Local Source Interrupt

[JoshFarr]

I am wiring my new house for whole home audio.  I have a pair of speakers in 6 different zones.  I have home runs, through the volume control box, from each of the speakers to the wiring closet and then Cat5e from the volume control to the wiring closet as well. 
 
So now the question...I want to be able to hook my iPhone to play music in some of the zones without having to go down to the wiring closet and plugging it in.  How do I wire for a local source?  Do I need to also run speakerwire to the iPhone source jack location for this to work?  I have not yet picked a sound system so I am hoping to find out how to wire this generally before the drywall goes up.  Or can I just run a couple drops of Cat5e from the room that I want to hook my iPhone (without additional speakerwire) and I will be able to connect and listen to it?  TIA
 

 

[dgage]

Josh,
 
I don't know what your budget is but I've also been looking at the options and for what I want, I really like the Sonos although I wish it were setup more for distributed audio.  Specifically, I wanted to be able to listen to a streaming service such as Pandora as well as my local music files.  I looked at some of the traditional distributed audio systems such as the Nuvo Grand Concerto and their music server (MPS4) but for the price I wasn't impressed.  For Sonos, you can buy a Connect or ConnectAmp(2x55w) which is synonymous with a zone and they have a nice app controlled from a phone or tablet.  Sonos is so popular that 3rd party apps are made for other systems such as Windows Phone 8 that don't yet have a native Sonos app.  I can also perfectly sync the music in any rooms I choose through the Sonos apps.
 
Will you save money with Sonos?  No but in my mind it is the most elegant distributed audio system on the market, even if it doesn't cater to the built-in market.  So your setup sounds similar to mine except I don't even have wall controls (I use the Sonos app).  For me, I purchased Parasound HCA-1000A amps to have some good, clean power to each zone and they were under $250 each on eBay.  Then I took a Connect ($350) and plugged that into the HCA-1000A amps and that gives me the sound I want.  From the amp I have speaker wire straight to the speakers in the rooms.  If you don't have an amp yet, you could just purchase the ConnectAmp ($500), which might even be easier since you don't have to worry about triggers for turning on the amps to save power.  By the way, there is a wireless Bridge you should get but you can usually find a free deal on the when you purchase a Connect or ConnectAmp.  I also purchased two of the Play5 wireless speakers, which I can take around to any room in the house or where I plan to use them most in the summer, the deck.
 
David
 
P.S.  Check out the recent thread on the MPS4 where some of our members discuss a lack of recent support.  Sonos has been out for many years and is still popular and bringing out new products.

 

[kevkmartin]

Why not use an airport express, located at the amp location, and stream the iPhone content is Airplay?

I do this, and use a Speakercraft CTL02001 automatic line level switcher to change the input to the Airport only when I'm streaming to it. Works great.

 

[dgage]

Depends on the requirements.  Airport is supposedly a very nice system however, you are then stuck in an Apple ecosystem, which could be fine but it would be nice to have a choice. 
 
I'm sure there may be other differences but the main thing most have pointed out is the inability to sync music between zones.  Sonos has perfect sync capabilities and Airport doesn't do a good job based on my reading.
 
Now if you don't need synced rooms then Airport would definitely be cheaper.  But as good as the Sonos software is across just about any platform, it is definitely the more elegant solution. 
 
David

 

[kevkmartin]

When streaming to multiple Airports from a single source, all of them ARE perfectly synced. I do this regularly.

 

[dgage]

Thanks for the education.  So can you explain why many that compare Airport and Sonos after using them both complain about the syncing?  How easy is the software to sync multiple zones of Airport?
 
In the Sonos software, you simply select a room that is playing what you want to listen to and then group other rooms into that one.  Simple as a few clicks.
 
Also, how do you select something like Pandora and get it started playing on one or more Airport stations?  And can you name the Airport stations?
 
I hope this is valuable to the original poster.  Please provide some focus so we can get back to your original post and provide the information you need.

 

[kevkmartin]

Thanks for the education.  So can you explain why many that compare Airport and Sonos after using them both complain about the syncing?  How easy is the software to sync multiple zones of Airport?
 
In the Sonos software, you simply select a room that is playing what you want to listen to and then group other rooms into that one.  Simple as a few clicks.
go to.
Also, how do you select something like Pandora and get it started playing on one or more Airport stations?  And can you name the Airport stations?
 
I hope this is valuable to the original poster.  Please provide some focus so we can get back to your original post and provide the information you need.

 
 
I suspect that many of the comparisons are out of date, as there were definitely issues with early implementations of Airplay.
Today, Airplay across multiple devices is pretty seamless...  but it's different from what you describe with Sonos.
Airplay is very "source" based, rather than location based.  You start the source you want to stream - be it from a computer, or from an "i" device.   Once the source is playing, you select the Airplay icon, and then tap the multiple devices that you want the stream to go to.
 
Yes, you can name the airplay stations - be they Airports or Apple TVs - whatever you want.
 
I currently have 8 Apple TV / Airport devices in my home, each supporting a different "zone".
 
When I have a party, it is very straight forward to start the Remote App, select the computer with the library that I want to play, start a playlist, and then have that stream go to all 8 zones. It's a seamless experience.
 
There are a lot of comments that people make (and you alluded to) about being locked in to a particulat infrastructure with Apple... but how is that really different from being "locked in" to the Sonos infrastructure?

 

[dgage]

I just did a search on Airplay apps and while I agree that Sonos is itself a closed solution, technically it has more widespread app integration from Windows, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, etc. compared to Airplay.  Now I will give you that there are many new TVs and receivers that tout Airplay capability but I don't see myself upgrading any of those soon.  And if I upgrade my home theater receiver, it will likely be with a preamp and separate amplifier.
 
I might see if I can borrow a couple Airplay devices from a friend and work with them.  Or just buy some off of eBay that I could put back on eBay if they don't work as well as I'd like. 
 
Thanks for the info.