Buiding my own multi-room amp

bondi · 1st April 2008, 07:57 PM

Hi all,

I have been looking for a decent multi-room amplifier for a while but haven’t found anyone that meets my requirements (mainly low cost

). I have read fine reviews of the Sonic T-amp and when I also saw that they are making a PC-version (a version that fits in a PC and is fed through a standard computer psu) of this amplifier I thought that this might be an easy solution for building my own low-cost "high-quality" multi-room amplifier.

My plan is to take 4 Sonic T-amp TIO boards connect them to a computer PSU and put everything in a custom case. I might add a relay board with a serial interface which would allow me to turn on/off each amplifier-board (for example in case I don’t want to play any music in the outdoor area) through my computer.

This will (I hope) give me a 4 zone amplifier that is controllable by a computer (just on/on for different zones) and will be able to put some good music through my ceiling speakers.

I just want to make a reality check with you guys before I go ahead and buy the stuff. Do you think it’s a good idea? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Sound quality? Your comments are very much appreciated!

TheMG · 2nd April 2008, 03:57 AM

What impedance are your ceiling speakers? It's something to take into consideration, as if you're driving higher impedance speakers you may need an amp with more output voltage than the computer PSU will provide (12V single-ended) in order to get the full power out of your speakers.

bondi · 2nd April 2008, 11:08 AM

I have not bought them yet but I am considering RC81 8" In-Ceiling Speaker from outdoorspeakerdepot.

The impedance is 8 ohm and the sensitivity is 92dB.

Do you think it's a good combination?

EWorkshop1708 · 5th April 2008, 09:17 PM

Try 4 ohm instead........like car speakers, most of them have really good sound in the better quality units.

Also, you can mount car speakers in walls and ceilings.

1st April 2008, 07:57 PM	#1
bondi diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2008	Buiding my own multi-room amp Hi all, I have been looking for a decent multi-room amplifier for a while but haven’t found anyone that meets my requirements (mainly low cost). I have read fine reviews of the Sonic T-amp and when I also saw that they are making a PC-version (a version that fits in a PC and is fed through a standard computer psu) of this amplifier I thought that this might be an easy solution for building my own low-cost "high-quality" multi-room amplifier. My plan is to take 4 Sonic T-amp TIO boards connect them to a computer PSU and put everything in a custom case. I might add a relay board with a serial interface which would allow me to turn on/off each amplifier-board (for example in case I don’t want to play any music in the outdoor area) through my computer. This will (I hope) give me a 4 zone amplifier that is controllable by a computer (just on/on for different zones) and will be able to put some good music through my ceiling speakers. I just want to make a reality check with you guys before I go ahead and buy the stuff. Do you think it’s a good idea? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Sound quality? Your comments are very much appreciated!

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2nd April 2008, 03:57 AM	#2
TheMG diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2008	What impedance are your ceiling speakers? It's something to take into consideration, as if you're driving higher impedance speakers you may need an amp with more output voltage than the computer PSU will provide (12V single-ended) in order to get the full power out of your speakers.

2nd April 2008, 11:08 AM	#3
bondi diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2008	I have not bought them yet but I am considering RC81 8" In-Ceiling Speaker from outdoorspeakerdepot. The impedance is 8 ohm and the sensitivity is 92dB. Do you think it's a good combination?

5th April 2008, 09:17 PM	#4
EWorkshop1708 diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Florida	Try 4 ohm instead........like car speakers, most of them have really good sound in the better quality units. Also, you can mount car speakers in walls and ceilings.

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