With few exceptions, multiroom audio systems still distribute music the same way they did 20 years ago: Central stacks of source components and amplifiers route signals to speakers around the home over hundreds of feet of speaker cabling. But this approach has its drawbacks. Resistance, capacitance and inductance build up over long wires, adding up to signal losses and compromised performance.
Back in high school, I had to write an essay on "the more things change, the more they stay the same." (I'm sure the teacher enjoyed reading it about as much as I enjoyed writing it.) While that might hold true for many things, it couldn't be more off base when describing the constantly evolving world of technology.
STEP 1: CHOOSE THE RIGHT REMOTE "You get what you pay for" definitely holds true with universal remotes. Cheap models offer basic features such as channel-changing and play-stop-skip controls but usually can't handle full system control.
Movie sequels are rarely as good as the originals. Fortunately, just the opposite is true with consumer electronics, where Gen 2 is almost always a good thing, loaded with extra features and tweaked for better performance. In the case of the new Pioneer Inno XM2go portable satellite radio, it's a great thing.
Is getting a flat-panel set out of the box and onto the wall something you can do yourself, or do you need to hire a pro? Assuming you don't want to run any wires inside the wall, mounting a flat-panel is probably a "6" on the difficulty scale. So if you think you're up to the challenge, read on!
For the past 8 years, I've been installing home-entertainment systems at Custom Theater and Audio in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, and for the past 5 years, I've been writing about custom installation for Sound & Vision.
