wires in--now can't decide on home audio sytstem

[ginnytr]

Whew, just finished all the wiring this weekend & there is plenty installed! Now I'm trying to finalize my zones for audio.

Here's my thoughts on a six zone Russound:

1. master bed keypad + abus subzone in master bath
2. craft room keypad + abus subzone in laundry
3. Rec room keypad +vol matching + volume on patio +abus subzone in garage
4. Boy's room keypad+ guest room (abus or keypad split?)
5. Office keypad + downstairs guest room/exercies keypad split
6. kitchen + dining + great room +upper deck one keypad in great room + volume control for each speaker pair

Initially, I chose Russound because 1) it seemed less expensive than the Nuvo or Xantech at first look and 2) because it integrates with the ELK. BUT with all the keypad splitters and abus keypads, it may just be a wash cost wise.

The Nuvo grand concerto/concerto and the Xantech allow for 8 zones, but they seem more expensive and I'm not sure how well they integrate with other home automation. I did see that I could get two Xantech mrc44's for 8 zones/4 sources for only around $1400. Seems everything is going over budget, so trying to keep it reasonable. Plus I'm in home building burnout and overwhelmed by choices!

No need for video distribution and want to keep installation and operation of audio as simple as possible, which is why I am only looking at the 'packaged' sets.


Does my zone layout look right for the Russound? Any less expensive recommendations? Nuvo or Xantech have better features? Any feedback is appreciated!!

 

[upstatemike]

Whew, just finished all the wiring this weekend & there is plenty installed! Now I'm trying to finalize my zones for audio.

Here's my thoughts on a six zone Russound:

1. master bed keypad + abus subzone in master bath
2. craft room keypad + abus subzone in laundry
3. Rec room keypad +vol matching + volume on patio +abus subzone in garage
4. Boy's room keypad+ guest room (abus or keypad split?)
5. Office keypad + downstairs guest room/exercies keypad split
6. kitchen + dining + great room +upper deck one keypad in great room + volume control for each speaker pair

Initially, I chose Russound because 1) it seemed less expensive than the Nuvo or Xantech at first look and 2) because it integrates with the ELK. BUT with all the keypad splitters and abus keypads, it may just be a wash cost wise.

The Nuvo grand concerto/concerto and the Xantech allow for 8 zones, but they seem more expensive and I'm not sure how well they integrate with other home automation. I did see that I could get two Xantech mrc44's for 8 zones/4 sources for only around $1400. Seems everything is going over budget, so trying to keep it reasonable. Plus I'm in home building burnout and overwhelmed by choices!

No need for video distribution and want to keep installation and operation of audio as simple as possible, which is why I am only looking at the 'packaged' sets.


Does my zone layout look right for the Russound? Any less expensive recommendations? Nuvo or Xantech have better features? Any feedback is appreciated!!

I am currently working a multi-zone audio comparison spreadsheet to help with these types of decisions. Not sure if it would be useful in your situation but if you want to take a look at it I would appreciate any feedback you could offer. PM me with an email address if you want to look at it.

 

[beelzerob]

Don't forget Breathe Audio (cheaper Nuvo) and HTD.

Upmike, I'd definitely be interested in your findings once you've found them all. Distributed audio is on my list of needed systems...someday.

 

[ginnytr]

Thanks for the Breathaudio tip. It seems like I could have 12 zones, 6 sources for the same price as 6/6. Does anyone own one? Is it reliable? Makes one worry when it's about half the price of other 6 source/6 zone systems. I'll also check out the HTD. Hubby will be pleased if I can pull it off for less than $2000.

 

[ginnytr]

re: HTD...

Now i remember seeing their site and thinking it was so reasonable, but no stock could be found on their advance systems. I see their website now says that new stock will be in end of April. Now both of these systems are giving me hope of not getting in hot water!

 

[beelzerob]

For the breathe, Micah over in the CQC forums seems to be pretty happy with his system. You can probably glean some information from his thread, and post there if you want more info.

Of course, you're going about this all wrong... you should get him to see the light on a $2k system, and THEN spring a lower priced system after he's already accepted the higher price. Then you're the heroine!

 

[Digger]

Of course, you're going about this all wrong... you should get him to see the light on a $2k system, and THEN spring a lower priced system after he's already accepted the higher price. Then you're the heroine!

Dont tell a women our secrets

 

[ginnytr]

Don't worry I won't give away your secrets , but I'll take that as some good advice. Funny, I thought I had him sold on the expensive system when I asked for $2000 thinking that I definitely didn't want to do abus. Then I realized these things can easily get up to $4000.

By the way, If I have multiple rooms open to each other and put them on a single zone, do I need to have volume control for each area also? Can I just set the volume controls to the levels I like for a balanced sound, then control the overall zone volume from the keypad? (assuming a system like Russound. It looks like the Breatheaudio can group separate zones so maybe each area is it's own zone for individual volume control since the $/zone is much less.)

 

[dkemme]

I don't know if this approach would save you money and it would be much more complicated, but it would be the first step into a home automation system.

Install a multi-zone amp that can be controlled with CQC. Instead of keypads you could install an IR receiver and then each room only needs a remote control.

 

[ginnytr]

Thanks, upstatemike, way to throw some more stuff into the mix. Looking at squeezebox looks like all my music is going to be streamed over the wireless network sometime in the future. I don't have much to add to your matrix as it looks like your looking at mostly the higher end stuff. I could send you a summary of the breatheaudio stuff if you like.

 

[upstatemike]

Thanks, upstatemike, way to throw some more stuff into the mix. Looking at squeezebox looks like all my music is going to be streamed over the wireless network sometime in the future. I don't have much to add to your matrix as it looks like your looking at mostly the higher end stuff. I could send you a summary of the breatheaudio stuff if you like.

That would be great. It looks like enough people are interested in it to make it worth adding.

 

[twilo123]

this is toward the high end (pricey remote) but prontos have a plugin for the squeezecenter http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?SqueezeCenter via remote control http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboar...thread.cgi?1287. you could also look at casa tools for russound/nuvo integration as well as ipod/itunes http://www.casatools.com/ or request for that matter http://www.request.com/

 

[felixrosbergen]

Is it correct that the russound keypads also act as IR receivers? Does the russound unit come with the keypads? This would be great since the CAV appears to have an IR out that i can then tie into my PC for EventGhost or CQC to trigger other things. The russound keypads would easentially form the IR network. Will this really work?

How much us a CAV6.6 these days and does it include 6 keypads and remote?

 

[Ranger Digital]

Mav, actually, there is a sale on right now for some Russound packages. It may end may 1st. dont know yet. PM me. and I will show you what I found. Russound doesnt allow internet sales but there are authorized places to buy it.

 

[pkoslow]

Is it correct that the russound keypads also act as IR receivers? Does the russound unit come with the keypads?

Yes, the Russound UNO keypads do have built-in IR receivers and the UNO-S2's even have a remote IR sensor input which will allow you to install an IR receiver at another location in the room. This is handy if the keypad isn't in a convienent place to point a remote.

Cheers,
Paul