 Solid, low-cost option for whole house audio |
| Review Date: April 5, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Doug, Southern California |
I thought I would provide an alternate view to the one review posted here. The primary complaint of the other reviewer is that he can't control his audio units from the remote pads. In fact, the remote pads have IR sensors which allow you to use the actual remote control for the device, point it at the keypad, and the IR command will get transmitted and repeated at the audio source. However, this requires you to have the actual device remote in the room where you're listening to music. This limitation is because the purchaser bought Kit #2, which contains 6 single-gang controls.
If you want to push a button on the keypad to generate the IR signals, you need to buy Kit #2, which contains 4 single-gang controls, and 2 dual-gang controls. The dual-gang controls have programmable keys which can be used to control audio sources directly, without having the original audio source remotes. So while you can't do it from every room, you can control the sources from 2 of the 6 if you buy Kit #1.
For some reason, Amazon is selling Kit #1 and Kit #2 for the same price. Not sure why anyone would want Kit #1, unless you don't have room for a dual-gang control.
I bought two Kit #1 setups (which lets me have audio in 12 locations) in 2006, and it works great. It's not as fancy as other systems that have iPod integration, LCD panels, etc. But for the price, it's a deal and a half. Only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is that I would've preferred a kit with 6 dual-gang controls.
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Over-priced and Under capable
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| Review Date: March 27, 2007 |
| Reviewer: TMF, San Francisco |
We spent about a year remodeling our place and researching the whole house music system so that we could have music in each room. We finally settled on the MDS-6a - it was a major decision - $1,100 is a lot of money.
When you get the system, it comes with a small (and I do mean small) manual with oversize print and oversize pictures. We are pretty tech savy - but it was no fun deciphering the manual. Going onto Channel Plus' website (the maker) was no help.
Finally, we got it hooked up...and no music. We then tried wiring it a couple of different ways - different from the manual - and now we have music. Okay, frustration over.
Okay, time to change the channel on the satellite radio. We thought the keypads could do something simple like change the channel on the satellite radio. I mean, come on, the system came with IR transmitters and cost over a grand. Nope - can't do it. The keypads WILL pass through the commands from our one satellite radio remote - but the keypads that we wired and installed in every room...well, Channel Plus tech support said that if we'd bought the system with the "2A" keypads we'd be able to control the radio....
Well, learn from our mistake. There's just not enough info presented on Amazon's website to make an intelligent decision about buying this equipment. We think that there must be a cheaper and better way to have music throughout the house - seeing as how the keypads can't even change the channel... |
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