Receiver to replace Niles for 4 zone speaker system

[rma123]

I have 4 rooms with 2 speakers each connected to a a Niles receiver system. Also, have Niles key pad on the walls. The receiver has gone bad. I would like to replace it. But don't want to spend too much buying a Niles system. What are my alternatives? All I need is a simple receiver that can connect to my phone via bluetooth and play the same music in all 4 zones. If I can get a keypad that can be just used to turn off/off and maybe control the music volume that would be great.

 

[TLS Guy]

I have 4 rooms with 2 speakers each connected to a a Niles receiver system. Also, have Niles key pad on the walls. The receiver has gone bad. I would like to replace it. But don't want to spend too much buying a Niles system. What are my alternatives? All I need is a simple receiver that can connect to my phone via bluetooth and play the same music in all 4 zones. If I can get a keypad that can be just used to turn off/off and maybe control the music volume that would be great.

An HT receiver is not the correct device for that application. You need a distribution amp and a front end. Before advising it is essential to know how your speaker system is wired and the specs and nature of the volume controls. This is a much more complex problem than you realize, as it will be a mod to an existing system. There are a lot of different systems out there. If you buy an amp not designed for this system you will blow it up right away.

 

[rma123]

The Niles receiver I have is ZR-6. I have two speakers and one controller in each room. A total of 4 rooms. What more information can I provide.

 

[TLS Guy]

The Niles receiver I have is ZR-6. I have two speakers and one controller in each room. A total of 4 rooms. What more information can I provide.

Unfortunately that system is integrated and only compatible with that failed Niles unit. It is a fully proprietary system now discontinued. The volume controls are connected back to the receiver via Cat 9.

So your options are to get another 4 or 6 channels distribution amp with Blue tooth, and replace the current volume controls with impedance matching controls.

Since you have 8 speakers I suspect this is a mono system, as to be stereo it would have needed an eight channel amp . I suspect that two channels were unused, but I can't be certain of that. It is possible some rooms were stereo and some mono. So this will need a wiring trace.

That Niles unit is discontinued and they seem not to have a replacement unit for your system, as far as I can tell. I would contact Niles and see if they have a replacement updated unit for those wall controls.

Failing that you will need competent expert advice. These sort of systems tend to be a nightmare, and I always recommend maximum avoidance. We get endless posts with people in a state with these multiroom ceiling installations after blowing receivers etc.

Your easiest solution would be to find a used ZR-6 on eBay. Otherwise it gets complicated and probably expensive. Short of this last solution I can tell you do not have the experience and expertise to get this system up and running without professional help.

My last question is, if you really do need a system that gives your home the ambience of a shopping mall, or would you be better off putting the funds to a much better audio, or these days AV system.

 

[BMXTRIX]

eBay! Get a replacement ZR-6!

This is, by far, the best and cheapest option for your audio needs.

I love how silly people sound when they say "I just want something with Bluetooth!"

Sorry, not meant to offend really, but you clearly don't know how Bluetooth works.

It is designed to go from your head all the way (3 feet or so) to your phone. Or perhaps to your car radio. Get crazy and maybe five feet to your computer.

It doesn't cover your ENTIRE HOUSE. You don't just get a magic Bluetooth box which allows for audio to be played back from anywhere.

If you want to play your phone from anywhere in your home, you need a Wi-Fi solution that connects to your home network and then can tie into your whole-house audio system. Something like a Sonos Port or a Bluesound Node.

But, at the base, your in-room controllers allow for local source audio select, with multiple sources available to the system. Local in-room volume control is also available from the keypads. Yes, phone control would be a nice additional feature, but you typically do want to be in the room when you adjust volume inside the room. Plus, you don't typically want to have all rooms playing at the same time necessarily, which is what the Niles allows as you choose.

A replacement unit, for under $200, is designed for exactly the type of use situation that you have in your home and for the money for a used unit, it's a steal.

If you do want something with integrated phone controls with volume to each room, then you would need to look at something like a HTD system...

MCA-66 Set (No Keypads)

Whole-house audio systems you can install yourself and control with smart phones and tablets. All HTD systems include a 30-day guarantee and 5-year warranty.

www.htd.com

Those start at about $1,000. Not sure I'd want to pay that much for adding phone controls to a fully built out system.

I will add that I've added phone control using Crestron for about $400 to systems of this nature in the past. Nothing crazy, just basic "Select a room", select a source and adjust volume for that room controls. It seems easy enough, but you have to have a device which supports it, and a device like the ZR-6 does support that type of activity. Literally only took me a few hours to program a super basic interface for it, but has worked well for my client for several years now and gives them the iPhone control they wanted.

 

[highfigh]

The Niles receiver I have is ZR-6. I have two speakers and one controller in each room. A total of 4 rooms. What more information can I provide.

What stopped working? Does it light up when you use the power button? If not, it may have an internal fuse. Did you lose audio in some channels? If so, you can connect an external power amp.