best way to stream audio throughout the home?

[hulkster]

ive looked into media centers, and xbox media center stuff and all that for video/audio purposes, but for right now....i just to concentrate on video. 

so i want to do this cheaply first of all, and i want something unobtrusive.  what are my options? 

ive read about fm transmitters, but i can see where the sound quality would only be decent if the pc/laptop was close to the receiver (radio) itself.  that is a cheap option, but im not sure if its even worth the money anyway.  and of course with the fm transmitters, you dont get any control over whats playing unless you have access to the source...which kinda defeats the purpose of the convenience anyway.

like, if i wanted to stream music to the kitchen, or maybe out to the deck or something....what would be a fairly cheap way of doing that??

[ChadTower]

I'd say FM transmitter would be cheapest and easiest.

Best value, probably the same as before"  :  modded xboxes.

[hulkster]

I'd say FM transmitter would be cheapest and easiest.

Best value, probably the same as before"  :  modded xboxes.

but will the sound quality be unbearable?  my home isnt huge (2100 sq. ft) and its 2 floors, but the second floor is more of a half story because its over the garage and its only 5 steps to go up to the room.  fm transmitters would be cheap and very easy, but i dont want to be having static between every song or whatever.

as for local station interference...i live out pretty much in the country, so i dont guess that would cause problems.

[ChadTower]

Seems to me a little research into FM transmitter reviews would help answer that.

[boykster]

I love that the thread title says "best way to stream audio" but the reality is that you're looking for the best inexpensive way to do it.

I was going to suggest several systems that would work great, but DO cost money, but would give you great sound quality.  If you're going for inexpensive, then fm transmitters or xboxes would probably be the best bet.

Have you considered just wiring your house with homerun speaker cabling or  line level audio cabling and using a central receiver?

I use a system called Sonos (www.sonos.com) - it's not cheap, but it is VERY good quality.  I have 2 zones of distributed audio (living room and rec room) each with inwall speakers and a handheld controller.  Total cost for that was a bit under $2000.  To add a zone its about $500 for the player and another $400 if I need an additional controller.

see...not inexpensive...but VERY good quality and easy to use.

[DrumAnBass]

Check out the Roku Labs SoundBridge - I love it:

http://www.rokulabs.com/products_soundbridge.php

[shmokes]

Here's a product from Logitech that is basically a poor man's Sonos.  It isn't as powerful, but it's about a tenth the price.  I'd love a Sonos system eventually, but this seems like an excellent alternative for the price.  For me, I've already got an Xbox which serves my current purposes just fine.


edit: Heh . . . forgot the link

[Austin.Wolff]

The FM transmitters we built in Adv. Electronics cost about $15 in parts and had a range of a football field (teacher was also football coach).

[shmokes]

Actually MWave.com has that Logitech thing I posted for $85.  That's amazing.  It was closer to $200 last saw it, maybe a year or so ago.

[hulkster]

thanks for the link shmokes.  that looks pretty cool and closer to my budget.  ideally, i guess i would like a device in each room that i want music in (like a media extender or something with some small speakers) but i dont think ill be able to get that without spending some serious money.  i know the xbox route would give me lots of flexibility, but for one i dont want to put big black and green boxes in every room of my house. 

[zaphod]

I use the RCA Lyra RD900W (ebay link), with a transmitter connected to my music serving PC running Winamp and WAWI, and a receiver plugged into each of my stereo receivers.  I can control the music from any PC in the house.  Works well and the sound quality is great.  You could also use streaming software to do that but I use it only for serving up my mp3 collection.