New Construction - A/V

Talk to my buddy Jeremy at Crescendo a/v if you end up having to hire someone out. He's not cheap but his work is top notch and will give you impeccable customer service.

Kind of went through this with my theater. Alot of them aren't up to date on the newest technologies which are constantly being replaced and keep recommending the same equipment. I'm sure there are some good companies out there though. Maybe join the home theater subreddit and see what they say.

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I can post what I’m going with, the cost, and why I’m choosing what I am if that’s helpful.

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Yes. I’d appreciate that!

1) 7 Unifi g4 pro cameras. This is a bit “high” on price ($3K for the 7 cameras). When we use the Unifi design tool, this covers what he is looking for best. I have even tried to convince him to use the cameras that are under half the price which are probably 90% of the quality or better. He did not agree.
2) 4 indoor wireless cameras (Unifi g4, $100/e
3) Unifi NVR + 8tb hdd ($489)
4) UDM Pro SE (went SE over standard because they’re updating its software faster including an ad blocker, and I’m worried that the UDMP may be getting abandoned). $499
5) Unifi g4 doorbell- $200
6) Unifi Pro 24 PoE switch ($700). This is a bit of a poor value, but it fits in the ecosystem, and I’ll be remotely helping him with it. Could probably do the non-pro version just as easy, especially since there’s PoE on the SE. but the power supply is a little more robust, and he’s willing to pay for the upgrade (and we didn’t upgrade the UDMP to the SE until after this decision was made. So I may retrodowngrade it)
7) 3 Unifi 6 in wall APs (2 story house. 3500sqft. Preferred IW and hidden behind TV APs despite my insistence that this isn’t ideal. given They’re a very functional 4-port wall-mounted switch on a standard 1-gang cutout. It fits the use case. I wouldn’t do this as standard practice. $179/ea
8) 2x UAP 6 LR mounted outside on peaks to cover as far into his large front and back yard as he can. $199/ea
9) another thing I wouldn’t typically recommend, but the Unifi rack PSU (remotely controllable power strip so that I can troubleshoot it for him from across the country and it can be programmed to auto-cycle modem and router when internet connection is lost). $279
10) Sonos ARC for living room TV (roof slants upward from L to R over the main viewing area, so in-ceiling won’t work. It’s an open concept, so rear in-wall is not possible, there are large windows and minimal wall space, so they don’t want floorstanders or mounted bookshelves, aesthetically. And they like Sonos’s ease of use. $899
11) Sonos beam for bedroom TV- this is probably getting mixed but represents what he has now and what he wants. Not what I recommend. $449
12) 3-discreet outdoor audio zones (house has long, narrow yard + porch. Wants front of house, porch, and back of house as discreet zones to match his current setup)= 3 Sonos amps. $699/ea
13) he likes b&w outdoor speakers (has them currently) $800/pair (3 pairs)


We actually haven’t picked TVs and mounts just yet but have 2 to choose. Before accounting for the rack, wire, and labor, I think that’s about $12k in parts (I’m on mobile and there are some provisional items on my spreadsheet)


General rule for AP for most homes is 1 or 2 per floor. Since we are doing in-wall and behind TV to make them discreet, I went with 2 on the first floor and 1 on the second because the second floor is basically half the size of the first (2-story great room/balcony-type setup). I counted the 2 outdoor APs as if they would do nothing inside. Moderate chance we turn the wireless on 1-2 of the APs off and use them just for the switch function, but based on the layout, it’s distinctly possible given my lack of ability to place them in the right place due to the Wife Approval Factor is making me over buy.
The “long range” outdoor AP shouldn’t really be thought of as “long range” for devices - it may be able to pump a hot signal a long way, but if your cell phone radio isn’t equally strong, it’s not useful. That said, they’re the current outdoor-rated wifi 6 model. I really liked the UAP-AC-Pro and would still install them if it were my house. Heck, I still have them in my house.

Camera rules:
Try to capture each entrance and each side of the house. I like to try to capture each entrance inside and out. He particularly likes the wifi indoor cameras. One side of his house has a bit of a goofy layout, and he wanted a shot going across his porch, so 7 outdoor cameras (plus a doorbell) is on the high side. And as cameras go, these are on the top end of consumer pricing. Unless you’re an absurd consumer who buys Bosch.

But the real meat of an “A/V” setup is going to be speaker choice, selection, and placement. There’s not a single surround sound setup in this house. I may talk him into a pair of r3 on stands in a “game room” later. He cares 10x more about being able to pull up one app on his phone and turn the zones on/off and control volume than about sound quality. The open nature of this setup means the soundbar in the living room will cover the kitchen. He was insistent on the 3-discreet outdoor zones. There are no permanent indoor speakers here. Won’t have an AV receiver unless he decides he wants it in a secondary zone that is set up for TV in a bit of a “hangout” room that will also house some workout equipment.


A lot of dealers will want you to have a dealer-limited system (crestron, control4, elan, etc). For distributed audio, it’s not necessarily bad. This is actually the one case I do think Sonos really works well ($600/amp and $500/port (little piece that connects their service to your amp) is competitively priced to slightly cheaper for something that works reliably and sounds fine for the application of zoned audio. I wouldn’t want it in a stereo or a theatre though.
A lot of houses used a 2-zone receiver with a distribution switch and wall-switches for distributed audio as well. Not terrible. I’d probably prefer it over the prices of the dealer-locked stuff. But I generally hate going through a dealer for repair/replacement/customization.
I have also put a Sonos amp through what was previously done by a 2-zone receiver- works just fine (and for the receiver it replaced was a modest upgrade).
So let’s look a little at in-home zoning, since I didn’t do any of it for him.
If it’s a room you’re spending time in, you generally want a left and right speaker (stereo) placed in such a way that you’re generally between them. You have the options of:
1) dealer amps
2) sonos per zone (expensive, but you can whip your phone out and turn the dining room sound down from the kitchen while your wife is listening in the bathroom. This also gives you the ability to have a different source/song on per room. In some cases this is incredibly useful. In others, incredibly retarded. Who wants a house party with AC/DC in the kitchen and Brahms in the living room? But maybe you do want the football game on in the living room and bathrooms while the ladies listen to Cher in the kitchen. Just make sure you understand zones and implications)
3) a Sonos “brain” but through a “dumb” distribution switch with wall controls- let’s you find tune the volume per zone, but if you’re in the kitchen and want to turn the sound off in the dining room because it’s next to your son’s bedroom, you have to walk to the kitchen to change it).


I generally think for many/most applications, people are happy with
1) main tv zone
2) “rest of house” zone
3) bedrooms that you want sound in zoned separate from those, and often/most times no sound in bedroom or just related to the tv)
4) outdoor zone (possibly split based on entertainment areas and front/back/side yard depending on the setup)


Now, there are plenty of other options out there. Juke now has a “smart” zoned audio player (priced around $1300), so if your desire for zones and control from a smart device is high, there are other devices out there. I haven’t used it.
“Dumb” matrix zoned receiver with multiple inputs and selectable outputs are very much a thing, too.

Hopefuldoctd at that Google mail service and I’ll try to take a peak at it if I can remember the password.