Browse Forums Home Theatre & Automation 1 Sep 27, 2014 11:02 am Hi all, not yet got a house but thinking about the way to set it up for sound. We want sound in all areas of the house and alfresco area, we have a Sony 5.1 system, ipad4, laptops and portable hard drives with music on all of them, I am trying to make the hard drive the master for all the music. I see people on here talking about sonos , Apple airport etc, but not sure if they will do what I want and the prices for the sonos are a bit over budget. Was thinking about using the iPad a the control but really don't know what I am doing. Can anyone help me with this, in easy layman terms. We can wire in cables as house isn't built yet but I need to know what I have to do first. Cheers Lorri Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 2Oct 11, 2014 9:18 pm Im planning to build next year, and want similar multi-zone sound system. As an electronics engineer, I feel that whats more important is getting the wires in the walls / ceiling, and having a central 'hub' nook area(s) for wires to meet up to a distribution or control system. The actual hardware technology to use in the end can be decided later. Im avoiding wireless because I think wires are more reliable for consistent performance. My final choice will probably be using network or audio optical cable to something like a 'smart speaker' ( maybe like a speaker with a tiny computer inside - just supply power and data), and Ill have a computer SW setup to manage the distribution of the audio data to zones. Northern Adelaide, Format Homes '16-'17 after failed Bondor OB Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 3Nov 11, 2014 9:29 pm Personally I've been happy with the Sonos; unlike any other wireless system for music, they use a mesh system, which extends the range you can run devices, and it's very easy to join and unjoin them. I have also hooked it up to be controlled by my Z-Wave (FWIW, the other mesh network system, with every switch and device help relay signals) system (Vera Lite), so that when I have visitors, it will make sure my fire shutters are raised, the appropriate house and garden lights are on, and music plays through the Sonos (I have it pre-set to select the appropriate music as well as the number of zones to play). My problem with wires, especially in a house, is the long runs, and the cross-talk with electrical cabling; I prefer short fat cables. Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 4Nov 11, 2014 10:20 pm So still thinking about it all, does the sound from the Sonos equal the sound quality from speakers and an amp? We want sound in the kitchen, lounge room, alfresco, main bedroom and dining. Does it cost about the same? Any ideas how to use the ipad as the music controls, I need to do more homework I guess but can't get my head around it all. Cheers Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 5Feb 12, 2015 5:00 pm I would go Sonos, I have personally installed hundreds of units back in the day and all owners were very happy. I would recommend find a local dealer, grab a coffee and get a test run. One great thing about it is there are wired versions - for when you are building and portable wireless self contained units. So you can buy a couple now, wire a few in when the time comes, or sell it if you dnt use them anymore.. the best of all worlds.. Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 6Apr 05, 2015 7:39 am Hi Lorri. "So still thinking about it all, does the sound from the Sonos equal the sound quality from speakers and an amp?" No. IMO compared to a real stereo hifi, Sonos only do an 'adequate' job of reproducing sound. Whether it's good enough for you, or whether or not your sound sources are quality is all a bit subjective. The upshot is, Sonos do OK. Go and listen to some and let your ears judge. But of course Sonos do an *excellent* job of creating sound in a compact unit and to my surprise they make a system that (knock on wood) seems to just *work*. This is a good thing. They have a price tag to match. As for getting music to the whole house, I can't really help much other than to tell you what worked for me. We have (similar to southpacific) a nook where a NAS server holds 25 years of collected music, home movies, photos etc. This has worked out very well. Loungeroom TV (or any device really) views the photos and movies, sonos (or any device really) plays the music. Also, we get sound to most parts of the house using only two sound sources. One is a Sonos Play 5 in the bedroom and the other is a Sonos Connect that feeds into the Loungeroom TV sound gear. I imagine this approach is a bit more intrusive though than having multiple quieter sound sources. Hope this helps. HC Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 7Jun 26, 2016 3:20 am Hi, we are getting closer to having the house built now and still going to go with the Sonos. Now we need an easy way to put all our music together, I keep hearing about nas, but no idea how to set it all up, any one done this? Cheers Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 8Jun 26, 2016 10:46 am Lorri, if sonos is too expensive, sound quality on what you can afford will be comparable. The only time a wired and component system will sound better than a sonos to the average consumers ears is if the components are good. Good components are drastically more expensive than sonos. Unless you or your partner are audiophiles, and the music you have stored on your devices isn't MP3, sonos or similar are your best bet for ease of use and quality. As to NAS, there Re many diagrams online that should explain the connections etc Creator of superduperonium, expert at expert things, nobel laureate, can hold my breath for 10 minutes. Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 9Jun 29, 2016 6:58 am I think we will use the Sonos, it sounds great to me when we saw them in a store over here and could try them out, some people might be able to tell the difference between them and high priced /quality ones but we can't so I guess we will save money lol .we will wait until we are back in Australia before buying them though as I don't fancy shipping them from here. Will have to look into the NAS , but it sounds a good idea. Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 10Jun 29, 2016 8:55 am Lorri I think we will use the Sonos, it sounds great to me when we saw them in a store over here and could try them out, some people might be able to tell the difference between them and high priced /quality ones but we can't so I guess we will save money lol .we will wait until we are back in Australia before buying them though as I don't fancy shipping them from here. Will have to look into the NAS , but it sounds a good idea. Where are you now? They might be cheaper where you are. Sonos has a very wide retail price range across the world. Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 11Jun 29, 2016 9:05 am A fellow Mac head friend of mine has just upgraded all his stuff from a bunch of external drives to a Synology NAS which links to some Sonos gear through his house. He can use his iPad or iPhone to control it. https://www.synology.com/en-global/solution/Apple although like most good NAS components they are pretty much agnostic and don't care what controls it iPad, Andoid phone etc It sounded pretty simple to set up. The hardest part ( read longest amount of time ) was transferring all his music, photos, videos etc onto the NAS using iTunes. Most of the speakers are hard wired but he has a few that are wireless. Most of the software to do this sort of thing is freely available. Stewie Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 12Jun 29, 2016 9:19 am I've been using Sonos around the house for a few years now, and control it through my Android phone and tablet. I did have a Sonos Amp die on me within 12 months, but since I had bought it from overseas, the local distributor wouldn't touch it, and all they could offer what a replacement at a very discounted price. I have a Play 1 in my alfresco area, but will get a second for there later, a Connect and a Connect Amp I have in my garage/workshop area. Whilst there are now several other manufacturer producing their own equivalent gear, I think I'd be mad to mix with other stuff now, but from what I've seen so far, the other stuff isn't any cheaper to bother with. Start your system up with a couple of the Play 1's , as they are very portable, as they just need somewhere to plug them in. Just add more later. I store all my music on a Synology DS2411+ NAS, but you won't need anything near that. Just a computer that's always on will get your started, and even then you won't need that because you can get your music from one of many of the hundreds streaming 'radio' stations. Play the same on all, or have them all play totally different stuff, the choice is yours. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 13Jul 12, 2016 7:41 am I think we will stay with getting Sonos gear, sounds like it works well for you and is the best output we have heard playing music with the ease of setup and use, so in a few months we will be getting them, will get a play 5 and 1 to start off then see how we go! Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 14Jul 12, 2016 10:29 am Lorri I think we will stay with getting Sonos gear, sounds like it works well for you and is the best output we have heard playing music with the ease of setup and use, so in a few months we will be getting them, will get a play 5 and 1 to start off then see how we go! You hit the nail on the head. Ease of use is a big part in this type of set up, and Sonos have that sorted hands down better than any other wireless networked sound system. The expandability also lets you get what you need and add stuff as you find more uses or areas you want services without moving things around. A wired system can be superior for sound, but the outlay (for a system worth hardwiring - eg not Sony or pioneer rubbish) and planning/forethought required for the set up can be daunting if money is a factor. So ons seems expensive, but out of the box the benefits are worth it. We have four play 5's, four play 3's and a sub and it just works seamlessly. Took less than an hour to unbox, set up and be listening to music. In the man cave however, where the studio gear is, is where the dynaudio gear is. It's where I'll listen to first play through a of stuff I buy before it ends up on the network for Sonos access. My wife doesn't hear the difference. Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 15Jul 12, 2016 4:56 pm Where do you have your Sonos, , just sitting on tops of cupboards, on stands or wall hung? Does it make any difference? We are in the UK still so I am keeping an eye out in case there are any really good specials. Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 16Jul 12, 2016 9:24 pm On bookshelves, TV unit, sideboards etc. not too fussed on placement for optimum stereo field as there all over the place. Creator of superduperonium, expert at expert things, nobel laureate, can hold my breath for 10 minutes. Re: How to set up a cheap house sound system? 17Aug 07, 2016 7:11 pm Our Sonos installations, bar one, are all hidden, as I'm using the equivalent of 1 x Connect, 4 x Connect:Amp and 1 x Play:5 (the only visible one). I've hidden them in cupboards with other media equipment (most equipment use BT or WiFi via apps, although I have an IR Blaster for others). Only one is connected to wired Ethernet, the other work via the mesh wireless network. For those audiophile, you can use the Connect, and feed it to your DAC and Amp; only reason I use one is I already have a Home Theatre amp, so don't need the Amp. As for storage, I use a Synology NAS, and have my stored music in lossless FLAC format, but most off the shelf NAS would work. You don't actually need a NAS, and I started without one, but it's nice not to always have your PC on. Thank you so much. This has been very helpful. We definitely wish to settle and get these people out of our life. They are trying to charge us interest on late… 7 14565 Hi We have a road close to our place and only an old flimsy wooden fence between us and the Neighbour closest to the road. Any ideas on a sound proof modular fence. Like… 0 7563 Grate, thank you! RexChan if thats the reason i could sleep well without thinking about additional cost. But 1st i'll need to read about NRV cleaning/replaing stuff. I… 7 31288 |