home audio multi channel set up

[NAILER341]

i am looking into expanding my stereo system to a "multi room" deal.
i want to put some speakers in various rooms in the house, as well as on the patio, and by the barbque.

i have been looking into some various equipment to get this done, and thought i'd ask some of you audiophiles what you thought about the variopus brands i have been looking at.

here are a couple of brands for speakers, and multi channel amps i have been looking into.

russound amp:

RUSS DPA4.8 8CHANNEL AMPLIFIER

Russound Announces A New and Improved 8 Channel Amplifier.The DPA-4.8 is a powerful 8-channel (4 stereo pairs) amplifier that combines outstanding sound quality with the features desired in a typical custom multi-room installation.
The DPA-4.8 is rack mountable and the elegant front panel has four LED's, which provide a visual indication of the active zones.
Sophisticated operation, high power output and many unique features make this an ideal amplifier for both multi-source / multi-zone systems and / or home theater systems.

Features: ? Twin-torroidal power supplies-Provides high performance sound through the most demanding action adventure movie, or 1812 overture.
? Bus or Line Inputs- Provides flexibility, which makes the DPA-4.8 the perfect amplifier for all Multi-Zone, and Home Theater installations.
? Stereo I Bridge-Mono zone selector -For installations where more power to a zone is required. Ideal for power zones of stereo and mono at the same time using just one amplifier.
? Signal Sensing Inputs -No need to worry about the annoying pre-amplifier pops at turn- on, which can damage speakers.
Each amplifier sections will turn on once an audio signal is sensed or turn off when an audio signal is no longer present.
? Individual gain controls for each channel -Great for setting a limit on maximum volume output to a zone, or to fine tune the balance between left and right speakers.
? Adjustable mute delay- Eliminates false turn-off of the amplifier during soft passages in music or long pauses between songs.
Can be adjusted from minimum delay of 25 seconds to a maximum delay of 10 minutes.
Technical Information:? Audio Power Output: 50W @ 8ohms, 75W @ 4ohms per channel x 8.
? Bridgeable power output: 100W @ 8ohms
? Frequency response: 20-20kHz ?0.3dB
? THD: 0.05% @ 8ohms, 0.075% @ 4 Ohms
? Signal to noise ration: 85dB
? Input Sensitivity: 400mV Line
? Input Impedance: 22k ohms
? Power Supply: 120VAC to 230VAC
60 Hz to 50 Hz
? Dimensions. 19"W x 13.5"D x 5.25"H
(48.3 x 34.3 x 13.3cm)
? Weight: 32 1bs. (14.5kg)
? UL, CSA, CE, FCC approvals







the speakers i have been looking at are primarily "jamo" brand, and infinity.
http://www.jamo.com/

i need something in the house that stands 35" or less in height so it fits into their spaces in the entertainment center.

they will be hooked to my harman kardon avr 510 receiver , and or the multi channel additional amp.

any information on these items, or other suggestions are appreciated.

[Dan-H]

I've found good info searching here.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/

My advice is try to listen to anything you can before buying.

[speaceman]

The house we moved into was pre wired with 4 sets of speakers in various parts of the house (living room, bedroom, patio, etc).

I didn't bother with doing anything with the speakers until recently when I felt like upgrading my old (8 years or so) surround amp for one that did digital surround).

Anyway, you can get away with any amp that does mulitple zones so long as you buy a speaker switcher to run the various speakers. (the selector get's hooked into the 2nd zone on the amp and you pick which room you want to play music in with the selector)

Of course, this is not really an "audiophile" set up, but if you just want to get music to various parts of your house with out having an expectation that it has to sound exceptional, then this would be a good, relatively inexpensive way to go.

I went with a denon A/V surround amp, but most mid range and up surround amps will do mulitple zones.

A decent speaker selector will run you $130 to 160 or so. Speakers are up to you, but the ones we have that came with the house are the recessed in the wall type, and they sound okay.

Personally, if I had to buy my own speakers, I would have gotten a decent multidirectional bookshelf speaker for the various rooms and just mounted them in the corners of the ceilings.

Anyway, please feel free to discount what I've listed here if you're going for the complete "audiophile" experience. I know how that goes and the set up I listed above would not make you happy.

[speaceman]

Jamo makes speaker selectors, BTW. That is what I ended up getting. You can see them on their website.

I couldn't see if yourr H/K amp can do muliple zones. You could always hook the speaker selector to the "b" channel, although that is less than ideal because you will not be able to run your surround at the same time. I don't know if that makes a difference to you.

[Jeeper]

I recently installed a complete home system that includes mutiple zones. Main surround in the family room, zone for out-doors including patio and around the pool and spa, zone for formal living room, and a zone for game room and master bedroom. All zones are capable of independant input (CD, DVD, Tuner etc.). All control is through a Phillips TSU7000 ProntoPro touchpad remote.

I used a combination of in-wall/in-ceiling speakers including Sonance 831D's, 831DR's and S622TR's. Subwoofer is a Velodyne SPL1000 IIB.

REceiver is Yamaha RXV1400 - 7 channel.
Amp is Sonance 260MKII - 3 zone built in speaker switches
Power center is a Monster Cable MPHTS3600
DVD is Pioneer DV45A
CD changer is Yamaha CDC585.
TV is Samsung HLN567W

There's probably more but that's the basic stuff. BTW...the remote is WAY COOOOOL!

Jeeper