I’m a little late to the party but wanted to chime in on the earlier Sonos discussion. I have a ZP90 that I’ve had since 2007/2008. The thing is a rockstar. The biggest problem with Sonos is price and innovation. They’ve been incredibly slow to innovate in a space they basically created and their prices are high and don’t move. I could probably sell this ZP90 for what I paid for it.
When I did my WHA setup I spent a lot of time debating between a Sonos architecture vs a matrix amp. My wife really wanted Sonos. I went with the amp setup and kept my ZP90 as a source along with a couple chromecasts, dots, etc. I liked the flexibility. The problem is, six months later and I still don’t have my panels up on the wall and while the system is usable it’s not intuitive or easy. I’ve had to throw a couple Play:1 around the house for her. I will get there eventually (or I’ll give up and move to a closed ecosystem like Sonos or Heos).
If you’re open-source inclined, absolutely check out snapcast. It handles source control, synchronization, distribution, etc. You provide your own hardware. I run a bunch of Raspberry Pis connected to speakers. I have one hooked to my soundbar via HDMI, one with a simple desktop usb speaker plugged in, and two with a hifiberry class 4 amp wired into big speakers + sub. It’s a very flexible setup.
Sorry for the question but what about sound quality?
I mean, I tested snapcast on my old android device and the sound is not fluid. It requires costant micro syncronizations… I also noticed that may depends on network traffic. Do you have or had the same issue?
Interesting that you didn’t come across Heos (Denon) when you were looking… pricing is a bit below Sonos. with similar functionality. The newer models (HE2) fully support Alexa voice commands BTW, not sure about Google Home.
The selling point for me (as an integrator / installer) is connectivity: Sonos uses its own mesh network, where Heos using existing Ethernet or WiFi networks. Although a signal booster isn’t that big of an expense, it’s still another piece that may fail or need to be reset, and it’s yet another frequency you may have to plan around to avoid interference.
Also, with Heos devices residing directly on my IP network I can use DHCP reservations to shape the network topology. This honestly doesn’t gain me much, but it appeals to the geek in me
Everyone has different needs, wants, etc. so it’s tough to say “this is the way you should definitely go”, but I’m always picking up good info from all you guys!
This is something I had never heard of nor considered until your post… brilliant! I’ll be pitching this to HA customers from now on! There are plenty of ~$20-100 in-wall volume controls out there, but controlling over IP / Z-Waze, etc. is sorely lacking. I actually briefly looked into RS-485 control for a couple of in-wall amps, interesting stuff but I haven’t had a need for it yet.
Using this information, one could install a 2/4/6/12 zone stereo amp in the central closet with wires running directly to the speaker(s) in each room but still have local volume control with the same Z-Wave in-wall dimmers I’d already use for lighting anyway (definitely a benefit for aesthetically minded customers). Fantastic!
@deke.conine Actually, I did come across HEOS but Sonos was better in almost every way…Music options, performance, price, ease of use, product integration, product offerings (I needed a sound bar) etc. If they work for you, great but Sonos in my opinion is a way better option. Even the simple fact Sonos integrates the power brick into the units so you don’t have that ugly wall wart makes a difference. Sonos is a superior product.
Recently found there is a Roon module for HA as well. Roon works works with many different hardware platforms including Sonos, Bluesound, Allo, Oppo, Pro-Ject, Airplay devices etc. The HA integration works very nice!
As with most techie things, it’s often your first (good) exposure that makes the strongest impression. I was gifted a Heos Link from a fellow installer to play around with, which I integrated into my existing sound system.
I seriously came straight home from work for three weeks in a row and listened to music through the Heos (this is of course less of a specific product recommendation and more of a nod towards the tech and the general delivery method). I rediscovered so much music that I’d loved over the years and didn’t watch more than an hour of TV that first few weeks LOL. The numerous choices (at a variety of price points) we have to achieve that blissful goal makes me happy, and the ability of HA to bring dozens of disparate systems into a single UI is the primary reason I started my HA journey a few months ago… well, that and local control
If you wouldn’t mind, would you expound on this a bit? I’m on the fence about implementing them for my personal setup (although the consistency in UI and device room to room is definitely appealing, especially for guests).
In any event, I’m now comfortable enough to offer HA setup to my clients, and I am certain this would be appealing to a fair number of them.
Along these lines, my current starting point for individually sourced audio control per room (was) an Echo Dot with 3.5mm to the central closet zone amp, or to an in-wall amplifier which powers the speakers. Reading the responses in this post, I’m likely to begin recommending a Fire HD 10" tablet instead of the Echo Dot. The extra $100 isn’t likely to be much of a hurdle, and the additional ability to load a room specific, slick HA control UI pretty much seals the deal in my mind. Of course, the stated goal is voice control through Alexa as well as WHA through the varios Alexa groupings. The hands free Alexa capability in the Fire 10 makes the substitution more than feasible.
I’d also like to pick (all of) your brain(s) about what you’re using for audio amp / distribution on a per room basis. When I can pre-wire without sheetrock, I’m sure I’ll lean towards a central equipment closet to house the amp, but I can see the need for the in-wall variety in a remodel scenario, especially on the first floor of a two story home. Specifically, I’d like options for a multi-zone amp that carries 2-6 inputs, as well as a “preferred” input or two that will auto-mute any of the others in favor of Alexa, doorbell chime, etc. I’m just getting started on this search today, so any recommendations are greatly appreciated!
I’d also be very interested in what you’d recommend for an in-wall amplifier that has the same override functionality. Many of the models I’ve seen have a 3.5mm input as well as Bluetooth and perhaps another RCA input pair on the back.
Atlas Sound has 70V 1u high/0.5U wide rack mount amps with mute-on-input capability for doorbell/pa setup. It is 2 channel so single zone stereo or mono dual zone. About $180USD
Monoprice has multizone unit for $450 that has great specs.
Yes, you create a group in the Google app with all 5 devices and it appears in homeassistant as a single player, selecting that player as your output gives perfectly synchronised music everywhere.
I have an ‘everywhere’ player and a ‘downstairs’ player, but you can group them however you like
