Today we have a guest blogger. Yes, indeed, my dear, sweet life-partner/soul mate/spousal unit, Craig. I asked him to write this (ok, nagged may be a better term) because this is something that he must make the decision on. Not me. So, I give you:
Multi Zone Audio Systems
That’s the topic of this entry. And no, I’m not the regular author of this blog. I’ve been asked by the regular author to step into the breach and write about a topic near and dear to my heart; a sound system for the house. The pay is rubbish but the fringe benefits are fantastic.
I believe this is a critically important component of our new home. This well-informed and obviously accurate opinion is based on our January 2009 visit to the Kroner’s new home in the bay area. During the first afternoon of our visit Martha and Jennifer were out running errands, so I was left alone in the house. Being an observant American male I noticed a control pad on the kitchen wall, and being an inquisitive and immature American male, I couldn’t resist checking out its purpose and capabilities.
It seems the control pad was an LCD screen, which was the gateway to Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound.” The pad allowed the operator (me) to select a particular sound source, and then select the room(s) into which this sound source would play. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Those of you who know me well can imagine the fun I had with this thing. And NO, I didn’t break it. I have Sirius/XM satellite radio in my car, and I noticed Sirius/XM was a sound source option. I also noticed it was possible to send this source into many individual zones in the house, or even the entire main floor. Since I knew my Sirius/XM stations, a Grateful Dead concert quickly filled the main floor. Then a Big Tracks concert, stuff like Deep Purple and Pink Floyd. Soon I settled on my favorite, Radio Margaritaville, which I played loud while drinking good wine and munching good snacks. Combine the concert, food, and wine with the open back doors bringing in the warm January California weather, and well, it simply doesn’t get any better. Unfortunately, er, I mean happily, the women returned with a random collection of children and the concert ended. No more grass skirts and coconut bras. Bummer.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then thank you Ken and Jennifer. I stole the idea for a multi zone audio system from you. We’re also stealing the wine room off the dining room from you, but you already know that one. When you and the kids visit we can compare and contrast.
So what I want, and I’m the sole decision maker here no matter what Martha says, is the following:
– An LCD control pad mounted in a convenient place in the living area, possibly in the kitchen and possibly in the breakfast nook. I suppose the kitchen would be more practical since it will get more traffic.
– Possibly two sound sources; for sure an MP3/iPod dock, likely wireless, and possibly Sirius/XM satellite radio. Ideally I’d also like the ability to use a MacBook as a source, along with the MP3/iPod. To be able to just open up the MacBook and its iTunes would be very nice. The good part about going iPod/MacBook only is it would be simpler and cost less up front, and it wouldn’t incur quarterly fees from Sirius/XM. The good part of satellite radio is it would give us a huge menu of sound to choose from. Like when our good friend Charlie comes to visit I could play the Dead all over the living space, which Charlie would love, and which would drive our dear friend Judy completely bats.
– Four zones, that’s the multi zone part. The zones would be the kitchen & family room, the breakfast nook, the living room, and the dining room. There would be no music capability in the bedroom wing or in the bonus room/workout room/office.
– Each zone would have a sufficient number and quality of speakers in the ceiling to play Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” softly, crisply, and sweetly, or Meatloaf’s “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” at 100 decibels.
– OOPS, I almost forgot, I also need an outdoor zone for the back patio, with outdoor speakers. The thought of sitting on the patio on summer late afternoons and evenings, with the grill grilling, the wine and beer chilling, and Jimmy Buffett’s guitar strumming, now hold that thought and sigh.
– And I don’t think I need the capability to send different sources to different zones. The living space is so open through the house I just don’t think it’s practical to pipe different sounds into different spaces.
And that’s what I want out of life. If I were in the Mr. Universe competition (watch out Sean Connery), and they asked me what my greatest wish was, would I say “world peace?” Heck no! I’d say “a high quality multi zone audio system for our mountain home.” That plus a couple more motorcycles and maybe a P-51 Mustang, thank you very much.
I’ve done some internet research and found two companies with products which meet these specs. One is NuVo Technologies, whose NuVo Simplese appears to match well, and the other is Audioaccess, whose PX-700 system also is a good match. NuVo is out of Hebron, Kentucky, and has many authorized dealers and installers along the Colorado Front Range. I’m having trouble finding out more about Audioaccess, plus they have only 1 authorized dealer for the entire Rocky Mountain West, so maybe that tells me something.
So for those of you who remember the Bill Murray/Harold Ramis movie “Stripes” from 1981, you’ll recall at the end Private Winger tells us “everybody’s coming back to my place after.” Once we get the house built and the audio system installed you all have to come back to our place after.
And that’s a fact, Jack.
If you don’t want to pay fees for Sirius/XM radio you can always get Radio Margaritaville online once you hook up the Mac
OK Craig but if you break out the spatulas…