You are better off in a home with dual-tweeter, stereo ceiling speakers like these. Single-tweeter speakers, carrying one channel each, require you to stay in a place equidistant from the two speakers. That’s fine if you have a chair in a listening room, but if you are moving around the room you don’t want to hear just the left or just the right channel. A pair of stereo speakers, each playing both channels, will fill most rooms with quality audio. Don’t be cheap and go monophonic because that sounds like shit.
Yep. Eighteen gauge or heavier. And remember that with wire gauges smaller numbers are thicker–20ga is thinner than 18ga.
That’s because you never listened to a system I designed!
The problem with wireless is that there needs to be a receiver and an amp at each speaker or pair of speakers, not an amp with multiple channels in a central location. I haven’t worked with that Sonos system, but they make good stuff so I’ll look more.
And Renee, be careful with what we say. I don’t know about the other guys, but I’m real good at spending other people’s money. And budget-wise, I think Sonos is out.
And though my training wants desperately to spend thousands of your dollars, hardwired, multi-room audio is also out. Wireless will let you add and subtract zones effortlessly. Still looking and still having fun. Y’know, you can get free apps for your phone that will do much of what we used to charge a quarter-million for. Just the software, which is why I’m no longer in that business.
I’m not going to get into which technology to embrace - given the rate of change, I’d put in wires - they will always work, even if you decide to ignore them.
What I DO wish to emphasize is the idea of ceiling speakers.
There is no way to describe exactly how bad an idea these were for anything except PA systems.
Humans instinctively hate sounds coming from above. I think there are in-wall speakers of decent quality, but I would suggest simply running good quality cables to boxes with jacks or terminals - see “premise wiring” - you can connect whatever speakers you wish - and it there a 6-10 (now) unused connectors inside the box, future you(s) can use them for whatever technology comes down the pike.
I agree completely, but Renee is, um, optimistic if she wants to keep this down to “a few hundred” if we go hardwired. I dislike wireless because my house is in a radio sinkhole so I like the reliability of copper. Therefore I wholeheartedly agree with multiple Cat5e everywhere.
Audio is a different story. If I understand her needs she not only wants to turn off whatever her husband is listening to in the garage but also wants the option of listening to something else. Then there might be kids with a whole new set of tastes. But I have to go to bed and will look into this tomorrow. I think it will involve line voltage over Cat5e and a smart phone.
Some friends of ours have a ceiling speaker system; it sounds good to my ears, and they use it all the time and rave about it. But, as I said, not an audiophile. Our current sound system consists of two of these ihome rechargeable speakers, and I am not unhappy with the sound. The only thing that bugs me is that the bluetooth has failed on one, and the battery sometimes runs out. Given that, thousands of dollars on a speaker system is simply not going to happen; sound quality isn’t that important to me. I was hoping I could set up something cheap and simple, and it sounds like wireless is really the best way to do that, given our needs.
On thing you can consider that may save some pain into the future. Specify lots of power outlets. Whilst you may use cheap and nasty battery driven speakers at the moment, the likely long term quality outcome will usually involve mains power. Put power outlets along walls so you can easily plug an all in one amplified speaker in wherever you want without power cable mess.
Running lots of Cat 5e around, and reticulated back to a central point can be a good idea, it avoids reliance on radio or ethernet over power, for network connectivity, but may not be worth the effort.
Here’s a relatively inexpensive system with good reviews. They are designed for recessed can lights, I have something similar set up on my porch but the model I have seems to be discontinued.
The only thing that bugs me is that the bluetooth has failed on one, and the battery sometimes runs out. Given that, thousands of dollars on a speaker system is simply not going to happen; sound quality isn’t that important to me. I was hoping I could set up something cheap and simple, and it sounds like wireless is really the best way to do that, given our needs.