Multi-Zone Home Audio
When we built our house two years ago, we had the splendid inclusion of pre-wiring the house for multi-room (zone) audio. It was great to have this because the concept of having ambient audio coming from the ceiling instead of, say, the theater system meant more audio at different places and with a multi-source system, you could listen to different audio in different rooms. Ah, the possibilities.
Of course, what you don't realize is that when you move in to a new house, unless you budget for specific expenses, there are always more important things to buy than home audio stuff and so what you end up with is four rooms with wires hanging out of the ceiling! Esthetically speaking, it's really ugly, but what bothers me more being a tech person is that the possibility is there, I just can't use it.
The big debate is should I look into the affordable solution or should I wait for more budget and better audio experience. The fact that kid number three is on the way, I am more than positive that the budget solution will prevail, but it's always fun to dream, right?
The budget solution is the "Elevate" by Breathe Audio. It's a 4-zone, 2-source system and this was what was pre-installed in the model home we visited before we started construction. It was hard to tell the actual quality of the sound with the house being empty (no furniture) and lots of echo. The controls seemed to work well. You can turn a room off/on, adjust the volume and change the source from the wall mounted interface that is mounted for every room. Speakers are sold separate, but Breathe also sells their own and they can be found on Ebay for a pretty reasonable price. They can be wall mounted or ceiling mounted and come in both mono (2 speakers in a room) or stereo (I'll need a stereo one since I have one installed in the bathroom). Total package for this installation will run for about 700 to 1000 dollars if you shop it right. You'll see some reviews that say that the quality is not great, but to be fair, you're paying under a thousand dollars for it all.
And then there are the others which will run you well over 1000 dollars (Sonos, Truaudio, etc.). These companies are not your usual players (Sony, Toshiba, Pioneer) and it's kind of difficult to figure out what is good strictly by using Google for someone who knows nothing about advanced audio. I must admit I started looking at the more advanced solution but quickly realized that it was a waste of time for my budget. From what I saw, the functionality is pretty much the same, but I am pretty convinced that sound quality would be much better. Not being an audiophile, I don't think it would matter much to me.
This is the sort of purchase that will be hard to do entirely on the net, you need to do research on and off the computer. I think the best advice I can give is to find a retailer/showroom and test-drive them. You'll know what the systems sound like and you'll get an initial quote. That's my next step and then after Christmas, we'll see if I can afford anything and get rid of those hanging wires from my ceiling!!
Of course, what you don't realize is that when you move in to a new house, unless you budget for specific expenses, there are always more important things to buy than home audio stuff and so what you end up with is four rooms with wires hanging out of the ceiling! Esthetically speaking, it's really ugly, but what bothers me more being a tech person is that the possibility is there, I just can't use it.
The big debate is should I look into the affordable solution or should I wait for more budget and better audio experience. The fact that kid number three is on the way, I am more than positive that the budget solution will prevail, but it's always fun to dream, right?
The budget solution is the "Elevate" by Breathe Audio. It's a 4-zone, 2-source system and this was what was pre-installed in the model home we visited before we started construction. It was hard to tell the actual quality of the sound with the house being empty (no furniture) and lots of echo. The controls seemed to work well. You can turn a room off/on, adjust the volume and change the source from the wall mounted interface that is mounted for every room. Speakers are sold separate, but Breathe also sells their own and they can be found on Ebay for a pretty reasonable price. They can be wall mounted or ceiling mounted and come in both mono (2 speakers in a room) or stereo (I'll need a stereo one since I have one installed in the bathroom). Total package for this installation will run for about 700 to 1000 dollars if you shop it right. You'll see some reviews that say that the quality is not great, but to be fair, you're paying under a thousand dollars for it all.
And then there are the others which will run you well over 1000 dollars (Sonos, Truaudio, etc.). These companies are not your usual players (Sony, Toshiba, Pioneer) and it's kind of difficult to figure out what is good strictly by using Google for someone who knows nothing about advanced audio. I must admit I started looking at the more advanced solution but quickly realized that it was a waste of time for my budget. From what I saw, the functionality is pretty much the same, but I am pretty convinced that sound quality would be much better. Not being an audiophile, I don't think it would matter much to me.
This is the sort of purchase that will be hard to do entirely on the net, you need to do research on and off the computer. I think the best advice I can give is to find a retailer/showroom and test-drive them. You'll know what the systems sound like and you'll get an initial quote. That's my next step and then after Christmas, we'll see if I can afford anything and get rid of those hanging wires from my ceiling!!
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