Customer Reviews

CHANNEL PLUS MDS-6A KIT 2 6 Source Multi-room Music Distribution Kit #2

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We spent about a year remodeling our place and researching the whole house music system so that we could have music in each room. We finally settled on the MDS-6a - it was a major decision - $1,100 is a lot of money.

When you get the system, it comes with a small (and I do mean small) manual with oversize print and oversize pictures. We are pretty tech savy - but it was no fun deciphering the manual. Going onto Channel Plus' website (the maker) was no help.

Finally, we got it hooked up...and no music. We then tried wiring it a couple of different ways - different from the manual - and now we have music. Okay, frustration over.

Okay, time to change the channel on the satellite radio. We thought the keypads could do something simple like change the channel on the satellite radio. I mean, come on, the system came with IR transmitters and cost over a grand. Nope - can't do it. The keypads WILL pass through the commands from our one satellite radio remote - but the keypads that we wired and installed in every room...well, Channel Plus tech support said that if we'd bought the system with the "2A" keypads we'd be able to control the radio....

Well, learn from our mistake. There's just not enough info presented on Amazon's website to make an intelligent decision about buying this equipment. We think that there must be a cheaper and better way to have music throughout the house - seeing as how the keypads can't even change the channel...

I thought I would provide an alternate view to the one review posted here. The primary complaint of the other reviewer is that he can't control his audio units from the remote pads. In fact, the remote pads have IR sensors which allow you to use the actual remote control for the device, point it at the keypad, and the IR command will get transmitted and repeated at the audio source. However, this requires you to have the actual device remote in the room where you're listening to music. This limitation is because the purchaser bought Kit #2, which contains 6 single-gang controls.

If you want to push a button on the keypad to generate the IR signals, you need to buy Kit #2, which contains 4 single-gang controls, and 2 dual-gang controls. The dual-gang controls have programmable keys which can be used to control audio sources directly, without having the original audio source remotes. So while you can't do it from every room, you can control the sources from 2 of the 6 if you buy Kit #1.

For some reason, Amazon is selling Kit #1 and Kit #2 for the same price. Not sure why anyone would want Kit #1, unless you don't have room for a dual-gang control.

I bought two Kit #1 setups (which lets me have audio in 12 locations) in 2006, and it works great. It's not as fancy as other systems that have iPod integration, LCD panels, etc. But for the price, it's a deal and a half. Only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is that I would've preferred a kit with 6 dual-gang controls.

Good product, offers exactly what I was looking for, but don't expect a lot of help from the manufacturer's technical support line.

I was replacing a 12-year-old RUSSOUND 6.4 in which the amp broke and nobody could repair (and Russound wouldn't touch it) and RUSSOUND's pricing for a replacement system is not competitive. Finally fed up, I shopped an alternative and this fit seamlessly into my existing hosue set-up (CAT-5 line and stereo cable to all 6 zones in house, single-gang Decora wall-plates for keypads) ( did not opt for the expanded capabilities of the Kit #1 because of the 2-gang control panels). System set-up was almost seamless.

I say almost because I had two questions and the manufacturer's technical support line was incorrect on both questions. First issue: One of my CAT-5 lines had a bad Pin-8, and before I purchased I called the help desk to see if this line was needed (I really did NOT want to run a new CAT-5 line if I didn't need to). Help desk said it was the system ground, but literature details state Pins 1 & 8 are not used; system works fine without Pin 8 active). Second issue: I thought a "red" source button on the keypad meant "whole house mode" (where a single keypad can automatically select the same source for the whole house; in fact, Amber in the source button indicates "whole house mode" while red indicates "independent" mode, but the system "installer/user" manual didn't specify which was what). The same guy at the help desk was under the impression that the whole house function was the ONLY way the system worked at all, and that the system didn't allow for independent source selection in each zone (even though I pointed out that the literature specified "independent source selection"). The guy was adamant - to the point of not want to debate the meaning of "independent" in the literature or the website - and I even after I asked him to ask their engineering department (he never did, obviously!). I contacted the seller, and they were confident that the guy at the help desk was flat wrong. After rereading the keypad installation literature (separate from the main manual), I figured it out on my own. I did call the guy at the help desk back and advised him of the above, but he didn't seem to appreciate the feedback ("well, I'm glad it all worked out for you.") If I had listened to this guy, they would have lost a customer for NO good reason.

Bottom line, the product is great (5 stars), the literature is so-so (written for installation but not for end-use... 3 stars), but the manufacturer's technical support line doesn't know it's own product... 0 stars).