Re: Whole House Audio Questions

["Stuart Grimshaw" <stuart@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 04 Jun 2004 08:22:38 -0000, markttay <markttay@xxxxxxx>
wrote:

> I am in the process of building a new house, and aim to incorporate
> many HA features. One thing I plan to do is install a whole house
> audio system. I would like to eliminate the use of IR in the house
> and control everything from a browser interface on Ipaqs or similar
> via a wireless network. I also cannot afford to shell out a fortune
> on proprietary systems from Linn, Crestron and the like. I have been
> experimenting with a Barix Exstreamer and have found them pretty
> good, particularly the ability to control playlists etc. via a web
> interface. I plan to have and Exstreamer (or similar) for each zone
> in a central location connected to an amplifier wired to sets of
> speakers. I believe that a centralised system will be easier to
> maintain and there is less chance of signal degradation running the
> speaker output across longer distances than line level.

I'm not sure I would go this route, you will get a much more flexible
system by having the extreamer/slimp3/rio/whatever in the room where you
are listening, each connected to it's own dedicated amp.

It just seems daft to me to shell out on a device like the Extreamer and
then have them all located centrally like that. Perhaps you might have
more joy looking at some of the other streaming media devices that come
with built in amps? There are plenty about (check out
www.automatedhome.co.uk for some reviews), but I'm afraid I don't know the
specifics of the amplification they offer.

> The other thing that would be a nice to have is to use the whole
> house audio for sound from TV and video sources that would also be
> centralised. I was thinking of using something like Keith Doxey's
> Kat5 Switcher (if/when it arrives!) or a Nexus for the video signal
> but have the sound come from the appropriate zone in the whole house
> audio system. I am not sure about being able to synchronise the
> video and audio though. I would be very grateful for any thoughts or
> suggestions.

Barix also have a product called the InStreamer (is it still a beta
product?), you could use one of these to distribute the audio from
whatever source you like. I'm sure there are other devices like the
InStreamer to look at too, but that's the only one I know.

--
-S