upstatemike
Senior Member
Based on the discussion in SEANV's Computer Controlled Speaker Switch thread, I am rethinking my audio distribution strategy. Currently I have a bunch of local systems that have Slim Devices Squeezebox units attached as a local source. This gives me whole house access to my central music store and still allows local control of volume, local sources like tuners and CD players, etc. The Slimserver has a browser interface and can be configured to sync all the players or have them act independently as standard features of the system and it has worked very well except that maintaining all the individual systems can be a pain. (rooms get retasked a lot around here and the local sound systems are just one more thing to deal with when changing a room around).
My zoned muting and HA announcements are done through speaker switching and none of the discussions I've seen so far have convinced me that it would be better to do it at the source level.
My new plan is to centralize my amplifiers and divide my house into 6 zones; 3rd floor, 2nd floor, North wing, South Wing, basement, and outside which includes the garage, porches and balconies. I am going to dedicate a Squeezebox to each of the six zones at my amplifier location. I will then put Squeezeboxes in my main music areas where I currently have stand alone systems and sync them back to the appropriate zone. This will give me local IR control of the zone as well as an artist/track info display that is much less expensive than a bunch of touchsreens.
Note that the local Squeezeboxes will not have audio connections. They are just slaved to one of the six units back at the amps so they provide a local display and local control.
I'll probably end up with 10-12 Squeezebox displays, each assigned to 1 of 6 zones driving maybe 20 pairs of speakers.
I'll keep using relay switching for zone announcements which will be driven by an existing PA amp that is on 24/7. I can use the relays from my Stargate, or any other HA system, to manage announcements without being concerned about the architecture of the music system.
The only thing I haven't figured out is local volume control. I can either go with a low end whole house amp like a Nuvo and use the keypads that go with it, or I can use ordinary stereo amps with Leviton Digital Chopin volume controls. I kind of like the Leviton solution because I can vary the amplifier power for each zone and even use multiple amps for a single zone if I need to.
I would appreciate any thoughts on the flaws in my plan (while it is still in the thinking stage).
My zoned muting and HA announcements are done through speaker switching and none of the discussions I've seen so far have convinced me that it would be better to do it at the source level.
My new plan is to centralize my amplifiers and divide my house into 6 zones; 3rd floor, 2nd floor, North wing, South Wing, basement, and outside which includes the garage, porches and balconies. I am going to dedicate a Squeezebox to each of the six zones at my amplifier location. I will then put Squeezeboxes in my main music areas where I currently have stand alone systems and sync them back to the appropriate zone. This will give me local IR control of the zone as well as an artist/track info display that is much less expensive than a bunch of touchsreens.
Note that the local Squeezeboxes will not have audio connections. They are just slaved to one of the six units back at the amps so they provide a local display and local control.
I'll probably end up with 10-12 Squeezebox displays, each assigned to 1 of 6 zones driving maybe 20 pairs of speakers.
I'll keep using relay switching for zone announcements which will be driven by an existing PA amp that is on 24/7. I can use the relays from my Stargate, or any other HA system, to manage announcements without being concerned about the architecture of the music system.
The only thing I haven't figured out is local volume control. I can either go with a low end whole house amp like a Nuvo and use the keypads that go with it, or I can use ordinary stereo amps with Leviton Digital Chopin volume controls. I kind of like the Leviton solution because I can vary the amplifier power for each zone and even use multiple amps for a single zone if I need to.
I would appreciate any thoughts on the flaws in my plan (while it is still in the thinking stage).
