Zone 3 & 4 and Wrap Up

Zone 3 Office Room

Speakers: RBH Sound MC-83 Inwall Speaker System

Retail Price: $649/pair [Locate a Dealer] info

Who says you can't jazz up your office room with killer sound while maintaining aesthetics to appease the spouse?

Thanks to the 8" aluminum woofers, frequency extension goes down to 45Hz proving little need for a subwoofer for normal music listening.  Feed these babies some clean power from the Denon AVR-5805 and you are all set to rock while you are hard at work or at least pretending to be. Just don't let the kids or their friends catch you air drumming to YYZ before you become their source of amusement.

Zone 4 Dining Room or Back Yard

Speakers: RBH Sound MC-615 Inceiling Speaker System

Retail Price: $499/pair [Locate a Dealer] info
What's for dinner?  How about a nice 6" aluminum cone 2 way inceiling loudspeaker system that serves up tasty performance without being an eye sore?  The MC-615 are a true two way coax loudspeaker system which include a 1" aluminum swivel tweeter to ensure proper coverage of the listening area.  Next time you have guests over, pop in some tunes and you may find them paying more attention to the quality of sound than the savory flavor of the chicken marsala and red wine you are serving.

Power these speakers with hard hitting pristine power from the Emotiva MPS-1.

Alternates: Should you opt for running outdoor speakers instead of the dining room for Zone 4, we highly recommend the Klipsh AW-525 ($399/pair) ultra high efficient, high output horn loaded speakers.  more info

Note: The recommended power amp assignment leaves one spare amp on the AVR-5805 which can be used for a surround back speaker in the bedroom system or remain in idle.

VC Control: Russound ALTx-WIRi2D  UltraMatch Volume Control with Built-in IR Receiver

Retail Price: $99/ea x 2  info
The ALTx-WIRi2D is a wall-mounted, Decora® style, speaker-level, UltraMatch volume control which includes an IR receiver built into the same faceplate. It connects between the speaker outputs of an amplifier or receiver and a pair of speakers. The 1x setting allows the volume control to be used as a standard non-impedance matching control (this is the setting we recommend using when connecting a single pair of speakers back to the power amplifier). The 2x, 4x, and 8x settings allow it to be used as an UltraMatch control. The UltraMatch volume control provides a method of matching the minimum output impedance of an amplifier or receiver, in addition to attenuating the volume. This eliminates the need for a speaker selector or other impedance matching equipment. The volume is adjusted by adjusting the amplifier signal output of the volume control to the speakers. All Russound volume controls are manufactured using a high quality autoformer design which provides long life, excellent frequency response, no heat build-up, and maximum power transfer from the amplifier to the speakers.

We recommend a total of two of these volume control systems in order to maintain independent control of Zones 3 & 4.

Alternates: Should you opt for running outdoor speakers instead of the dining room for Zone 4, you may have to go with their weatherproof alternative WALTx-2 but you lose IR capability. more info

Cables: Blue Jean Cables Belden 5000UE (Gray jacket, 12 AWG)

Retail Price:  $0.40 / ft [Buy it Now] info

12-gauge versions consist of two separately insulated conductors, twisted together and wrapped in an outer PVC sleeve. These cables are UL-listed and NEC-rated for in-wall use (the NEC rating for 5000UE and Twelve White is CL3R; for 5T00UP and Ten White, it's CL2).  Most importantly they are snake oil free.

Note: Cable lengths recommended here are for guide purposes only.  We recommend having your installer determine exact lengths needed and order accordingly. Don't forget to run CAT5e from the amplifier to every volume control location to support IR and future upgradeability.

Trim outs and terminations are left to the customer and installer. We do however recommend F connector to Female RCA on decora wallplates for all A/V coax and female banana plugs for all speaker termination locations at the amp location.  We have had excellent success with SpeakerCraft terminations and wallplates.  For male bananas we again recommend Blue Jeans Cable.  See page 2 for more information.

Essential Items For Whole System

Equipment Rack:  Middle Atlantic WRK-44SA-32AXS-26

Price:  $3,000 & up (depending on configuration) info
You need a place to house all of your equipment. We can't think of a better solution than one from Middle Atlantic. The uncompromised build quality, and flexibility of these racks are endless. They can be configured with wire management, thermal management and customized faceplates for a more blended look for your components. Best of all, they can be installed in a closet, or concealed into a wall.  Need to access your equipment?  No problem.  These racks have sliders that allow simple access to your components for service or upgrade.  To sweeten the deal, these racks are UL listed and seismic certified for all of you California residents.

Tools: Radio Shack Analogue SPL Meter (Cat# 33-4050)

Price: $40  info

This is another must have and will allow you to calibrate your system's speaker levels.It's easy to use and its use is covered in Avia Guide to Home Theater.

Rives Audio Test CD 2

Price: $21 [Buy it Now from Rives Audio
Got a tweaker in the house? How about a subwoofer, SPL meter and a CD player? The Rives Audio Test CD is a unique and inexpensive way to determine room and speaker response. It has 1/3 octave precisely calibrated test tones from 20 Hz to 20 kHz for flat response and a series of test tones which compensate non-linearites of the classic Radio Shack SPL meter traditionally used for home theater calibrations.  Armed with your trusty Radio Shack SPL meter this Test CD 2, you now have an inexpensive and more accurate way to integrate your sub into the rest of your system and do your best to minimize those nasty standing waves.

Thrifty Pop 4oz Popcorn Machine

Price: $400  info
What home theater is complete without an authetic popcorn machine?  Sure you could buy the microwave kind, but it lacks the cool factor and feel of a real movie theater.  We recommend one of these babies to spruce up your system.

The Thrifty Pop 4 oz. Popcorn Machine is a more affordable alternative to our full-featured Theater Pop line of poppers. Made entirely in the USA, this machine features a high-output, hard-coat anodized aluminum side-hinged kettle, tempered glass panels, and sturdy cabinet construction to keep you producing movie theater quality popcorn for your family year round! Stand is included (please note: this stand is not push-cart style like the rest of our popcorn machine w/ cart combos).

The Thrifty Pop 4 oz popcorn machine popper utilizes a 50 watt R20 presentation lamp to highlight the popped corn for added impulse sales. The Thrifty Pop 4 oz popcorn machine popper will cycle in approximately 3 minutes and produce 92 ounces of popped corn in an hour. One serving will produce enough popped popcorn to fill approximately four 1-oz bags. One Year Manufacturer's Warranty.

All that you need now is the popcorn and to figure out what your guests' price of admission should be!