For years, “whole-house” music meant either a pair of speakers in the living room blaring loud enough to be heard everywhere or bad-sounding radio playing through intercom panels. Most people confined their listening to a single room and used table radios and portable music systems in other rooms.
Thanks to the steady progress of technology and the diligent efforts of custom installers, you can now choose from a variety of convenient ways to spread good -sounding music throughout your home. In its most basic form, a whole-house music system today consists of one or more stereo source components, a preamp and one or more power amps (often miniaturized), plus a volume control and a pair of speakers in each room where you want to listen.
Most systems have only one “zone,” meaning that the same music plays in every room. So if you're in your den rocking out to Bono on satellite radio and your daughter pops Christina Aguilera into the CD player, you'd better be in the mood to get “Dirrty.” With independent volume controls in each room, you could just turn Aguilera off where she isn't wanted, but then you're back to having no music.
Happily, there's an alternative that lets you listen to different music in different rooms. With one of these multizone/multisource systems in your home, you can listen to U2, your daughter can have Christina, your wife can enjoy the Dixie Chicks, and your son can crank up the Strokes.
The key point to understand is that a “zone” isn't limited to one room. Depending on the system, a zone could be one room or any number of them. While all rooms within a zone hear the same source, each zone can select a different source for listening. For example, Zone 1 might have a CD playing in the master bed and bathrooms, while the office in Zone 2 is tuned in to the radio.
Besides multiple zones, another difference between an advanced system and a basic one is in how much remote control you have. In basic systems, you have to go to the source components to change the music — whether switching from the CD player to the radio or just from one CD to another.
Multizone systems replace simple remote volume controls with keypads that let you turn the system on, select and change sources, skip tracks or whole CDs (if you're using a changer), change stations or channels, and so on. The keypad functions as an in-room remote that relays commands from wherever you are to the main system. How the keypad looks and how easy it is to use are important since it's your main way of interacting with your music.
I set up and lived with four very different multizone/multisource systems, ranging from less than $400 to almost $1,200 per zone for the necessary gear: the A-Bus system, Elan's System6, Netstreams' Musica, and the Oxmoor ZōN system (click to see “fast facts” PDF).
Since all of these were on loan, cutting holes in my walls to install keypads or to string wire for speakers wasn't an option. Instead, I had three zones worth of audio gear strung across the floors. Zone 1 was our bedroom, Zone 2 our bathroom, and Zone 3 the living room. Each system cycled in and out of daily use, allowing me to live and play with each one for several days at a time and give all three listening areas a decent workout. For sources, I used my CD and DVD players and digital cable box. For speakers, I used three pairs of small on-wall and bookshelf speakers from De-finitive Technology, one in each zone. Now, turn the page for details on each system and how it performed.
LeisureTech Electronics in Sydney, Australia, invented the A-Bus system in 1997 and now licenses the technology to many companies. An A-Bus system can be configured in a variety of ways and mix or match parts from different manufacturers.
In a typical A-Bus system, source components in the main room connect to a hub, which in turn connects to the keypads. The pads include amplification for the speakers in each room and allow you to adjust the volume or turn the music on or off. Each hub can drive from two to six keypads, and hubs can be linked together to create a virtually unlimited system.
I set up two separate configurations. The first used the A-Bus outputs from a Harman Kardon AVR 7300 receiver (rear in photo above). Source components and A-Bus key-pads — in this case Russound A-KP2s (center, $189 each) — were connected to the receiver, which can drive two keypads. To add additional pads, I used a Honeywell MDADZ600 six-zone/one-source hub (left, $275). This configuration offers a simple path to housewide audio but provides only a single source to every zone. For true multi-zone/multisource function, my second setup replaced the Honeywell hub with a Russound AH-484 four-zone/four-source hub (not shown, $599), which requires a 24-volt, regulated power supply ($139). The receiver could still be used as one of the sources.
are basically small amplifiers with a volume control and a built-in infrared receiver. Russound's stylish A-KP2 has a power button and a green backlight, and it displays your volume setting with an array of green LEDs. The power button can turn just that zone off, or it can turn the whole system off if pressed and held. Tapped lightly, it toggles between remote sources in multisource systems. (A Single/Multi switch, not visible in photo, enables this function.) Russound smartly provides line-level outputs so you can add a powered subwoofer to your speakers or use a more powerful external amplifier to drive them.
To add a local source, like an MP3 player or a TV, you'll need a local-source module like Russound's A-LC2 (right in photo, $129). The A-LC2 automatically overrides whatever's coming from the main system when it senses a signal. So if you want to listen to your bedroom TV over your A-Bus-connected speakers, just turn the set on.
was easy. I ran Category-5 (Cat-5) wire from the hub to each keypad and speaker wire from each keypad to the speakers in that room (zone). If I'd been using a local-source module, I'd have run Cat-5 from the hub to the module, then from the module to the keypad — local sources would connect directly to the module. Do-it-yourselfers should have no problem installing this sort of system.
is nonexistent for an A-Bus system since most keypads offer only volume control. Even the A-KP2 pad provides only rudimentary source selection.
Other than the local-source module and the variety of hubs, there aren't many options. You could add paging or remote doorbell chimes using add-on modules, however.
The system definitely played louder than its rated 7.5 watts per channel would suggest, and it should fill most rooms with background music. But if you want bass, you'll need to add a powered subwoofer. The A-Bus output from the Harman Kardon receiver overdrove the keypad amps, producing distortion, but a replacement sample of the receiver from a later production run sounded fine. (Early AVR 7300s will be fixed at no charge under warranty.) The Russound hub, connected to the source components, produced good sound from the get-go and allowed for a more versatile setup.
PDF: Fast Facts
Elan has been in the whole-house-music business since 1989, with gear aimed toward the high-end custom market. System6 consists of a single component ($1,770, rear in photo below, back panel below) that combines a six-zone/six-source controller with a 40 watt x 12-channel amp to power six pairs of speakers, plus your choice of remote keypads (above).
The System6's Spartan front panel doesn't even have a power button. It does have status LEDs to indicate whether system power is on, which zones are active, and which have IR (control) activity. The back panel takes the opposite approach, offering a bevy of inputs and outputs that make this system highly expandable. There are six stereo RCA inputs, one per source, and corresponding RCA outputs that make it easy to add outboard amps.
Detachable, color-coded terminals make it a snap to connect the speakers. There are minijack IR emitter outputs for each source as well as an All IR output, and an RJ-45 input for each zone carries control signals back from the keypads. Elan includes some very installer-friendly features, including 12-volt trigger outputs for each zone and source-status inputs to indicate at the keypad end whether a source is on or off.
While System6 supports a variety of keypads, it's usually sold with the S6KP (right in photo, $205), a simple pad with six source buttons, some basic transport controls (play, stop, and forward/back), power, mute, and volume up/down. The key acts like a shift, doubling the number of operations that can be controlled with relatively few buttons. Often the S6KP is bundled with the Z150 (left, $160), which offers 0-9 buttons as well as an IR target so you can use a handheld remote control.
The system also supports the Z200 keypad (center, $360) and the Z250 (not shown, $420), which feature larger buttons arranged differently. I prefer the look of the Z200, though functionally they're identical. Small LEDs light up to show when the keypad is powered or mute is engaged and which source is selected. From any keypad, you can turn the entire system off or activate a Party mode so all zones play the same music.
up the System6 was pretty straight forward. I ran Cat-5 cable from each key pad to the controller and speaker cable from the controller to the speakers. (Elan uses a unique network-cable pin layout, so off-the-shelf Cat-5 cable has to be modified per its instructions.) Once all the connections are made, the keypads power up and the IR activity light on the front of the System6 blinks when buttons are pressed.
Elan's Via Tools software and “learner” (a small black box that goes between a computer and the keypad) are required to program the keypads, and while the programming itself is not overly difficult, these tools are available only to Elan dealers, which rules out a DIY install. A bonus is that each keypad can be programmed independently, so if you like the buttons arranged differently on different pads, or you want to deny access to a particular source from certain pads, you can do it. Programming can be stored on the computer for easy recall and changes, and downloading it into a keypad takes just seconds.
Elan offers a cornucopia of optional gear. The Z600 Com-m Controller ($960) lets you use any telephone in the house to page someone over all the speakers in the system, and the Z880 eight-source/zone switcher ($930) distributes video. Remote sources can be connected to the system using the IRAWP module ($250). The System6 can also be used with Elan's outstanding Via! touchscreen controller ($1,700!), which can display color video and offers virtually unlimited programming possibil-ities.
Elan's System6 produced warm, full-sounding music and coaxed better bass from the Definitive Technology Studio Monitors in Zone 3 (the bedroom) than any of the other systems in the bunch. It also played noticeably louder, never sounding strained even on material that tripped up the other systems. Female vocalists, like Norah Jones, sounded open and natural, with lots of ambience and texture. The keypads were intuitive to use and should be easy for any member of the family to master.
PDF: Fast Facts
NetStreams is relatively new to housewide audio, but it has quickly emerged with some innovative products. The basic Musica system distributes four sources to six zones.
The heart of Musica is the MU4602 Audio Distribution Center, or ADC (rear in photo above, back panel below, $1,600), which has only a single power LED on its front panel. All the action happens around back, where you'll find six RJ-45 sockets and six two-pin connections for each keypad, stereo RCA inputs for four sources, and four minijack IR outputs. Three more two-pin connectors are provided for a separate power controller and a door-bell/phone mute, along with a two-way RS-232 communications port.
The ADC comes with a remote control (far left) that mirrors the buttons found on the keypad (center left), which includes a stereo amp for the local speakers. Local sources are easily added with AP300 audio ports (middle, $130 each) — they appear on the keypad's screen as Ext. Audio and are available to that zone. The AP300 includes a stereo RCA input and RCA line outputs so you can connect a powered subwoofer or outboard power amp. A minijack serves as either a local IR output or an input for the local source.
NetStreams offers three different but identical-looking keypads for the ADC, and I set up one of each kind. The basic keypad ($400) has a 25-watt-per-channel amplifier. For $500, you can step up to 50 watts per channel, and for $600, you get FM, too, with plentiful tuning options. Each of the ten buttons on the righthand side is dual-purpose — if you push and hold one, it sends a secondary command, providing 20 commands in all, including transport controls and adjustments for volume, balance, bass, and treble. Pressing and holding the off button powers the entire system down. The remaining buttons are a source toggle and a menu selector surrounded by cursors. The LCD screen indicates the source selection, activity in other zones, and the current volume setting, with a choice of amber or green backlighting. There are 40 choices available for source names.
Musica requires running Cat-5 cable and speaker wire from the ADC to each keypad, then speaker wire from the keypad to each speaker and Cat-5 cable from the keypad to the local-audio port, if any. Each keypad has two RJ-45 jacks for the Cat-5 input and output. There are also screw-down connections for power input and speaker output, but I found that the ones for the speakers were reversed — following the labels connected my speakers out of phase.
is done directly into a keypad, and the manual walks you through the procedure. Once you complete the programming, powering the keypad down “teaches” all of the commands to the other pads. Anyone who's ever worked with a learning remote control should breeze through the process. I had my three sources (CD, DVD, cable box) set up in less than 10 minutes.
Home computer networks are becoming increasingly common, and NetStreams' MUR2E Network Interface ($450) lets you take advantage of one. Once you connect the MUR2E to your home network and the Musica ADC's RS-232 port, and install the supplied Windows software on a networked PC, you'll be able to control all of Musica's functions from any computer on the network. Each zone is independently accessible, and your entire home can be synced to the same volume setting and source selection for, say, a housewide party. Computer navigation and control are simple and worked without a hitch.
Given the power ratings, I was expecting decent volume from the Musica system. However, the 25-watt-per-channel keypad just didn't have enough oomph to fill a large room, and the dynamic range seemed limited. I usually found myself pushing the volume setting up to 30 or higher (out of 35, tops). The sound using the 50-watt pad was noticeably fuller, but it still couldn't match the volume or richness I heard from the Elan or ZōN systems, which have lower rated power (40 and 30 watts per channel, respectively).
Music sounded trebly, without much bass, making it seem almost harsh at higher volumes. FM reception when using the high-end keypad was on par with my A/V receiver. Operating the system using the keypad was a treat, sort of like having a universal remote in each room.
PDF: Fast Facts
Oxmoor, a pro-audio specialist and former exclusive provider of sound and automation technology to Imax theaters, introduced its ZōN (say it like “zone”) system in 2002. The base system provides control of nine music sources in four zones.
The ZR-98 router that distributes the music doesn't resemble a traditional A/V component at all and is designed to be hidden away (shown above, $1,159). It works with ZIM-4 input modules (front right in photo, $498 a pair) and ZAC-60 “keypads” (front left, $599 each).
Practically alone among multiroom systems, ZōN is all-digital. You connect one source component to the router and one to each ZIM-4 module. Both offer optical and coaxial digital audio as well as analog inputs, but any analog input signals go to a 24-bit analog-to-digital converter built into the router and stay in the digital domain until the 30-watt-per-channel amps in the keypads send analog sigals to the speakers. The router has RJ-45 jacks for all connections with the input modules and the keypads. There's also a minijack for an IR emitter and an RJ-11 jack that serves as an RS-232 port for connection to a PC (necessary for programming), plus four bays for expansion modules.
At first glance, the ZAC-60 appears to have only a volume knob — an incredibly stylish, ultra-cool volume knob. It offers all the functionality of a traditional keypad, however, because the “knob” is a multifunction jog/wheel controller: Press it, and an input menu you can scroll through by turning the wheel appears in the blue-backlit LCD window; you press again to select one. Press and hold it briefly for a menu of other functions, including bass, treble, balance, and loudness adjustments as well as a choice among three preset equalization curves. Press and hold it for about 5 seconds to turn the keypad off.
When the ZAC-60 is on, a light blue glow surrounds the jog/wheel, the current source is shown in the window, and the current volume setting is indicated by a small blue light in the ring around the center of the wheel. Each keypad in the ZōN system also incorporates an intercom and comes with a wafer-thin remote control (not shown).
is virtually identical to that for the A-Bus system. Cat-5 wire runs from the ZR-98 router to each keypad and input module and speaker wire from the keypad to each speaker. Each keypad has spring-clip speaker connectors and an RJ-45 jack for the router connection.
is done on a Windows PC connected to the router using the ZōN Config software included with the system. Once the connection is established, basic setup takes about 10 minutes. You can label all the zones and inputs, and any inputs you aren't using can be eliminated to speed up the keypad selection process. You can also set whether a zone should receive pages, the paging volume, and whether certain sources (like a cable box) should be barred from certain zones, like a child's room.
Programming the system to control your source components requires the optional ZIR-232 Device Commander module (not shown, $239), which offers both IR and RS-232 system control. You install the module in one of the router's expansion bays — a simple procedure — and it'll then appear on the ZōN Config setup menu.
The ZIR-232 has an onboard library of control codes for thousands of components, so programming it might be as easy as selecting the type of component, the manufacturer, and the model number from a list. Of my three source components, two were in the database, but I had to “teach” the system its commands for the third. Once learning is complete, you assign graphical icons to each command.
For rooms that might require multiple speaker pairs or that need more power, the optional Direct Box ($149) allows the ZAC-60 to feed an external amp.
The ZōN system had plenty of volume and delivered better bass than the other Cat-5-based systems. The sound in each of my three zones seemed like it was coming from a conventional amplifier rather than a small digital amp crammed into a double-gang wall box. Music played through my CD player's digital output yielded more presence and a fuller, ultimately more pleasing sound than through its analog output, which the ZōN router converted to digital — though discs recorded at high levels distorted when I cranked the volume. While basic system control was pretty easy, it was tricky to issue more complex commands. Only six icons can appear at any time in the LCD window, so you have to “page” through many screens to access all of a component's functions.
PDF: Fast Facts
All of these systems accomplished one thing — they got me listening to more music. When playing music is as simple as walking to a keypad in your bedroom or bathroom and hitting a couple of buttons, there's just no reason not to listen.
With an A-Bus-capable receiver, the system is a low-cost, easy-hookup alternative to the rudimentary “Room 2” facilities on most receivers. And if you use an A-Bus hub instead of or in addition to a receiver, you can get true multisource capability. While the Russound keypads don't offer any of the system control of the others evaluated here, they do incorporate IR sensors to pass along commands from your regular remote handset.
The system's keypad is visually appealing and easy to work with. Volume levels from the 25-watt pads were low but adequate for smaller rooms. A system built around the more powerful pads — with an FM tuner in every zone — is def initely the way to go. Add the ability to control the entire system from your home network, and you have a compelling system.
For sheer wow factor, ZōN is the winner. Everyone who visited my home while this system was installed gravitated to the sexy, glowing control pad. Besides that, the sound quality was excellent, and being able to handle digital signals from your sources puts the ZōN in a class by itself. The system's configuration options and virtually unlimited expandability allow flexibility and an easy upgrade path. And the built-in pager makes it an excellent intercom.
Sound quality was the best in this group, even better than the ZōN system's, and the Elan was easy to operate using the S6KP pads, though adding the companion Z150 numerical pad is a worthwhile upgrade — or a Via! panel if the budget allows. With the plethora of options available from Elan, this system could become nearly anything you might need. However, DIYers are left out in the cold.
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Category 5 (Cat-5) cable High-speed network cabling terminated by RJ-45 connectors. IR emitter A device that transmits infrared commands from the system to source components. keypad A wall-mounted remote control for a whole-house system. multisource A whole-house system that can distribute more than one music source at the same time to different zones, or areas of the house. multizone A whole-house system that can distribute music to different rooms or combinations of rooms. source A CD player, AM/FM/satellite radio, or any other component that supplies an audio signal. zone One or more rooms or areas in a whole-house system that receive music from the same source. |