Re: Whole-House Audio

["wkearney99" <wkearney99@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I am about to wire a large apartment with dual Cat5/RG6 wires to the 2+2
> boxes.  Is there any audio system that can use this, or must I run a
> separate set of Cat5/speaker wire to handle each company's proprietary way
> of handling the data/audio?

It's common to install speaker wire from the central amp location to the
wall junction boxes.  A single 4 conductor 14 gauge wire is good.  Then run
2 conductor wire from there to each left/right speaker.

> However, it requires that all audio components sit in the
> same location (at the patch panel), so that I can't feed TV sound, as an
> example.

Most, if not all, distribution systems require central sources.  Use RF
remotes or IR repeater networks to move the control signals to remote
devices.  The TV itself isn't providing the sound, it's the components
(tivo, vcr, dvd, etc).  Those can be quite easily controlled remotely.

> a)  allows for input from various rooms

Few systems allow this.  It's not a matter of getting the signal as much as
it's about being able to control the source.

> b) allows for control of the sound level in each of those various rooms