3. A basic two-room audio system
The term 'multi-room audio' can sound complex and costly. But a simple two-room (or two-zone) setup might already be a possibility in your home – with electronics you may already own. Check to see if your stereo or AV-Receiver is multi-room capable. You might be surprised.
Using your stereo
If your stereo system has an A/B speaker switch, you can already set up a basic two-room audio system.
Position one pair of speakers in room 1 and a second pair in room 2.
Attach room 1's speakers to the 'A' connections (on the back of your stereo) and room 2's speakers to 'B'.
2-zone stereo Pros & Cons
- Quick and easy to set up
- Inexpensive
- Limited to one extra room
- Just one source (e.g. CD-Player) means you get the same song in both rooms
- Less speaker power – because you are splitting the amplification wattage across four speakers, rather than two
Using your AV Receiver
Because of its extra connectivity, an AV Receiver can offer more multi-room capability than a stereo system. As with a stereo system though, limitations depend on the brand and model you have.
If your AV Receiver has multi-zone/multi-source features you'll be able to set up a reasonably straightforward multi-room system.
The term 'multi-zone' means that you can play audio in more than one room or 'area'. 'Multi-source' means you can direct a different audio source (e.g. a CD player, DVD-player or iPod) to each different zone.
Every Denon AV Receiver we sell has multi-zone/multi-source features. Naturally, some models have more features than others.
Position your surround speakers in room 1 and your stereo speakers in room 2.
Hook your surround sound speakers into the back of the AV Receiver.
Connect a power amplifier to the AV Receiver (which will power the set of speakers in room 2) – recommended for maintaining speaker power, but not essential.
Connect room 2's speakers to the power amplifier.
Controlling the AV Receiver and other components from room 2
A simple way to control your components from room 2 is to use an infrared receiver (sure beats an inconvenient trip into room 1 to change anything). Once installed, you can fire your remote at the infrared receiver in room 2 and it will transmit the signal to your components in room 1.
This method is self powered and operates without plugging into any of your components. You can control several components from room 2. It's simple and very effective.
Here's how to do it:
Position an infrared receiver unit in the room 2. Choose from wall mounted (think 'light switch') and table top options.
Connect the infrared receiver unit with a 'connecting block' in room one.
Connect the infrared receiver unit to the connecting block using Cat-5 cable.
Connect up to four (or more) IR emitters to the connecting block.
Position one IR emitter eye over the remote sensor on each component in room 1 that you want to control from room 2.
The Russound IRK 1 pack can control two components from room 2. Other packs are available that support more devices (up to six).
N.B. You can still control each device in room 1 in the usual way – either directly or using the remote control
2-zone AV receiver Pros & Cons
- Surround sound in one of the two rooms
- Inexpensive
- Can play sound from two sources (e.g. radio and * DVD player) in two rooms simultaneously
- Can control several devices from two rooms
- Limited to one extra room
- Limited number of sources
- Juggling one set of remote controls between two rooms can bother some people
Multi-room Possibilities
The possibilities for sound throughout your home are endless, where do you begin? Right here: read this article and you'll be way ahead of the pack when it comes to thinking about the possibilities in your own home.