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Old 08-25-2004, 04:15 PM   #1 of 9
Jon Koby
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Whole-house system amp


Can someone please recommend an inexpensive 150x2 amp for a whole-house audio system (about 10 pairs of 30w ceiling speakers)? Only requirements are decent sound (doesn't have to be great), and red/white composite inputs.

Thanks for the advice.
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Old 08-25-2004, 06:08 PM   #2 of 9
James W. Johnson
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About how much are you willing to spend? Make sure and wire them for an acceptable load on whatever amp you do end up buying.
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Old 08-26-2004, 07:36 AM   #3 of 9
Dave Milne
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I'll expand on John's comment: You realize that any conventional wiring arrangement with 10 speakers will present an unacceptable load impedance to the amplifier.

You're going to need to either 1) wire them in a very funky series-parallel arrangement (3x3 comes to mind with the remaining set paralleled with one of the banks of three. or 2) Use a 10-output speaker switcher with load matching resistors (this will be expensive, if it exists... and you may have issues with power rating). or 3) Just put a pair of big 4 ohm, 150 watt resistors in series at the + terminals of the amp and don't worry about how/how many speakers you parallel after that. or 4) Employ a 70V distribution system with transformers at the amplifier and at each speaker (this has the side benefit of significantly reducing the wire gauge requirement going to the speakers but is expensive and can seriously degrade sound).

All of these have various pros and cons; only the first one doesn't degrade sound quality. Also the volume of each set of speakers won't be individually adjustable unless you install passive volume controls in each room (also tends to degrade sound quality).

If it's just for background music then perhaps it doesn't matter. But I would recommend at least looking at a "real" home distribution system from Rotel, Niles, Crestron, etc. These have separate amplifiers for each set of speakers which brings many benefits: individually adjustable volume, different music in each room, straightforward wiring, etc.
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Old 08-26-2004, 09:01 AM   #4 of 9
Philip Hamm
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If you have a way of impedance matching those speakers so that you're running two sets of 5 pairs, then the Harmon/Kardon PA2000 would be a great amplifier for you. You could use two impedance matching speaker distribution boxes for this. These are available at www.partsexpress.com for fairly inexpensive prices. Today I am running two "pairs" of speakers in a whole-house setup through impedance matching wall volume controls from PE.

I happen to have A PA2000 for sale.

You'll need a preamp also, the PA2000 is an amplifier only. Otherwise you'll need a real beefy receiver that can handle the multiple speaker load.

Looking at the more sophisticated systems tsuggested above is probably a good idea also, but the prices may be very high.



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Old 08-26-2004, 11:58 AM   #5 of 9
Claude M
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Jon, IMHO you can't do better than the ATI 150W/channel onecall is offering for under $500. But I don't see how you will be able to connect all those speakers to it either. Here is a link:

http://ww3.onecall.com/PID_653.htm

maybe you should try russound.com for a system that does what you are looking for.
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Old 08-26-2004, 12:06 PM   #6 of 9
Claude M
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10 of these would work

russound DPA1.2 35W at 8ohms, 45W at 6ohms, 1ZONE 2 channel, amazon has it for $140.
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Old 08-27-2004, 03:16 PM   #7 of 9
Jon Koby
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Thanks for all the feedback.

I should have explained the system a little more thoroughly.
The plan is to use an Onkyo TXSR601 A/V receiver in the main room, and use the zone2 preamp line out to a 150x2 amplifier to power the rest of the house. The Onkyo would strictly be a preamp. From the amplifier, we intend to hook up the L/R speaker outputs to an in-wall distribution panel (#300-542 from Parts Express) that splits connection for up to 10 pairs of speakers in the back. Each speaker line out from the panel runs to an independent impedance matching volume control, and then on to each pair of speakers.

Hopefully this clarifies my intention. Is my thinking with this setup flawed at all? If not, what I am looking for is an inexpensive (<$500) 150wx2 amplifier to run it all. I have heard recommendations for pro-audio equipment that seems fairly inexpensive. Will this work, or will the sound quality suffer greatly? Keep in mind, these are rather inexpensive ceiling speakers as well. Thanks for the support.
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Old 08-27-2004, 04:54 PM   #8 of 9
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
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Since these are "inexpensive ceiling speakers" there's no need to worry if "sound quality suffers" with a pro amp. You won't hear it anyway.
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Old 08-31-2004, 02:23 PM   #9 of 9
Jon Koby
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I have decided to go with the Audiosource Amp Three 150wx2 amplifier. It's a fairly inexpensive unit and I haven't seen any bad reviews. Seems reliable. I also like the auto-on feature.

Does anyone not recommend this product for my application? Does anyone see any issues with the setup?

Thanks again for the input.
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