Every Song, Every Screen, Every Room

Multi-room audio, also called whole home audio, lets you play music in any room of the house from one system, and whole home video does the same for your TVs. Speakers are installed in the ceilings and walls of each room, or zone, and wired back to a central equipment rack. The rack holds the amplifiers and the streaming sources, so nothing sits on your shelves or counters. With Control4, you choose what plays where from the app, a keypad on the wall, or a remote. Each zone can play its own music at its own volume, or you can group rooms together. Because it is part of your smart home, music can also follow scenes, like a morning playlist in the kitchen or everything fading off when you press Good Night.

Yes. That is the point of a multi-room system. Each zone is independent, so the kids can have their playlist in the family room while you listen to a podcast in the kitchen and someone else has quiet music in the primary suite. When you want the whole house together, for a party or while cleaning up, group the zones and every room plays the same song in perfect sync, with no echo between rooms. You can also set different volume levels in each grouped room, so the patio is lively while the living room stays conversational. All of it is done from the same app or keypad, and it takes a single tap to switch between separate music and the whole house playing together.

Whole home video distribution means your video sources live in one place instead of behind every TV. Streaming boxes, the cable or satellite receiver, and your security camera feed sit in the equipment rack, and a video system sends any of them to any TV in the house. The big game can play on every screen at once, the kids can watch their show in the basement while you stream a movie upstairs, and a camera view can pop up on the kitchen TV when someone is at the door. Each TV only needs a clean wall with the screen on it, with no boxes, cables, or blinking lights behind or below it. Control4 ties it together, so one simple remote or the app in each room picks what to watch, and the audio can follow you from room to room too.

Both can sound great, and the right choice depends on the home. Sonos is excellent for individual rooms and is easy to add one speaker at a time. A Control4 whole home audio system is built for the entire house: speakers are hidden in walls and ceilings, amplifiers live in one rack out of sight, and music is controlled together with your lighting, shades, and the rest of your smart home. It handles many zones, including outdoor areas, from one place. Control4 can also integrate Sonos products, so if you already own some, they do not have to go to waste. During your consultation we look at your rooms and how you listen, and recommend the setup that makes sense for you.

Yes. We install multi-room audio in finished homes all the time, not only in new construction. In most cases we run the wiring through the attic, the basement, and existing wall cavities, so the speakers go in with only the speaker openings cut. Some rooms need a small access hole along the way, and when that happens we plan it carefully and leave the area clean. The speakers themselves have thin, paintable grilles that sit flush with the ceiling and can be painted to match, so they almost disappear. If you are renovating, the best time to bring us in is before drywall, when the wiring can go exactly where it needs to be. Either way, you get a clean result with no visible wires.

Outdoor audio has come a long way. Landscape speakers can be tucked into garden beds and shaped like rocks or small bollards, so they blend into the plants. Subwoofers can be buried in the ground with only a small top showing, adding real bass to the yard. Under a covered patio or porch, weather rated ceiling speakers keep the space clean. The key to great outdoor sound is spreading several speakers around the area, so everyone hears even, full sound at a comfortable volume, instead of one loud speaker blasting one corner and the neighbours. Outdoor zones run on the same system as the rest of the house, so the patio, pool, and yard are one tap away in the app.

However you like. The Control4 app on your phone or tablet shows every zone, what is playing, and the volume, and lets you group rooms or send music anywhere. Keypads on the wall in each room give quick, one press control for the people who do not want to open an app, including guests and grandparents. Handheld remotes and voice control are available too. Your favourite streaming services play through the system, and scenes can start music automatically, like soft music in the kitchen when the morning scene runs, or the patio playlist when you turn on the outdoor lights. Before we leave, we set up your favourites and walk everyone through it, so the whole family can use it from day one.