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23jordan23

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 6, 2008
2
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I am remodeling my kitchen and want to install 2 in-ceiling speakers that I would like to hook up to Airport Express and use Airplay. Do I need to connect the speakers to an A/V reciever or does an in-celing speaker exist that can be pluged into the Airport Express and then directly into a power outlet (I have free-standing speakers in my bedroom hooked up this way). If the answer is no, does this mean I need another A/V receiver to power these speakers. I have a Denon AVR-1912 receiver in my living room, but all 7 channels are being used. Please Help. Thanks!
 
I am remodeling my kitchen and want to install 2 in-ceiling speakers that I would like to hook up to Airport Express and use Airplay. Do I need to connect the speakers to an A/V reciever or does an in-celing speaker exist that can be pluged into the Airport Express and then directly into a power outlet (I have free-standing speakers in my bedroom hooked up this way). If the answer is no, does this mean I need another A/V receiver to power these speakers. I have a Denon AVR-1912 receiver in my living room, but all 7 channels are being used. Please Help. Thanks!

It would have to be a powered (amplified) speaker, with a line-level input that will daisy-chain to the other speaker. I'm not sure if such a thing exists, in-ceiling at least.
 
I have a Denon AVR-1912 receiver in my living room, but all 7 channels are being used. Please Help. Thanks!

Channels are for different areas of "one" zone. i.e. center, right and left, sides, rears . . . Power your ceiling speakers from a different zone on your receiver (if it has different zones built it).

From looking up your unit (quick glance), looks like you have 2 or 3 zones available to use. So daisy chain your speakers to the second zone and your are good! I did this in my business and put a "speaker selector" in-between the receiver and speakers so that I could give myself greater control over different volume levels throughout my store.
 
Channels are for different areas of "one" zone. i.e. center, right and left, sides, rears . . . Power your ceiling speakers from a different zone on your receiver (if it has different zones built it).

From looking up your unit (quick glance), looks like you have 2 or 3 zones available to use. So daisy chain your speakers to the second zone and your are good! I did this in my business and put a "speaker selector" in-between the receiver and speakers so that I could give myself greater control over different volume levels throughout my store.

Get one of these as well to control the volume for the zone without leaving your kitchen:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10903&cs_id=1090301&p_id=8243&seq=1&format=2
 
I have been looking at something like this, but haven't actually bought one yet.

My idea was to have one of these small amps for each room I wanted to add speakers to, with a separate AirPort Express for each. This would let me AirPlay different sources to each set of speakers, or select multiple speakers for the same source.

In theory that is...

Part of the appeal is that I could run all of my speaker cable to a central distribution point in the basement, rather than to my Entertainment center & A/V receiver, which I may want to move someday.
 
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I have been looking at something like this, but haven't actually bought one yet.

My idea was to have one of these small amps for each room I wanted to add speakers to, with a separate AirPort Express for each. This would let me AirPlay different sources to each set of speakers, or select multiple speakers for the same source.

In theory that is...

Part of the appeal is that I could run all of my speaker cable to a central distribution point in the basement, rather than to my Entertainment center & A/V receiver, which I may want to move someday.

If you're looking to run your system from the basement, you may be better off considering these:

http://www.amazon.com/AudioSource-A...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1321406394&sr=1-1

They're auto-sensing, so you can leave them powered on, and they'll switch into and out of standby whenever there is audio at the line-in.

They're good sounding units for the price with decent power. You can drive two stereo pairs from one Amp, which is good for dual-room zones, yards, or larger rooms that require two in ceiling speakers.

The price seems to vary, I've seen them as low as $70 on Amazon, and as high as $110. When I bought my last couple, they were selling for about $90 a piece. Shop around the Amazon resellers if you're interested. Amazon direct is likely to be more expensive unless you have Prime and free shipping.
 
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I am remodeling my kitchen and want to install 2 in-ceiling speakers that I would like to hook up to Airport Express and use Airplay. Do I need to connect the speakers to an A/V reciever or does an in-celing speaker exist that can be pluged into the Airport Express and then directly into a power outlet

Would you really want a power amp above your ceiling line where you can't monitor it? That sounds like too much of a fire risk to me. :(

It's usually easy enough to find somewhere to hide a power amp, but at least have it be accessible if needed (closets etc).
 
Would you really want a power amp above your ceiling line where you can't monitor it? That sounds like too much of a fire risk to me. :(

It's usually easy enough to find somewhere to hide a power amp, but at least have it be accessible if needed (closets etc).

since its in the kitchen, I suggest dedicating an odd cabinet (like one above the refrigerator) to the amp
 
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