Good Amp & Speakers

[jsunstrom]

Hi all,
 
I have speaker wire ran to every room in my house an plan to have many zones for audio distribution.  I have 2 questions:
 
1.  What kind of amp do you guys recommend getting?
2.  What is a good speaker choice to put in my bathrooms that will have good lows/mids/highs where I've only run 1 speaker to (smaller bathrooms couldn't justify 2 speakers)?

 

[tmbrown97]

Do you want true multizone/multisource, something simpler like A-Bus (still multi-source but the faceplates aren't nearly as smart; and often the amplifier is in the keypad itself); or just a single source that can be played and volume adjusted for any room?
 
I think the best 3rd party support comes from Russound or Nuvo, of HiFi if you have HAI; if you aren't as concerned with integration, there's htd.com; even SnapAV is just releasing some nice compact 12-channel amps that are affordable; and we've seen people use the Sonos even in situations where all the rooms are wired just because they like the interface; and yet others have rolled their own (check out JonW's Now Playing project).

 

[jsunstrom]

I want true multizone/multisource.  I'll have at least 12 audio zones.  I want to be able to play from any source to any or multiple sources at the same time.  I know I'll need an audio matrix as my next step after I get some speakers and an amp (just to get my feet wet).  I was saving that for a later question though.

 

[tmbrown97]

Depends on if you want to sorta build your own or if you want to use something out of the box - russound and nuvo have some pretty nice solutions that are the matrix and amp basically in one and have nice wall control plates to manage it all - but if you are looking to go with a separate 12-channel amp for example, it's simple enough - but the only non-dealer brand I can think of is htd.com; otherwise Snap has a brand new series that looks good - or I'm pretty sure I remember some in Russound's lineup.
 
If I were finally getting around to my own house, I'd be between Nuvo and Russound - with Russound as the leader last time I looked; or I'd scrap multizone altogether and have a basic selector between local zone or whatever's going on in the rest of the house with independent volume controls - but that's because that's what fits my family's listening habits at the moment.  
 
I'm too picky - if I went crazy with matrix switches, I'd want full audio/video switched, and I'd end up needing a crestron controller in front of it all - and it'd cost too much to sneak past my wife.

 

[Neurorad]

You would usually cable the small bathrooms as you would any other room, for 2 speakers.  Then, use a DVC Dual Voice Coil single stereo speaker.  It's fed by 4 conductors - 2 channels to the same speaker.
 
You would go cheap on the DVC.  There won't be any benefit to buying a nice DVC speaker, in a small room, with bad acoustics.
 
Most of your rooms will sound bad, because of room acoustics.  I've bought budget speakers, and nice speakers, for whole-house distributed audio.  In most rooms, the budget choice will be OK.  You won't get great sound.
 
You should look closely at Sonos Connect:amps, stacked in a closet/cabinet.
 

 
It will depend on what you want for control, and simplicity of setup. No keypads with Sonos, all control from mobile devices.  I really like my Nuvo keypads, and rarely use mobile devices for audio control, but I'm atypical.
 
Sonos is about $500/zone, which will be about the same cost as Nuvo Grand Concerto, for 12 zones, not including pro installation.
 
There is a lot to learn about installing distributed audio.  To save yourself a lot of time, I suggest calling a pro.  If you're going to spend $6K, spend the $6500-7000 to have it installed for you.

 

[Neurorad]

I suggest using larger speakers, for better distributed audio sound - better bass with 8" in-ceilings.
 
I've been happy with the 6.5" Monoprice DVC speaker, in my wiring closet.  Nothing special, but that's all you want, IMO.
 
Install 1 speaker zone at a time.  Try various manufacturers.  I've used a variety, and most sound pretty average.
 
For cheap, I suggest Monoprice and Proficient.  I'm currently looking at a pair of thin-bezel 8" Polk in-ceilings for my kitchen, to replace the old 6".  Debating the added cost.

 

[pete_c]

In my old home; circa 1980's I used smaller all metal external speakers (two of them) in the bathrooms at the time cuz I couldn't find reasonably priced in wall speakers that could be used for loud music.
 
In the current home pre-moving in I purchased some (actually did a bulk purchase of cases of inwall name brand speakers).
 
The master bathroom here is large and could be almost living space.  That said I purchased a larger in wall pair speakers for the bathroom as I do like my music loud and clear or even internet radio while taking a shower. The bathroom is a Russound subzone.  That said it is also a subzone of the multimedia setup in the master bedroom.  I use an analog AB switch to switch between the two;  the KPL controller though in in the hallway to the bathroom....thinking I didn't want wall clutter in there was the reason I put it in the hallway along with the AB switch.   Not yet at least.  There are already some 8 or more switches in there right now.  (cans in sections and other wall mounted lighting plus the fan stuff, et al).
 
I am thinking of adding in ceiling speakers to the shower area now.  That said though thinking more of redoing the entire "room" in a DIY as I was never impressed with the tile job and the style of the double sink stuff.