Ncrypt - Thanks for the plug and welcome to CocoonTech... lots of good information and talented individuals here!
Here's some info about zoned audio that have come up in the thread:
Sonos -
www.sonos.com Sonos is a neat system and has it's advantages... easy to install, nice portable interface, easily expandable, etc. Sonos doesn't provide an in-wall keypad/controller option which some people may not like. I don't really feel that Sonos is a good fit for anyone that is working with home automation. At this time there is no way to integrate a Sonos system with anything else.
Sonos is located right here in Santa Barbara and I know a couple engineers there... they are aware of "guys like us" who would like to see some integration with their product, but have no current plans to accomodate this.
Russound The CAV6.6 is easily expandable to 36 zones (6-CAV), but remains limited to the 6 sources connected to the first unit. More importantly you can add additional amps to each zone for powering more speakers in a large room or in an area with an open floor plan. You can also add additional keypads to the same zone which is a nice feature. For an example, you could have a single zone that consists of an open kitchen/great room. Run the kitchen speakers from the CAV, the great room speakers from an external amp and then be able to control from a keypad in either room alll on one zone.
The CAV6.6 also has A-Bus sub-zones available for the first 4 zones which will allow you to expand the zone with A-Bus as well! This works well to get sound into a master bath using the A-Bus sub-zone tied to the main zone in the master bedroom.
Lots of funtionality with the system and I'm really impressed with the product design & quality as well as the people behind the company. I looked at over a dozen different distributed audio solutions before deciding to sell and install Russound. My opinion is that it's the best value out there!
Cheers,
Paul