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Please help with some suggestions
This thread has 5 replies. Displaying all posts.
Post 1 made on Tuesday June 4, 2002 at 00:09
johnnybt
Lurking Member
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June 2002
2
Ok I'm helping my dad setup a system at his new house. They want decent stuff but would like to err on the side of cheap rather than expensive. What brought me here was the opportunity to get remote suggestions, but all component suggestions are appreciated. What they need:

--Receiver
--DVD Player (preferably a multi disk)
--RF Universal Remote (components not in the TV room)- IDIOT PROOF is really necessary here as they will not be able to see the TV...so custom labeling and stuff is really a bonus

I don't really know what else they need.

They have a house-wide speaker system but speakers in the TV room that are not in the same set of wires. They'd like to be able to use those for both the main house sound and separately as just for the TV. One guy wanted to set up a whole different receiver for the main house system, but I think we can just run it all through the one receiver and just select the TV room speakers when we want TV. Any drawbacks to this?

Thanks for all the help, in advance.
Post 2 made on Tuesday June 4, 2002 at 02:48
Sheik_Yerbouhti
Founding Member
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April 2002
401
johnnybt:

A little more info on the "house-wide speaker system" would probably help those who would offer suggestions. You don't say whether it's an existing distribution system (central control, volume pots, keypads?) or just speakers in rooms with wiring run to them.

It would also help to know about the "TV room speakers". This ties in with the pending receiver purchase. I can't imagine anyone purchasing a receiver for an A/V viewing area that was not a surround receiver.

Two of your goals were:
"cheap rather than expensive"
"run it all through the one receiver"

Some HT receivers in Onkyo's Integra line come A-BUS ready to support 4 remote locations. Power and signal go over Cat5 to each keypad and then get amplified locally. The 4 keypad expansion kit comes with a basic function remote for the other zones, but the keypads each have an IR reciever in them and will relay IR commands to a hub with emitters to control sources. So you can buy an inexpensive learning remote and teach it all your source equipment's codes and keep it handy for roaming the remote zones.

There are other manufacturers with A-BUS solutions that would probably work just fine with this receiver. The one I heard was actually Russound but it has multiple IR/Cat5 distribution components and strays from your "one-box" spec.

This solution won't be mistaken for whole house hi-fi, but it's all in one box and provides the basic functions you outlined. The Russound system I listened to made more than tolerable background muzak.

None of this addresses your desire for RF control, and if you're not up to penetrating the sheetrock to distribute Cat5 then RF might be the solution for you.

You are transparent! I see many things;
I see plans within plans. The Spice must flow!
OP | Post 3 made on Tuesday June 4, 2002 at 11:24
johnnybt
Lurking Member
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June 2002
2
Thanks for your reply. The house system has speakers in just about every room with separate volume controls that all come through the wall in one set of wire. so hooking that up was easy, it was just plugged in like a single set of speakers.

And yes the viewing room would be a surround setup. There are two rear speakers in the ceiling and when we put their tv in we will be putting in two front wall speakers as well.
Post 4 made on Tuesday June 4, 2002 at 12:21
Ernie Bornn-Gilman
Yes, That Ernie!
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December 2001
30,104
Johnny-
aside from overloading the amp (which has its own solutions) there are two problems with using one receiver for the main room and the other rooms. First, if you have any speaker-level volume controls (like the wall-mounted ones that allow you to adjust volume in the room you are in) in any of the other rooms, you have to have a speaker volume control in the main room. Otherwise the main room will be running full blast while you can trim down the other rooms. If your main room is set up for surround, then every time you want to listen to surround there, you will have to make sure that the main room's volume control is turned up all the way. Otherwise your surround setup will be out of balance.
The other problem is that whenever you switch to surround, the left and right speakers do not just get the left and right audio. In dts, or Dolby Digital, or even ProLogic, most of the program's audio will come out of the center speaker. Then the speakers in the other rooms, which are connected to the left and right channels, will sound weird because they won't have most of the program's audio. Thus you will have a system that can either be surround in one room or stereo in all rooms, where you will always have to make manual volume adjustments when you go from one mode to the other.
For cheap, use two receivers and Y-connect the sources. You may be able to find an old used stereo receiver. The only possible problem there is that some old receivers, when not turned on, will make the OTHER amp connected to the y-connectors sound distorted. In that case, you always have to have both amps on.

Good luck!
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
Post 5 made on Tuesday June 4, 2002 at 20:36
Matt
Founding Member
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August 2001
1,802
Well, there is a trick to the shorting contacts that you refer to Ernie, if you termintate one of the tips with a resistor, it will eliminate that distortion. A company called Audioplex Technology makes a "y" that has this built in. It's called the 'Buffy'

I would definatly go with another receiver AT LEAST for the whole house distribution. I don't think there is a better alternative to this as the others have discussed. Just BE SURE to have the correct impedance reflected to your amp or you'll let the smoke out. Everyone knows once you let the smoke out, it won't work anymore. 'Cause all electronics run on smoke...

Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents...
Post 6 made on Thursday June 20, 2002 at 22:32
ItsColdInMN
Long Time Member
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June 2002
461
The "Cheap" way....believe it or not....would total no more than 300 bucks for 2 receivers...1 stereo (For the whole house distribution) and the other full 5.1 With a bit of wiring you could keep the speakers in your viewing room for the 5.1 system as the rear speakers. Since you'd be adding a pair of fronts, a center and a sub....your front speakers would now be the stereo music listening speakers for that room. No sense using the in-walls for that purpose anymore. The distribution system needs to be done right to prevent damage to the stereo receiver. Since you already have volume controls in each room, you might already have everything you need for that system. I can't be sure unless I knew what kind of volume controls they were, or the impedance of the system at the supply terminals to the system. The advantage of this 2-receiver system is that while someone is watching a DVD in 5.1 surround in the viewing room. Another person can be listening to whatever else they want in another room. Add in a IR/RF remote to that receiver and you've got wireless control. Keep in mind that for $300, you're not getting top of the line receivers, but you're getting adequate for what it sounds like your parents need/want.


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