Home sound system for all living spaces (ceiling speakers)

samnayana

Hi!

I am an amateur when it comes to audio equipment and don't have the more sensitive ears to notice subtle sounds quality differences. I am trying to figure out a good budget setup for ceiling speakers. Here are the room specs I am thinking of:

Main living room: 6 RC80i speakers
Pool area (outdoor): 4 RC80i speakers
Family dining: 2 RC80i speakers
Master bathroom: 2 RC80i speakers
Master bedroom: 4 RC80i speakers
Family living room: Home theater system (any recommendations? was thinking RC80i for rear and RC85i for front, plus something for center)

I want my sound system controlled via Google Home, and thinking of having one Google Mini per room, connected via multiple receivers that power the different rooms. Can someone please let me know if this setup makes sense, and what type of receiver I should get?

Thanks

samnayana

Thanks for the followups.

Is this new or existing construction?
New construction.

What are you trying to achieve with sound quality?
The main goal is to play background music when we are entertaining. For the family living room, would like to have higher quality sound for watching movies etc. Friends I have spoken to suggest using Bose or Sonos, but I am trying to understand if I am just paying for the brand names, given they are much more expensive. Not sure if I will be able to notice the audio quality difference.

How big are these rooms? Why do you want/need more than a couple in a room if this is for ambient music?
Room sizes:
Main living room: 35ft x 15ft
Family dining: 15ft x 12 ft
Master bathroom: 12ft x 12ft
Master bedroom: 15ft x 20ft


Why Google Mini's? Do they even have an audio out that you can route to an external amp?
Good point, they don't have an aux out. I want to use Google Home for automation and sound. I will have to see how I can connect Google Home with a receiver.

mdaudioguy

If you have the cash, Sonos is your best solution. Use one of their amps to power a pair of speakers in each room, or buy a single, any-brand, multichannel whole-home amp and plug a Sonos Port for each zone into it. Sonos integrates with Google Assistant. Easy control with a phone or tablet. Control individual zones, or group and synchronize zones, and it's easily expendable. Not to sound like an ad for Sonos, but it is good stuff and it just works.

Also, the Denon HEOS longer offers similar functionality and flexibility, with possibly some savings and tradeoffs.

samnayana

Thanks for all the info.

@anonymouse:
1) Assume you mean left/right pair when you say "stereo pair". Something like RC80i
2) I am trying to avoid wall speakers coz I am only interested in background music, and I am not trying to target any specific area of the living room. Wall speakers will look a bit ugly as you will see them in your direct line of sight.
3) My pool is directly outside the living area, and there is a 12ft deck area between the pool and living room. This area is under the master bedroom balcony. I want to have some speakers above this 12ft deck area.
4) I am thinking of getting chromecast enabled receivers to help with getting access to Google Home.


@mdaudioguy Sonos in-ceiling speakers cost 600 per pair, while RC80i costs 150 per pair. What is the sound quality difference between these for playing background music? Given the number of speakers I need for all the rooms, Sonos will cost quite a bit. Looks like Bose Virtually Invisible 791 II is 600 per pair as well.

mdaudioguy

No, use whatever speakers with the Sonos or HEOS Amps, or use whatever speakers and whatever amp(s) with the Sonos Port or HEOS Link. Either brand integrates with Google Assistant. Using AV receivers for a whole home system is doable, but not really optimal.

samnayana

@mdaudioguy why did you say using a receiver was not optimal? what is the advantage of using Sonos Port or Sonos Amp vs using something like Sony STR DN1080?

mdaudioguy

A receiver may offer 2-3 zones, and you'll have more than that. Also, controlling receivers throughout the house could be challenging and clunky. What are you thinking? A receiver per room? One per every two rooms? Can you even synchronize more than one receiver with Chromecast? Sonos and HEOS control of multiple zones is pretty easy.

samnayana

Isn't Sonos Amps only one zone? My thinking was to have one receiver for master bed/bath (2 zones), one for living room, and another for outdoor/dining (2 zones). I can create a speaker group in Google Home, and play in multiple zones if I want to sync the music.

mdaudioguy

Yes, each Sonos Amp is a single zone. I'm not familiar with control of the Sony receivers and how you'd activate individual zones and control them. Maybe Google Home integrates and controls everything just as easily as the Sonos app. I don't know. Maybe it will just work.