Multi-room functions

 

Unregistered guest
I currently have a Marantz sr 5200 with 5 Mission speakers and sub, and I have had no problems with it. However, I am moving soon, and I want to have a HT room and I want to be able to listen to music in a separate room as well.

What are opinions about how to do this most efectively? Buy a separate high quality 2 channel receiver/pre/post amp?
Or, buy a receiver with multi-room functions such as the Marantz 8300 or 9300. I do not know what other brands offer this, but I am sure many do.
Or, buy a switcher to attach to the 5200?
Or something I have not thought of?

Currently my budget will not allow for the 8300.
 

New member
Username: Geekboy

Post Number: 28
Registered: 12-2003
Do you need to be able to simultaneously play any source (dvd, tv, etc) in the HT room and have a different (or same source) playing in the other room(s)? If so, a multi-zone receiver will be better.

Here's what I have and what I'm doing. I have the H/K AVR 525. I bought this because of the reputation and the 2nd zone capability. Also, the H/K AVR 525 has an A-Bus port... but it's really not all that useful for multi-room (more like good for 2nd room).

Anyway, I have a new production estate home. I had a structured wiring system put in called OnQ (owned by Leviton). My plan... once the pool gets built... is to do "whole house audio" using the A-bus technology (A-bus == Audio Bus).

This will allow me to use CAT5 cable -- which I already have wired to every room (except the bathrooms... hmmm... maybe I should get those done too!) -- to carry audio signal and I/R information to each "station". They make in-wall controllers/amps (like light switches), that allow the controller to send I/R or other control information to the main receiver and to adjust volume of the in-room speakers. I don't know if I'm going to do in-wall (ceiling) or just put in jacks with speaker terminals on them.

I'm not saying this is the cheapest way to do it. Not by any means. But certainly the most expandable.

You could just buy something like the H/K PA-2000/4000 multi-room amplifier and run the other room(s) speakers from that. That's probably the easiest, but will you really have multi-room control?
 

Unregistered guest
Wow. That is Seriously ambitious. If I build a house, I will have to remember that. I am looking to run separate things in separate rooms at the same time. Is A-bus HK's version of Pioneer's I-Link? Are they actually the same thing with different names, or is every company out there going to have quick connects that are imcompatible?
 

New member
Username: Geekboy

Post Number: 29
Registered: 12-2003
I hope it's not ambitious. A-Bus is a standard. I think the i-Link is proprietary. A-Bus is "line-level" audio for the most part. It's a distribution system. There are many variants. Some that do muliplexing and distribution over CAT5 with the use of a computer.
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