OK, I'm no newbie, but this sure feels like a newbie question: is there anything out there better than the garden variety impedance-matching tabletop volume control?

Specifically, I have an important client with a vacation home that was wired for speakers throughout the home without our input. As such, the fools doing the work didn't loop for volume controls - instead the speaker wire just goes from the head end directly to speaker locations throughout the home. There are 6 speaker pairs across the house.

The client wants simple, so my first thought was a basic tabletop volume control. Niles, Jamo, Sonnance, etc. all make them - but they each have one speaker-level input, and 6 speaker-level outputs. But I want real power to the speakers - I don't want to take an amplifier's output and divide it across 6 pairs of speakers - or does it not matter w/impedance matching? Can I really just pick up a 2 channel, 100WPC amp, and drive 12 speakers with it? Told you this felt like a newbie question.

Thanks in advance.
Anyhow - suggestions? The ideal product would allow me to f

If sound quality matters, use the Xantech pa1235 amp which offers ir controlled volume for each set of speaker outputs.

Put an ir target in each room, give him a learning remote for each room, and it'll sound great....

Hi Fred - that was exactly my plan - love the 1235 and its Ir control. But, and it's a big but: the client wanted something simple - I'm afraid hunting for the MX-850 (for RF - not feasible to put an Ir target in each room) to control volume, turn off rooms, etc. isn't what he's looking for. He's told me he wants "simple volume controls at the equipment, with a switch for on/off".

So do a Permanently mounted AMX Touchscreen That has a Big ON and OFF button, and then List each room so that brings it up thats rooms on-screen volume control with Feedback so that he knows how loud it is eventhough hes not across the house.

Sounds like you're saying there's no chance to run a cat5 control wire to each room.

That's the case, I'd go with Fred on this one.

Bottom line is that the client "says" he only wants that most basic thing, but when it comes right down to it. No control shouldn't be an option.

remember, you can send ir down coax if it doesn't have a voltage using cpl product from Xantech. Not my first choice, but it can be done and it has worked well in the past.

If you are still going wth VCs, at least go with the Niles auto-mute models and their distribution block thing.

[Link: nilesaudio.com]

They are impedance matching and for a VERY entry level system, this is about the only thing I would use.

You don't really need a speaker selector, because each time the system is shut off, all zones reset to off. The next time you turn the system on, YOU select the rooms and set the level.

No more patio speakers left on all winter....

What your client says he wants is a six-output switch and volume control box. You might check them out and tell him what you think is wrong about them.

One thing that is not obvious -- with one of these boxes, when only one pair of speakers is connected, full power goes to those speakers. And when only one pair is connected, that is when the music is least likely to be a background thing. When lots of speakers are connected, it is more likely that the intent is for backgrounding, and the switcher divides the power among the speakers.

If you go with the 1235, you will never split the power among the speakers. But that is like saying that I really really want, what, 35 watts per channel? If you use a single 100 watt amp and the switch/VC box, all of that power will be available whenever one pair of speakers is chosen. You would have to put on three pairs to be at the same level (yuk yuk) of performance as the 1235. And with the switch box, any room could be chosen to have full power, not just always the same main room.

And the 1235 amp is problematic - a rich history of failures - Turn on fuse failure problems, along with the necessity to install diodes on the speaker output phoenix terminals, to mitigate lightning or surge problems. Just my expereince and .02.

Hey Rick

Automute does need speaker wire and two additional conductors to each vc location. Impression I had was that there was no vc location in the rooms....

I had a customer call me back to his house for a patio speaker situation that you might enjoy. I had installed (he wouldn't pay for more) a home theater with distributed audio off the theater's audio output. Speakers around the house and outside with VC's everywhere. Rick, you may know the place; it's in Lake Geneva, right on the lakefront. And, you may recall, there's a walking path with right of way for anyone to stroll between the $$$$ houses and the lakeshore.

This guy calls me up to come back and install a set/reset relay for his outdoor speakers so they can't be left on accidently; the relay resets to off every time the system is powered off and then on again. Seems he liked to have the soundtrack from a porno booming around the house, and he noticed one time it was playing outside as well. I can only imagine what couples out for an evening stroll thought when they heard the cheezy music and panting blasting out from this house...

Sorry guys, I guess I didn't see the "no loop for VC" portion of the initial post.... If the walls are accessible, it could work well!!

I still have a Xantech 1235 amplifier that I pulled out because of the fuse problem from the inrush of turn on made it too unreliable to leave in a client's system...

If you must use a speaker selector I would recommend the Russound SDB-6.1. This switcher uses autoformer based impeadance matching and does not have the volume swing that you will get with the Niles

This puppy works well and IMHO sounds better than anything else.

[Link: knollsystems.com]