HIFI II by HAI

[HAdiy]

I want to set up a whole house audio system with 5 zones with 1 of them being surround sound. I would like to play any source at any given volume in any zone at any given time. In addition, I would also like to have my main surround sound receiver which will have cable, blu-ray player, AppleTV, gaming console etc to play the source selected at any given time as well. To achieve this I was thinking about utilizing the HIFI II from HAI.

If the above is possible, this is how I was thinking about setting it up:

1) Connect surround sound receiver to HIFI II (is this a HDMI connection? If not, could you please explain?)
2) Connect all speakers to HIFI II
3) Connect VSCs to HIFI II
4) RIMs: will not utilize as I don't have additional CAT5 pre-wired and it might be too much work to do so. If I choose not to utilize RIMs, how many local inputs would I have on the HIFI II?
5) Connect HIFI II to Omnipro II via serial cable (roughly 40-50 ft...will this be ok?)
6) Control the above and my security and automation via one app (Haiku possibly). BTW, would I be able to control the various inputs (cable, blu-ray, AppleTV, etc) via the Haiku app. For example: could I change the channels, access blu-ray menu, etc via Haiku?


BTW, is the HIFI II the best way to do what I'm trying to achieve or do you have a better recommendation.

Thanks in advance!

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Some reading material

 

[picta]

You can use HiFi2 for your requirements and also a Russound. To answer your questions:

1. No HDMI, only analog. For stereo you can use a variable output zone on HiFi.
2,3,5. Yes
4. There are 8 sources total, local RIMs inclusive. You can use some RIMs as an interface for sources like iPod even if they are located next to the controller.
6. You can control all HiFi functions via Haiku, but to control the sources you'll need something else, like HTX2 or iTach. Metadata are available for some sources in Haiku, you should post a question to Haiku forum to get the supported list.

 

[HAdiy]

Thanks for the responses! In reference to my home theater being connected to the HIFI via a line out (L/R) and that being an analog signal, should I be concerned with the audio quality?

 

[picta]

The sound quality will be as good as it comes out of your theater amp, HiFi will just act as a speaker switcher. I assume you'll have separate set of speakers connected to the theater amp for better sound experience.

 

[HAdiy]

Contrary to what I stated initially, I am now considering connecting the home theater speakers to the home theater receiver. The remaining speakers (for whole house audio) would be connected to the HIFI.

Does this make any sense?

 

[EDP]

HAdiy - did this work out for you? I'm considering a similar setup.

 

[EDP]

Anyone else care to comment on Hi-Fi 2?

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

I saw it at HAI's CES booth and thought it was a pretty cool looking system.  I believe I did a CES review of it last year (portal is down right now, but look up CES Exclusive HAI when it's back up).

 

[EDP]

Thanks BraveSirRobbin.....I'll check it out.