I am looking to put together a whole house audio distribution system. I have been doing a bit of research and it appears based on all of my wants for features at a low budget I will need to do a lot of integrating more basic components together. My main goal for posting is to make sure I didn't miss anything currently available before I go through the trouble of trying to figure out how to cobble something together.
Due to budget constraint I will need to build this system incrementally. With that said, it needs to be expandable such that my final goals can be met without wasting a ton of money and time.
Current needs are modest with 4 output zones and three inputs. The inputs can be centralized and include Ipod input, satelitte radio reciever, and a computer with mp3 library. I would like to be able to control the inputs of 4 zones (including seeing metadata, track selection, volume control and on/off) from my Andriod phone or Ipad. I would also like to have local (in the zone where the music is playing) volume control and on/off, but do not need anything beyond that.
The final product looks a bit more complicated:
15-20 output zones
12-15 input sources
Android/Ipad control as well as local volume and on/off
Home automation announcements which interrupt the music
Music that can follow someone through out the house (I know this is dependent on other home automation sensors and controllers)
Intercom that can interrupt music
Ability to create consistent interfaces with other home automation aspects (I don't want my wife to have to learn 3 or 4 different ways to control different systems in our house)
Things I don't think I need (and hence would not like to pay for):
Fancy wall keypads with track info and control and even source selection
Local IR control
Local source inputs
It seems to me that the Nuvo, Russound, HTD, Sonos etc. can do a lot of this stuff well but usually not all. It also does get pretty expensive especially for both remote control and wall keypad options. I am also unclear how well they would integrate with the rest of my setup which is an ELK M1 and as yet undecided master software.
I think there are three fundamental options which require different wiring but each has flaw as I see it:
1. Centrally amplified zone which requires a home run from the speakers through the keypad back to the amp. Sources are usually located with the amp as well though a few seems to have some type of local source input (not sure how yet). There does not seem to be a way to communicate with local volume control and get feedback which makes remote control nearly impossible.
2. Amplifiers in the keypad which is a distributed configuration. The signal from the central controller is line level over Cat5. Sources are usually located with the amp as well though a number do have local source input. The Cat5 does allow status feedback and communication (A-BUS is one standard), but I haven't found a keypad/central controller that meets all of my needs (probably just haven't looked hard enough).
3. Distributed amplifiers and "decoders". The signal from the central controller (if there even is one) is digital and is converted to audio at the local zone. Sources are usually distributed with this model. Seems like the best bet, but Sonos (the leader of this type) doesn't work great with a large number of sources.
As you can see, there is a lot of choices and information out there, and I am all over the place. Hopefully some one has a setup similar to my final product. My budget for the current needs is less than $500 (I know not a lot). The final product can be quite a bit more as long as each room/feature I add builds on what I start with and is reasonably priced. Thanks.
Due to budget constraint I will need to build this system incrementally. With that said, it needs to be expandable such that my final goals can be met without wasting a ton of money and time.
Current needs are modest with 4 output zones and three inputs. The inputs can be centralized and include Ipod input, satelitte radio reciever, and a computer with mp3 library. I would like to be able to control the inputs of 4 zones (including seeing metadata, track selection, volume control and on/off) from my Andriod phone or Ipad. I would also like to have local (in the zone where the music is playing) volume control and on/off, but do not need anything beyond that.
The final product looks a bit more complicated:
15-20 output zones
12-15 input sources
Android/Ipad control as well as local volume and on/off
Home automation announcements which interrupt the music
Music that can follow someone through out the house (I know this is dependent on other home automation sensors and controllers)
Intercom that can interrupt music
Ability to create consistent interfaces with other home automation aspects (I don't want my wife to have to learn 3 or 4 different ways to control different systems in our house)
Things I don't think I need (and hence would not like to pay for):
Fancy wall keypads with track info and control and even source selection
Local IR control
Local source inputs
It seems to me that the Nuvo, Russound, HTD, Sonos etc. can do a lot of this stuff well but usually not all. It also does get pretty expensive especially for both remote control and wall keypad options. I am also unclear how well they would integrate with the rest of my setup which is an ELK M1 and as yet undecided master software.
I think there are three fundamental options which require different wiring but each has flaw as I see it:
1. Centrally amplified zone which requires a home run from the speakers through the keypad back to the amp. Sources are usually located with the amp as well though a few seems to have some type of local source input (not sure how yet). There does not seem to be a way to communicate with local volume control and get feedback which makes remote control nearly impossible.
2. Amplifiers in the keypad which is a distributed configuration. The signal from the central controller is line level over Cat5. Sources are usually located with the amp as well though a number do have local source input. The Cat5 does allow status feedback and communication (A-BUS is one standard), but I haven't found a keypad/central controller that meets all of my needs (probably just haven't looked hard enough).
3. Distributed amplifiers and "decoders". The signal from the central controller (if there even is one) is digital and is converted to audio at the local zone. Sources are usually distributed with this model. Seems like the best bet, but Sonos (the leader of this type) doesn't work great with a large number of sources.
As you can see, there is a lot of choices and information out there, and I am all over the place. Hopefully some one has a setup similar to my final product. My budget for the current needs is less than $500 (I know not a lot). The final product can be quite a bit more as long as each room/feature I add builds on what I start with and is reasonably priced. Thanks.
