How Does Whole Home Audio Work?

Everything is a little more magical with music on. Whether you’re baking, cleaning, playing board games with the family, or chatting over a glass of wine, wouldn’t it all be much more enjoyable with high-quality tunes wafting through the air? With a whole home audio system, you can enjoy your favorite albums and discover new music in every room of your house. And with durable outdoor speakers, you can tune into your playlists or vinyl outside, too. As you walk from room to room, you’ll never miss a moment of your day’s soundtrack.

By adding a whole home audio system to your Carmel, IN house, you’ll easily select media and change the volume for every speaker at once. But how does multi-room audio work, and how can you install a system? Continue reading to discover which solution is best for your household.

SEE ALSO: Building or Renovating? Now Is the Time to Make Your Home “Smart”

How It Works

There are many ways to spread music throughout your house, including wired or wireless connections that allow for control from a smartphone app, tablet, remote, or voice-activated speaker. You can use a receiver as the central hub for your system or install an entirely dedicated music system. Whether you’d like floor-standing speakers with powerful sound or concealed in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, you can customize the system to your needs.   

Multi-Room Music with a Receiver

The simplest solution for whole home audio uses a speaker B switch built into a receiver. The speaker B output can power an additional pair of speakers in another room, which is reached by running lengths of wire. For another room of speakers, add a separate speaker selector switch. And to easily control the volume and media, control plates may be combined with the switches.  

However, if you’d like to use multiple audio sources (streaming, CDs, DVDs, vinyl, etc.), you’ll need a home theater receiver with built-in, multi-source features. Some receivers include powered multi-room outputs in up to three zones. Other models use line-level outputs which will require a separate stereo amp for each listening zone.

Audio Over a Wired Network

Another method for multi-room audio is to use a wired network. Running wires through existing walls can be difficult, but it’s immensely advantageous to a whole home audio system. If you already have computer network wiring installed, you’re in luck. Network wiring with CAT-5e or CAT-6 cables can allocate analog and digital audio to remote zones through multi-zone audio systems from several manufacturers. This is a reliable system that will allow you to play any media your heart desires.  

Wireless Audio Network

If you don’t have an already wired home, and if retrofitting is not an option, you can always use a wireless whole home audio system. In the past, we considered wireless options less reliable than wired and lacking in audio quality. But today, some new wireless speakers and systems that sound just as robust and clear. Through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, you can set up a network of speakers that will play your music library in every room you walk through.  

You may now have an idea for which audio setup is right for your home. But for further help, Digital Home Design is your trusted, experienced audio installer in the Carmel, Indiana region. To learn more and get started on your home’s project, give us a call at (317) 816-1400 or fill out our contact form.