On 03/25/05 12:26 ET, carefreefool said...
I promised a summary of what I ended up with...
caution, long post:
Ever since there have been sound systems in the
home, there have been distributed systems. The
earliest reports of professionally installed distributed
systems come from the 1920’s – these fully custom
systems used switching relays, constant voltage
tube amplifiers and hardware modifications to
distribute music around the home. There is no
report on how the sources were controlled – one
can imagine an “always on” model during parties.
In the 50’s the invention of the transistor and
the ensuing miniaturization of audio systems enabled
higher quality, more reliable implementations.
In addition to the high-end custom installations,
the dominant implementation of low-cost whole-house
audio in the 50’s and 60’s was the intercom system
with integrated radio.
Intercoms
Many baby boomers will remember the Nutone, M&S,
General Electric, Westinghouse and other intercom
systems popular in the era.
Baby Boomers would recognize M&S as "Music & Sound"
In addition to allowing
people in various rooms to talk to each other,
they included a radio in their base station which
could be distributed among the rooms with local
volume control. The tube model shown below (figure
not included in posting) from about 1955 has a
phono input jack, and a system has been described
to me that included a fold-down integrated phono
player. Nutone, M&S and others still manufacture
updated systems like these, still limited to single-source,
multi-zone distribution. Current models can include
built-in CD players and inputs for personal audio
systems. Specs are decidedly non-audiophile.
Today, some higher-end whole-house audio distribution
systems, namely Crestron, Elan and Channel Vision
include intercom functionality, eliminating the
possibility of competing systems being installed
to meet the different needs of the homeowner.
(Integrators hate intercom systems due to the
low margins associated with installing and maintaining
them)
I don't think that intercom margins are all that bad, integrators mostly hate them because they sound like crap, are very limited, and very proprietary. Oh, and ugly too.
Distributed Hi-Fidelity Music
In early 1978 Niles Audio was founded. This event
could be identified as the beginning of mainstream
distributed audio. The company’s first products
were switching systems designed for use by audio
retailers as a tool to help them demonstrate speakers
and amplifiers to potential customers. Niles’
first consumer products – a four-pair speaker
selector and a patching matrix for up to five
components – were precursors of today’s active
control systems.
I'm not sure that you want to give Niles credit for inventing hi-fidelity distributed audio.
Other key players over the past decades include:
1980’s
Bang & Olufsen – B&O remains involved in the boutique
multi-room market.
ADA - still a niche player with loyal top tier
integration firms that use their products almost
exclusively in some of the biggest projects in
the World.
Carver – low visibility today
I don't consider Carver to be even a minor player in the 80's multi-room scene.
Don't forget Sonance in the 80s. There was a time when if you wanted an in-wall speaker that Sonance was about the only choice out there. (ADS wasn't as mainstream, but deserves some mention)
1990’s
Sony
(Had one system that while perhaps ahead of it's time, pretty much sucked)
Denon
Not involved in multi-room in the 90's aside from having maybe one or two multi-room receivers.
Elan – major player today
Founded by SquareD
Russound – major player today
Audio Access – now owned by JBL – minor player
today
Actually, Audio Access and JBL are owned by Harman International
Xantech – IR (control) distribution – still big
player (same parent as AMX)
Same parent as AMX?
RTI – Versatile remote control systems.
RTI is more 21st century and known mostly for theater system control.
Crestron – primarily a control company (including
home theater and distributed audio)
AMX – Similar to Crestron
They'd have collective heart attacks if they read that.
Linn
Not so much
Most of these vendors are still participating
in the business today.
