Audio control, conferencing and multi-room audio

[Anton11 (Anton)]

@AshaiRey

I am aware that there is a long running thread on this forum to make this functionality between 2 esp32’s. It is going slowly but i believe they are getting somewhere.

Thank you very much for the pointer! It took some time, but I found it: Is there a way to stream audio from one ESPHome to another? . I think this is exactly base what I want.

@AshaiRey

But the problem with duplex audio on one device is that the mic and speaker are very close together.

For better understanding, I’ve drawn a diagram of my current goal, which I think will satisfy my needs:

Using a built-in speaker is not an option for me, so I’m planning something like a pair of Teufel Ultima 20 or similar in each room.

@AshaiRey

The {esphome} resonate protocol is also mentioned. It is still in dev fase but it looks promising.

Since I don’t think I need syncing, I’m not sure it will help me. I think it might even be harmful for a conference scenario.

@AshaiRey

I Have tested many mics for my own system and any high quality mic will not have a 3,5mm jack.

The jack is only for connecting a laptop. I hate wires, but the jack is used all the time because it’s the fastest option to plug in and unplug.

@AshaiRey

But the quality of your audio need to be on par with for what you are using it. Background music and an occasional announcement do not need top line hardware. listening to studio level audio is an other case and require something better then a esp32 or Rpi. So you need to figure out what will suite for you. Having said that, the ESP or RPi can deliver surpisingly good audio for it price.

I don’t think I need studio quality (and studios require purity), but I’d like it to be on par with consumer-grade devices from Yamaha or at least Onkyo.

@AshaiRey

This is a hard one if you look at the life cycle of these devices. New and improved hardware is arriving all the time. The esp8266 was the builders dream but now they get an multi core esp32 for the same task. Just because you get better hardware for about the same price. This is even more important for voice hardware.

I think the price of the ESP32 - both initial cost and operating cost - is great. It seems like it would be much more expensive if it were based on an RPi.

@AshaiRey

A server will also consuming about that amount of power.
I am just pointing this option out because not many people are aware of it.

Thanks! However, I need a server anyway for Home Assistant, storage, and some experiments. Therefore, it won’t incur any additional cost, except some extra power consumption for STT and graphic card.