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The easiest, cleanest and most affordable time to add multiroom audio is while your home is still at the design or construction stage. Once the drywall is up, every speaker and keypad means fishing wire through finished walls. That can be done, but it's slower and more limited. Plan ahead and the system can go exactly where you want it.
1. Decide which rooms get music
Walk through the floor plan and think about how you'll actually live in the house. Kitchens, family rooms, main bedrooms, home offices, bathrooms and outdoor spaces are the most common zones. Even if you're not ready to install speakers everywhere, pre-wiring a room costs little compared with retrofitting later.
2. Choose a central equipment location
Multiroom systems run speaker wire from each zone back to central amplifiers and controllers. A basement mechanical room, a closet or a cabinet with ventilation works well. Every run starts here, so pick it early.
3. Pre-wire speakers, keypads and network
- Speaker wire from each in-ceiling or in-wall speaker location to the equipment location
- CAT5/CAT6 to each room keypad location, typically beside the light switches
- Network cabling to TVs, streamers and the equipment rack
- Extra conduit or spare runs for future upgrades
4. Think about control
Modern systems can be controlled from a phone, an iPad or an Android device, while wall keypads give everyone in the house simple power, source and volume control. Most families end up using both.
5. Leave room to grow
A typical system starts with around six rooms. With additional controllers and amplifiers it can expand to as many as 36 zones, including the patio, deck and pool. Planning spare capacity now makes those additions straightforward later.
Building in Vaughan, Brampton or anywhere in the GTA? Book a free consultation and we'll help you plan the wiring before construction moves past the framing stage. Learn more about our multiroom audio services.
