Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Multi-Room Audio Ideas

Don, I got dizzy reading Dave's description, and I'll mention the simple brute-force approach that I use in my three listening rooms. Good quality electronic components are so inexpensive these days(e.g., refurb receivers for $150)that the way to enjoy independent source material with independent volume control in each room is to have the necessary equipment in each room, with each being totally independent of the others.

Another note would be that if she is getting this built from scratch,:

- in-walls beat in-ceilings
- if she wants them to be super stealthy and in-ceiling, build some good quality boxes for them and affix them to the joists before the drywall and ceilings go in. It'll make the sound way better.
- can't say this enough: Cat5e or cat6 (or fiber, I guess) everywhere. It's worth futureproofing.

Dave the only bad thing, is being able to do that stuff yourself, a lot of builders will not allow you to run the wiring in YOUR house (even if it is low voltage), as its being built, that part would have to be in the contract before closing of the house. I have ran into this before, at first i couldn't believe it....


Don, if she hasn't closed on the house yet, make sure she asks the question, and maybe you and her, or others can help before the drywall goes up. Run the cat 5/6e, runs Everywhere you can think of. I cant agree with Dave more on this point. If you run speaker cable, you need to make sure you get speaker wire, that will be up to code in your area.

Even if DIY is not allowed, when there's no drywall or anything in the way, it doesn't take much more than a few hours. If they won't do it for some cash on the side, they're really stubborn and stupid.

+1 more on that. It's not just for networking - there are so many signals that can be converted to go over CAT cabling you really are leaving your future options open. Also, this will serve your daughter well if you go with the more 'off the shelf' solution like Sonos or Squeezebox to name a couple. Hardwired is always better than wireless if you have a choice.

Personally I have the Sonos system and can recommend it highly - it easily does both individual audio in each room or spreads a single source through all zones - you really get the best of both worlds.

Anyone have experience with the Channel Plus MDS-6A? Looks sort of like what she needs, not sure of the audio quality.

Can't say I have ever heard of it, hopefully this bump will bring some one in that has had some experience with it.