How To Set Up A Multi-Room Music System

Thanks to the wonders of modern music technology, you no longer have to sit motionless on the sofa while two oversized speakers batter your ears into submission. Fork out for a decent multi-room music setup and you can listen to Stravinsky in the study, The Beatles in the bedroom and Garbage in the garage. A multi-room audio system frees you from listening to your digital music collection in the room where you keep your hi-fi. It's one of the cornerstones of the digital home. What's more, you can link up your whole house without breaking the bank (or angering your wife/husband) because whatever your music needs and whatever your budget there's a system out there.

Why multi-room?
Multi-room systems are usually based around some kind of hard disk music server. This box digitally stores all of your favourite tunes, and then uses Ethernet or Wi-Fi connections
to push that music around to the other rooms in your home.
The advantages of this are huge – you no longer have to spend hours trying to find exactly the CD you want, or run around tuning every stereo in the house into the same radio station. Better still, different members of your household can listen to their own favourite tracks using individual room-based keypads/adapters, amplifiers and speakers, or listen to playlists that you've created. It's a great solution for parties!

High-end vs low-end
On the following pages, you'll find our pick of the best multi-room audio options available today, plus we've listed their key features, advantages and disadvantages. On these first two pages you'll find the Champagne Charlie ‘high-end' options. These include the big-guns: the SoundServers and the MusicCASTs, which range in price from $2000 to $11,000. If money is little or no object, then invest in one of these systems and you'll get a powerful system that our Custom Install section would be proud of. In contrast, on the last two pages we've highlighted the leading DIY PC or Mac-based alternatives. If you have room for improvement one of these systems will fill it.

1. CAMBRIDGE AUDIO AZUR 640H
$1999 www.cambridgeaudio.co m

Ostensibly a budget CD player with built-in 160GB hard disk, the Azur 640H boasts an Ethernet port and Wi-Fi support, which enable multiple 640Hs to be networked together. Cambridge reckons you can run up to 16 640H clients from the master unit, and each ‘slave' unit is capable of handling another 16 devices – enabling you to network up to 255 rooms in total. You can use the 640H to listen to tracks stored on your PC or Mac, and there is support for a wide range of audio codecs including unprotected AAC (MP4), MP3 and unprotected WMA. You can even create your own CDs, using the built-in CD-R/W burner.
Advantages
One of the more affordable high-end options and it is packed with features.
Disadvantages
You have to buy a lot of extra boxes to create a true multi-room system.

2. IMERGE SOUNDSERVER S2000 MKII
$5335 to $10,999 www.imerge.co.uk
Thi s slim silver box is available with a choice of 80GB, 160GB or 250GB hard disks, plus support for anything from one to four other rooms, although your choices are fixed at buying time and can't be changed later. To network the SoundServer, you'll need to buy additional NP200 Network Audio Players for each room (which cost $1599 apiece) and then add localised amps and loudspeakers. Although the SoundServer primarily uses analogue audio connections, you can stream music wirelessly by plugging a third-party Wi-Fi router into the Ethernet port, and then configuring each NP200 Player.
Advantages
Stylish, sophisticated and great sounding. The SoundServer can also be controlled by your desktop PC, laptop or PDA.
Disadvantages
Extra room amps and speakers required; no built-in Wi-Fi as standard, only supports PCM and MP3 playback.

3. LINN KNEKT KIVOR INDEX 250

$14,800 www.linn.com.au

Linn is the daddy when it comes to multi-room audio systems and the Linn Knekt Kivor Index music server is available in the widest choice of capacities (this is the price for the 250GB version), with the most expensive variant delivering nearly a terabyte of space. That's enough to store all your music in uncompressed PCM form. Unlike its bigger Kivor Tunnboks cousin, the Index is configured to deliver music to up to eight different rooms out of the box, so all you need to add are control pads, amps and speakers – which Linn also sells – in each of the rooms where you want to listen to your music.
Advantages
The best sound quality for multi-room audio.
Disadvantages
Extraordinarily expensive, but this is a company that also sells $30,000 CD players.

4. LIVING CONTROL AFINITY 240G
$TBA (£2950) www.livingcontrol.com
Based around the 240GB MusicBox 3, Living Control's yet-to-be-released Afinity (sic) serves up a complete multi-room solution including distribution to a choice of four or six rooms (via the RoomBox 4 or RoomBox 6) from six different sources in your main hi-fi setup. All you need to add are individual VideoPad controllers, plus local room amps and speakers, and you're set. Heck, Living Control can even sort out your movie and TV needs via its RoomBox 6CVX, with video feeds for the system being delivered by high quality analogue component video connections. Wireless distribution for audio is a possibility, although you'll have to add a third party router to achieve it. This limitation should change later this year when Living Control launches a revised and possibly renamed version that proposes to include Wi-Fi audio networking – we'll bring you more news on this when it has been confirmed.
Advantages
The Afinity is easily one of the most elegant, sophisticated and affordable multi-room systems around. It's easy to operate and extend later too.
Disadvantages
Like many of the other systems here, the Afinity currently lacks built-in Wi-Fi and can get expensive once you factor amps and speakers.

5. OPUS TECHNOLOGIES 500 SERIES
$4300 www.opus-technol ogies.co.uk
Designed to be affordable and easy to install, the Opus 500 Series delivers a DIY version of multi-room that concentrates on music distribution rather than playback. That means you'll have to add music sources like a CD player or HD music server, but in return you get all the amps, speakers and keypads you need to send music around your home… and you get a lot for your money. Even the basic package gives you enough to deliver music to four different rooms and another four sub-zones, so you can pipe music to your main bedroom and an en-suite, for example. You can also network MCU500 Master Control Units together, giving you a maximum of 24 zones plus 24 sub-zones or enough for 48 rooms.
Advantages
The 500 Series is cheap and can be upgraded to include video distribution; PC control.
Disadvantages
Uses proprietary connections that lock you into Opus format; adding Crestron/AMX control requires additional hardware.