INTRODUCTION
This has been two years in development, as I've spent alot of time researching, experimenting and purchasing the required parts for this project. Basically, I'm creating a music distribution/multi-zoning system in my house for whole house audio. It will comprise of 7 independent zones (up from 5 zones originally) with the ability to sync multiple sources of music to either the main floor zones (Zones 1, 2, 3,4), to the bedroom zones (Zones 5, 6, 7), or the ability to sync the whole house or any zone in between the two floors. The independent zones are following:
Zone 1: Livingroom -status *working*
Zone 2: Familyroom -status *working*
Zone 3: Backyard -status *working*
Zone 4: Garage - status *incomplete*
Zone 5: Bathroom/Masterbedroom - status *working*
Zone 6: Bedroom 2 - status *working*
Zone 7: Bedroom 3 - status *working*
Reasons for wanting to take on a DIY project of this magnitude?
1. I love music and felt that my family doesn't listen to enough of it. I felt that this would be an interesting way to present music in my house, which should be accessible virturally anywhere within the compounds of my property.
2. One system required. I don't have to buy a seperate cheaply made getto-blaster for my each of my kids. Or worse, a system for my music tastes for each room. We'd be living in the poor house then.
3. No CD's. Anyone with small kids will understand this point. No CD's that little fingers can claw at and destroy. My CD collection, now ripped into mp3 format, is placed safely away from those little prying hands. Not to mention that no running around to find that CD to play anymore. Or to run around from upstairs to the basement to find a CD. Also, this takes away CD's from being left out and cluttering space. All music is accessible, and may only require a search of the music database.
4. Don't have to purchase a CD or DVD player for each room that I want to listen to music. Again, less equipment, less money spent, one less thing that can break down.
5. I wanted to turn my house into the eventual "gathering" home for my kids and their friends to hang out at. One way is to make it a "cool" house where they will want to come and enjoy some sort of freedom, within the safe confines of my home.
6. I want to prove that an individual doesn't have to spend an extravagent amount of money to acheive whole house audio from a one source system...well unless you have the thought process that "time equates to money"...then I have spent lot's...but even so, if I went and bought a dedicated system...I would have spent even more.
Also I would like to mention that I was very inspired by what an individual, that goes by the nick-name "Mastiff", has been able to accomplish in his DIY approach. His chronicles can be viewed here, and is very much a worth while read over.
Now...
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MUSIC SOURCES AND OUTPUTS
The system is computer based as listed below. Currently there is a total of three music source options:
1) All music CD's have been converted to MP3. Each floor has the ability to play three seperate/selectable MP3 streams.
2) Along with having the ability to play MP3 music, the server will be able to connect to the internet for streaming in Shoutcast broadcasts. Again up to three streams/floor can be accomplished.
3) Another source of music and local news will be able to be attained from an addition of a Yamaha TX-480 AM/FM tuner controlled by a USB-Uirt.
The computer will output to all the zones via two Audigy 7.1 sound cards. Read again! Only two sound cards are used to output upto five (5) different souces (per floor) to a total of 7 zones. Each card, which will be defined as "Floor" hereafter, will have, a total of three sources for CD quality or shoutcast radio output, one line-in from the AM/FM tuner, or a unique source which will allow zones on the two different floors to share the same music (CD or shoutcast). This last option also allows for a whole house audio sync at a press of a button. All this is possible using certain Creative Lab cards along with the KX Drivers. The amplification for this project will be from two 6 channel amplifiers that are capable of roughly 30W/channel into 4 ohms. The volume and source control for each zone is controllable by the computer server via PervTalk interfacing Xlobby to the KX Drivers DSP.
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COMPUTER SYSTEM
Hardware:
P4 1.7 Gig Intel CPU Socket 478
1.5 Gig of DDR Ram - Samsung brand, system hasn't run as smooth as it does now...absolutely no crashes since upgrading from 512Meg.
250 Gig Seagate Barracuda ST3250620AS SATA drive - would like to pick up another for a basic RAID setup
Chaintech 9VJL5 Motherboard - Socket 478 with AGP. It has LAN and sound built in (though not using MB sound)
ATI 9500 AGP Graphics adapter - 128M card...not nearly using it to its full potential...should see if this could be swapped with the Radeon 7000 in the MediaPVR...hmmm.
Creative Labs Audigy 7.1 Value (b400) sound card (Zone 1, 2, 3, and 4)
Creative Labs Audigy 7.1 Value (b000) sound card (Zone 5, 6, 7, and spare)
Powered by an Enermax EG435P-VHB SFMA 430W power supply - really happy with this one.
Software:
WinXP Pro w/SP2
Xlobby (last free release loaded with ZoneSkin4)
-running XPert/PervTalk, Xoapweather,CDEX, Xintheater, XEvent, XLiveShout, XSend/XReceive plugins
KX Drivers
6 Instances of Winamp v2.94 (decreased from 9 used in previous ZoneSkin3)
1 Instance of Winamp v5.08 (for driving the whole house sync, multi-output plugin)
-Winamp instances are using the following plugins:
multi-output plugin (for one instance)
waveouts (for seven instances)
Now Playing plugin (for seven instances)
Girder v3.31 - installed but not using until "Phase 2"...Phase 2 you say?....more on that later.
LCD Smartie 5.4
CDex (audio ripping software)
Tag n' Rename (ID Tag Editor)
The Godfather (ID Tag Editor)
RealVNC - remote admin software (server side)
Also has Orb installed...trying it out to see how that works.
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SOUNDCARD and AUDIO SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION
The Audigy cards use the KX Drivers as opposed to using the standard Creative Drivers that come with the cards. Using the KX Drivers allow for more control of the main microprocessor on each board. The power of the KX Drivers lie with what is called the DSP. You can think of the DSP as a rack and that your going to configure this rack with different equipment, in this case some mixers, EQ's, gain controls, and input and output devices. Now with this control, what was once a dedicated 7.1 surround sound card, now becomes a powerful 4 seperate zone beast. In my case, I have two of these Audigy's which will allow for up to 8 independent stereo zones (or 16 mono should I choose to go that route....NOT!). The actual physical outputs of each Audigy can be broken down in the following format (number in brackets are for the second Audigy or the b000 card):
Zone 1 (5) - Left/Right Surround outputs
Zone 2 (6) - Left/Right Main outputs
Zone 3 (7) - Center/Sub outputs
Zone 4 (spare) - Left/Right Side Surrounds outputs
Note:The B### is the board name created by the KX drivers that are used by the drivers to indentify the board. The board being controlled will be indicated in the bottom right corner of the DSP display.
For a more detailed tutorial of understanding the KX DSP can be found here. Please note though that this document covers the Audigy 7.1 Value card which I have learned is quite a bit different from other Audigy cards and is completely different than the Live cards, though the general concept of routing in the DSP is the same, the physical outputs defined and used in the output module could be very different.
For my application, the KX Drivers will define the source inputs as 0/1, 4/5, 6/7, 8/9. Inputs 4/5, 6/7, 8/9 are used as individual sources unique to each card...or "Floor". Inputs 0/1 are unique as they are essentially mixed to both floors for multi-zone playback capabilities on multiple Floors. It is also used as a whole house audio sync playback.
The two images below indicate the current configuration of each one of the Audigy SB0400 cards in the KX DSP:
Audigy B400
This SB0400 KX DSP represents the main floor zoning. The three FXMix (from top to bottom) are for the Familyroom, Livingroom, and Backyard. The additional FXmix is for the garage zone. The first four SCR modules are used for MP3/Shoutcast playback. The fifth source (Src module) is the Tuner on the line-in input. I added the gain control as the raw signal coming from the tuner was too loud. Notice that the gain does not connect up to the first mixer. That mixer's output goes to the home theater (Familyroom) that has its own volume control.
Audigy B000
The second SB0400 in the system supplies all the outputs to the upstairs. It is pretty much the same as the first image minus the additional FXMix and all tuner outputs come off the gain control.
After defining the DSP screens, the next step is to identify the audio software to the number of sources required. For my application, I wanted to have 6 individual winamp sources (3 per floor), and 1 multi-floor winamp source for playback to multi zones on both floors and whole house synced audio. That is a total of 7 specific requirements, or 7 instances of winamp (down from a previous 10). Each output of each instance of winamp is then configured to an input of the KX DSP. I used for the majority of the instances of winamp version 2.94 as Xlobby does not require the latest and greatest for playback and control. The whole house instance of winamp required at a min. version 5 as the multi-output plugin did not seem to work for me with earlier versions.
The multi-output plugin is important as it will allow for routing playback to both Audigy 0/1 inputs, allowing sync playback to both upstairs and mainfloor just using one instance of winamp.
After this, Xlobby is setup to control each zone. This is done in the setup of Xlobby, by associating all the instances of winamp. Also required is defining the music server as the Xlobby XNET server (also within Xlobby setup).
For a more indepth tutorial on how to set the system up. I include a manual with my latest skin: ZoneSkin4 that is freely available to download. I also discuss the setup on the Xlobby forums here
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EXTERNAL TUNER
I moved from my home theater a TX-480 AM/FM Tuner to be used as an additional source for local terrestrial AM/FM radio. Originally I had connected the outputs of the tuner to a seperate soundcard line-in. I then used a Shoutcast server to locally broadcast to all the zone instances of winamp. I have now changed this and now the tuner output is directly connected to the Audigy inputs via a "Y" adapter. I reconfigured the Audigy via KX DSP to accept this input and is selectable via mixer settings within Xlobby (see above configurations). This way I was able to save on resources by getting rid of an extra instance of Winamp running in the background and the shoutcast server as well. To control the tuner, I use a USB-Uirt. The Uirt is a device that can both receive and transmit IR codes. Since Xlobby is able to send IR commands via UIRT, to add functionality to control the tuner was not difficult. Please view the diagram at the bottom of the page to view the updated setup.
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AUDIO AMPLIFIERS
I was able to get my hands on a couple of BSG 6ch amps off Ebay. These are no longer in production...heck the company is no longer in business. I ended up getting these off ebay for $19.95US ea + shipping. Two of these amps alone cost less than just the transformer required to power a DIY Gainclone project I had intended, called the Mayclone (6 channel amp), and to boot, I get an extra 6 channels. That was a driving force for shelving the DIY amplifier project as I could not justify the cost when these were so available. The only info on the BSG amps were discussions on the Parts Express Tech Talk website, DIY Mobile Audio website (good breakdown and review done by "Chad") and the Xlobby website. Who knows, I may even mod them to produce better sound. From what everyone has reported on these amps, they are a solid performer. They output 30W into 4ohms, stable, lacking a little in the bass department (too small a filter cap most likely), and a few individuals have reported that they run a little hot, even at moderate levels.
An awesome review of the amp, done by an individual nic'd named "Chad"...right down to performing modifications can be found here, at the DIY Mobile Audio website.
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ADDITIONAL CIRCUITRY
A VFD based on the Hitachi HD44780 display IC for indicating server status information, and to show source playing status. This display is a 4x20 character type with LED backlighting. It connects to the server via parallel port and is housed inside the MayBALD/breakout enclosure. In order to display the source playing information, I used the Winamp Now Playing plugin along with LCD Smartie. You can read more about it here.
Balanced Audio Line Driver/Receiver circuitry (The MayBALD), or balun, for suppling low-level balanced audio from the server room to the adjacent familyroom with the hopes of keeping the signal immune of noise.
I've built a circuit based on Elliot's Sound Product's "Simplest Ever PC Peripheral Switch" (project#: 118). This allows for the equipment to shutdown when the music-server goes into standby, and all turn back on when the music-server wakes. Not the best way, but works right now in conservering energy when the system isn't even in use in the wee hours of the night/morning.
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MAIN SYSTEM PLACEMENT
The main parts of the system (computer, amps, MayBALD/VFD Enclosure, tuner) resides in the basement, in my office. The office is also the basics of the distribution hub for not only the music server, but all satellite TV connections are made at a 2 to 4 switch, the phone hub, and electrical breaker box all reside in that room as well.
Below are some pics of how the system is installed. Basically the computer sits on a small platform, about 3" high, just enough to get it off the floor. Above that on some overhanging shelving, resides the AM/FM Tuner and MayBALD/VFD Enclosure. The amps sit on top on some more overhanging shelving.
Server
MayBALD Enclosure
TX-480 AM/FM Tuner
2x BSG 6 channel Amplifiers
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SYSTEM WIRING
The diagram below is a system overview drawing that show how the major components work together.
The actual Audigy backpanel looks like this:
Where:
7.1 channel analog audio
1. Line Out 1 jack
2. Line Out 2 jack
3. Line Out 3 jack
4. Front Left
5. Front Right
6. Ground
7. Rear Left
8. Rear Right
9. Ground
10. Side Right
11. Center
12. Subwoofer
13. Ground
14. Side Left
Looking more at the audio interconnects, view the diagram below to see how everything is connected together between the music zoning components.
255-XXX are Steren part numbers.
I did not show speaker hookup, as I felt that this is pretty self exclamatory. I will add though that all speaker runs are 16AWG (16 guage) two conductor in-wall wiring, meaning that all in-wall wiring meets CL3 fire code. I chose 16 guage over thicker 14 guage, mainly for cost. But as none of my runs are more that 100' (the longest is around the 75' mark), there shouldn't be an audible signal degradation from using the higher guage. Also what constitutes not using a heavier guage is that all my amplification is low...which equates to lower current draw across the load (speakers).
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SPEAKERS
Livingroom: A set of Polk Audio R10 bookshelf speakers
Familyroom: Since the familyroom that is also the theater room is right next to the room where the music server resides, low level audio will be utilized for this zone and using the theater room equipment/speakers. See my home theater page for more details of the equipement, but in the short, the speakers are a combination of Signet and Paradigm, with a Cerwin-Vega 200W amplified sub.
Backyard: I have a set of HT5 patio speakers from outdoorspeakerdepot.com. These speakers are actually made by Sonance (Sound Advance) using the HomeTech name, but they have got some pretty nice reviews, and fill my backyard with beautiful music...though I guess the neighbors would disagree.
Bathroom: an in-ceiling stereo speaker made by Dayton that can be purchased from Parts Express. This speaker is the KS622C KEVLAR 6-1/2" STEREO CEILING SPEAKER.
Garage: I am now thinking of getting a second set of HT5 speakers that I used in the backyard as I've been very impressed with the sound that these little speakers put out.
Bedrooms: All bedrooms will utilize the CS620C 6-1/2" 2-WAY CEILING SPEAKER PAIR from Dayton Speakers. View link above for more details.
The image below outlines the placement of the speakers in the system. The red dots are speaker placements. From left to right, Upstairs (Zones 5/6/7), Mainfloor (Zones 1/3/4), Basement (Zone 2). 
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SYSTEM CONTROL
The system is controllable via a Dell X3i pda running at 400MHz. The operating system is Microsoft Windows Mobile Pocket PC 2003 Premium. Installed memory is 64MB and it has WIFI built in running a Xlobby thin client shell. It will be able to Wake the server in the event that the server is asleep, and to even put the server to sleep upon exiting the Xlobby client if required. It is running macro-script software called ButtonMax. This allows macros to be run by simply pressing one of the hard buttons on the PPC, which will allow for automatically waking the server and connect to it via thin client.
The PPC is able to access the system via a Linksys access point (WAP54G).
I have two hubs in which the PPC can be plugged into and the batteries recharged. One is in the kitchen and is somewhat the main docking center. The other is on my bedside table.
Below are some typcial xlobby PPC client screens from the latest ZoneSkin4:
The system can also be controlled by a number of additional Xlobby thin or fat clients depending on individual needs/requirements. This is what is so interesting about Xlobby. Additional fat clients can also act as additional zones as well.
All work/maintenance on the system can be performed from another computer, or by using the PPC, via free remote admin software called VNC, as the server does not have a monitor connected to it.
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CURRENT STATUS LOG
I decided to start this log before it is too late. Though now I will have to play catchup on a lot of what has happened with the overall design and current implimentation of the project.
30/11/06
At this point almost all of the parts for the main system have been purchased. For the computer, the only extra thing to get is a SATA drive and maybe more memory. All the soundcards have been purchased. The system is up and running. From a software standpoint, the system is almost fully functional. I only have to finish off the Girder control of the parallel port, and then add USB-UIRT commands to control the external tuner.
The integration of the tuner has gone well. Except for the UIRT commands, it is fully working and control is integrated into the Zoneskin2 skin of Xlobby.
The amps have been delivered, I have yet to connect them up to try them out.
The MayBALD is almost completed testing. You can view the current status of that project on its compliment page. I only really now have to box it, and try out some final, full audio testing to officially say it is a go.
The Maylume volume control is now starting to get underway. I've acquired most of the parts now. I hope to have a bench mock version to try out and verify the components work prior to populating a board.
I'm soon to start tooling the box that the Maylume and MayBALD driver circuit will be housed into. It will be a retrofit of an enclosure I got from Hammond for the Mini Mayclone (so unfortunately it has some holes drilled into it).
Besides the Familyroom zone (which will be utilizing the home theatre equipment), I haven't spent much time in setting anything up. I do have final placement of the speakers for the Livingroom zone.
I haven't run speaker wire from the basement to the attic yet. I kinda put that off as I've purchased quite a few other parts for the project.
6/12/06
The MayBALD receiver circuit is now housed in its final enclosure. Check out photos on the MayBALD page.
14/12/06
I haven't updated here for a while...as I haven't done too much lately. Been mucking with the Maylume project, and now understand that I will need more parts.
I made a few changes to my ZoneSkin2. I've added AM/FM Tuner control using the UIRT, and a couple of other minor changes. I've dumped it to my space on the Xlobby website. If you wish to download, goto my ZoneSkin2 page and follow the link.
Another thing is that I had a problem with the music server crashing and randomly rebooting. This has plagued me from the start, but it has been getting increasingly worse. Before, it happened once every few days, but for the past few weeks, it would crash once or more a day. I determined that the first area that I would look at was the memory. I ended up going into the BIOS and played around with some of the timing settings. Normally I don't touch those, and leave them at factory defaults, but this time, changing them appears to have paid off. The systems been running flat out for the last two days without a hiccup. It's gone to sleep as scheduled, and I woke it, and it continued where it last left off. Hopefully now the system is stable.
Anyways, that's it for now. Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday.
19/12/06
Finally finished off the Girder commands required to control the parallel port that will interface with the Maylume/MayBALD enclosure. So now, I can command Xlobby to turn up/down volume, outside of winamps volume, to any zone. I did this especially when running a PartyZone, if controlling the volume via winamp, it would effect all the zones. If, let's say, it's late at night and I don't want to have the music in the backyard zone, but I don't want to effect the other zones in the party enviroment, then I can turn just that amplifier channel pair down, without effecting the other zones in the party enviroment.
I haven't uploaded the skin updates yet, but when I do, also included will be the Girder .gml file as well.
21/12/06
Finished making the 3.5mm patch cables that will interface the music server soundcards to the Maylume/MayBALD enclosure. Next steps over the Christmas break is to finish wiring the power supplies, mount the MayBALD driver circuit (and wire what I can to it) and figure out mounting the Maylume circuit. Also over the break, I'm intending on purchasing the FET's I require to continue testing the Maylume circuit with hopes of building the final circuit at the start of the new year. I will be adding pictures of the enclosure at different stages of completion for all to enjoy.
31/12/06
Had a friend come by and help in running speaker wire from the basement to the attic. Mainly this was for speakers up in the main bathroom. I also ran speaker wire for each of my bedrooms for possible future use. Another thing that I ran was a CAT5 cable for future expansion of a wired LAN to the upstairs. I have wireless (for the PPC to control the system), but I figured that an actual wired connection will allow for the streaming of video files.
Over Christmas, I got a 250Gig SATA drive for the music server, so I re-installed everything onto it, and upgraded to WinXP Pro. The computer is now in its final resting place awaiting for connections.
I'm hoping to wire in the Living Room zone before our New Year's Eve party, so I can brag a little and officially show what it can do. Hopefully everything will come together.
Have A Happy New Years!
2/1/07
Test Successful! I was successful at running one zone for our New Years Party. It ran great. We did discover that some of the .mp3 files were corrupted, and I'll have to re-rip those songs again. The over-all operation was very smooth. Some further tweaks are required, mainly at default setting the volume so upon first run, the volume isn't loud enough to blow speakers...or eardrums. Other than that...the wife finally came out and said that it is pretty cool. That alone in my eyes constitutes a successful test run.
Hopefully by the end of the month I will have mostly completed the Maylume and added that to the mix, along with the MayBALD so then the family room will be a zone. Around early spring, I'm hoping I will have saved enough for speakers for the bathroom and maybe even for the backyard. To which I will be able to add those zones as well.
8/1/07
Adjusted the amplifier/speaker output more by making adjustments to my KX drivers EQ levels. System master volume is at max and the Winamp volume now is at 10% to 20%, and it fills the livingroom with music nicely. I'm very happy with the BSG amps so far and I'm looking forward to connecting up the remaining zones that will require the amps.
Haven't done too much more except for updating my music tags and creating a Bootskin for the music-server.
12/1/07
Recieved more parts for breadboarding the Maylume circuit. View that page for updates pertaining exclusively to that project. Also made changes to the above zoning layout diagram. Added additional bedroom zones (since I've run the wiring for them), and moved the Garage zone to the BSG amp that also powers the Livingroom and Backyard zones. This way all the zones on the first floor are powered off the same amp, and all the zones on the second floor will be powered from the other amp.
Also waiting for some X10 devices to come in so I will be able to control the AC power to the rest of the equipment when the server goes to/comes out of sleep mode. I'm expecting a CM11a serial controller and an appliance output receptacle.
More to do...no time to do it.
22/1/07
Milled out all the holes and mounted all the additional connectors on the backpanel of the Maylume enclosure. Wired in the MayBALD driver except for the input lines. Hopefully this will be done by the weekend, and I will have a second zone (familyroom) up and running. Will be adding up-to-date pictures of where I'm at with the enclosure.
23/1/07
Powered up the MayBALD circuit. The only thing left to wire in is the input feeds for music input. Measured 14.98V at the driver ciruit. At the receiver end, after going through about 30' of CAT5 cable, I measured 14.96V. I connected the receiver to my processor, cranked the volume and didn't notice any audible noise.
The X10 stuff ended up being a bust. I purchased a CM11a serial controller and a 3-prong appliance module off ebay. I could only talk to the controller and have it trigger the module sparadically. After reading up on the internet, I found out that lot's of people have had problems talking to the serial controller with a WinXP (SP2) machine. I decided to shelf that project and may build something bassed off of Elliots Sound Products website. Maybe the PC Peripheral Switch project, or the Signal Detection project. Or I may build something that combines the two projects together. I have to figure out my ultimate need for something like this and more so, how to control it. Basically I want to shut down the AC to the rest of the equipment when the server goes into standby, and to turn it all back on when the server wakes up. This is to mainly save on electricity costs when the system is not being used.
24/1/07
I temporarily rigged some wire from the RCA input to the individual Driver input of the MayBALD, just to try it out with some music. The test was successful as I was listening to music in my familyroom (considered zone 2). Now I will be finishing off the wiring properly so this zone can be completed. View the MayBALD and the enclosure project pages for the most recent pictures.
25/1/07
Test Successful! I finished wiring the RCA inputs to the MayBALD driver. Last night I listened to music in the familyroom zone for about 4 hours. I feel pretty confident that the MayBALD is working correctly. I would say that zone is now completed.
So now I have 2 working zones. The next zone to finish will be the bathroom zone, where now I just have to get the speakers.
26/1/07
Another Test Successful! I've benched it by swapping a set of speakers from soundcard output to output, but I finally tested the party zone in two of the three areas defined in the party zone: the livingroom and familyroom. I must admit, I'm impressed at perfect sync between the rooms.
23/2/07
I've gone now and in the midst of making some big changes to my system. I'm in the middle of creating a new skin, with the hopes of an improved WAF (wife acceptance factor). I'm now steering away from building a digital volume control as an individual on the XLobby forums has created a plugin that can control the KX drivers right within Xlobby. So now I have control of the volumes sliders within the KX DSP (view the KX website for info on the DSP and usage). I've also decided to expand the amount of zones from 5 to 7, and from one "Party" Sync capabilties of three zones to two synced areas (each consisting of three zones), and a whole house sync capability. To do this, I ended up removing a stereo output soundcard, and replaced it with a Creative 5.1Live, that also can utilize the KX Drivers like the Audigy. Everything, I'm hoping, will be ready soon. I'm also hoping to have a "how to" document that will explain the setup and how anyone else can be able to achieve something similar...so stay tuned.
5/3/07
Late last week, I released a new skin called ZoneSkin3. It was based on my previous zone skin, but now takes advantage of more zone abilities, and new features. Check it out more on the Skins page.
12/3/07
So the enclosure that is used to interface the computer to the amplifiers, house the MayBALD, and display server status is now complete. Equipment wise, I'm pretty much finished. Below are some pics of the current system. Currently I have 2 zones wired and working. All but the backyard and garage are wired...just not populated with speakers yet. I have migrated over to using ZoneSkin3, and it is working fine. The KX Drivers and PervTalk are running excellent. If all works out well, I'm hoping to have the bedrooms/bathrooms wired sometime this spring. The backyard I'm hoping to do over the summer. And if all works out, wire in the garage speakers by this fall.
23/3/07
I've built a little circuit totally based on Elliot's Sound Products project 118. Which is called the PC Peripheral Switch. What this does is when the music server goes into standby mode, it turns off the rest of the equipment. When the computer wakes, the equipment turns on. I did this so I don't waste electricity. The project was real simple. Three things in my eyes you have to worry about. 1) Getting a proper sized relay. I ended up using a Potter Brumfield 12V coil and rated for 7.5A across the contacts with 120VAC. 2) Finding a properly sized powerbar that will be able to house the relay and 12V input socket. 3) Your dealing with house AC mains wiring and voltages...so extra care and awareness has to be taken into account.
Finally ordered all the speakers for the upstairs, so when they come in I will be able to complete a bunch of zones. Then we will be able to really see what the system can do. For the bathroom, I will be using KS622C KEVLAR 6-1/2" STEREO CEILING SPEAKER. For all the bedrooms, I settled on the CS620C 6-1/2" 2-WAY CEILING SPEAKER PAIR. Ordered them all from Parts Express, so hopefully they will be here in about a week.
I've also ordered, and waiting for an Audigy 7.1 Value to replace my Live 5.1. This way I can take full advantage of the Audigy with the KX drivers. So now I won't be limited in registers, and let's face it, the Audigy is a better sounding card. I can also take advantage of the Side Surrounds for additional zones, so in all reality, I could have 8 individual zones off of two cards...not bad.
Finally, I've updated my KX DSP for the existing Audigy (the new Audigy will emulate this DSP). Made alot of changes to it to include a direct line-in from the AM/FM tuner, used 6-1 mixers (6 stereo inputs/1 stereo outputs). These mixers also incorporate a master volume, so I was able to drop the seperate volume controls. The only thing the pic below does not show...which was a recent addition, was that I had to add a gain control to the output of the line-in source as even at low volumes, it was too loud.
SB0400 KX DSP settings
27/3/07
The Audigy finally arrived...after almost 2 weeks of waiting. It is now installed. All channels work with the KX configuration. Xlobby and PervTalk just require some updating to control the card's mixers. This shouldn't be too bad. Now just waiting on the speakers.
8/4/07
Test Successful! Got the speakers last week, and finally got to install the bathroom one (so far). I must say that I'm very impressed with the Dayton's. Very musical sounding. So now I only have to finish off the bedrooms and a good portion of this project will be complete.
I also came up with the final configuration (for now) of my Audigy cards. You can view the configuration above.
Finally, I figured out a way to display Artist/Track/Album information for each zone on the VFD. View the document here to learn how to do it. So now my system displays information for all the individual zones, as well as the three sync possibilities. So now sitting in my office, I don't have to start an Xlobby client or VNC into the server to see what is going on around the house...it is a quick visual on the VFD.
12/4/07
I had ordered some 3.5mm to RCA Steren cabling and it finally all came in. This is used to interconnect the server to the Maylume Enclosure and Tuner. The 3.5mm 4-pole cables were at a right angle and were just a little too large to fit side by side. I ended up "trimming" some of the outside sleeve with a knife. They fit perfect now.
29/4/07
Test Successfull! Another zone has been completed. The bathroom/masterbedroom speakers have been installed and that zone is fully operational. I've also installed one speaker into bedroom2 and have run a successful test in operating that zone, as well as a basic Upstairs zone sync.
22/5/07
Test Successfull! The bedroom2 zone is now finally completed. I finally had a chance to install the second speaker into that room. It sounds really good. So now counting I have: Living room, Familyroom, Bath/Masterbed, Bedroom2 all complete. I am able to verify all three sync possibilities (mainfloor, upperfloor, wholehouse) and every thing works. Now I just have to install the final set up speakers in Bedroom3 to complete the upstairs. Also hopefully I will be getting on with running conduit/wire to the backyard and pick up a set of speakers for the backyard. The other zone to complete is the wiring and connection for the garage. I'm still not completely sure which way to go about wiring the garage. I was going to just run some speaker wire and connect a couple of speakers. Now I'm thinking about using a MayBALD circuit to a cheap getto-blaster I currently have in the garage. Life is hard....
3/7/07
I haven't updated for the last little while, as I haven't done much work on the system to warrent anything being entered here. I did though work on the backyard to level the patio stones. After pulling them all up, it gave me the chance to also run some conduit and speaker wire for the eventual backyard (zone 3) speakers. Nothing much more has been done with the system lately.
17/7/07
I decided to make some mods to the ZoneSkin3. I broke the whole music library down into smaller alphabetical subsections. I then created databases for the whole library, and each sub-section. I modded the album select screen and its equivalent ppc screen to allow for the user to select the artist in alphabetical order. I hoping that this will increase the WAF.
13/8/07
Ordered a set of HT5 outdoor speakers from outdoorspeakerdepot.com. They seemed to have OK specifications, and individuals seem to like them. The speakers are really made be Sonance, which is a pretty respected audio company. So they should be here in a week and that zone should hopefully be finally completed. Also a neighbor with an industrial hammer drill came by and drilled a hole through the foundation in order to run the speaker wire from the outside to the amplifiers. All that's needed now are the speakers, which are in transit.
16/8/07
Test Successfull! I ran some temporary speakers out to the backyard to try out that zone, and it all ran pretty well. Found out my speakers should be here tomorrow, so I will have the weekend to enjoy some music in the backyard...not to mention that I will most likely piss off the neighbors.
21/8/07
Test Successfull! The HT5 outdoor speakers came in. I installed them and had a quick listen. I tried some frequency sweeps, and different levels of bass from a CD called "Food for Woofers" (from my car audio days). Those little speakers sounded real good. It also allowed me to set some EQ levels in the KX DSP for that zone. So now that zone is completed.
Total count: 5 zones complete, 1 zone I just have to install the speakers. If the weather remains as cool as it has been for the last couple of days, this may allow me to get up in the attic and complete the third bedroom zone. The garage zone is the only zone that I have not done anything with.
I've also been looking at a little circuit from here, which would allow me more sources plugged into the audigy line-ins, and switch them in at any point. What this would allow for is the ability to have something like an IPOD docking station in the kitchen, and at any point can switch to that source and play music from the IPOD to any zone. The only limit is that every zone dedicated to an audigy would have to listen to the same "external" source (if people wanted to listen to something other than CD music, or internet music).
30/8/07
Looking at some Polk R1 bookshelf speakers. They're pretty cheap, but the specs are almost the same as the R10's that I'm using in the livingroom. The R10's sound good, so I'm expecting the same for these as well. I will know more tonight as to if I actually will get them or not.
17/9/07
In the midst of making some major changes to my setup. I creating a new skin...called...get ready for this....ZoneSkin4. My whole philosphy and outlook of what I wanted out of my system has changed (hopefully for the better). I'm designing a skin to exploit this philosphy. This will make some pretty big changes to this page once it is all done. You can view my progress here.
Oh and by the way, I didn't get the speakers...I was beaten out on eBay. Oh well, I guess I'll have to keep looking.
24/9/07
The new skin has been distributed. It is running pretty good. Check out the link in the entry above to goto the xlobby forum post where you can download the skin. I still have to update this page to accomodate the changes. I will also be updating the "Skins" page as well over the next few days. I'm just taking a little break from all this, as I've put alot on the side so I can complete this massive modification in the shortest time possible. Nothing else to report.
1/10/07
Updated this page to reflect the recent skin change. So far, things have been running really smoothly. With ZoneSkin3 I was getting an occasionnal crash...now its been a week with ZoneSkin4 and siil running smooth. Ab individual on the xlobby site is currently working on a new Shoutcast plugin, so I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it. Also nice is that my google pages and the xlobby site have generated some interest from individuals who want to achieve the same as what I have. Very nice to see this. Look for more page updates over the next few days.
1/11/07
Picked up 1 Gig of Samsung Memory and a new Enermax EG435P-VHB SFMA Power supply to throw into the music server. This should all help in making it a little more responsive and reliable. Currently it only has 512 Meg of RAM and a generic cheap supply. Now I just have to purchase a second, redundant hard drive and setup a basic RAID.
10/12/07
Over the weekend, I had the chance to actually install the extra memory and power supply. I'm very impressed with the supply and how quiet it is. I'm so impressed with it, that I may be purchasing another one for the use in my HTPC project. Not much more to report on. Still have to do the following:
1) install speakers in the final bedroom upstairs
2) run cabling to the garage
3) install speakers into the garage
More updates later...but if not before Christmas...everyone have a Happy Holiday.
24/12/07
Test Successfull! Since the weekend was a little warmer than usual, I decided to take advantage of the warmer temperatures to get back up into the atic and finish off the third bedroom zone. So now the speakers are installed,and everything is working well. I synced that zone with the other two upstairs zones and then with the whole house sync audio feature. Everything went great. I just have to tweak the KX EQ for that zone, but that is the least of my worries. This just leaves the garage zone remaining. Hard to believe that almost a year ago, I was just getting ready to pull the wiring for all these zones. Now the job is nearing completion.
2/1/08
Test Successfull! Start by saying "Happy New Years!" Now, we had a New Year's party and I ran the system in Whole House Sync for many hours. It ran flawlessly, though I only had the volume turned up in 4 zones. Very happy.
28/2/08
Forgot that I had made a small update to ZoneSkin4 and uploaded the latest version for all to download on 17/2/08. This updated basically did the following:
- Fixed PPC album search screens
- taken out PPC control screens and added its functions to the playback control overlay (EQ nav button, shuffle toggle and repeat toggle).
- replaced "control" button on menu "nav" overlay with a "music" button which will take user direct to album select screen. This screen will select for current source.
- gave the manual a much needed update to indicate XLiveShout, and additional screenshots to show some of the above changes.
- gave the PPC EQ overlay a little bit of an update to show the EQ parameters.
You can download the latest version by going to my skin section here, or by going to my alternate download site, or by the link on the xlobby forums that cover ZoneSkin4.
10/7/08
Its been awhile since I have done any updates or changes. Some of the things I have done:
1) configured the skin for using the Xintheaters plugin. This was mainly using the same events as before, only now tswhite (creator of the xintheater script) made a nice interface/plugin. Works great.
2) my wife has grown increasingly frustrated over the cumbersome setup to playback music. So taking note of this low WAF, I'm almost completed updating/creating some new PPC screens, to hopefully make her experience a little bit easier, and more enhanced visually. I will soon be releasing this ZoneSkin update after some field testing and feedback, so stay tuned.