Whole House Audio question

[Chad]

I'm looking at purchasing a house that claims to have "whole house audio" pre-wired in. House is in Ankeny and the builder is fairly well known in Ankeny if that helps. I was wondering if anyone had any tips/suggestions on things I need to look out for or questions I need to ask. I have asked to see the wiring diagrams, but are there gotchas that should be dealt with before rather than after the sale?


Thanks,

 

[Covenant Clone]

Make sure everything "home runs" somewhere. Typically all the wires should be somewhere in the basement, in a storage room or closet. The wires that would be used in the wall for the controls should be blue. The speaker wires are usually grey. How many rooms was the audio wired into? Find out who did the pre-wire, they would be able to tell you what type of system would be compatible with the way they wired it. It isn't a big deal to install it but it will make a small mess since they will have to cut out drywall to install the speakers. Whole house audio is an awesome feature and I definitely recommend getting it installed if you can swing it. One other thing to consider, is the basement finished? If not, have them replace the phone jack in the kitchen (there is usually one in there, and assuming you don't need it) with an ipod dock. Really nice to have that right at you finger tips in the kitchen.

 

[dmclone]

I agree with bhoodjer. I have a home theater in my basement and if I was building a new house, here is what I would do.

I would run 2 runs of CAT5(6) to every single room. This would take care of internet along with options like running an IR eye.

I would run 2 runs of speaker wire to every single room. I would run 7 plus subwoofer cable to anywhere that you are considering setting up a home theater.

I would run 2 runs of cable wire(for DVR use)

I would have one centralized location where I would run all these wires to. In this location, I would keep all my A/V gear.

That's all I can think of but I can guarantee that you'll miss something.

 

[rdubbs]

Good info dmclone, I have a man cave and was wondering what the best bet was to *tech it out* a little bit.

 

[dmclone]

Good info dmclone, I have a man cave and was wondering what the best bet was to *tech it out* a little bit.

One thing that I did that I like the most is that I put all my A/V gear in a separate closet. I then run an eye to all the equipment in that closet. I always hated having tons of crap below my TV. I now have the A/V receiver, directv box, PS3, router, slingbox, etc all in the closet. If you plan ahead with your wiring, it makes a big difference.