Multi room music systems

[looby may]

Hi,

Does anyone use a multi room music system?
We are a 5 treatment room salon based above a hair salon. Atm we use basic cd players in each treatment room. I am wanting to create a feeling of tranquility as soon as you enter the beauty area so the music will be the same throughout.
Can anyone give advise on what they use?

Thanks

May. X

 

[Ruth Mills]

Hi May

My top recommendation would be the Logitech Squeezebox series of music players, Transporter & Squeezebox Wireless Network Music Players - Every room deserves a soundtrack

These music players will stream music from a computer (the SlimServer software that organises the music will work on Windows, Mac and Linux) and will also play music from internet radio stations too. They'll play most digital music formats, including MP3, WMA, etc, and even some more esoteric ones such as FLAC and Ogg Vorbis, although they won't play files with Digital Rights Management (DRM), but DRM is evil anyway!

They'll work over a wireless network too, so you won't need lots of Ethernet cables cluttering the place.

If you've already got a computer that you can use for storing music, this could turn out to be quite a cost-effective solution, as the software is free to download, and the players themselves are not horrendously expensive either (apart from the "Transporter" which costs over a grand and is intended for complete hi-fi buffs and audio geeks like me lol).

You've also got a choice of playing different music on each player, or synchronising players with each other so they play the same music; and you can have any mix of the two as well, e.g. 3 players synchronised playing the same music, plus another player playing different music, and another one playing something completely different too...

For a room which doesn't have an existing sound system, I'd go for the Squeezebox Boom, Logitech Squeezebox Boom - Misco.co.uk - this has its own built-in speakers and costs just under £180.

Alternatively, if you've already got a sound system in a room that has a line-level input on phono connectors (e.g. an "aux" input), then the cheapest option would be the Squeezebox Receiver, Logitech Squeezebox Duet Receiver - Broadbandstuff.co.uk - which you can pick up for less than £100 (this doesn't have a remote control, so you'll have to control it from the central computer, so this would be best suited for rooms where you just want some nice ambient background music and won't want to change the music much).

And if you've got an existing sound system, but you do want to be able to change the music from in there, then the standard Squeezebox is probably the best bet, Logitech Squeezebox 3 Wireless Music Player - Broadbandstuff.co.uk - it costs an extra £50 but comes with a fluorescent display and a remote control - so would be a good choice for rooms in which the therapist wants specific music for a particular treatment or client.

Hope that helps. By the way, I've not got shares in Logitech, I'm just a big fan of their Squeezebox products, as they are what I use at home and they sound fab!

 

[Kim Lawless]

My friend has music in her bathrooms and they are simply car stereo speakers fitted into the ceiling. About £12 each. They look great and she plays the radio or cd's through them.

 

[joe90]

If you did it that way Ruth would you not have to play the same music in each room, that would be annoying if someone kept changing the music or playing something you really detested.

I think though that if you have suggested it being the tekkie that you are, this wouldn't happen right?

 

[Ruth Mills]

If you did it that way Ruth would you not have to play the same music in each room, that would be annoying if someone kept changing the music or playing something you really detested.

I think though that if you have suggested it being the tekkie that you are, this wouldn't happen right?

I guess that would depend on what your requirements are - will you always want to simultaneously play the same music in all 5 rooms, or is there a chance you will ever want to play different music in one or more of the rooms?

Kim's method of hooking up a series of speakers in the ceiling may well turn out to be a cheaper option, although would require a fair bit more effort to install in the first instance, and (if you rent your premises) you may also need to check if you need permission to cut holes in the ceiling for speakers too. Then there's the question of making sure you have sufficient amplification so you're not overloading the amplifier, and if you're running several pairs of speakers from one amplifier, then you need to be careful of issues such as cable run length and impedance matching.

Whereas using the Squeezeboxes, particularly if running them wireless, will require a lot less effort in terms of installation, and will also offer the advantage of being a lot more portable should you ever want to move premises - simply unplug them and take them with you. Plus offering the flexibility of playing different music on each unit should you ever want to.