Shop acoustics and audio remote control questions.

[Tony Sade]

I finally got around to hanging some speakers in the shop so I don't have to rely on a small clock radio for tunes and the news. What a difference! Gotta watch that dancing while using power tools, I guess! :)

Unfortunately, the only spot available for the speakers was up on a wall pretty close to the ceiling. As you can imagine, such placement tends to amplify the bass a good bit. Is there any thing I can do to address this problem by, for example, adding some kind of acoustic material to the ceiling right above the speakers? Something like that egg crate stuff or some foam? I suppose I could simply fiddle with the bass control on the amp, but I'd rather not mess with that since the amp also controls speakers to other areas in the house.

I'm still looking for an RF type remote control for the amp (any maybe other components like the CD player and tuner) so that I can control it from another room-the shop. Anyone use one of these and/or have a recommendation for a reliable, affordable model? Thanks,

[Don Abele]

Tony, putting sound absorbing material above the speakers will tone the bass down. Since this is a shop I'm sure you don't mind that it'll also flatten the rest of the sound as well.

As for the remote, I use what are called Remote Extenders. These are not RF. There are 2 units, one at the remote location and the other (the "receiver") you place in front of the system you want to control. I have ones made by RCA and they work great. You can also purchase additional transmitters for more rooms. I have a single receiver in front of my A/V gear and transmitters in all the bedrooms (for the satellite dish). Works great.

My one dish receiver has an RF remote, but I've found that it is buggy and sometimes doesn't work well which is why I went with the remote extenders. These are strictly IR and will not extend or work with an RF remote.

[Tony Sade]

Can one extender control multiple devices? In my example, say I have an amp, tuner and CD player in one room that I want to control from another. Assuming that I have IR remotes for all (or a universal remote that works for all three), will one extender operate with all three, or do I need three separate extenders? This is a different situation than the one you mentioned, where you control the same device from multiple rooms.

Thanks,

[Don Abele]

Tony, the extenders transmit whatever IR signal you throw at them. My entire a/v system can be completly controlled from any room (I have universal remotes). I have 2 satellite receivers for our televisions (1 on channel 3 and one on channel 4) plus a VCR, 8mm, and DVD player that can play to channel 3 (vcr's) or 4 (DVD). So we can load a DVD in the media room and still watch it anywhere else there is a TV. And the extender works fantastically.