I should also note that I also 'attempted' to help the inlaws w/ a whole house audio setup that was 'inexpensive'. Ran wires to patio, kitchen ceiling, and a few other rooms. The goal was the same as yours. We even installed Aperion in walls in the ceiling of the kitchen. The intent was to use an older AVR paired w/ a Niles-type speaker selector to drive multiple speakers. The contractor installed all the wires in the ceiling, as well as the appropriate CAT5 into wall plates for future in-room control via wall mounted controllers or IR back to the wiring closet.
Suffice to say, it got a little complicated. W/o using a real whole house audio system, the question was, how do they control everything, including source selection and volume? This was in 2006 so iPhones weren't as prevalent. As late as 9 mos ago, I tried to complete the project. I used an Airport Express as source for the music, since we could use their iPhones and Macs for control. The problem was how to shut off the dang AVR. I didn't want to have to install and explain how to use X10 power modules. The music sounds great, but power control is too big of an issue because the closet gets too hot. Right now, those speakers in the ceiling just keep those round holes plugged...
