Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater New Home - Abus system

hello all - first post on the site. Thanks in advance for your responses.

I moved into a new Khov home which was pre-wired for a 7.1 entertainment system in the great room plus 2 each in the master bedroom, patio and kitchen. The pre-wiring is for a ABus On-Q or Lyrix system, at least that's what the builder told me. I have the wiring panel behind my TV with all the IR and Speaker accesses points. Got a quote to get the speakers, amplified keypads and "Brains" installed and they are asking 7K (5K over what I can afford).

I want to see if it's an option to install the speakers and amplified keypad myself. Just unsure about how the "Brains" part works. My understanding is that if I install the speakers and amplified keypads then plug my tuner into the wall (access point with speaker and IR connections) then I should be able to control my zones from the three keypads. What I don't understand however is whether or not I need a main access panel where all the cat5 lines connect to? If I've made no sense please let me know as I'm a computer geek by profession and know little about advanced home entertainment centers.

Hi Chita,

Welcome!

I'm another professional computer geek who also dabbles in A/V. I'll try to point you in the right direction here.

There are actually several main parts to the system you've described. One is a receiver with multi-zone capability, the other is a control system. In most cases, you'd also need some additional channels of amplification for the three extra zones.

There are several popular choices in control systems, with Control4 and Crestron being two that I've heard of frequently. These would most likely make up the "Brains" of the system to which you refer, including turning on or off the required electronic components, switching in the right sources, and so on.

Do you have an existing Home Theater receiver? If so, what brand and model? Where do the pre-wired speaker wires terminate? Are they all in the ceiling? Is the wiring panel that you mentioned in the great room? Is there some other wiring closet in which you can install the required equipment?

At a guess, the cost of all the required equipment to get this system working is likely significantly more than $2K even if you are able to install it yourself. As a compromise, you might consider just installing the entertainment system in the great room but this of course wouldn't give you any sound in any of the other rooms. However, it would greatly simplify the installation and could most likely be completed for under $2K depending on your choice of speakers, etc.