Urgent Help Requested: Will this whole house system work?

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mazeroth

Golden Member
Jan 31, 2006
1,821
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I just finished wiring my ranch house for speakers and installing them using in-wall volume controllers. I have a 12 channel amp in my basement and all wires running to it. I wasn't in a huge rush to get this done but now that we're hosting a huge Thanksgiving dinner at our house in 2 weeks I'd LOVE to have this working for it. Here's what I'm wondering:

I have an iPhone from work and my wife has an iPad. I am a PC guy but do like these devices. Problem is, I don't know much about them and what they're capable of. As far as the whole house audio system goes, I would like to be able to control it with these devices as cheaply as possible. This is a very cheap starter home we have and I'm doing this audio system with a tight budget. Now, here's what I'm thinking and tell me if this will work...

I have 5 rooms with speakers and I would like to be able to select which song will get played in which room. I'm wondering if I could purchase 5 old iPod Touch gen 1's for like $40-$50 each on eBay and plug each one into a zone in my 12-channel amp. I would like to be able to name them in iTunes (no idea if this is possible) for each room, like kitchen, master bath etc. Then, using my iPhone or iPad, I could access them and tell them to play a playlist etc. I figure if this is possible I could have a whole house audio solution for less than $300 which is awesome!

Is something like this feasible? Is there an app that would make this work better? Oh, and can you create an iTunes library and then have them all use it or how would this work?

You don't know how much this would mean to me to get this working in 2 weeks. I greatly appreciate any help you guys can give me.

Thanks!
 
C

cheez

Golden Member
Nov 19, 2010
1,722
69
91
^ I don't think you'll get good sound out of iPod touch or even iPads to play music on different rooms you setup. Those devices will sound empty and aluminum-like, it won't play with solid / fullness as I am the sound specialist. :D It is possible to hookup an external USB DAC to iPad, some will work. But then you'll run into battery issue as they only last so many hours. I was in the market for an iPad with USB DAC but it won't be practical because of the reason I posted earlier.


This is what I would do. Save up money and get descent sound system for every room if you must have sound in them.

I would also recommend a power cable upgrade for your audio. See my sig. LOL just kidding!! disregard what I said otherwise I'll get flamed by members here for it. :D


If I were you I wouldn't bother doing all that. I would setup a nice sound system in the living room and setup a secondary lesser sound system in the other room. That's it.



cheez
 
M

mazeroth

Golden Member
Jan 31, 2006
1,821
2
81
Uhhh, I know a thing or three about audio, but thanks!

1zxo2u9.jpg
 
N

nitsuj3580

Platinum Member
Jun 13, 2001
2,668
14
81
Not sure if this is what you're looking for but I think this would do what you're asking for as long as all the ipod touches had wifi.

Tango Remote Control app on your iphone and ipad looks like it can control multiple idevices over wifi.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tango-remote-control-music/id345279970?mt=8

Edit: Looks like there is two different versions of Tango. This one seems to be the more updated version.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tango-remote-control-for-ios6/id691224751?mt=8

Good luck!
 
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gus6464

Golden Member
Nov 10, 2005
1,848
32
91
mazeroth said:
I just finished wiring my ranch house for speakers and installing them using in-wall volume controllers. I have a 12 channel amp in my basement and all wires running to it. I wasn't in a huge rush to get this done but now that we're hosting a huge Thanksgiving dinner at our house in 2 weeks I'd LOVE to have this working for it. Here's what I'm wondering:

I have an iPhone from work and my wife has an iPad. I am a PC guy but do like these devices. Problem is, I don't know much about them and what they're capable of. As far as the whole house audio system goes, I would like to be able to control it with these devices as cheaply as possible. This is a very cheap starter home we have and I'm doing this audio system with a tight budget. Now, here's what I'm thinking and tell me if this will work...

I have 5 rooms with speakers and I would like to be able to select which song will get played in which room. I'm wondering if I could purchase 5 old iPod Touch gen 1's for like $40-$50 each on eBay and plug each one into a zone in my 12-channel amp. I would like to be able to name them in iTunes (no idea if this is possible) for each room, like kitchen, master bath etc. Then, using my iPhone or iPad, I could access them and tell them to play a playlist etc. I figure if this is possible I could have a whole house audio solution for less than $300 which is awesome!

Is something like this feasible? Is there an app that would make this work better? Oh, and can you create an iTunes library and then have them all use it or how would this work?

You don't know how much this would mean to me to get this working in 2 weeks. I greatly appreciate any help you guys can give me.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Unfortunately itunes remote does not work when trying to stream music to ipods. But this is a possibility:

Buy 5x ipod LOD cables and connect straight to amp
http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-L-Shaped-...ywords=fiio+l9

Then you can run analog cables to the amp for each room.
With the 5x gen 1 ipod touches you can keep all your music on your central PC and just turn on home sharing to access your library and stream to any of the ipods which will then play straight to the amp.
 
S

SNC

Platinum Member
Jan 14, 2001
2,166
202
106
mazeroth said:
I just finished wiring my ranch house for speakers and installing them using in-wall volume controllers. I have a 12 channel amp in my basement and all wires running to it. I wasn't in a huge rush to get this done but now that we're hosting a huge Thanksgiving dinner at our house in 2 weeks I'd LOVE to have this working for it. Here's what I'm wondering:

I have an iPhone from work and my wife has an iPad. I am a PC guy but do like these devices. Problem is, I don't know much about them and what they're capable of. As far as the whole house audio system goes, I would like to be able to control it with these devices as cheaply as possible. This is a very cheap starter home we have and I'm doing this audio system with a tight budget. Now, here's what I'm thinking and tell me if this will work...

I have 5 rooms with speakers and I would like to be able to select which song will get played in which room. I'm wondering if I could purchase 5 old iPod Touch gen 1's for like $40-$50 each on eBay and plug each one into a zone in my 12-channel amp. I would like to be able to name them in iTunes (no idea if this is possible) for each room, like kitchen, master bath etc. Then, using my iPhone or iPad, I could access them and tell them to play a playlist etc. I figure if this is possible I could have a whole house audio solution for less than $300 which is awesome!

Is something like this feasible? Is there an app that would make this work better? Oh, and can you create an iTunes library and then have them all use it or how would this work?

You don't know how much this would mean to me to get this working in 2 weeks. I greatly appreciate any help you guys can give me.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I don't think you would want all rooms to be controlled by one device, unless you like being the DJ. I could see having all rooms play the same content, but if there are 6 rooms you might just have 6 people asking you to change what is playing all day. What about having the iDevice plugged into each room and allow the people in the room to control what is being played. Not sure if you ran source wires or just speaker to each room. If not you could use an apple express and an iDevice for each room. Create a separate wireless network for each room, so that a person in the living room can't change what is being played in the den, unless they go into the den and use the den's iDevice. While there are tons of devices to pump music to many places, they are limited to inputs. Good luck.
 
S

scannall

Golden Member
Jan 1, 2012
1,960
1,678
136
If your amp is Airplay compatible you can control what speakers play where, and the volume via the Remote app on the app store.
 
Kaido

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,667
7,284
136
mazeroth said:
I just finished wiring my ranch house for speakers and installing them using in-wall volume controllers. I have a 12 channel amp in my basement and all wires running to it. I wasn't in a huge rush to get this done but now that we're hosting a huge Thanksgiving dinner at our house in 2 weeks I'd LOVE to have this working for it. Here's what I'm wondering:

I have an iPhone from work and my wife has an iPad. I am a PC guy but do like these devices. Problem is, I don't know much about them and what they're capable of. As far as the whole house audio system goes, I would like to be able to control it with these devices as cheaply as possible. This is a very cheap starter home we have and I'm doing this audio system with a tight budget. Now, here's what I'm thinking and tell me if this will work...

I have 5 rooms with speakers and I would like to be able to select which song will get played in which room. I'm wondering if I could purchase 5 old iPod Touch gen 1's for like $40-$50 each on eBay and plug each one into a zone in my 12-channel amp. I would like to be able to name them in iTunes (no idea if this is possible) for each room, like kitchen, master bath etc. Then, using my iPhone or iPad, I could access them and tell them to play a playlist etc. I figure if this is possible I could have a whole house audio solution for less than $300 which is awesome!

Is something like this feasible? Is there an app that would make this work better? Oh, and can you create an iTunes library and then have them all use it or how would this work?

You don't know how much this would mean to me to get this working in 2 weeks. I greatly appreciate any help you guys can give me.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I think I may have a solution for you. But first, to summarize your situation:

1. 5 rooms with speakers
2. Want to send audio from iTunes to each room & name each room
3. $300 or less budget
4. Already own an iPhone & iPad

So Apple offers Airplay, which is built-in software (like filesharing) capable of sending digital audio over the network to an Airplay Receiver. Apple sells a digital audio receiver called an Airport Express (Wifi + Ethernet connectivity) for $99 which is basically plug & play. You can name it and send music from iTunes to it and plug it into any speakers or amps you want. However, 5 of those is outside of your budget ($500), so we have to be creative.

Raspberry Pi is an inexpensive micro-computer ($40-ish) that can run XBMC (Raspbmc). XBMC can receive Airplay signals (although the current nightlies say there are some issues from iOS7, but there's another workaround for that too). This is definitely a DIY solution and not nearly as plug & play as an Airport Express, and you're really only saving a few bucks, but you could probably fit it within your budget if you're willing to mess around a bit:

1. It's powered via USB, so you could get one powered USB hub to power 5 boards
2. You can get a cheap 8-port switch and hardwire the Ethernet from your home router to the switch, and then out to the 5 Raspberry Pi boards
3. A simple Y-cable to hook up to your multi-zone amplifier (minijack to RCA stereo)
4. Some cheap 4GB cards to run the Raspbmc OS

Next, you need a central controller. If your goal is to send music from an iTunes library on a computer to your speakers using your iPhone & iPad as remote controls, then you'll definitely want to check out Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil software lineup:

http://weblog.rogueamoeba.com/2013/07/16/meet-airfoil-for-macs-new-companion-airfoil-remote/

The only catch is that it's not compatible with Windows yet, so you'll need a Mac to run the server. You mentioned you were a PC guy, so I'm not sure if you have a Mac available for that. If you do, then basically Airfoil acts as a multi-caster to different Airplay Receivers (instead of 1:1) and uses your iOS device as a remote control (so you're not actually sending from say iOS7, which currently has some glitches in XBMC with Airplay).

You could also just pick up 2 or 3 Apple Airport Express devices and then just get a stereo splitter and use those in the meantime (just have a couple rooms play the same music), that way you get 100% functionality (and future updates) and later on add more as budget allows. Each Airplay Receiver can also receive audio sent from your iOS device, so if you just want to stream something from say your iPod library to one set of speakers, you can do that too (and your wife can send audio from hers as well, separately, to a different set of speakers).

Lots of options. A lot of it is budget & equipment dependent, but there are ways to do it!
 
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gus6464

Golden Member
Nov 10, 2005
1,848
32
91
Airport express is definitely the easiest option but the problem with that is that if he keeps all his music on a central server you cannot play multiple songs to different airport express sources from one itunes instance.
 
M

mazeroth

Golden Member
Jan 31, 2006
1,821
2
81
Guys, I've been so busy with work and doing a kitchen remodel I just now checked on this thread. Thank you all so much for all the input, especially Kaido. I did a lot of reading and almost bit on the Raspberry but I think I'm going to purchase a single Airport Express on ebay for $79 shipped (new, open box) to tinker with. I'm pretty confident that's going to be the route I go. I don't mind spending a little more money to make it extremely easy to use for my family.

Oh, and Tweak155, this is an Apple-centric question, not an "audio" question. I've been designing and building home audio loudspeakers for over a decade, and have built three home theaters. If you heard my latest install you would be near tears :)
 
RampantAndroid

RampantAndroid

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2004
6,591
3
81
Sonos should be another option?

Though WAY more expensive than Airplay - it's supposed to be good.
 
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