Piped sound, is it if any use these days?
Discussion
I’m renovating a house and I’m not sure what to do with the piped sound system that was specified with from new off-plan in 1999.
Smartphones and Bluetooth speakers have essentially made thus redundant I think. Can the speakers be repurposed for a Sonos system?
The mess of wires in the corner was the shared audio sources like tuner, cd multiplayer, dvd, distributed Sky, and room controller. It worked until a couple of years ago when the room controller died.
I’m minded to remove and fill-in the clock/alarm and control panels from each room and paint over the speakers.
Smartphones and Bluetooth speakers have essentially made thus redundant I think. Can the speakers be repurposed for a Sonos system?
The mess of wires in the corner was the shared audio sources like tuner, cd multiplayer, dvd, distributed Sky, and room controller. It worked until a couple of years ago when the room controller died.
I’m minded to remove and fill-in the clock/alarm and control panels from each room and paint over the speakers.
Are the cables for the speakers all running back to the same spot? If so you could just connect up a few cheap chinese Amazon amps and some Chromecast Audios or Wiim Minis or Bluetooth receivers or whatever audio source of your choice, and that would modernise it and make it useful. Then you can bypass and remove all the wall mounted controllers.
Edit: I am assuming with the above that this is a whole house system but reading your post again, it might just be one room?
Edit: I am assuming with the above that this is a whole house system but reading your post again, it might just be one room?
Howard- said:
Are the cables for the speakers all running back to the same spot? If so you could just connect up a few cheap chinese Amazon amps and some Chromecast Audios or Wiim Minis or Bluetooth receivers or whatever audio source of your choice, and that would modernise it and make it useful. Then you can bypass and remove all the wall mounted controllers.
Edit: I am assuming with the above that this is a whole house system but reading your post again, it might just be one room?
Every room has the system and all the speakers are cabled ton the same place. This is good info, thanks. Edit: I am assuming with the above that this is a whole house system but reading your post again, it might just be one room?
Snow and Rocks said:
Yep, definitely still useful if it's in multiple rooms with all the speaker cables running back to a central point.
Yamaha (and others I'm sure) make a pretty decent combined multiroom server/amp that will run multiple zones at the same time.
Thanks. I’ll Google these amps. Presume the wall switches/displays aren’t required for these? They’ll use Spotify connect or airplay?Yamaha (and others I'm sure) make a pretty decent combined multiroom server/amp that will run multiple zones at the same time.
Pdelamare said:
Snow and Rocks said:
Yep, definitely still useful if it's in multiple rooms with all the speaker cables running back to a central point.
Yamaha (and others I'm sure) make a pretty decent combined multiroom server/amp that will run multiple zones at the same time.
Thanks. I’ll Google these amps. Presume the wall switches/displays aren’t required for these? They’ll use Spotify connect or airplay?Yamaha (and others I'm sure) make a pretty decent combined multiroom server/amp that will run multiple zones at the same time.
That’s a very old and very redundant Systemline multiroom system.
The keypads are redundant and should be removed, they aren’t common on systems these days except for higher end control systems.
All the speakers wire back to central position so you could connect them into WiFi amplifiers and get multiroom streaming via app, Airplay, internet radio, Spotify Connect etc.
I’d recommend changing the speakers too.
Something like this: https://www.kbaudio.co.uk/products/hamilton-wsa50-...
The keypads are redundant and should be removed, they aren’t common on systems these days except for higher end control systems.
All the speakers wire back to central position so you could connect them into WiFi amplifiers and get multiroom streaming via app, Airplay, internet radio, Spotify Connect etc.
I’d recommend changing the speakers too.
Something like this: https://www.kbaudio.co.uk/products/hamilton-wsa50-...
MrSparks got there before me.
But i concure.
Old Systemline system that will use Cat5 for control and centralised amp and matrix to swich sources and control volume.
Timer plate redundant.
Main control plate cabling could be reused depending on how far or simple you want to go.
If you have Lutron, Philips Hue or Rako Lighting, Tado heating, Fibaro smart controls, you could add Sonos or BlueSound to that cable hub and control evrything using a Rithum Keypad in each room. Good price for the functionality too.
Alternatively you could just go with an Amp'ed streamer as MrSparks has suggested, or OSD audio and Monitor Audio do a nice little 4 zone streamer and dedicated 4zone amp that would on Spotify / Apple Airplay2 or thier own dedicated app.
Also concure abour swapping out the speakers, they are alot nicer now (and less yellow!)
V.
But i concure.
Old Systemline system that will use Cat5 for control and centralised amp and matrix to swich sources and control volume.
Timer plate redundant.
Main control plate cabling could be reused depending on how far or simple you want to go.
If you have Lutron, Philips Hue or Rako Lighting, Tado heating, Fibaro smart controls, you could add Sonos or BlueSound to that cable hub and control evrything using a Rithum Keypad in each room. Good price for the functionality too.
Alternatively you could just go with an Amp'ed streamer as MrSparks has suggested, or OSD audio and Monitor Audio do a nice little 4 zone streamer and dedicated 4zone amp that would on Spotify / Apple Airplay2 or thier own dedicated app.
Also concure abour swapping out the speakers, they are alot nicer now (and less yellow!)
V.
Edited by VEX on Tuesday 13th June 21:25
Edited by VEX on Tuesday 13th June 21:26
MrSparks said:
That’s a very old and very redundant Systemline multiroom system.
The keypads are redundant and should be removed, they aren’t common on systems these days except for higher end control systems.
All the speakers wire back to central position so you could connect them into WiFi amplifiers and get multiroom streaming via app, Airplay, internet radio, Spotify Connect etc.
I’d recommend changing the speakers too.
Something like this: https://www.kbaudio.co.uk/products/hamilton-wsa50-...
The keypads are redundant and should be removed, they aren’t common on systems these days except for higher end control systems.
All the speakers wire back to central position so you could connect them into WiFi amplifiers and get multiroom streaming via app, Airplay, internet radio, Spotify Connect etc.
I’d recommend changing the speakers too.
Something like this: https://www.kbaudio.co.uk/products/hamilton-wsa50-...
VEX said:
MrSparks got there before me.
But i concure.
Old Systemline system that will use Cat5 for control and centralised amp and matrix to swich sources and control volume.
Timer plate redundant.
Main control plate cabling could be reused depending on how far or simple you want to go.
If you have Lutron, Philips Hue or Rako Lighting, Tado heating, Fibaro smart controls, you could add Sonos or BlueSound to that cable hub and control evrything using a Rithum Keypad in each room. Good price for the functionality too.
Alternatively you could just go with an Amp'ed streamer as MrSparks has suggested, or OSD audio and Monitor Audio do a nice little 4 zone streamer and dedicated 4zone amp that would on Spotify / Apple Airplay2 or thier own dedicated app.
Also concure abour swapping out the speakers, they are alot nicer now (and less yellow!)
This is great info guys, thank you very much. I know what I’m going to do now. But i concure.
Old Systemline system that will use Cat5 for control and centralised amp and matrix to swich sources and control volume.
Timer plate redundant.
Main control plate cabling could be reused depending on how far or simple you want to go.
If you have Lutron, Philips Hue or Rako Lighting, Tado heating, Fibaro smart controls, you could add Sonos or BlueSound to that cable hub and control evrything using a Rithum Keypad in each room. Good price for the functionality too.
Alternatively you could just go with an Amp'ed streamer as MrSparks has suggested, or OSD audio and Monitor Audio do a nice little 4 zone streamer and dedicated 4zone amp that would on Spotify / Apple Airplay2 or thier own dedicated app.
Also concure abour swapping out the speakers, they are alot nicer now (and less yellow!)
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