Multi-room audio visual installation

Feb 28

The Multi-room AV (audiovisual) installation for the Phoenix residence is complete. The system includes two Bluesound Node 2i streamers—one in the office and the other in the music/guest room. The Bluesound steamers provide audio from the Internet and as well as local sources to a KEF LS50 music system in the music/guest room and a KEF LX music system is in the office. In the great room, there is a Sony Bravia television (that has video streaming capability) along with a Bludesound Pulse Soundbar 2i (that also incorporates audio streaming capability) and a Bluesound Sub subwoofer. The television and soundbar sit atop a BDI Corridor cabinet.

Thanks to Rigo Meza Largo of Best Buy/Magnolia who faced some challenges in arranging for this installation but stuck with it to achieve a successful result.

See below for the details for the installation in each room.

Great room

This is where the 65 inch Sony Bravia OLED 4K television is located. It is placed on a mount that supports the TV and a Bluesound Pulse Soundbar 2i. To the left, there is a Bluesound Pulse Sub for lower-end sound. The TV and soundbar sit atop a BDI Corridor 8179 cabinet.

Music/guest room

The music guest room is where the KEF LS50 music system is located. It is served by a Bluesound Node 2i steamer. There is also a Luxul XA 1510 Wi-Fi access point in this room.

Office

The office is where a KEF LX music system supported by a Bluesound Node 2i streamer is located.

Closet

The Arris Surfboard modem and Luxul XW 3150 router located in the master bedroom closet.

Music sources

The AV system relies mostly on streaming audio and video from the Internet, which is accessed via the Arris modem and distributed by a Luxul Wi-Fi router and repeater. Audio sources are routed and controlled via BlueOS, an application that is easily installed on Windows and Mac laptops as well as Apple and Android smartphones and tablets. You can access audio from local sources such as a vinyl record turntable or, in my case, a USB thumb drive on which I placed music from more than 250 compact discs that I ripped into FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) files. Music can be played simultaneously across all rooms or different sources can be played in each room.

A nice feature of the BlueOS application is that it incorporates (for free) Tunein, a service that streams music from thousands of FM radio stations from all over the world. This allows me to listen to my favorite Seattle area stations (KEXP and KNKX) when I am in Phoenix. The BlueOS also integrates Qobuz (say “koh-buzz”), the high-quality music streaming service based in Paris. This outfit has been around for over a decade but only became available in the USA in Q3 2019.

You have to pay a fee for Qobuz, but it is well worth it. Qobuz was the first music service to offer CD-Quality, 16 bit/44kHz files for streaming. Qobuz is the first music service to offer 24-Bit Hi-Res files for streaming. For more background on Qobuz from Michael Brown of TechHive, go here.

H. Pike Oliver

H. Pike Oliver focuses on master-planned communities. He is co-author of Transforming the Irvine Ranch: Joan Irvine, William Pereira, Ray Watson, and THE BIG PLAN, published by Routledge in 2022.

Early in his career, Pike worked for public agencies, including the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research, where he was a principal contributor to An Urban Strategy for California. For the next three decades, he was involved in master-planned development on the Irvine Ranch in Southern California, as well as other properties in western North America and abroad.

Beginning in 2009, Pike taught real estate development at Cornell University and directed the undergraduate program in Urban and Regional Studies. He relocated to Seattle in 2013 and, from 2016 to 2020, served as a lecturer in the Runstad Department of Real Estate at the University of Washington, where he also served as its chair.

Pike graduated from San Francisco State University's urban studies and planning program and received a master's degree in urban planning from UCLA. He is a member of the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute and a founder and emeritus member of the California Planning Roundtable.

https://urbanexus.com