Home Audio
 

I know their are some pretty smart audio guys hanging out here so maybe you can help me.

I currently need to replace the receiver in my garage. What I want to be able to do is play audio in the garage on one zone and have 3 more zones controlled from the garage as well

All zones would be playing the same content just need the ability to control volume and on/off

Of the 3 additional zones 2 are already hard wired and the 3rd could be or wireless is an option

I have looked at the sonos but think it might be a bit much as the way I see it I would need 3 or 4 of the zone players at 500 each. I really did not want to go that high but if I had to I could.

Any insight or links would be great

Receivers designed specifically for many zones (3+) can get expensive fast, so maybe a conventional receiver coupled with a multi-zone output switch like this one would be a more cost-effective solution;

Amazon.com: Sima SSW-L6EX Speaker Selector for 6-Sets of Speakers: Electronics

Brian

for applications like a garage, i have used old (1970's, 1980's) amps that have a (i believe its called) line level output on the back. i then chain the amps together going from the line level output of the first amp and into the aux input of the next and so on...this way you can have independent volume control per set of speakers

i dont like using new stuff in the garage due to extreme temp and humidity etc...

I think that is close to the one I found. It looks pretty good for what I want to do. Impedance seems to be the big thing to keep stuff working. I would also love to find a few older amps at a garage sale. Those big heavy things last forever

you can get the old ones..like silver face pioneer etc... at good will and ebay for less than $50. but sometimes they work, sometimes they dont, sometimes they work fine for a while and then quit. the capacitors leak

I have one of those attached to my home theature system to route music to my kitchen and outdoor deck. Future plans include wiring up the bedrooms and possibly the garage.

Works very well.

Three things to keep in mind:
1. Keep in mind that the speaker switch is not a powered unit, so you may need to turn up the volume on your amp a bit higher in order to take advantage of the volume controls on the speaker switch.
2. Depending on the distances of the speakers (speaker wire length) as well as the additional wireless set of speakers, you may realize an echo-effect which occurs between sets of speakers. Not an issue if you only hear one set of speakers at a given time, but it can be an issue if the rooms are next to each other. (It will sound kinda like music playing in an arena)
3. If you are using a newer low end HTS, and are planning on connecting your garage system to the "B" channel, then most of the low-end theature systems will not support a digital audio signal on the "B" channel, only analog.

Hope this helps,
-Zoltan.