5.1 with 2 extra zones.

[SyndromeOCZ]

So my employer is building a new home, and he ran wires for his audio set up. He is a half assed musician(guitar and sings) so he does have some ear for fidelity. He wired 4 speakers for the main room, which will put the fronts and rears mounted on the wall or ceiling.

He also has it set up with volume knobs and 2 speakers in the garage and 2 speakers in the rear porch, he wants them wired so each speaker is playing both left and right channels.

He hasn't given me a budget, but I mentioned about 3k to him, and I told him that his receiver is going to cost him around 1k to get the sources in each zone.

Out on the porch he mentioned that he wanted something that would be able to project out into the backyard as well, which is fairly good sized.

So here it is, I don't really know what speakers and amp to get him, I can't really do floor standing speakers in the front of his 5.1 because the way he is setting it up just doesn't leave enough space. And I'm not sure what to do on the porch. Note that none of these speakers will be in wall, just just put in a single gang box with the wires in them.

 

[sdifox]

Err, I am assuming he has to control the sources from the porch?

Each speaker is playing left and right means mono.

Are you saying his room doesn't allow front mains to be floorstanding because of size of room?

 

[purbeast0]

i am pretty sure the yamaha and denon receivers have apps that you can control your receiver from your mobile device, and that allows you to control the zones as well. so he could basically be outside and turn on the radio outside from his mobile device.

i played around with the yamaha app on my iphone and it was pretty smooth. i wasn't using it for real world application but it has a sample setup you can mess with. it's free so you can check it out, and apparently it's nicer than the denon app.

but those are 2 brands of receivers that i know have a good reputation and have the zoning function. i know the denon 4250 that just came out has either 3 or 4 zones you can set up. it's msrp is $2500 though so not sure what kind of deal you can find it for.

 

[SyndromeOCZ]

Are you saying his room doesn't allow front mains to be floorstanding because of size of room?

Yes in a way, He has the TV in the corner, with a fire place right next to it, and a stair case on the other side, he has the left speaker wired above the stairs, and the right on the wall to the right. His couch is going diagonal through the room. The two rear speakers are mounted on a vaulted ceiling behind the couch.

 

[sdifox]

Yes in a way, He has the TV in the corner, with a fire place right next to it, and a stair case on the other side, he has the left speaker wired above the stairs, and the right on the wall to the right. His couch is going diagonal through the room. The two rear speakers are mounted on a vaulted ceiling behind the couch.

fireplace should go

Just mount the tv inside the fireplace :biggrin:

 

[SyndromeOCZ]

Yeah, thats my exact thoughts, but he's old fashioned and I don't think he would go for it. I'm thinking of maybe a Yamaha 2020 amp. Its a bit over budget but I think it would work great. Now I just need to find some decent speakers. Its still a bit out before he is thinking about installing all of that so I will revive this thread again when I have a better idea of what I need. Thanks for the help so far guys.

 

[sdifox]

Yeah, thats my exact thoughts, but he's old fashioned and I don't think he would go for it. I'm thinking of maybe a Yamaha 2020 amp. Its a bit over budget but I think it would work great. Now I just need to find some decent speakers. Its still a bit out before he is thinking about installing all of that so I will revive this thread again when I have a better idea of what I need. Thanks for the help so far guys.

put up a drawing. you could always mount the tv above the fireplace

 

[SyndromeOCZ]

Yeah, but the wires are already ran, I wouldn't worry about not using the fronts but the rears are off-set to the wall the fireplace is on. He didn't consult me when he placed them or I would have done it differently probably. There isn't a wall behind the couch either, its a living room/kitchen combo. Is a fairly good sized room. I will get some drawings and put them up soon as I can.