Quality multiroom A/V receiver

[Nindustries]

Good day,

I am planning my house setup. I will be installing in-ceiling speakers in about 3 to 4 zones, where one zone has a 5.1 setup.
What do I want from my receiver?

• 
  ■ Multiroom capability with individual volume/source control.
  ■ 3 or 4 seperate zone control. (with one HDMI video + 5.1 setup)
  ■ Manageable zones from Android application.
  ■ Play music from HDMI (htpc), (internet) radio, NAS (dlna) or from connected device.
  ■ Deliver high-quality sound, both to 5.1 and zone speakers.
  ■ Optional Spotify support.

I looked at Pioneer, and they seem to have a nice application to control their receivers. Altough I find many mixed opinions about Pioneer on the internet and their receivers only can server up to 3 zones. (one 5.1, one stereo and one HDMI)

Any suggestions or opinions? Thanks!

Greetings

 

[ssddx]

pioneer does make a 4zone unit. one 5.1, two stereo, one hdmi.

its rather high in price though.

i have a pioneer elite vsx-30 which is on the low end of the elite series and the only problem that i've ever had is the temp overload switch clicking off randomly once which was able to be reset with a code. the unit was easy to set up with the included mic and onscreen gui and it sounds great with my klipsch speakers. i do not have android control but this unit was purchased before that was even an option on receiver systems. even the low end elite vsx-43 now has smartphone controls.

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do you really need one unit which controls everything? keep in mind that if the unit breaks (which can happen to any brand) and it happens out of warranty you're out quite a bit of cash. a more complicated unit means there is more than can go wrong as well. it may also be harder to set up and to figure out how to control it all.

it may be cheaper in the long run to buy two lower end two zone receivers since they are 1/4 the price each and have two seperate loops running instead of one. you might need an hdmi switch or splitter to allow both to connect up to your htpc but the price of that is quite low compared to going with a 4zone unit. networking will be about the same. going with two units allows you to use two seperate pandora accounts to stream two different channels at the same time to two different locations

playing the same internet audio or nas track on zone 2 and 3 at the same time may be harder though due to having two control units so may not be too feasible but will work perfectly fine from hdmi htpc input (which you can use pandora or nas on to bypass this issue completely)

honestly the only benefit i can see from android support is skipping songs or changing channels which is likely only useful in zone2 situations. keep in mind that using your phone in this manner is going to drain battery life fast so its a win-lose situation.

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just a few thoughts

 

[americanaudiophile]

I would suggest using an AV receiver for the 5.1 zone and use Sonos for the stereo music zones. You could use the receiver to power the additional zones and use Connects as sources. You can add a Connect Amp for a fourth zone if and when you need it. Their free control app works on Android, Kindle, and iPhones and iPads (PCs and Macs too). They support a lot of music services (free and pay including Spotify) with new ones all the time.

 

[ecamou]

pioneer does make a 4zone unit. one 5.1, two stereo, one hdmi.

its rather high in price though.

i have a pioneer elite vsx-30 which is on the low end of the elite series and the only problem that i've ever had is the temp overload switch clicking off randomly once which was able to be reset with a code. the unit was easy to set up with the included mic and onscreen gui and it sounds great with my klipsch speakers. i do not have android control but this unit was purchased before that was even an option on receiver systems. even the low end elite vsx-43 now has smartphone controls.

------

do you really need one unit which controls everything? keep in mind that if the unit breaks (which can happen to any brand) and it happens out of warranty you're out quite a bit of cash. a more complicated unit means there is more than can go wrong as well. it may also be harder to set up and to figure out how to control it all.

it may be cheaper in the long run to buy two lower end two zone receivers since they are 1/4 the price each and have two seperate loops running instead of one. you might need an hdmi switch or splitter to allow both to connect up to your htpc but the price of that is quite low compared to going with a 4zone unit. networking will be about the same. going with two units allows you to use two seperate pandora accounts to stream two different channels at the same time to two different locations

playing the same internet audio or nas track on zone 2 and 3 at the same time may be harder though due to having two control units so may not be too feasible but will work perfectly fine from hdmi htpc input (which you can use pandora or nas on to bypass this issue completely)

honestly the only benefit i can see from android support is skipping songs or changing channels which is likely only useful in zone2 situations. keep in mind that using your phone in this manner is going to drain battery life fast so its a win-lose situation.

---

just a few thoughts

Regarding your response about your VSX-30 overload problem and solution. I'm curious about what code reset you refer to. I have a Pioneer VSX-30 that randomly turns itself off. I have not been able to solve this. It started doing this about a month ago, but nothing has changed since I set it up about 2 years ago.

Any help will be useful.

Best reagrds.