# Upgrade Recommendations for existing System - Home theater plus in-ceiling speaker system



## mc0898 (9 mo ago)

Hi all. I am hoping to get some recommendations on how to proceed to upgrade the system that was in my house. The Lifestyle system is from 2008 and doesn't have any streaming ability or ability for HDMI connections. Also, the in-ceiling speakers only can't stream and we have to keep the volume off at the wall plates and go to each room if we want to hear what is playing, usually TV. My goal is to upgrade the lifestyle system and make the current in-ceiling speakers smart and work in zones. My budget is open to what it costs but I don't have to have the best of the best as long as it sounds good. I am not someone who can tell the difference between two higher-end systems. 

In addition to the setup that was in the house, I have, in other rooms, 2 home pods, 2 home pod mini's, 1 Sono's beam, and one Sono's Move. 

I would really appreciate any advice or suggestions. 

Here is the rundown of what was in the house.
Great Room:
Bose Lifestyle System - LS38iV
Bose UB20 Speaker Wall Mounts
Niles SI275 2nd Zone Amp
Bose PMCII Remote (2nd zone remote)
Sonance AF12 Speaker Selector
Liberty 162CHT 2 Conductor (don't know if I have)
Liberty 164C 4 Conductor (don't know if I have)

*Ceiling Speakers:*
Master Bedroom
2 -Polk VC60I In-Ceiling Speakers
1 -Niles VCS100R Volume control

Master Bath My Side (Sides separated by a shower)
1 -Polk RC6S Dual Voice Coil SPK
1 -Niles VCS100R Volume control

Master Bath Wife's Side (Sides separated by a shower)
1 -Polk RC6S Dual Voice Coil SPK
1 -Niles VCS100R Volume control

Kitchen/Breakfest area
2 -Polk RC6S Dual Voice Coil SPK
1 -Niles VCS100R Volume control

Dining Room:
2 -Polk VC60I In-Ceiling Speakers
1 -Niles VCS100R Volume control

Living Room:
2 -Polk VC60I In-Ceiling Speakers
1 -Niles VCS100R Volume control

Hallway:
1 -Polk RC6S Dual Voice Coil SPK
1 -Niles VCS100R Volume control

Porch:
2 -Polk RC6S Dual Voice Coil SPK
1 -Niles VCS100R Volume control


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, your current needs are most likely totally incompatible with your current equipment, starting with the Lifestyle which as you note, does not support HDMI.

Next, you can’t convert conventional speakers into “smart” speakers. Smart speakers have a built-in receiver of some kind (Bluetooth, wi-fi, whatever) along with an amplifier. Those things don’t run on air – they require an electrical connection to power them. Thus, power would have to be run inside the ceiling to each speaker. More practical would be to use the appropriate receiver system that could use your existing amplifier and speakers.

Really, your best bet would be to find a local whole-house audio specialist to help you out. A Niles or Russound dealer would probably be an installer, so you might be able to locate a local shop from their websites.

Regards,
Wayne


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## Da Wiz (May 8, 2019)

EVERYTHING from the Bose system has to be tossed out or put to use somewhere else where it does "enough" to justify using it. It is very common for Bose speakers and amps to NOT work with "regular" hi-fi gear sold by every other company. The issue with Bose gear is that their amplifiers won't work well with other brands of speaker, and their speakers won't work with other brands of amplifier very well. So if there's something you can envision doing with the entire Lifestyle system as it exists, sure, keep it and set it up somewhere else. But to do anything "modern" you need a pretty recently made AVR at least.


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