Setting Up Your First Whole House Audio System

A whole house audio system can elevate your listening experience at home.

More and more homeowners are setting up a whole house audio system for their enjoyment and convenience.

If you want to add this feature to your home, today’s post is for you.  

A Whole House Audio System Fills Your Home with Sounds

Also referred to as a multi-room sound system, this installation may seem daunting and intimidating at first. However, it can certainly be accomplished. 

You can set up the audio system to play the same audio throughout the house or customize it depending on a specific room or zone.

Here are some handy tips when setting up your first whole house audio system.

Pick the Rooms

This step is the first thing you do when installing a multi-room audio system for your home. Choosing the rooms where you would like music or audio to play should be the first on your checklist.

Whether it’s for your daily enjoyment or for special occasions, having crisp and vibrant music play at your house is a modern-day convenience for many of us. That is why many homeowners are installing a whole house audio system.

Pick the rooms in your house you want to incorporate in the multi-room sound system installation. This will help when you are planning what products to set up in which space. Naturally, the more rooms or zones you integrate with the multi-room sound system, the more audio devices and equipment you need.

If you are working on a budget, you can prioritize setting up the audio system in rooms or zones that you use the most. You can always build onto the system and upgrade over time. 

For instance, if you have an open floor plan, you want to segregate the living room, dining room, and kitchen and assign them a zone in your whole house audio system.

You can do this setup by using wireless speakers or ceiling speakers in those specific zones.

Pick the Audio Source

If you have been researching about surround sound systems for your home, you have most likely come across information about the source you need.

Some of these include:

  • Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming media services
  • Cable TV
  • Gaming consoles
  • DVD players
  • Computer audio
  • Spotify and other streaming music services

Keep in mind what dependencies your preferred audio source might have before it can work properly. 

For example, streaming media and music services require a paid subscription before you can access them without ads. If you are using your computer as the audio source, it naturally needs to be turned on before playing music.

Choose an audio source.

You do have the option to decide whether you want a single-source or a multi-source whole house audio system.

A single-source system means each zone or rooms have their own controls and volume setup even with the same music playing throughout the house on all of the speakers.

This type of source setup can be quite limiting.

However, if you want a basic multi-room sound system with background music playing in the background, this installation does the job perfectly. 

Wiring the Whole House Audio System

You have three options when it comes to the connectivity of a whole house audio system. 

  • Wireless network connection
  • Hardwired network connection
  • Hybrid system connection

Hardwired networks offer the best and crispest sound quality. This type of network connectivity also allows you to set up the sound quality based on the type of room you are installing the sound system. 

For instance, whether it’s for an outdoor patio or your home entertainment or game room. In addition, there are fewer considerations that may hinder the performance of your system.

When your wiring is running from one source to another, the only obstacles that can hinder the connection’s performance are poor quality wires and cables, damaged wires, or switch problems or interfaces.

Choose speakers for your whole house audio system.

All of these barriers can be avoided if the whole house audio system is well designed and properly installed.

Wireless sound systems, on the other hand, will give you more flexible options. Your installation can start with one room. Gradually, you can add more zones or spaces to the system.

From an installation and design perspective, a wireless system is also less time consuming. This allows you to take advantage of a basic whole house sound system within enough time. 

As you may have suspected, a hybrid system is a combination of wired and wireless systems.

You can get the best of both worlds with this type of installation. You can get wired sound system devices then feed them into either in-ceiling or in-wall speakers.

Choose Your Speakers

When you have a fairly good idea of your sound system’s connectivity setup, it’s time to choose audio speakers.

The four primary types of speakers are:

  • In-ceiling speakers or in-wall speakers
  • Outdoor speakers
  • Bookshelf speakers
  • Floor-standing speakers

If you want background music to fill your house, you can go for in-ceiling or in-wall speakers. This type of setup hides all the wires within the walls and ceilings, as the names suggest.

This installation is also a great idea when you want to make the speakers blend in or mesh well with your interior design. 

To make the in-wall and in-ceiling speakers match your design perfectly, you can customize the speaker grills by painting them. You can choose the same colors as your walls and ceilings. 

Bookshelf speakers offer superior sound quality than in-ceiling or in-wall speakers. This type of speakers is also easier to move anywhere you want in the room. You can put bookshelf speakers right next to your living room shelves, reading chair, ottoman, or anywhere you want to place them. 

Incorporate backyard speakers into your whole house audio system.

If you have more space to spare and want top-quality sound, you can opt for floor-standing speakers.

These speakers are your best bet. Setting up floor-standing speakers allows you to get concert-like sound quality right in your own house. 

If you want a legitimate whole house audio system, you can’t overlook your outdoor living space.

This will truly set your whole house audio system to the next level. There are many outdoor speakers available on the market today.

These speakers are engineered to withstand outside elements. They are also designed to blend seamlessly with your outdoor landscape. Think speakers that look like garden rocks.

You can throw the perfect outdoor party with the best outdoor speakers.