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New HT question

#1
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2/13/09 at 3:30pm
  • Joined: February 2009
  • Post Count: 4
New member to the forum and to the HT world. Hopefully this is in the right place....

I am buying a brand new home that is prewired for speakers in several rooms. Here is the current prewire setup:

Upstairs Master (2 Speakers, with wiring for volume control wall switch)
Upstairs Gameroom (2 Speakers, with wiring for volume control wall switch)
Downstairs Living Room (4 Speakers plus 1 sub located on a wall across the room)
Outside Patio (2 Speakers, with wiring for volume control wall switch inside)

All 10 Speaker wires come out of the wall in the living room where the receiver/tv will be located.

Will I be able to use my current receiver to get audio to all 4 locations. For example, can I watch tv in the Master and get the audio from the speakers?
If so, what piece(s) of hardware do I need to buy. I know I can get music from my one receiver to all speakers, but I am wanting to see if it is possible to get the audio from the tv in the Master at the same time as in the other two rooms.

For the patio, just music is all I would want.

THanks for any suggestions.
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#2
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2/13/09 at 4:34pm
  • Joined: February 2009
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Re: New HT question

You need a good receiver that has multiple zones. Yamaha has a good multi-zone and even come with a 2nd remote for zone 2 and 3.
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#3
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2/13/09 at 8:52pm
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Re: New HT question

Will I need a Speaker selector box?

Any website recommendations for wall mount speaker volume control switches?
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#4
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2/14/09 at 8:39am
  • Joined: February 2009
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Re: New HT question

Well, my receiver has 3 zones and the only thing you need for the other rooms in an infrared signal receiver, sold separately (if your other rooms are not with-in range of the secondary remote). It allows me to listen to music in one room while someone else can enjoy 5.1 audio in the receiver source room. The main downside to it is that even though it's a 7.1 receiver, when ZONE 2 or 3 is being used, your main ZONE will only be capable of 5.1. No big deal.

This configuration would by-pass the volume control switches unless you set up ZONE 2 and 3 with their own amplifiers.
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#5
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2/14/09 at 9:02pm
  • Joined: March 2008
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Re: New HT question

I'm not sure if i'm the only one thinking this, but i'd say you should look into home automation. It sounds like this is what the prewiring was intended for, as i'm not sure of any receiver that would handle all 4(?) zones separately. This solution (Crestron Adagio is something to look at, you can also google "Whole House Audio") would be quite pricey, but well worth it if you could take advantage of full theater sound in the living room and separate zones/wall switches for each room. I might be overshooting the point here, but i'm assuming that with the wiring the way it is, this would be the ideal solution.
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#6
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2/15/09 at 5:34pm
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Re: New HT question

Update....I spoke with HT guys from BestBuy and since I am a premier member in their rewards program, I am entitled to one free in home consultation per year.....I am going to schedule that and see what they would recommend. Then I will probably buy everything and install on my own.

Thanks for all the replies so far!
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#7
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2/15/09 at 9:14pm
  • Joined: March 2008
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Re: New HT question

Tim, it's good that you got Best Buy to come in and check it out, make sure to post back with what they said. It'll be interesting to see if they try to persuade you into buying equipment.
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#8
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3/16/09 at 2:03pm
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Re: New HT question

Just got moved in 2 weeks ago and getting everything setup for home audio now....I have installed volume control switches for the Master, Game, and Patio.

I have a 6 speaker selector box and need some thoughts on installing it.

Do I connect the main room (Front,Rear,Center Speakers) to the selector box or to the receiver...is the selector box only tol be used for zone 2 speakers?
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#9
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3/16/09 at 4:15pm
  • Joined: November 2008
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Re: New HT question

I think the logical question would be what receiver do you have to drive all of the speakers in your rooms. Also why didn't you go for wiring for at least a 5.1 system in your living room you say 4 speakers and a Sub so it sounds like you are missing that important center channel.
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