Should I go there? Whole house audio and then some

Configuration
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@dk253

  1. For physical volume controls, every Sonos product has them, they only caveat is if you use the Connect or Connect Amp in the basement and run speakers to the rooms, you won’t have them in the room. But you do have options. Harmony Remotes offer Sonos integration, a dedicated tablet, Brilliant Light switches are coming next month and look quite interesting.

  2. You can use virtually any streaming service with Sonos. They are platform agnostic. I count 64 in my app and so yes all the big players are definitely supported like Google Play, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music etc. You can also use local music via a computer.

  3. Grouping speakers is dynamic, add or delete speakers, play everywhere etc. You don’t pre-configure anything, just group on the fly. With Home Assistant, you have services you can call to group them too so if you wanted to build scenes it will group and start playing a playlist.

I was also hesitant with Sonos so I bought a Play:1 at Best Buy over a year ago to see if it would work with my needs. I got instantly hooked and kept buying them til I filled my whole house. Give it a try with just one or two and see if it meets your expectations. Worst case, just return it within the 30 days. Hey, I’m sure someone else would love to pick up an open box at reduced price! :slight_smile:

42

a very cheap way to acheive local volume control of the ChromeCast Audio’s is to put a Xiaomi button in each room where you want the volume control and code them as volume controls dedicated to the CromeCast for that room (1x Xiaomi Hub also required). They are capable of 3 functions per button (single click, double click and click & hold) or you can create an automation that switches the function on the fly so that the first click and hold slowly increases volume, but if you release and do so again the volume will decrease. (others have done this for light dimming with these switches) This then solves the wife approval issue plus you can use the other unused button functions (single click) to turn a light on and off in that room… or whatever else your imagination desires!

2 Likes
43

Most of it is within the pulseaudio config. First, what i do is- i create a null sink within pulseaudio. This, by itself, simply throws away the audio stream, but it’s stream can be redirected after the fact with a loopback module. It’s really just a way for me to know, at design time, how to refer to the given audio stream. I can choose to send the audio somewhere, but i don’t have to, and mpd has no idea.

The second and 3rd module statements there in my example are just one of my outputs, as an example. So while audio is playing in the master bedroom, the chain looks like this:
mpd -> null sink -> loopback module -> equalizer sink -> sound card (only 2 channels)

system.pa (pulseaudio config)

load-module module-null-sink sink_name=MPDInput2 sink_properties='device.description="Kids Jukebox"'

load-module module-remap-sink sink_name=master_bed_raw remix=no master=SND1 channels=2 master_channel_map=side-left,side-right channel_ma
p=front-left,front-right

load-module module-ladspa-sink sink_name=master_bed master=master_bed_raw sink_properties='device.description="Master Bed"' plugin=caps l
abel=Eq10X2 control=7,5,0,0,-10,0,0,0,5,7

I then configure my mpd service to output to that sink- like so:

mpd configuration:

audio_output {
        type            "pulse"
        name            "MPD Player 2"
sink "MPDInput2"
        format          "44100:*:*"
}

Finally, in my configuration.yaml for hass, i have a pulseaudio loopback switch, and what this does is- it takes the audio from the null sink, and loops it back to a real output:

Configuration.yaml

switch:
- platform: pulseaudio_loopback
  name: Kid's Jukebox -> Master Bedroom
  sink_name: master_bed
  source_name: MPDInput2.monitor
1 Like
44

Wow. I’ve never thought of doing that but I know with my system (not zwave) it would definitely be doable. It would require some custom programming. I don’t think I’ll ever get to this though as I don’t have extra dimmer controls and I’ve been fine with voice and an RF remote so the effort to get it working probably wouldn’t be worth it for me.

Great ideas!

1 Like
45

I just went through this a few months ago. I almost went Sonos because I didn’t want to deal with it but price and lock in suck. I use Chromecasts at the lake house and they work there but for for whole house I didn’t like the interface and it was flaky at times. I ended up on raspberry pi’s with DAC hats. It’s way custom but fits with everything I wanted plus I can extend and expand to other things since it’s a PI. I use wall mounted tablets ($40/each) to control everything.

1 Like
46

I had a shot at playing different music in separate rooms (ie: on individual Google Homes) but it wouldnt let me use the same Google Play account. I could play music from Google Play Music in one room and Spotify in another without any trouble. For me this is not a concern as I would never really have the need to play different music throughout the house. One work-around I thought of for those that do would be to use different Google Play Music accounts in each room. It sounds silly but when you think about it, it would be more normal. If one person wants to listen to music in the lounge for example, they use their account and if they have kids wanting different music in their bedroom, they would use their own Google account. I know if I had kids I wouldn’t want their $#!tty Justin Beiber on my Google account!

47

Here’s an article that may help researching this topic:

48

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).

1 Like
49

I love my logitech/squeezebox whole house system.

50

Umm wasn’t squeezebox discontinued 6 years ago?

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51

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.

52

The server software is open source and still developed.

The hardware is available second hand, or you can build your own with, eg, raspberry pi.

53

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?

54

I occasionally get synchronization gaps during playback, but it’s very rare.

55

Uhm. So I think I have an issue then.

56

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 :slight_smile:

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!

57

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!

58

@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.

59

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!

60

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 :slight_smile: