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Modernizing a traditional wired speaker home

  • 9 August 2021
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G

Hello--I have a home with a 10 year old wired ceiling speaker system with about 7 different zones.  All those zones are connected in the basement to one integrator--all the speaker wires go into that device.  A main screen exists on a 1st floor wall where you can select which source you want to play in any room.  For example, I can select “kitchen” then “ipod” (OMG) or “back deck” and “FM radio”.  There is an AUX based docking station mounted in the wall there for a 1st Gen Ipod.  (I imagine this was very hot in 2010)  Because this system isn’t current, we end up either using FM Radio on it; or just using one of our four Alexa devices to play the music from a source we like (Pandora, Amazon Music, etc).

Note: also wired into that integration system is a DVD player, a BlueRay player, and what looks like a Serius/XM receiver--all sources for different zones that have either TVs or just ceiling speakers.

How do I use this existing system of wired speaker zones, to upgrade to something that is “smart”?  Should we replace the “integration box” in the basement with a Sonos product that can integrate all those zoned speakers? 

Thanks for any help.

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Best answer by melvimbe 9 August 2021, 16:17

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1 reply

melvimbe

“Smart” is a rather vague term, so it’s difficult to say what you need to do in order to reach your goal of having a smart system.  Are you saying you want to be able to control your system with phones and tablets?  If so, you may want to look at product from the original manufacturer first, to see if the have a WiFi module + app that would allow you to do that sort of control.

You should also clarify what sources you want to play audio for.  Are there TVs in some of these rooms that you want to be part of the system? Is every room just 2 pairs of speakers.

It would also be helpful to now the brand and model of your current amp (‘Ingegrator’) and possibly some pics of the setup.

Just FYI, with Sonos, you would need Amps to power ceiling speakers.  Each amp would be one source and volume, with the ability to group amps together, to play the same audio.  So essentially, you would need 7 Amps.  You can power two pair (or 3 with Sonance speakers) off the same amp, but they would be same source and volume.  Each amp can also play audio from a TV via HDMI-ARC, and you would need an HDMI cable between the TV a amp.

Sonos can do whole home audio, it’s designed for that.  However, that does not mean it’s the best solution given the system you want to replace/upgrade, with whatever goals you want to achieve.

Danny
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