Millennium System

October 1996 Anniversary Collectors Edition

The more I fool with this multiroom audio stuff, the more I wonder why it hasn't made its way into the average American home. Who wouldn't want to have music in every room of the house, accessible from a tiny keypad built into the wall? No remote to carry around, no running back to the living room to turn down the volume, no more arguing between family members about what to listen to.

But as soon as I start to look at the price lists for most multiroom gear, I remember why it's confined largely to the homes of the rich. Multiroom gear is expensive. Typical installations run more than $15,000, and it gets a lot higher from there. Most of the companies that make this kind of gear know where their bread is buttered, though. They know that the custom installers who sell multiroom audio and video systems cater to the clientele for whom money is little or no object. Thus, most of them focus on very high-end systems, and few seem to have tried to get their prices down.

Audio Design Associates has a rep for creating some of the highest of the high-end multiroom systems out there-like their amps and surround processors (which have won acclaim in this magazine), ADA's multiroom systems are engineered for exceptional sound quality. And the high-quality parts such engineering demands don't come cheap. Because these guys have been in business since way back when hardly anyone had even heard of custom installation, and because they've designed most of their products specifically to meet the needs of the custom installer, they've won a healthy following. Thus, you'll find ADA gear in some of the most prestigious installations in the world.

Still, though, the company's Delta 88 multiroom system proved to be too high-end for the more mainstream customers that custom installers are now trying to woo (presumably, many rich people already have the stuff by now). That's why ADA came out with the Millennium, an all-in-one unit that, at about $7,000 for a six-zone system, comes in near the low end of the multiroom audio market.

I've been getting into multiroom gear ever since I reviewed the McIntosh multiroom system last year, so naturally, I was dying to see what a company with ADA's rep could accomplish. So I borrowed a Millennium system and all its attendant accessories, set up an "installation" in and around the Home Theater listening room, and proceeded to dink around with it for several hours.

Most of what you get with the Millennium system is built into a single, rack-mount chassis that contains the control circuitry for six zones, a stereo 30-watt-per-channel amp for each zone, and circuitry that lets you control your source components from any of the six zones. The idea is that the Millennium main chassis sits in your home theater room, and all of your source devices (up to eight) connect to it. In up to six other rooms, then, you have a control keypad and a set of stereo speakers. From each keypad, you can select any source you want to listen to, and adjust the volume for that zone. All this is independent of the other zones, by the way-you can listen to the CD player in the bedroom, the cassette deck on the patio, and the VCR in the kitchen. You can also control four functions (usually play, stop, forward, and reverse) on four of the sources; on the other four, you can control five functions. The keypad controls automatically switch to whatever source device you have selected.

The basic Millennium system comes with five Decora keypads (in black, cream, or white). These occupy a single-gang wall box, so they take up the same amount of room as a light switch. Each Decora has source selectors (with LEDs to indicate which source is selected), an off button, volume up and down buttons, and four source control keys. (To perform the fifth function, you tap the source selector twice.) The Decoras are perfectly functional, but ADA also offers a wide variety of other keypads at extra cost, including chrome- and brass-plated models, wired tabletop controls, a waterproof outdoor pad, and double-gang wall controls with infrared receivers that let you use one of ADA's custom remote controls. (You can get a basic, black plastic remote, or for a more upscale look, the brass-plated model you see in the photo, which I really enjoyed using.) Some have illuminated readouts that tell you which source is selected.

The keypads connect to the Millennium through shielded, 10-conductor wire (Liberty Wire and Cable actually offers a special Millennium wire designed just for this purpose.) The wires from all the keypads tie into a junction box, which in turn connects to the Millennium. But, I'm just telling you this to satisfy your curiosity-the Millennium's only available through custom installers, and your installer will do all the wiring and setup.

The amps use block-style speaker terminals-each block has little screw connectors that secure the wire, and the block plugs straight into the Millennium's back panel. The blocks won't accommodate fat wire, but there's plenty of good, thinner wire from companies like Monster, XLO, and TARA Labs that will fit just fine. (There are also fixed- and variable-level line outputs for each channel that you can use to drive an external amp.) I gave the amps a critical listen through a pair of NHT SuperOnes, and found them pretty much in the same high-quality vein as other ADA stuff I've tried. The amps are rated down to 2 ohms, so each zone can power up to four pairs of 8-ohm speakers.

I feel uncomfortable describing the amps' sonic characteristics in detail, though, because I'm not sure if I was hearing the amp or the effects of the bass and treble controls on the Millennium's front panel. Because there's no center detent or marking on the control, it's impossible to set the controls for an accurate, flat response. I really like the idea of having tone controls on a multiroom controller-most of the in-wall speakers out there need the help-but ADA could make this unit a lot simpler to use just by putting a little mark on the tone controls so you could see how they're set.

Besides amplifying and switching the sources and zones, the Millennium also works like a programmable universal remote. The back panel holds an infrared eye, a button that lets you enter the programming mode, and several indicator lights. To enter the codes, your installer simply activates the program mode, selects the source device to be programmed from the front panel, holds down the button to be programmed (play, stop, etc.), points the remote at the IR eye on the back, and presses the appropriate button on the remote.

The Millennium sends out the infrared remote control commands through flashers-little infrared LEDs that connect to the Millennium's back panel. Your installer will stick a flasher onto the front of each source device, right in front of the device's infrared detector. You'll barely notice the flashers, and they don't interfere with normal remote control operation. I had no problem getting the remote commands programmed into the Millennium, and they worked perfectly from all the zones I set up. It's really a kick to be able to skip to the next track on your CD player by pushing a button in a different room. If you've never tried multiroom gear before, this is the feature that will really hook you in.

There's also an optional composite video switcher that connects between the keypad junction box and the Millennium main unit. The switcher operates transparently; it automatically routes the video from your selected source to the zone you're in, so you don't have to operate the system any differently. The switcher has eight inputs, outputs for eight zones, and multipin connectors that interface it with the keypads and the Millennium main unit. I found the switcher worked just fine; you don't notice its addition to the system, and that's just as it should be. The switcher may seem expensive at $2,100, but when you consider that it's really eight video switchers in one (one for each zone), it breaks down to only about $265 per switcher, which is very reasonable.

ADA also offers a couple of accessories worth noting. One's an automatic AC power strip that connects to the back of the Millennium and automatically turns on whatever source devices you have selected. The other is a zone tracker, which works in a single zone to send out a 5- or 12-volt trigger voltage whenever you select a certain source, so when you select laserdisc in the living room, it could automatically close the curtains and lower your projection screen.

Besides markings on the tone controls, there's one feature I'd like to see added to Millennium: I wish ADA would include loop-through outputs for all the source devices. That way, I'd be able to connect my sources into the Millennium, and back out to my preamp_processor, so my main system would function exactly as before. Of course, your installer can use splitters to send the A_V signals to both the Millennium and your pre_pro, or you can actually make your main home theater room one of the zones, and just do your switching from the Millennium main unit or one of the remote controls ADA offers. So there are plenty of easy ways around the problem, but having the loop-through outputs would simplify hookup, at least in my case.

The Millennium seems to offer everything I'd ever want in a multiroom system. Multiroom's for the family, though, not just for the resident gear geek, so what's important is that the system operates smoothly and intuitively enough for anyone to use it. And the Millennium does. With its no-nonsense keypad design and very simple operation steps, anyone can just walk up to a keypad, start pressing buttons, and get what they want in a matter of seconds without reading a manual. And if you want more zones, you can buy more Millenniums and interface them with the first one, for a total of up to 36 zones. I won't be needing that anytime soon; if you do, you're a lucky guy.