Audio planning

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Sounds like you want to stream music, in my opinion, Sonos is worth looking at. You could add the “in ceiling” or “wall mount” speakers along with a multi channel amp and a Sonos Connect and simplify the convenience of your streaming. My bet is you’d be far ahead cost wise as well.
 
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I got the Monoprice system hooked up and I must admit I'm impressed. The sound is clear and the bass very decent without taking the more than reasonable price into consideration. The system is powered by the new Sonos Amp (2-120W channels).

I ordered a second sub/ satellite pair and should have that installed later this week. I'll do a full write up when I do because the directions aren't wonderful.

For $200 bucks.... why even consider anything else???

The wiring and connections are just temporary until the next set comes. The sub is only partially buried too.

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CasaBlanca said:
Sounds like you want to stream music, in my opinion, Sonos is worth looking at. You could add the “in ceiling” or “wall mount” speakers along with a multi channel amp and a Sonos Connect and simplify the convenience of your streaming. My bet is you’d be far ahead cost wise as well.
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I agree for that also if streaming and if installing yourself.
bdavis466 said:
I got the Monoprice system hooked up and I must admit I'm impressed. The sound is clear and the bass very decent without taking the more than reasonable price into consideration. The system is powered by the new Sonos Amp (2-120W channels).

I ordered a second sub/ satellite pair and should have that installed later this week. I'll do a full write up when I do because the directions aren't wonderful.

For $200 bucks.... why even consider anything else???

The wiring and connections are just temporary until the next set comes. The sub is only partially buried too.

20190506_155403.jpg

20190506_155403.jpg


20190506_155427.jpg

20190506_155427.jpg

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so Brian are the satellites metal or plastic? Sub I assume plastic?
 
CasaBlanca said:
Sounds like you want to stream music, in my opinion, Sonos is worth looking at. You could add the “in ceiling” or “wall mount” speakers along with a multi channel amp and a Sonos Connect and simplify the convenience of your streaming. My bet is you’d be far ahead cost wise as well.
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I'm very familiar with the Sonos Connect:amp. I got one as a birthday gift for my dad with some Polk Atriums for his deck. He has been very happy with it. It’s on my list for amps.
 
I've been dabbling (also as a side profession designing and installing AV speakers) in the audio world for 20+ years as well and recently installed 4 zones of outdoor speaker depot speakers on our deck, patio, and pool/spa area and have been very impressed. You can usually find open box deals on ebay for nearly half the price of retail which is a STEAL IMO.

Here's my setup:

Receiver: Integra 30.4 from accessories 4 less (200-ish) and has full app control for source, volume, tone controls, etc
Speaker selector/switch: monoprice 8 position, impedance matching for about 20 bucks
Deck speakers: OSD Audio AP840 Outdoor Patio Speakers - Pair (I paid 150/pair on sale)
Patio speakers: OSD Audio AP850 Outdoor Patio Speakers Pair (I paid 150/pair on sale on ebay)
Pool speakers (2 sets) Outdoor Rock Speaker OSD Audio RS850 ( Paid 120/pair open box on ebay, these are really nice)
Source: Sonos connect (highly recommend this), you can also stream spotify directly from the receiver I bought but I like this control better
Subwoofer: JBL control SB210 from ebay for ~150 ish (hooking up this weekend, will probably add 1-2 more of these). Will likely try out different setups this summer
Sub amp: Crown XLS2000 I had laying around, using the 12V trigger from the receiver to turn on/off automatically
Wiring: 12/2 southwire 100% stranded copper from Lowes (250' spool is about 100 bucks)

BTW I've also heard good things regarding the inexpensive monoprice sub/satellite setup above.
 
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I just did a similar set up at my buddy shop he wanted multiple zones but on a tight budget so we used a receiver that I had laying around any hooks an iPad up to it for his streaming services. I also grabbed a speaker selector from Mono price because their dirt cheap and they work. I waited for a sale from one of our distribution houses and then grabbed a bunch of speakers to light up the entire shop which is multiple rooms and a very large warehouse. Some of the guys like their work area louder than others so I put volume controllers on the wall so that they can balance the sound. They all listen to the same stuff all day so we didn’t have to worry about multiple zones but we were able to achieve a nice even sound.
 
I got the second 2.1 installed and I really like it. It's surprising how loud I can have the music but how little the sound carries out of the yard.

There are no doubt higher quality and better sounding systems out there but this Monoprice setup has an amazing performance to value ratio.
 
An
bdavis466 said:
I got the second 2.1 installed and I really like it. It's surprising how loud I can have the music but how little the sound carries out of the yard.

There are no doubt higher quality and better sounding systems out there but this Monoprice setup has an amazing performance to value ratio.
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and this is a perfect example of the laws of deminishing returns with audio anymore. You just don’t have to spend a lot and so many of these high end companies oem out thier product you don’t really know what you have under the hood unless you look. For all you know Brian you might have Russound or sonance speakers. You don’t know if monoprice actually produces them or if they were produced by another company for monoprice and rebadged.

We used to see this a lot with NAD thier DVD players were great audio players causexthey did make thier own DAC’s but the video side was Toshiba. The exact same chips and drives were used in that player for video as thier regular off the shelf players but people thought the picture was better.
 
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jimim said:
An

and this is a perfect example of the laws of deminishing returns with audio anymore. You just don’t have to spend a lot and so many of these high end companies oem out thier product you don’t really know what you have under the hood unless you look. For all you know Brian you might have Russound or sonance speakers. You don’t know if monoprice actually produces them or if they were produced by another company for monoprice and rebadged.

We used to see this a lot with NAD thier DVD players were great audio players causexthey did make thier own DAC’s but the video side was Toshiba. The exact same chips and drives were used in that player for video as thier regular off the shelf players but people thought the picture was better.
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Thats the truth...in my searches I've seen quite a few oddly similar looking products for many times the cost. If I had a resort or some high-end entertaining area I'd look to one of the the more expensive options but for a yard where the speakers will be kicked like a field goal football, wires crewed by the dog and little girls dancing on top of the subwoofers, this will do just fine.

My total investment was just over $1000 for the Sonos Amp, speaker wire, 2 subwoofers and 4 satelites. The Amp was almost 3/4 of the cost but I guess thats probably how it should be
 
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bdavis466 said:
Thats the truth...in my searches I've seen quite a few oddly similar looking products for many times the cost. If I had a resort or some high-end entertaining area I'd look to one of the the more expensive options but for a yard where the speakers will be kicked like a field goal football, wires crewed by the dog and little girls dancing on top of the subwoofers, this will do just fine.

My total investment was just over $1000 for the Sonos Amp, speaker wire, 2 subwoofers and 4 satelites. The Amp was almost 3/4 of the cost but I guess thats probably how it should be
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Sounds like you’re happy with it. I'm starting to lean towards these now, as I think my kids will be splashing quite a bit near them and playing in the area. Not sure I like the idea of the paper cones for longevity purposes though. More ? required I guess.
 
I admit to being mostly ignorant when it comes to audio setup. We paid an AV guy to set up our media room but don't really want to pay top dollar at this point for our outdoor sound. Do you need 2 amps if you use 2 subs and 4 satellites? Sonos is mentioned above, but is there a specific kind of amp to get so only 1 amp is needed for this set up? What about adding higher speakers inside a covered patio...can those be linked to the 2 sub/4 satellites but on separate zones for volume? Is there an audio for dummies 101? We've spent so much money on other pool related things at this point I'd love to save some money and do some DIY on the audio if possible.
 
Cephrael said:
Sounds like you’re happy with it. I'm starting to lean towards these now, as I think my kids will be splashing quite a bit near them and playing in the area. Not sure I like the idea of the paper cones for longevity purposes though. More ? required I guess.
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For how cheap they r you can toss them out every few years and be ahead.

I will say my Kevlar cones for outside are great. Even in the winter when it’s really cold. I like them a lot. Proficient rounds. Ceiling mounted. In sealed boxes I made.
 
Poolmama! said:
I admit to being mostly ignorant when it comes to audio setup. We paid an AV guy to set up our media room but don't really want to pay top dollar at this point for our outdoor sound. Do you need 2 amps if you use 2 subs and 4 satellites? Sonos is mentioned above, but is there a specific kind of amp to get so only 1 amp is needed for this set up? What about adding higher speakers inside a covered patio...can those be linked to the 2 sub/4 satellites but on separate zones for volume? Is there an audio for dummies 101? We've spent so much money on other pool related things at this point I'd love to save some money and do some DIY on the audio if possible.
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I am running 8 nuvo satellites and 1 sub on a nuvo player that is 120 amp per channel rated. If u buy the new higher powered amp you can run the above bitcthe older sonos amp is only rated for 1 pair but not to say you can’t run them. If you aren’t blasting them remember the draw will be very low. Even at moderate volumes the draw would be low but I’m just foingcbuy best practice.

If the amp can handle the load again for another set of speakers you. An use a speaker selector and volume controls for the different zones to control volume. As I said before this is what I did in my buddy’s shop and have done in home for years. Again amp jistchas to be large enough.

Now to run a bunch of satellites with a sub and then another zone of audio with a volume controller off that. I wouldn’t. I would have an array only on its own zone for sure.
 
Poolmama! said:
I admit to being mostly ignorant when it comes to audio setup. We paid an AV guy to set up our media room but don't really want to pay top dollar at this point for our outdoor sound. Do you need 2 amps if you use 2 subs and 4 satellites? Sonos is mentioned above, but is there a specific kind of amp to get so only 1 amp is needed for this set up? What about adding higher speakers inside a covered patio...can those be linked to the 2 sub/4 satellites but on separate zones for volume? Is there an audio for dummies 101? We've spent so much money on other pool related things at this point I'd love to save some money and do some DIY on the audio if possible.
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My recommendation is that you buy the Sonos:Connect, one per zone that you’d like. Then look on EBay for a decent used multichannel amp. Yes there is some risk involved with used gear, but the savings are worth it in my opinion. You’ll pay like 20¢ on the dollar vs new. Look for solid brands (brands the sales people at Best Buy have never heard of before): B&K, Niles, Adcom, Emotiva, Lexicon, Nad, Crowne, Anthem, Marantz, etc. Something with six more channels, and 60 W per channel. Should be able to get one on eBay for about $2-300…
Typically you can assign channels to inputs, so if you have two Sonos units, you can specify which speakers get powered by which.
If you buy an amp from a reputable company You’ll know immediately by its weight... Quality components and transformers are heavy.
 
The array runs on 2 channels only. If he has 2 zones all he needs is a regular sonos piece and use the new sonos with the bigger amp for the array. Easy setup and no worrying about amp triggers or keeping them in all the time. Plus the new sonos can easily run the array and the older smaller amp sonos run the other 2 speaker zone. That would be way easier for him being not a huge audio buff.
 
jimim said:
For how cheap they r you can toss them out every few years and be ahead.

I will say my Kevlar cones for outside are great. Even in the winter when it’s really cold. I like them a lot. Proficient rounds. Ceiling mounted. In sealed boxes I made.
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That’s another thing I need to consider. Winter use around the fire pit.
Are these any good? Still relatively cheap.
 
jimim said:
The array runs on 2 channels only. If he has 2 zones all he needs is a regular sonos piece and use the new sonos with the bigger amp for the array. Easy setup and no worrying about amp triggers or keeping them in all the time. Plus the new sonos can easily run the array and the older smaller amp sonos run the other 2 speaker zone. That would be way easier for him being not a huge audio buff.
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This.

My Way, with the multi channel apps, it’s probably cheaper, but I’m biased because I enjoy tinkering and setting things up.
Jimim is spot on for keeping things simple.
 

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