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Joined: Apr 2012
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I have a new home under construction and like most of you here, my first consideration is the home stereo system. I am leaning toward purchasing an Apple Airport Extreme to use as for my home Wifi as well as wireless music system. I am considering purchasing the Bose Soundlink Air speakers.
Anyone here done this (silly question)? And your recommendations please?
Todd
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Look at Sonos - they are up and coming and it works sweet in my home.
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Your building from scratch right?
You're an engineer, right?
I always spec internal low voltage wiring in a new build, regardless of whether or not the owner also thinks they can just go wireless.
Check out the "combo" wiring available today, multi-cable, thin, flexible, easy to snake or hang in walls before the wallboard goes on, there are many options, to include networking wire, cable tv, telephone and even speaker wiring and coax for line level or mic level.
There are also single multipurpose boxes and walljacks for the multiple-use cabling systems.
Then, if you want to go wireless besides, no harm no foul.
But if you go with ONLY wireless now, and for any reason the RF comes to be problematic, interferences, noise, etc. - you've got good old hardwire in every room anyway.
--Mac
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^^What Mac said....
You can probably even go digital over that copper network if you so choose in the future as well.
-Scott
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I built our house starting physically in 2001.
At the time fully wired for Ethernet......WiFi...yaaaaaaah...
couple thousand feet of the cabling for phones and net.
Never used the Ethernet at all, only for phones, even straining rooms.
Ran 600 feet of 4 conductor copper stranded cable in our great
room (14 up/down outlets), and also runs to couple other places.
Its a good thing we live in the sticks, for when action movie is on, the walls shake.
What you really want to do is run few "I don't know" 2 empty
1 inch conduits, grey stuff works well(no shielding).
You will not regret this.
Ran some number of alarm cables, with several I don't know blank conduit runs.
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Joined: Jul 2000
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I wired my 100-year old house with Ethernet. [It looks ugly but I don't care.]
I use wireless a lot. I hate wireless.
I have the Bose $300 Bluetooth mobile speaker for use with my iPhone. Pretty cool unit.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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The whole house thing is always what throws me.
How often do you want the same music (or sound) in every room? Or even multiple. I wire room by room. If it has a sound system it has a source. I've never needed to have the same music playing in the bedroom as the office, living room or kitchen.
Maybe I'm just old .. but I did mention the above in order.
The workout room is wired (to its own system) the living room is wired (to its own system) the office is wired (to its owned system).
I wire for sound, but have have never seen a need to wire for a 'whole house' sound system.
And yes, an extra conduit is a great idea. Future proof. Even if you wire for today, technology changes tomorrow.
I wish I'd run some HDMI and USB cables that I didn't. But with an extra conduit I still might be able to.
Wireless is convenient, but doesn't cover everything and likely never will.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Whole house multicabling is also convenient.
And when done properly, is fairly Future Proof.
You don't want music in that room, don't plug nuthin' up in that room.
It is a lot cheaper than having to install wiring after the paints dried on the walls...
--Mac
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Ok, so the consensus is go wired for a sure solution. This is interesting to me considering the general philosophy of wired versus wireless signals in the process plant environment. Wired is always more expensive but required for critical inputs where wireless is less expensive and easier to add to but only used for non critical data that will not affect plant operations if not available.
Rharv has a good point in that "whole home" music system is a bit silly. Yes, it is unlikely that I would every need to have music playing in every room. More likely would be living room and back porch for listening by pool.
Framing on the house will begin in January so I need to get on the stick and put my plans together and starting purchasing materials.
Todd
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,492
Expert
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Joined: Jan 2010
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Actually, IMHO, you should put a couple of empty*) tubes into the walls that make future wiring convenient.
Not only data cables but addtional lighting or some 24- or 12V-DC lines if you might use solar panels for 12V-lights later (or a battery-buffered emergency lighting and maybe a car stereo system in the case of power failure.)
Guido
*) two or three strings in them would make it convenient to pull cables thru.
Desktop; i7-2600k, 8 GB mem., Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build
Laptop: i5-2410M, 4 GB mem, Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build
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This is interesting to me considering the general philosophy of wired versus wireless signals in the process plant environment. Wired is always more expensive but required for critical inputs where wireless is less expensive and easier to add to but only used for non critical data that will not affect plant operations if not available.
Consider that these are two entirely different scenarios. In the Process Plant, we could encounter any number of differing Signal, Control, Data Transmission and even Power handling scenarios. Therefore the wiring application would be different for each situation. On top of that, the plant install has the usual host of "issues" - from unions to OSHA to payin' off the fire marshall passing industrial grade inspection (*ducking*) and beyond. In the home environment, however, where you aren't likely to need Current Loop, Sensing, etc. circuits, and in this case are talking only Low Voltage Wiring scenarios such as perhaps shielded line level signals and unshielded Speaker Voltage levels plus Network Data and 72 ohm coax, no big design constraints there. And investigate the kinds of multiwire cabling available these days for the home scenario. One pull from box to box and done. "Whole House AV" or "Whole House A/V" are good starting search terms. Also, a talk with local Home Theater installers and such can bring up a world of info to the guy with gift of gab. And maybe a cuppa joe... --Mac
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Unless you have a finished room both above and below the target room, future wiring issues are a minimal worry IMO. It's nice to think ahead, but even nicer to realize your future options.
If the basement is open, you can use it to run wires and come up through the wall plate into the desired wall.
If the area above is attic, come down through the top plate.
Most homes have access one way or the other. I've built a few that didn't, but IMO it is the exception, not the norm, for a family home. First floor has basement access, second floor has attic access. If you have three floors, you've got an issue with the middle one. In that case the extra tubes would be well worth the investment.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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