Help me help a friend spec out a new HT/multi-room rig

[Voltron]

A friend who is into music but not up to speed on gear and not an audiophile wants a new system but doesn't know what to get.  He is looking for a new stereo/home theater setup that can also feed a couple of other rooms.  He installed speaker wire and CAT5 cable to various spots when he remodeled awhile back and now wants to take more advantage of the multi-room music idea.  The primary location will be a living room 5.1 home theater setup that will double as his 2-channel stereo listening location.  He also has speakers for the den/kitchen, a back deck, and an upstairs bedroom that he would like to be able to play as a separate zone or zones from the living room/HT. He would also like to have some level of control of the downstairs system from the other rooms if not too costly or too quirky.  Budget is $10-20K, and he is willing to buy some things used if that helps the budget and can be accomplished. 

 

Here are the details and requirements as I understand them, making an effort to avoid tl:dr responses or lack of any responses:

 

Living Room 5.1 Home Theater Surround/Stereo System (16’x12’x9’ tall)

 

Gots:

JVC QL-Y55F turntable (seems decent and he doesn't need more)

Panasonic DMP-BDT210 bluray player (may or may not be used)

 

Needs:

A/V Receiver -or- Preamp/Processor + one or more amps

CD or Universal disc player with DAC input,  and streaming capabilities.

Phono preamp (if AV receiver doesn’t have it built in)

5 Speakers (fronts capable of quality 2-ch listening) and a Subwoofer

RF universal remote control or else smartphone/tablet remote control

 

Other Rooms:

 

Gots:

Dahlquist DQ-8 Speakers for den/kitchen 

B&W WM6 outdoor speakers for back deck

B&W DM 1200 bookshelf speakers for the bedroom

 

 

With that stuff in mind to the extent it makes sense, I would like to recommend a couple different options for the main system.  One key question is powering all of the extra speakers.  Even if he has a second or third zone, he still has to power all of those speakers.  Perhaps he could wire both the den/kitchen and the deck to the same pair of speaker outputs on a mulit-channel amp or receiver, but that is hard to know if it will work.  Maybe he needs a couple multi-channel amps or perhaps just a separate amp for the other zone(s) would work.  I think he may need to forego the upstairs bedroom connection and just have a separate setup there because that would make 3 additional pairs of speakers, but I guess we should leave that option available for now.

 

I have thought generally about the Marantz receivers and pre/pro/amp setups but I want input from people who use them for 2-ch listening too. I wondered about Emotiva gear but I don't know any of it personally.  Although it may be out of balance with the budget and other gear, I thought about an Ayre universal player or an Oppo.  I also wondered about smartphone or tablet control as a concept.  I have no good ideas on speakers although I wish I had listened to the LREs that were at the California Audio Show recently because they supposedly sound good and are meant to be driven by AV receivers.

 

I had been thinking of Sonos for wireless control and possibly wireless speakers but he insists he wants to use the in-wall wiring and doesn't want a fancy wireless setup.  This still might be worth recommending as an alternative if anybody has a good solution based on Sonos or similar gear.

 

You get the point.  Any recommendations for components, speakers, control schemes, or the whole enchilada will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

[blessingx]

I know you mentioned wireless control, but about wireless streaming from phone/tablet? Does he have that need? 

 

One nice thing about Sonos system or the Audioengine D2 are they both create their own network. Pretty much plug and play. I don't have any experience with the Sonos, but with the D2 has been serving 24/96 files and I've yet to have a drop in the couple weeks it's been running. Pretty sure I've ever gone that long with the Squeezebox or Airport Express. 

 

Edited August 31, 2013 by blessingx

[Voltron]

I don't think he wants to stream from a phone or tablet, but he wants to be able to play digital files from a hard drive or computer.  Thanks for asking the question to remind me of that.

[swt61]

As for the remote speakers...How about using a couple of these as zone amps? They should have plenty of power for his needs, and if he sources the amps into/near the remote areas, the addition of a volume control could be quite handy.

 

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/amplifiers/products/a100

 

As for the 5.1 speaker system...If I were building one today, I would go pre/pro to active speakers. And I'd strongly consider the Emotiva Stealth 8 for Front LRC, and maybe Stealth 6 for rear or sides. Add an active sub and call it a day.

 

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/pro-series/products/stealth-8

 

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/pro-series/products/stealth-6

 

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/lfmEX.html

 

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-766

 

There is a plethora of pre/pro options to choose from, and I'm not that well versed on them, but I'd have to consider these two options closely...

 

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/umc200

 

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/975.html

 

For the universal disc player w/DAC inputs, I'd have to consider the budget friendly Oppo 105-BDP...

 

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-105/.

 

I happen to really like the JVC QL-Y55F, and was actively looking for one a few years back. I also remember really liking the Dahlquist DQ-8's back in the day.

 

Considering the JVC, I'd recommend the Parasound Zphono...

 

http://www.parasound.com/ParasoundZ/zphono.php

 

I really like the Harmony remotes...

 

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/harmony-remotes

Edited August 30, 2013 by swt61

[Voltron]

Awesome, Steve, thanks for the thoughts and the links.  Does Emotiva make a phono pre or rather make one that is worth considering?

[morphsci]

If he is a Mac person then airplay is the scheme I have settled on at home and in my office "suite" for moving all my music around from one central location.

All you need in each satellite room are speakers and amp ( or powered speakers) and an airplay capable DAC or an Airport Express and any old DAC.

I used to be a Logitech Harmony groupie but using Roomie Remote on my devil made phone and tablet beats the hell out of any Logitech remote I have used. Even with all the in app add-ons it is cheaper than all but the cheapest Harmony remotes.

[swt61]

Emotiva has phono inputs in a few of the stereo pre-amps, but no stand alone units. 

 

However, the Marantz AV7005 has a phono input, and has the addition of multi-channel balanced outs, which would be a preferred method of connecting the active speakers IMO.

 

http://us.marantz.com/us/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=AVSeparates&SubCatId=0&ProductId=AV7005

Edited August 30, 2013 by swt61

[Emooze]

The Marantz also has streaming over AirPlay or a home network which is one of the reasons their receivers are on my short list.

[Grahame]

AirPlay - not so much for him, but for when "stupid iPhone" owners (parse that as you wish) come over, and express astonishment that they can't play their tunes on his fancypants system, like they can on their mates boombox. Built in or AeX  as input to avoid 44.1->48KHz re-sampling. Apple TV as input to HT for visiting iPad users for the same reason. Accessible HDMI port + USB port so visiting geeks can bring their own Chromecast.

[morphsci]

I've used several systems over the years to move music from room to room. None have worked as well as airplay. It just works. And like it or not other manufacturers are using it as a standard. It is one of the reasons I bought my Marantz PrePro.

[Voltron]

Thanks all. Jim, are you using the pre/pro for 2-ch listening or just multi/HT? I'd really like your thoughts on their capabilities for dual purpose use.

[swt61]

None have worked as well as airplay. It just works. 

 

That's what we use here, and I've been very happy with it too.

[shellylh]

As for the remote speakers...How about using a couple of these as zone amps? They should have plenty of power for his needs, and if he sources the amps into/near the remote areas, the addition of a volume control could be quite handy.

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/amplifiers/products/a100

As for the 5.1 speaker system...If I were building one today, I would go pre/pro to active speakers. And I'd strongly consider the Emotiva Stealth 8 for Front LRC, and maybe Stealth 6 for rear or sides. Add an active sub and call it a day.

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/pro-series/products/stealth-8

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/pro-series/products/stealth-6

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/lfmEX.html

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=300-766

There is a plethora of pre/pro options to choose from, and I'm not that well versed on them, but I'd have to consider these two options closely...

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/umc200

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/975.html

For the universal disc player w/DAC inputs, I'd have to consider the budget friendly Oppo 105-BDP...

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-105/.

I happen to really like the JVC QL-Y55F, and was actively looking for one a few years back. I also remember really liking the Dahlquist DQ-8's back in the day.

Considering the JVC, I'd recommend the Parasound Zphono...

http://www.parasound.com/ParasoundZ/zphono.php

I really like the Harmony remotes...

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/harmony-remotes

Sounds like a pretty awesome system. I do wants those Stealth 6/8. Although I could imagine someone getting a bit annoyed having to manually turn on/off speakers instead of being remote controlled. Do they have an auto on/off power saving feature built in?

Edited August 31, 2013 by shellylh

[morphsci]

The Marantz is used primarily for HT duty. It gets a bit of 2 channel use but for casual listening. I think it sounds good but in reality the Marantz is just a pre so mainly switching and bass management of the fronts and sub. The speakers are Energy Veritas 2.3i powered by older Outlaw monoblocs with an older, their first I think, Outlaw sub.

I like Steve's suggestion though. I have been happy with all Emotiva gear I have owned. The Airmotiv speakers are ridiculously good for the price and the Stealths look to be even better. Big fan of active speakers both for system simplicity and sound.

@shelly - I leave my Airmotivs powered on in the office since I listen to them whenever I am there. The headphones get little use now. I am sure it annoys some of my colleagues, but that's just a bonus.

Edited August 31, 2013 by morphsci

[Voltron]

Thanks for all of the input so far.  It turns out the rear speakers at least need to be passive so I am looking for more options.  What about mixing some active and passive Emotivas?  Anyone have thoughts on that idea?  Also, I was going to spec out a Gallo speaker setup as well, so any thoughts on the current world of Anthony Gallo would be appreciated.  Hell, any thoughts would be appreciated.  

Edited September 4, 2013 by Voltron

[Dusty Chalk]

I'm going to go Gallo, myself.  I have a friend who has Reference 3.1's for his mains L+R and something else for the surrounds (4.1 system), and it's great.  Much better for sharing.  I plan on getting 4 Strada's myself since I have a cat and set up a 4.1 system as well.