Calling all Tech/Hi-Fi nuts...
Discussion
We're at the stage in the house renovation where we are putting the electricity in and all the other cably stuff. Since everything is open before the insulation goes in we have to think now about what wiring we are going to put in. We want to have the ability to hear the hi-fi in several rooms and control what rooms we hear the music in. So I guess we need some sort of "media router or controller". It's all very complicated. What hardware do we need (we may want to do it by pc with mp3's etc later also) to connect a hi-fi and control the sound in this way? Anyone know any web links?
Thanks
Driler
Thanks
Driler
Plotloss said:
Is it just multi room audio you want or a complete structured cabling system?
If its just multi-room do you want single zone multi room (one source played everywhere) or multi-zone multi-room (multiple sources in multiple rooms)?
Um...we want a computer network on CAT-5 cable which will be installed. (I read that if we use the telephone system -rj45- it's much slower) Is that what you mean by complete structured cabling?
Otherwise we would like multiple source ie a hi-fi driving all the ground floor rooms, another driving 1st floor and maybe another on the second floor. It would also be nice to be able to play mp3 files (copied from owned CD's) from a pc's attached to the system. We don't know what the possibilities are really so don't know how far to go.
Um, hope that helps?
Assuming that you have music stored on your home Pc and that you have a wireless network at home then could thoroughly recommend the Sonos system :
www.sonos-uk.co.uk/page/home.asp
Just been through all of this, ended up buying a Sonos system. No wires required, it is so easy to set up the sound quality is really very good for a wireless system, the build quality is fantastic, and it is really very flexible. I have one "zone" set up in my lounge wired through my existing Hi-FI and other in my dinning room just connected to two speakers.
Via the remote control or your PC you can configure the system to play different tracks in different "zones" at the same time, you can even vary the volume in each "zone" independently. It will also stream internet radio.
I am using mine with itunes, if you can be bothered you can grab album covers and lyrics from the net, so that when you select your track it will display the album cover and other info on the colour remote.
The handset is so easy to use (looks and works very similar to an ipod) it powers itself down when not in use (it is motion sensitive) and even senses the light conditions in the room and provides additional back lighting automatically.
It looks so cool even the Mrs likes it, can't say fairer than that!
www.sonos-uk.co.uk/page/home.asp
Just been through all of this, ended up buying a Sonos system. No wires required, it is so easy to set up the sound quality is really very good for a wireless system, the build quality is fantastic, and it is really very flexible. I have one "zone" set up in my lounge wired through my existing Hi-FI and other in my dinning room just connected to two speakers.
Via the remote control or your PC you can configure the system to play different tracks in different "zones" at the same time, you can even vary the volume in each "zone" independently. It will also stream internet radio.
I am using mine with itunes, if you can be bothered you can grab album covers and lyrics from the net, so that when you select your track it will display the album cover and other info on the colour remote.
The handset is so easy to use (looks and works very similar to an ipod) it powers itself down when not in use (it is motion sensitive) and even senses the light conditions in the room and provides additional back lighting automatically.
It looks so cool even the Mrs likes it, can't say fairer than that!
Einion Yrth said:
Um...we want a computer network on CAT-5 cable which will be installed.
I'd run CAT-6 if I were you, doesn't cost much, if any, more and is good for higher data rates.
Its actually quite a lot more than either Cat5 or Cat5e though still affordable but it is the right way to go. There are installation considerations with it though.
>> Edited by Plotloss on Wednesday 23 November 11:39
Squeezebox - www.slimdevices.com
Fraction of the cost of Sonos and with a new sleek design. And, unlike the Sonos, you don't have to have any of the players physically connected to the host computer.
Fraction of the cost of Sonos and with a new sleek design. And, unlike the Sonos, you don't have to have any of the players physically connected to the host computer.
Neil, have you seen the xPL initiative for the Squeezebox?
Very clever.
Bung in an Asterisk VOIP PBX and you can get CLI on inbound calls displayed on Squeezeboxes all over the house when a SIP call comes in.
I'm currently evaluating the Squeezebox against the Roku Soundbridge.
Both smart bits of kit.
Very clever.
Bung in an Asterisk VOIP PBX and you can get CLI on inbound calls displayed on Squeezeboxes all over the house when a SIP call comes in.
I'm currently evaluating the Squeezebox against the Roku Soundbridge.
Both smart bits of kit.
Go Check out Meridian and Linn's multi room HI-FI. Computer based systems are basically only Music centre quality. Chord do an awesome Music server that although computer based is built to Hi-Fi standards.
www.meridian.co.uk
www.linn.co.uk
www.chordelectronics.co.uk
www.meridian.co.uk
www.linn.co.uk
www.chordelectronics.co.uk
Plotloss said:
Neil, have you seen the xPL initiative for the Squeezebox?
Very clever.
Bung in an Asterisk VOIP PBX and you can get CLI on inbound calls displayed on Squeezeboxes all over the house when a SIP call comes in.
I'm currently evaluating the Squeezebox against the Roku Soundbridge.
Both smart bits of kit.
I have. There's an ever growing scene of plugins and user-developed solutions. Slimdevices encourage and support it and the code for the whole system has always been open-source. This is one of the reasons I'd go for SB over the Roku.
Just got my new SB this week.
Plotloss said:
Neil, have you seen the xPL initiative for the Squeezebox?
Very clever.
Bung in an Asterisk VOIP PBX and you can get CLI on inbound calls displayed on Squeezeboxes all over the house when a SIP call comes in.
I'm currently evaluating the Squeezebox against the Roku Soundbridge.
Both smart bits of kit.
You can telnet into the display on the Roku, which I mainly use for 'where is my dinner' type messages to the one in the kitchen, I guess this could be used to do the same thing. Not as much 3rd party support as the SB but a better looking and lower cost solution (especially if you know someone stateside where you can get smallest Roku for $99)
Ben
telecat said:
Computer based systems are basically only Music centre quality.
Have you actually looked at the specs for Squeezebox? As well as MP3, it can natively decode FLAC files or play uncompressed streams (including DTS) and the hardware has Burr Brown 24bit DACs. www.slimdevices.com/pi_specs.html
driller said:
OMG I can't keep up! Thanks for all your help chaps- I bloody knew there would be tons of replies on PH. What an excellent place! CAT 7?
Right, we'll put CAT 7 in then. Unless it changes to CAT 8 in the mean time...
CAT8 and CAT8e are already here, though the standard isnt ratified yet...
If you want a quote...
neil.b said:
Neil, have you seen the xPL initiative for the Squeezebox?
Very clever.
Bung in an Asterisk VOIP PBX and you can get CLI on inbound calls displayed on Squeezeboxes all over the house when a SIP call comes in.
I'm currently evaluating the Squeezebox against the Roku Soundbridge.
Both smart bits of kit.
I have. There's an ever growing scene of plugins and user-developed solutions. Slimdevices encourage and support it and the code for the whole system has always been open-source. This is one of the reasons I'd go for SB over the Roku.
Just got my new SB this week.
The advantage of the Roku though is that its Windows Media Connect enabled out of the box, theres not a proprietary server. It basically comes down for me to whether the media backbone is specced with Linux or Windows as to what solution looks best.
Plotloss said:
Neil, have you seen the xPL initiative for the Squeezebox?
Very clever.
Bung in an Asterisk VOIP PBX and you can get CLI on inbound calls displayed on Squeezeboxes all over the house when a SIP call comes in.
I'm currently evaluating the Squeezebox against the Roku Soundbridge.
Both smart bits of kit.
I have. There's an ever growing scene of plugins and user-developed solutions. Slimdevices encourage and support it and the code for the whole system has always been open-source. This is one of the reasons I'd go for SB over the Roku.
Just got my new SB this week.
The advantage of the Roku though is that its Windows Media Connect enabled out of the box, theres not a proprietary server. It basically comes down for me to whether the media backbone is specced with Linux or Windows as to what solution looks best.
Windows Media Connect? Means nothing to me.
I run SB sever on my Mac Mini. You can get it for Windows, OS X or Linnux.
www.slimdevices.com/downloads/SlimServer_v6.2.1/
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