# Help designing a perfect audio setup!! PLZ READ!



## Vav00m

OK, this is the setup..  if anyone has any suggestions, big or small, PLEASE post, it may or will help, and i have a large budget for this project ($200-$2000, more if it's worth it).... SO, this is where i stand.. My computer needs to feed audio to several sound systems, and possibly video to some lcd screens.  this is what i have now:

My computer, audio sent to 6.1 surround (Logitech X620 [in the computer room]), split from there to a 6.1 surround sound home audio amp (Panasonic SA-XR25 [in the living room]) and speakers, and split once again to a 5.1 surround mini-system (Sony 991AV[in the kitchen]), THEN, my video card (ATI 9600SE) has a handy TV out which has the S-video going to the digital projector (Hitachi PJ-TX10, which has VGA-in, not using...), and split to a 36" tv in the kitchen.. NOW, what i wanna do is have S-Video going to the kitchen, and use VGA-in on the projector, but i have to get an adapter, easy pickup at the local computer store, no biggie (i have 2 DVI on the vid card)..  

*THE CONFUSION:*
10,000,000,000 wires in my house.  Low quality sound due to splittage.

*WHAT I WANT:*
Use of optical cables, even if it requires upgrading the sound card to an audigy4 or higher, upgrading logitech speakers to the logitech Z-5500, upgrading the sony minisystem, and I want to stretch my audio signal to go to two more sets of surround, both downstairs.  Wireless audio transer?  Optical Splitting?  Use of plain old magic?  Should I get another PCI-based video card to send clones of my video picture to the kitchen and the basement?  Maybe I should photoshop up my system in a diagram and repost it.. I've spent probably $15,000 altogether in audio/video equipment.. I just dont think it's up to par..

THANKS for readin! Now tell me what you think!

in case it helps: my computer specs...
CPU - AMD Athlon XP 2200+
Mobo - ASUS A7V880
RAM - 768MB DDR PC3200
Video - ATI Radeon 9600SE AGP 8x
Optical 1 - BenQ 52x CD-RW
Optical 2 - Liteon DVD-ROM
Sound - SB Live! 24bit
Speakers - Logitech X620 6.1


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## Vav00m

*diagram*

here's a quick diagram

http://www.geocities.com/xuolaiv69/thesetupmedium.jpg


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## backseatgunner

In that diagram there will be a loss of quality because of the quality and splittage. When you split the signal, split all of it at the same time, and do it in a reciever. There's some special recievers that will split the connection without loss of quality. However, they are expensive, and are mostly used in splitting audio between different rooms of a house.


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## mega10169

Is it absolutely necessary that you need 5.1 surround sound in your kitchen? Because a plain old wireless a/v connection would make getting sound and video to your kitchen much easier.
And you could just split everything at the souncard if you dont want any quality loss.


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## Vav00m

nope, my kitchen amp has Optical out, not in.. so i have to use stereo RCA for the time being.. until i save up for a juicy Onkyo TX-NR901.. this amp has 2 Optial out ports, maybe that will help


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## Vav00m

mega10169 said:
			
		

> Is it absolutely necessary that you need 5.1 surround sound in your kitchen? Because a plain old wireless a/v connection would make getting sound and video to your kitchen much easier using something like this. Wireless S-video/RCA connection
> And you could just split everything at the souncard if you dont want any quality loss.




That's... not a wireless device.. it simply adapts coax cable to RCA-type... looks wireless though, doesn't it?  What are your thoughts on AirTunes or other WiFi devices..?


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## mega10169

Vav00m said:
			
		

> That's... not a wireless device.. it simply adapts coax cable to RCA-type... looks wireless though, doesn't it?  What are your thoughts on AirTunes or other WiFi devices..?


That was stupid of me...AirTunes is ok if all you want to do is stream audio, but the iTunes can only play to one location at a time, so say your streaming songs to a set of speakers in your living room from your PC, you can't use the iTunes to listen to music on your PC. But you could check out these Viewsonic WMA100 
Buffalo LinkTheatre


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## Vav00m

one zone at a time? Junk. I've been lookin around, and an expensive way to go is to pick up an Onkyo Nettune enabled amplifier and a couple Nettune server thingers, and it uses it's own Onkyo media player and whatnot.  I'd probably take this route if it would work with iTunes or have similar features.  It'd suck to spend $1000-$10,000 on equipment, just to lose out on nifty features like the visualizations or movie playback.  Can't win'm all.


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## elmarcorulz

you could try getting top of the range cables, this would give at least some quality back into the sound. but you do have alot of splittages


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## Vav00m

since my last post my system has been severely upgraded..

I now have 5.1 in my bedroom via a sony STR-DE845 amp,
6.1 surround in my kitchen via the old panasonic amp with Jamo/Paradigm speakers,
7.1 surround via a harman/kardon avr-635 amp with Jamo E875 speakers (my pride and joy),
5.1 surround in my brothers room via a Yamaha amp with sony speakers,
5.1 surround via a really poor grade Samsung amp in my basement.

That just about covers it.

The audio? Split using rca cables at the sound card, but now i'm using coax digital instead of analog.  It doesn't sound too bad, but I need a sound card upgrade badly.  Anyone have any additional ideas on connectivity?  

What do you think about the Creative X-FI sound card (coming soon)?


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## Vav00m

oh and I have a new set of goals which I hope to accomplish by the end of the year:

1) music played from the computer in every room of the house

2) put in a dvd in the living room and watch it in the kitchen with s-video [the tv doesn't have component] and surround sound

3) put in a dvd in the kitchen and watch it in the living room (less necessary, wont be used MUCH

4) [after i get my tv in my room] watch movies from kitchen/living room in my room/brothers room with component and digital sound [coax/optical]

5) [once the launch of xbox 360] play games in other rooms [paticularly the bedrooms/kitchen] without moving the system



There.  That's what I have to accomplish by the end of the year.  I'm horribly lazy, so let's see how much I can get done by then.

I'll post an updated diagram showing the wiring system tomorrow if i get a chance.

Thanks guys, you input is always helpful.


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## Vav00m

backseatgunner said:
			
		

> In that diagram there will be a loss of quality because of the quality and splittage. When you split the signal, split all of it at the same time, and do it in a reciever. There's some special recievers that will split the connection without loss of quality. However, they are expensive, and are mostly used in splitting audio between different rooms of a house.



I tried splitting the audio using my new harman kardon reciever through the house.  It worked AWESOME!!!  Problem: when at a party and someone wants to play an Xbox game in the living room, the rest of the house gets to hear the game instead of music.  BOO!!  Back to the drawing board.


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## SFR

Unless you listen to music 24 hours a day... and that’s all you do.. I do not understand your setup.

If you really have nothing better to do with your money... okay well, I still do not understand your setup....

Your Jamo speakers are way to expensive... actually your computer, no matter what card you get, will reduce the rest of your setup to above average... Going from analog to digital via an rca cable from your sound card directly to your amp/receiver.. will reduce the quality and increase the interference.... There are a few products out there that will bypass the sound card altogether which help to reduce the distortion.

Now the average time someone spends on a meal during the week is around 30 minutes (_The U.S. Market for Ready Meals and Side Dishes). A_ woman averages ~79 minutes a day while a man averages ~29 minutes... With that said, spending money on any kind of audio/video electronics in the kitchen - other than a little radio or cheap TV is, in my humble opinion, a waste of money... and keeping you in the kitchen way to long... Unless you have recipes on vcr/dvd or watch cooking shows and make the food at the same time they do... what is the point? Eating and watching TV make you fat enough while you sitting on the family room couch... image what it will do when you are 3 feet from the fridge...

Now I was practical when I bought my system almost 3 years ago... I will stick with 5.1 Infinity Primus speakers (2 3-Way Dual 6/12" Floorstanding loudspeakers,4 2-Way 6/12" Bookshelf Loudspeakers, C25 Center speakers, and a CSW-10 powered subwoofers) and my 7 channel harmon/kardon 525 receiver. My room is about 12 feet by 11 feet and I didnt go for overkill...


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## Vav00m

Yeah, my design is pretty inefficient in terms of signal loss and quality, but I try my hardest to have the loudest house on the block.

Yes, I pretty much listen to music 24 hours a day.

I see a few sounds cards in mind (namely the Creative X-FI) that I want to pick up because it has optical built in, eliminating the need for an analog connection.  I could also get one of those bad-ass amplified optical distribution blocks...  Or a full-blown A-Bus system (which my harman/kardon can harness), but I want to choose a system and stick with it, I don't want to waste money in cables and connectors if there is ANY other way... 

You misunderstand my kitchen, it's used almost more than the living room.  In my living room I have the 106" screen with a Hitachi digital projector, and for those of you who have less-than-stellar projectors, it sucks to watch TV during the day...  (the screen is best viewed at night)  When it's not dark enough outside, we watch TV in the kitchen.  I have brand new leather couches and a 36" tv in there, as we saw no use for a kitchen table or much other standard dining supplies.  We don't cook much in there, it's basically a second living room.  We're bachelors.

The living room is a different story.  We also have brand new couches in there, my brother likes his couches...  It's seriously hard to watch a movie in there anymore...  In the second link there, see those two beige couches?  There's a 600w Dahlquist sub mounted in each one.  It shakes you during the movie.  Crank it up and the neighbor below (in a duplex) can see pictures on her walls fall to their doom.  Clocks are no match for my system.  All the amps are fired up just about every waking our of the day.  I just recently got an alarm with a headphone jack so that I could patch that into my Sony amp and have some nice JBL speakers wake me up.  Always wanted to do that.

I'll try upload some pictures of our setup after I clean up.  We had a party of massive proportions here on the weekend and it's still a disaster...  Anyone recommend a sound card?

I plan on picking up another hard drive to store my music...  What's the best audio format to use (lossless).  I'm sick of 192k mp3's, I can definatly hear the difference... 

Any thoughts?


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## Vav00m

ok, here is a really sad rough sketch of my setup.. as you can tell, i got half way done and gave up.. NOW imagine you had to draw wires going from room to room, how would you configure it so that you could listen to music in every room, using digital coax or optical.. 

-i want to listen to music from the living room in every room
-i want to listen to music from bedroom 1 in every room
-i don't want to 'split' the cables and get lesser sound quality.. I CANT THINK OF HOW TO WIRE THIS.. i spent so much on it and now I have coax split everywhere and it sounds moderatly shoddy.. grr.. help if you can!


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## SFR

Hey, I was looking at Crutchfield and I noticed some of these.. they are pretty cool...


http://www.crutchfield.com/S-t5gmPkF76aD/cgi-bin/ProdGroup.asp?g=200650


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## Vav00m

those look pretty nifty.. i was hoping to use a-bus, but that can get costly, but ill look into the others.. thx


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## Vav00m

w00t I think i solved all my problems!!!

I picked up an Audio Authority 985DTV distribution amp






it splits component video and coax audio four ways, with expandability (you can branch two together, get eight way splitting.. three together = 12 way split, and so on. 

I got a DVI to Component adapter for my video card, and split component video to my bedroom, living room, kitchen, and my brothers room. 

I split the coax-audio the same way.  

I have a new sound card (M-Audio 7.1), bought off eBay (i got the AA-985DTV there too)

I have a new TV in my kitchen; a LG 42" Plasma display.. w00t!!  (that was my brothers purchase.  Praise him.  Xbox 360 looks so sweet on it).

My splitting problems are now over, the quality is perfect in every room.

Now what I want to get is a couple more 985DTVs (one in the kitchen and one in the living room), so you can choose what to listen to with ultimate freedom.  Something tells me that running like 12 sets of component video under my carpets is gonna look uber ugly, so i'm going to hold off for now.. 

Thanks guys for your input.  I'll keep posting here when I upgrade my system more and more so I can inform you on what works best.  

Also: I HIGHLY recommend going to www.audioauthority.com and checking out their available setups.  They also have a wicked cat-5 system, but I couldnt afford it right now..  It would be pretty sweet though, just running one cable to each room through the wall and have digital audio and component video.  Oh well, one day...

Anyone have a similar setup they could lend a thought to tweak my own?


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