Hands On: Does Russound Collage Live Up to Hype?

Only non-retrofitable part of the Collage would be adding speakers in each zone.  Are they home run or run to local keypads?

The speakers are driven locally by the keypad.

Russound has recently updated its speaker product line with some new products, including a single-enclosure stereo speaker that can be placed in the same stud bay as the keypad and to minimize the cable run.

The system is setup in this configuration for three zones and in the fourth zone, the keypad is driving a set of B&W LM1s that I installed (mounted as on-wall units) a number of years ago.

The collage has a beautiful display that can be easily seen off axis. This is something that should not be overlooked. The size is the same as a 2G plate, but the backbox is significantly larger. You will have some trouble locating the Russound above a 2G switch plate and keeping them aligned, because most likely that stud bay also holds the romex going up the same 2x4. Too bad the legacy adapter is not due for another 6mo or so. That means no camera, cd or Squeezbebox integration yet. I heard they may add another internet radio selection shortly, so you do not have just one. Any news about that Bob?

Hi Gotgame, Russound has told me the iPod dock and the legacy interface will be available later this year, but they can’t say exactly when.

I do think the next couple of firmware updates will contain updates from Internet radio and alarm-clock radio type functions. There are no announced dates for the firmware updates, but the company is working on it and they are excited about the options that will soon be available for the system.

Your points about the display and the size of the keypad are good ones. I do think that once CE Pros get use to installing the system—-which includes factoring in the location of the keypads—-a super important part of the sequence of install steps, it won’t become too much of a factor unless the client is completely unreasonable to the circumstances of installation.

Hi Gotgame,
Nice comments and concerns.  Thanks for posting them.  We have numerous firmware updates planned that will add features and services.  One will be released soon that will incorporate a new service, we will make an official announcement at EHX.  On the back box installation, you and Bob are correct.  You get used to how to install it, I have several areas where there was 14/3 and 14/2 ground and was able to install the Back Box above the light switches.

We will also have other ways for addressing mechanical depth issues in the near future.

Walt….

I am more of an in-ceiling speaker guy but good to know.  How does the single stereo speaker sound?  In the Russound video they installed the speaker at the same height as the electrical outlet….never tried listening to speakers in such an odd location.

I have been buying the Collage setup at ADI for the past couple of months and it is for the most part an easy sell and simple installation.

For retro installs it is the best rout to go in most situations. When you give the home owner the option to use the collage setup over $1,000’s of dollars spent to retro speaker runs along with cat 5 and the cost of drywall, they home owner likes how Collage can reduce shut costs.

Low cost?  Last I checked the keypads had a dealer cost of over $# each, and no video?  I will be surprised if this gains popularity w/o a serious price adjustment.

Admin: edited; no dealer pricing on a public site, please

Hi Koberlin1,
the speaker (and speakers if using the stereo pair model) sound great.  The bafe of these speakers have a fixed 7.5 degree tilt, that helps out a bit.  I have three rooms in my home with these mounted low, goal was to have a more diffuse sound field and minimal eye sore.  They are working out great.  The homeowners from the video love it. All five rooms including testing,  keypad and speaker installation (with a few rookies to slow me down) took three hours to install!  Not bad…

Hi Nutonian,
the price is actually very good.  Of you had to purchase a contoller, up to 10 FM tuners, media server, point to point intercom system with monitoring capability and 10 keypads the hardware alone would typically cost more.  The real win is that all of that with Collage can be installed in a day or two vs. a week so the end cost is a fraction of a typical retrofit install.  It’s really quick.  The whole deal besides being a really easy to use cool system is about get in, get out, get a check.  Everyone wins.

Good?

10 keypads?  So with the Collage system you are selling a client at least a $10K project for a 10 room music system?  How else will you make any money charging less?
Yeah if you can develop the retrofit market for something like that with it’s obvious limitations.  Most systems like this aren’t after-thoughts.  So there goes the labor saving argument.
If a vendor comes up with a wall bracket for the upcoming wifi iPad, such as the URC KP-900 has, it will blow it out of the water for 1/2 the end user price.  I was little excited reading about Collage until I checked my distributor and saw the price!
And don’t get me wrong I still have power-line carrier home automation in my home.

I think the point that Nutonian may be missing is that the Collage is a lower cost solution for a retrofit application than a traditional Cat-5-based or speaker-level based system.

It’s designed for a pro to install into a retrofit environment and once a CE Pro grows accustomed to the setup process, the systems will be nearly turnkey.

In addition, it can also be used for new construction so it gives installers some flexibility to sell into both new and existing home install markets with a scalable solution for intercom/security and music.
It can also serve as a talking point to revisit future sales with a client that wants to add more zones on later.

I can say that so far the system has worked well in my home and to be honest the Rhapsody service has been much better than I thought it would be (I was skeptical and you can ask Walt and Michael Stein). I haven’t even considered listening to my iTunes library with the Rhapsody in play.

I don’t want to sound a marketing guy, but when you consider the cost of this think about the R&D that Russound put into it to make sure it was reliable, and then think about touches like the industrial design they choose through Allen Boothroyd (tops in his field), there’s a lot of money in this from Russound and even with that on a cost per zone basis it’s still competitive with traditional technologies in a new home environment.

I wish the legacy interface and iPod dock were available now however, but they are coming,  and I’ll be first in line to buy the dock. With that said, installers can add to the bottom line through cabling and speaker choices. The only real consideration with the speakers and Walt and or Michael can address this better than I is that you need to make sure they are 8-ohm and probably more than 91dB sensitive.

As I noted in a post the keypad in the kitchen are effectively driving an older set of B&W LM1s that I wall mounted years ago (I believe they are 8-ohm and around that 90 or 91dB level).

Bob Archer

Thanks Bob, your clarification is spot on .  On the speaker thing, we are stable with a 4 Ohm load.  In my Kitchen I am driving two pair of in-ceiling speakers arranged around a center island.  It actually gets very loud (you have to yell over it to have a conversation).  The speakers are 88 dB efficient [Acclaim 7C51’s ].

Just wanted to chime in here on a few points:

gotgame - Yes we are adding more Internet Radio soon. The next upgrade will include Radiotime. Radiotime provides access to over 100,000 radiostations from all over the world. Russound has paid a lifetime license so our customers can enjoy unlimited music for a lifetime. Check them out at http://www.radiotime.com

koberlin1 - two points. First off you can install Ceiling speakers with Collage as long as you can fish the wire. If there’s an attic this is easy, but in any case it’s probably easier than a home run wire for retrofit. Secondly, the electrical outlet speaker height - before we had in-wall/ceiling speakers all our speakers were on the floor. This low position is out of line of sight and works very well in many rooms both aesthetically and acoustically. The Acclaim7 speaker shown is aim-able and is angled upward.

nutonian - you make a good point about the cost of the yet to be released iPad and the potential it has to change the game, however it does not provide a solution for synchronized whole home audio or intercom yet. I would assume that when such solutions exist the cost of the iPad and the other components required to have an always on always available system will exceed the Collage costs. Of course we’re always striving to reduce costs and add value to our products. When compared to traditional hard wired systems that provide similar features I think you’ll see Collage is a value leader.

John - Thanks for the support

Another thing about this product.  Isn’t this illegal to install for about 90% of the custom install shops out there?  To have an electrician on the payroll you need a master at the helm.  I guess on a retrofit job you don’t have to worry about getting busted by an inspector or electrician.

Codes are different from state to state and in some cases city to city or county to county.

Many CE Pros have electricians on staff or work with an electrical business already, this is not an obstacle for most electronics professionals.

Hi Nutonian,
Many dealers I have spoken to either have an electrician on staff or a relationship with one.  This is necessary in our space to accomplish most things.  Dealers doing lighting control, automation, hanging flat panel displays and projectors and specifying power requirements for things like racks of gear all need an electrician’s help to accomplish this.  This is no different.  There are also many company owners in our space that have full service electrical and low voltage operations.  One of them who comes to mind is actually quite high up in CEDIA.  Within our space the need to interface with an electrician is increasing. When we move into the smart grid, alternative energy interfacing and the like it will also warrant it.

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>Admin: edited; no dealer pricing on a public site, please

Although I support the action, I think this kind of thinking will be the death of the custom install industry. If you think you can hide this information from today’s consumer you are sadly mistaken. You have to be able to compete without a margin shell game.

But how does it sound?

Audiophile, HiFi or LoFi?

Hi Al, the sound is dependent on a few factors, including the speakers, the room environment and the content that you are listening to.

The sound quality is good, it’s not pure audiophile, but there isn’t a multiroom audio system that any audiophile would consider for critical listening use.

Listening to mostly music from the Rhapsody service, I have found the system to meet my requirements of having music at my fingertips throughout the upstairs of my home.

In addition, it’s allowing me to explore new music, which is a plus for any music fan.

If I were to characterize the sound quality it’s on par or slightly better than traditional FM radio. I don’t know the bitrate stream of Rhapsody, but it’s probably in line services like XM/SIRIUS.