Whole Home Audio - Design Considerations
To me one of the nice features you can add to a home is a whole home audio system. I've have built a couple of them and while the technology choices have expanded, there are some some basic concepts and approach you can follow to insure your ending up with a system that meets your needs.
The big three criteria I use in design are
The big three criteria I use in design are
- Content - What do I want to be able to listen to ?
- Control - How do I want to turn a zone on or off, select the content, control volume, etc. ?
- Distribution - Where are my "sources" for Content and where do I want to listen to content ?.
By sitting down and laying out these criteria first - You'll get a very clear picture of your system requirements, which will then help determine your product choices.
Here are some things I have learned that will help you avoid some potential headaches.
First a few definitions...
Source - an analog stereo input to your audio system You will probably end up with at leasr 4 - 6 of these including radios, ripped content and internet based content.
Zone - a separate listening area with a minimum of two speakers. depending on your home size and outdoor spaces you want to cover - again think 6 maybe as high as 12 or 16 zones.
Content
If you going to have AM/FM and/or Sirius radios as sources make sure you think about antennas and placement. Regardless if you are going to use a traditional Receiver as a source or a specialized multi-tuner - the last thing you want to experience is signal break-up. it's just annoying as hell and really takes away from the overall experience.
For AM/FM I have had success using powered antennas from folks like Terk. For Sirius Satellite - as some of you are aware - the tuner vendors typically provide a small Paddle style antenna often with a 25 or even 50 ft cable. But as you are also aware that paddle antenna can be very directionally sensitive. So the point here is - if your planning on a housing your system in or near a centralized wiring closet or equipment closet you may want to start thinking about roof access and more permanent antenna solutions to give you best possible receptions at all times.
Sirius Internet Radio is also a good alternative to Sirius Satellite. Just make sure your control system can interact with Sirius Internet and show all the Metadata (like Channel, Song, Artist). Some systems also support other Internet Radio Sources - you just need check if it supports the services you consume (i.e Pandora, iRadio, etc)
Consider Dual-Tuner sources. One of the key values in a whole system is multi-source, multi-zone. Remember that a single tuner is counted as 1 source. So if someone is listening to FM in one zone and you select FM in another zone - you'll both be listening to and attempting to control the same source.
If you store ripped content (MP3s, WMA, AAC, whatever) - on a PC or NAS device - you will still need a "player" to convert that content from digital to analog and make it available as a source. Some vendors provide "media servers" that have either their own storage and/or multi-player capabilities built-in.
You can connect your PC as a source using the audio output from your PC to the multi-source amp. The challenge with using your PC as a source with direct audio connections is the ability to control your PC from the audio or home automation system. At best you may be able to configure your audio or home control system to support Windows Media Center - but that assumes your PC has an IR input. Also remember that a PC is only 1 source when connected using this method.
Many systems provide either docking or AirPlay support for iPods, iPads, etc. Just remember when using AirPlay - that your "source" needs a solid network connection to stream it's content consistently.
With any of these systems, Digital Rights Management (DRM) content is typically not supported. You can obviously connect the device that holds the DRM protected content (i.e. a PC) as a source - but then you may experience the control issues I mentioned earlier.
Control
This can sometimes be the most challenging part of a whole home system. The challenges here is often how do I make zone control and content selection easy and cost effective.
All the whole home vendors provide wall mount Keypad and/or Touchpad solutions or the ability control from a SmartPhone app. Most systems expect you to design and place a keypad or touchpad for each zone and cable them back to the centralized control unit via CAT-5. Some systems do provide for multi-zone or whole control from a single wall control - but then that means you have might have to walk through several rooms to get to the centralized control. Smart Phone controls are cool - but that assumes your Phone is within easy reach and is connected to your home network. You can also typically mix or match controls to meet your needs and budget.
Most audio systems also provide integration with 3rd party home automation systems from Crestron, AMX, HAI, whomever. The connection can be RS-232 Serial or Ethernet. They key here is making sure all of the proper metadata like album art, song lists, etc get transferred correctly into your home automation system so they can be properly displayed.
Regardless if you use the audio system or home automation controls - they real key I've found is being easily able to browse content especially ripped content by album art. Many companies now mimic iPod style controls due to their ease of use. Before these capabilities were readily available, you could control a CD Jukebox for example by IR flasher - but you had to remember what CD was in what slot. I ended up typing up lists. But my wife couldn't always remember an album by title only by the art - so it was useless.
With PC stored content - the method often used for control is based on the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standards. Your PC will act as DLNA Server. So as many of you who may have experimented with DLNA have found - depending on the configuration - you may get inconsistent results with metadata transfer and navigation. You sometimes can improve the experience my using a 3rd party DLNA server software so keep that in mind.
You can distribute your source systems - for example - using your main AV Receiver as a source. But just understand that your have to A) wire the source back to the amp - typically using the "tape monitor" output of your Receiver and B) wire IR, Serial or Network Control. In addition if your planning on displaying your collection on your TV for example - the same DLNA constraints often apply.
One final consideration for PC based content is throughput and availability. If you have a large library and would be supporting multiple simultaneous streams, you may want to consider a dedicated PC or NAS device to house the content.
You can use a wide array of devices for "sources" in a whole home system and many provide control via IR flashers. This is often used for some older non-networked Receivers and CD JukeBoxes, etc. Personally I hate IR flashers with a passion and have found the experience with these devices to be fair at best. Without network and metadata transfer - the usability of these devices is marginal.
Distribution
Most if not all Whole Home Audio systems are traditional Analog Stereo - for both source input and playblack. These systems are NOT designed for X.1 Multi-Channel Playback and most don't even accept optical or digital input of any kind. So keep that in mind.
In the past - and still most name brand whole home systems today use a centralized multi-source, multi-channel amplifier to drive whole home audio. It's a very competitive market including pure play companies like Russound, Niles, Elan, NuVo, etc and most Home automation companies like Crestron, AMX and HAI also have solutions. The challenge in some cases is the cost/performance. Many of these system run between $3K to $6K without speakers for a 6 Source / 6 Zone system. One area that can impact cost dramatically is the Keypad/TouchPad choices you make. A color touchpad can run as high as $600.
Today there are more choices about how you may want to distribute your system. Companies like Sonos have developed networked player/amplifier devices. Typically in the $400 - $500 range per device. Again this does not include speakers. The advantage here over centralized solutions when you have smaller implementations that involve 2 - 4 zones and don't plan on or can't support centralized speaker wiring.
Speaking of speakers and wiring. In a traditional sense - a zone in a whole system typically means two speakers in traditional stereo configuration - so one left channel / one right. However - you may find that depending on your home layout that you may have a zone that is going to support more that 1 pair of speakers. In those cases make sure you understand your wiring requirements and make sure you amp supports impedance matching to avoid overloading your amp.
One trick I have used is to install Leviton 1 x 6 Passive Audio Modules in my speaker wiring plan. This allows you to make 1 connection from your amp zone output to the Module and connect up to 6 sets of speakers to the zone. This also provides easy access and flexibility if you want to reconfigure a zone - just unplug 1 set of speakers from one module and plug into another. Remember this only works if your amp supports impedance matching - if not you will have to use Leviton's System Matching Module.
I my most recent implementations I have not installed volume controls in the zone. Newer systems with keypad/touchpad zone controls typically manage that process by sending signals back to the amp - which handles that. This also means for folks who are retofitting an old system with rotary style volume controls that you may be able to leverage those locations to place your keypads.
Speakers to me are a very personal choice - so my only comments here are I have used both in-wall and in-ceiling speakers from 8 - 12 inch in size and been very happy with the results. While many speakers don't require it - if you have high ceilings in a location (so > 12') I would definitely consider adding enclosures in those areas. I tend to use two way or 3 way speakers that support directional adjustments to get a nice projection into the room.
Finally, while everyone's listening levels differ - I will highly recommend that you consider at least 40W / channel (8 Ohm) for your system. Lesser powered systems tend to wash out the sound a little.
Here are some things I have learned that will help you avoid some potential headaches.
First a few definitions...
Source - an analog stereo input to your audio system You will probably end up with at leasr 4 - 6 of these including radios, ripped content and internet based content.
Zone - a separate listening area with a minimum of two speakers. depending on your home size and outdoor spaces you want to cover - again think 6 maybe as high as 12 or 16 zones.
Content
If you going to have AM/FM and/or Sirius radios as sources make sure you think about antennas and placement. Regardless if you are going to use a traditional Receiver as a source or a specialized multi-tuner - the last thing you want to experience is signal break-up. it's just annoying as hell and really takes away from the overall experience.
For AM/FM I have had success using powered antennas from folks like Terk. For Sirius Satellite - as some of you are aware - the tuner vendors typically provide a small Paddle style antenna often with a 25 or even 50 ft cable. But as you are also aware that paddle antenna can be very directionally sensitive. So the point here is - if your planning on a housing your system in or near a centralized wiring closet or equipment closet you may want to start thinking about roof access and more permanent antenna solutions to give you best possible receptions at all times.
Sirius Internet Radio is also a good alternative to Sirius Satellite. Just make sure your control system can interact with Sirius Internet and show all the Metadata (like Channel, Song, Artist). Some systems also support other Internet Radio Sources - you just need check if it supports the services you consume (i.e Pandora, iRadio, etc)
Consider Dual-Tuner sources. One of the key values in a whole system is multi-source, multi-zone. Remember that a single tuner is counted as 1 source. So if someone is listening to FM in one zone and you select FM in another zone - you'll both be listening to and attempting to control the same source.
If you store ripped content (MP3s, WMA, AAC, whatever) - on a PC or NAS device - you will still need a "player" to convert that content from digital to analog and make it available as a source. Some vendors provide "media servers" that have either their own storage and/or multi-player capabilities built-in.
You can connect your PC as a source using the audio output from your PC to the multi-source amp. The challenge with using your PC as a source with direct audio connections is the ability to control your PC from the audio or home automation system. At best you may be able to configure your audio or home control system to support Windows Media Center - but that assumes your PC has an IR input. Also remember that a PC is only 1 source when connected using this method.
Many systems provide either docking or AirPlay support for iPods, iPads, etc. Just remember when using AirPlay - that your "source" needs a solid network connection to stream it's content consistently.
With any of these systems, Digital Rights Management (DRM) content is typically not supported. You can obviously connect the device that holds the DRM protected content (i.e. a PC) as a source - but then you may experience the control issues I mentioned earlier.
Control
This can sometimes be the most challenging part of a whole home system. The challenges here is often how do I make zone control and content selection easy and cost effective.
All the whole home vendors provide wall mount Keypad and/or Touchpad solutions or the ability control from a SmartPhone app. Most systems expect you to design and place a keypad or touchpad for each zone and cable them back to the centralized control unit via CAT-5. Some systems do provide for multi-zone or whole control from a single wall control - but then that means you have might have to walk through several rooms to get to the centralized control. Smart Phone controls are cool - but that assumes your Phone is within easy reach and is connected to your home network. You can also typically mix or match controls to meet your needs and budget.
Most audio systems also provide integration with 3rd party home automation systems from Crestron, AMX, HAI, whomever. The connection can be RS-232 Serial or Ethernet. They key here is making sure all of the proper metadata like album art, song lists, etc get transferred correctly into your home automation system so they can be properly displayed.
Regardless if you use the audio system or home automation controls - they real key I've found is being easily able to browse content especially ripped content by album art. Many companies now mimic iPod style controls due to their ease of use. Before these capabilities were readily available, you could control a CD Jukebox for example by IR flasher - but you had to remember what CD was in what slot. I ended up typing up lists. But my wife couldn't always remember an album by title only by the art - so it was useless.
With PC stored content - the method often used for control is based on the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standards. Your PC will act as DLNA Server. So as many of you who may have experimented with DLNA have found - depending on the configuration - you may get inconsistent results with metadata transfer and navigation. You sometimes can improve the experience my using a 3rd party DLNA server software so keep that in mind.
You can distribute your source systems - for example - using your main AV Receiver as a source. But just understand that your have to A) wire the source back to the amp - typically using the "tape monitor" output of your Receiver and B) wire IR, Serial or Network Control. In addition if your planning on displaying your collection on your TV for example - the same DLNA constraints often apply.
One final consideration for PC based content is throughput and availability. If you have a large library and would be supporting multiple simultaneous streams, you may want to consider a dedicated PC or NAS device to house the content.
You can use a wide array of devices for "sources" in a whole home system and many provide control via IR flashers. This is often used for some older non-networked Receivers and CD JukeBoxes, etc. Personally I hate IR flashers with a passion and have found the experience with these devices to be fair at best. Without network and metadata transfer - the usability of these devices is marginal.
Distribution
Most if not all Whole Home Audio systems are traditional Analog Stereo - for both source input and playblack. These systems are NOT designed for X.1 Multi-Channel Playback and most don't even accept optical or digital input of any kind. So keep that in mind.
Today there are more choices about how you may want to distribute your system. Companies like Sonos have developed networked player/amplifier devices. Typically in the $400 - $500 range per device. Again this does not include speakers. The advantage here over centralized solutions when you have smaller implementations that involve 2 - 4 zones and don't plan on or can't support centralized speaker wiring.
Speaking of speakers and wiring. In a traditional sense - a zone in a whole system typically means two speakers in traditional stereo configuration - so one left channel / one right. However - you may find that depending on your home layout that you may have a zone that is going to support more that 1 pair of speakers. In those cases make sure you understand your wiring requirements and make sure you amp supports impedance matching to avoid overloading your amp.
One trick I have used is to install Leviton 1 x 6 Passive Audio Modules in my speaker wiring plan. This allows you to make 1 connection from your amp zone output to the Module and connect up to 6 sets of speakers to the zone. This also provides easy access and flexibility if you want to reconfigure a zone - just unplug 1 set of speakers from one module and plug into another. Remember this only works if your amp supports impedance matching - if not you will have to use Leviton's System Matching Module.
I my most recent implementations I have not installed volume controls in the zone. Newer systems with keypad/touchpad zone controls typically manage that process by sending signals back to the amp - which handles that. This also means for folks who are retofitting an old system with rotary style volume controls that you may be able to leverage those locations to place your keypads.
Speakers to me are a very personal choice - so my only comments here are I have used both in-wall and in-ceiling speakers from 8 - 12 inch in size and been very happy with the results. While many speakers don't require it - if you have high ceilings in a location (so > 12') I would definitely consider adding enclosures in those areas. I tend to use two way or 3 way speakers that support directional adjustments to get a nice projection into the room.
Finally, while everyone's listening levels differ - I will highly recommend that you consider at least 40W / channel (8 Ohm) for your system. Lesser powered systems tend to wash out the sound a little.
Bottom Line
Think through Content, Control and Distribution and you'll save you self a lot of frustration when designing a whole home audio system and end up with something that you use and enjoy for years...
Comments
Post a Comment