Multi-room stereo systems (floor, heater, installation, master bedroom)

[VivaLaEvie]

Hi there! Our goal is to have music in several rooms of the house (kitchen, dining, living, outdoor patio) playing from the same system. This will allow us to have much everyone on the main floor at an even volume in each room. So far, I've found a few systems on the internet, but they are very expensive ($1,400 just for the receiver, no speakers, wire, etc).

Has anybody installed or researched them? What are the options out there? Are there more affordable systems?

Thanks!

[Threerun]

I have a Yamaha A/V receiver that is capable of multi-channel play in various rooms, but I'm opting to wait until wireless systems come down in price. I don't relish running gobs of wiring to accomplish something that may not be used frequently

[harry chickpea]

Yeah, a long time ago I used to help my dad install stuff like this. We did ski lodges and so on.

If you want the same program material in various rooms, the standard way is to run 70vt lines and have matching transformers with an L-pad (individual volume control) near each set of the speakers. Installation costs are high. The actual amplifier isn't the big player that it is in dedicated systems, since you commonly don't push a lot of current through such a system without rolloff issues. A basic PA amplifier worked about as well as anything.

Although a lot of people wanted such a system, the only advantage I saw was having a single control center once the various L-pads were set to the correct levels. If one kid who wanted to hear his songs a little louder, and knew how to reset the level, that would mean going back to that room and resetting the L-pad.

For a home system, I would probably prefer individual receivers in each room, with a line feed from the main unit. That way the individual room has more control, there is a certain amount of redundancy, and you don't get into as many issues with less than stellar frequency response. YMMV.

[f_m]

These are probably the least expensive I've seen, unless you start buying "junk."

Home Theater Direct

Crutchfield has some good information when shopping for electronics.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-3pIcPuP...oom-Audio.html

I think the Zon system is pretty neat, as it minimizes wiring, although I've never used it, the concept is nice.

[NewJersey?]

I wired my house for whole house audio/video into every room, basement, yard. Six or so zones, but I did not buy and install the components. I did install a pair of speakers in two locations. the Master bedroom and backyard. My Home theater receiver happens to control a 'second zone', so I use that zone for the room I want. If I want the bedroom, I plug that into zone 2. If I want the backyard, I plug that in. I could use a 'speaker selector' which cost $100 or so, but if I do it, I want to do it right, so I'll keep plugging and unplugging for now. lol So, this is a cheaper alternative to a system.

Newer receivers have 2 or 3 extra zones, so you could use those for the other rooms. The way you are describing listening to the system, you don't even need multiple zones. They can be all on one zone if you will be listening to the same source at the same volume.

I think Smarthome - Home Automation, X10, Remote Control, Lighting, Wireless Security may have some inexpensive products that you may be interested in. I haven't seen it in a while, so things might have changed. good luck.