Tiller Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 We have recently purchased a house with a legacy Control4 system installed. There are 4 HC-300s driving a Theater room, and 3 other TVs each associated with Bluray and sound systems. There is a control4 multi-tuner, 8 area amp, and about 35 lights including 30 dimmers. The theater room has a projector, amp, PS4, apple tv, bluray player and xfinity tv. The theater room also houses the multi-tuner and area amp. There are 7 speaker subsets driven by the 8 area amp and two other speaker subsets driven by other amps that will need to be tied into the system. The dealership says we need to have the HC-800 to drive the whole system, but I am wondering if another HC-250 will work since it is much less expensive and the HC-300s had driven the whole system before. Is there anything the HC-800 gives you besides more horsepower and a little better range? We are also looking to add a wireless music bridge to connect the apple tv, home cloud drive, and cable music to the whole system. Advise please as there is quite a difference in price between the two! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I would recommend the 800. The major advantage is horse power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 The 800 certainly has more horsepower, and with the external ZigBee antenna (which is definitely recommended) it's a *lot* more ZigBee range, not just a little. The 800 also reboots a *lot* faster, although the times a reboot is necessary are few, it's the biggest thing I notice as a developer who *does* have to reboot often. The 800 also has a lot more I/O, including 2 stereo audio outs (as opposed to 1 on the HC250), which may be important as you're driving a multi-room system, and you may want to have multiple zones listening to separate streaming audio at the same time. RyanE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Lowe Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 if you can budget for the HC800 i would highly recommend it. as if you continue with with c4 and add more products at some point you will have replace the hc250 any ways. This will also improve the overall quality of life with the speed especially with the wife! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiller Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 What will the 2 stereo outs do for me with the wireless music bridge? Our house is three floors and greater than 6000 sq feet. However I don't like spending $700 for an incremental improvement. We have 5 remotes, but will likely use iPads for most of the control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 If you never do streaming audio other than through phones, etc. it doesn't do you any additional good. We stream Rhapsody as well as local MP3s from the home network, my kids both for wakeups, etc., which you can't really do with Wireless Music Bridge. RyanE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMHarman Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I think your better half will complain less once the HC800 is installed. That's a lot of thinks it will do. The 300s will remain or can remain as on screen displays. Think of it as an investment in your home infrastructure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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