want one over an area where people would normally be talking but if you have a two sink vanity in the bathroom, between them isn't bad, especially if it's placed behind where you would stand. In the kitchen, maybe two if it's a large room but probably over a work area and to one side of the table. opposite corners in the dining room walls is a good way if you don't want to see them in the ceiling. The bedroom speakers should go someplace other than directly over the bed.