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kiwifidget

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#133930 8-Nov-2013 10:47
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I would really appreciate some advice as to how to improve a music system that came with my house.

Current setup.
5 rooms (3 bedrooms, 1 office, 1 bathroom), each with one speaker in the ceiling (so I'm guessing mono). Each speaker has a volume control knob on a nearby wall and a wire goes from each speaker to a central location where an ancient looking tuner/amp lives. 2 speaker wires go into the SPEAKER 1 LEFT +/- holes on the back of the amp, and the other 3 into SPEAKER 1 RIGHT +/-. So all speakers play the same thing, whatever the amps source is set to. And I suspect jamming all those wires into the holes is not recommended.

Desired setup.
I'd like to add a 6th speaker in another room (mono or stereo). I'd like to listen to the mp3's on my server, or on a USB stick. I dont really need any other sources. I dont mind if all rooms play the same source, because I really only want to listen to mp3's when in these rooms. The amp location is right next to my patch panel so network access is a short patch cable away. I have limited vertical space so cant go piling component upon component. 2 units max, 1 would be better. I dont want to spend a fortune.

What I have found out so far.
I can get a 6 zone speaker selector for about $100 (Rapollo 6 channel speaker selector). I'm probably going to need this regardless.
I can get a network audio player for $1000 but it needs an amp (Cambridge Sonata NP30).
I can get a network A/V receiver for $800 (Onkyo TX8050), but I dont need all those other sources.
I can get a network audio player with built in amp but they cost thousands (most of the things on this page!)which is bizarre considering 2 separate components costs sub $2000.

I feel like I've googled myself into a corner, so if someone out there knows a better way I'd love to hear about it.




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geekiegeek
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  #929287 8-Nov-2013 10:51
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http://www.sonos.com/



andrewNZ
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  #929303 8-Nov-2013 11:06
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Put the server in the cupboard wit the patch panel and amp
Run Subsonic on the server, and plug it into the amp. (I think it might need a licence for "jukebox" mode)
Replace the amp only if you NEED to.

OR

Get an airport express, put it in the cupboard wit the patch panel and amp, and play music to it.

sbiddle
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  #929320 8-Nov-2013 11:43
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Sonos.




kiwifidget

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  #929343 8-Nov-2013 12:15
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2 votes for Sonos.
From what I know of Sonos (and its probably not much), the units have there own speakers, so it would make my existing speakers redundant?




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andrewNZ
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reven
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  #929521 8-Nov-2013 15:26
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sonos is just so expensive...

NZtechfreak
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  #929559 8-Nov-2013 16:14
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Sonos, meh, NAS it up man.




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reven
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  #929565 8-Nov-2013 16:16
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sonos has great room control, and some really amazing features and the ease of it.

just the price is so much greater than anything else out there. well if u want multiple rooms, 3 rooms == pricey...

overkill
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#929858 9-Nov-2013 09:40
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Another "system" to look at for a without breaking the bank.   Check out the Teac AG980 amplifier (can be picked up from Harvey Normans for around $5-600), wicked little product with great features including multiroom and controllable via RS-232,   then add in a Sonos Connect hard-wired into your network.  You get the option of listening to all your MP3's or any other source throughout the house with the benefit of playing different sources in different zones at a really great price.  PM me if you would like to know more about Sonos line and a what sort of deal we can do for you ;)




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kiwifidget

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  #930284 10-Nov-2013 15:56
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Thanks for your replies so far.
I've just been up in the roof, yuck, and I have found out the speaker in each room is an Australian Monitor QF6C, which according to the website is a "6.5 inch dual cone full range ceiling speaker".
Can someone please tell me if that means mono or stereo?




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overkill
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  #930320 10-Nov-2013 17:28
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You would need two of those speakers in each room to get stereo sound.




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kiwifidget

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  #930323 10-Nov-2013 17:34
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overkill: You would need two of those speakers in each room to get stereo sound.

So with each speaker wired to either the left or right +/- terminals on the amp they are only getting half the sound?
I've taken a picture, but I cant work out how to get it in here, I have uploaded it to the gallery.





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overkill
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  #930430 10-Nov-2013 21:33
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kiwifidget:
overkill: You would need two of those speakers in each room to get stereo sound.

So with each speaker wired to either the left or right +/- terminals on the amp they are only getting half the sound?
I've taken a picture, but I cant work out how to get it in here, I have uploaded it to the gallery.

Yeah, unfortunately you will get "half the sound", which will be especially noticeable in some songs (Know Your Enemy by Rage Against The Machines comes to mind) if you use a Stereo Amp.  The Sonos Connect at the moment does not have a "mono" output, but there has been talk of it over in the Sonos and associated forums, hopefully Sonos listen and will be implemented in the near future.  There are plenty of bridge mono amps on the market like the Russound Multi-room Amps, but like you stated, they cost thousands.

I do recall a home theatre receiver that was pretty cost effective, that could do 7 channels (was a 7.1 receiver) all Mono, I will see if I can dig up the info on the brand and see if it is still in production or if they do a similar model.




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kiwifidget

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  #930616 11-Nov-2013 11:51
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I've been back in the roof (is it safe to eat yellow batts because I think I breathed some in) and have found that each room actually has two sets of speaker wires running to it, with just one set connected to the speaker. Worst case scenario, I just replace the speakers with stereo ones. Probably harder than it sounds, and not in my budget at the moment, but good to know that option is there, so will just consider stereo solutions for now.

I like the look of the Sonos connect:amp. The web says it has an Android app, but I'm not sure what that actually allows you to do.




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afe66
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  #930697 11-Nov-2013 14:05
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I have the App on my HTC one and the other half has it on her Iphone 3gs.

They are what we control our sonos 5 99%+ of the time. To be honest, I'm not sure when was the last time I used the desktop program on my pc. Maybe to update the firmware, though you can do that with the app too.

I can select/search music from NAS (flac and MP3), stream internet radio via the TuneIn function and search/play using Spotify. Can also access the alarm functions to select what I want played at what time. I use it to turn on the national radio stream on in the morning. The other half found it so easy to use that we have taken away the old radio from the kitchen which we used to use in the morning.


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