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Speaker hub question
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23-01-2018 4:55pmHi all, not sure if I'm in the right area, but I'm looking for a bit of advice on setting up speakers in our house. We have all the rooms wired for speakers, coming back to a central point. Is there any amp or unit which can take inputs for all the rooms( approx 8 rooms), and which can select and switch them wirelessly, preferably with a phone app? Thanks!0
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Hi all, not sure if I'm in the right area, but I'm looking for a bit of advice on setting up speakers in our house. We have all the rooms wired for speakers, coming back to a central point. Is there any amp or unit which can take inputs for all the rooms( approx 8 rooms), and which can select and switch them wirelessly, preferably with a phone app? Thanks!
Yep, loads of options
Sonos
A mixture of the larger or smaller ones, the smaller one will have Google Assistant or Alexa built in. The larger ones for better sound quality.
Google home dvices including
Google home mini
Google home
Google home max
The above listrd in order of sound quality and price. The mini not really a music device tbh.
Apple homepod
Not yet released and more pricy that the Google home max
The thing is, all of the above devices are wireless with built in speakers, so your speaker wiring may be a bit redundant.
I've had a whole house audio system, 6 zones using Sonos, which is fantastic, but replaced them all the last year with Google home devices (had Sonos about ten years)
Sorry, bit to forget Amazon Alexa, a contender also.
There are loads of other options, all similar to Sonos, but the first thing to think about is do you want an Assistant built into it or not, cos that will narrow down your focus0 -
Hi all, not sure if I'm in the right area, but I'm looking for a bit of advice on setting up speakers in our house. We have all the rooms wired for speakers, coming back to a central point. Is there any amp or unit which can take inputs for all the rooms( approx 8 rooms), and which can select and switch them wirelessly, preferably with a phone app? Thanks!
One option that I'm currently looking at myself for a wired multi-zone system with wireless control is sonos connect:amp's. Each connect:amp has two channels (left and right) and can handle between 2-4 speakers and has ethernet ports. So you can create as many zones as you want by using each amp as a zone. An advantage of this approach is that you can then use the sonos app on your phone and also amazon echos for wireless control.
I'm not aware of an amp that can take multiple rooms as input and separate them into the appropriate zones but it isn't something I've looked into before.0 -
What itzme said about the Sonos is spot on. Plus for 8 rooms I would guess you would need a minimum of 2 Sonos connect Amps.
Ask over on the richersounds forum either. The reps there will tell you exactly what your options are and give you very reasonable quotes.0 -
One option that I'm currently looking at myself for a wired multi-zone system with wireless control is sonos connect:amp's. Each connect:amp has two channels (left and right) and can handle between 2-4 speakers and has ethernet ports. So you can create as many zones as you want by using each amp as a zone. An advantage of this approach is that you can then use the sonos app on your phone and also amazon echos for wireless control.
I'm not aware of an amp that can take multiple rooms as input and separate them into the appropriate zones but it isn't something I've looked into before.
That was the system I had. The sonos btw can take multiple inputs if you have the units located next to each input. For example, I used to be able to send the audio from sky all around the house, using the living room zone player inputs.
To be honest, the Sonos system is excellent, but for comparible money now, you will get say a google home max which will do the same thing and more, by virtue it has google assitant built in. There are a lot of very competitive products now alongside sonos, which was the master for years.
I had a six zone sonos system using ZP100's, and I had them for 10 years or more I think, and never failed me. But in the last 12 months, I have gotten rid of them (removed the ceiling speakers and filled in the gaps, celiling speakers are a terrible idea) and replaced them all with google homes. I plan to maybe get one google home max for the kitchen, where we might need the louder volumes at party time :-) and also plan on an outside zone using a chromecast audio.0 -
wexfordman2 wrote: »That was the system I had. The sonos btw can take multiple inputs if you have the units located next to each input. For example, I used to be able to send the audio from sky all around the house, using the living room zone player inputs.
To be honest, the Sonos system is excellent, but for comparible money now, you will get say a google home max which will do the same thing and more, by virtue it has google assitant built in. There are a lot of very competitive products now alongside sonos, which was the master for years.
I had a six zone sonos system using ZP100's, and I had them for 10 years or more I think, and never failed me. But in the last 12 months, I have gotten rid of them (removed the ceiling speakers and filled in the gaps, celiling speakers are a terrible idea) and replaced them all with google homes. I plan to maybe get one google home max for the kitchen, where we might need the louder volumes at party time :-) and also plan on an outside zone using a chromecast audio.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't sonos now support alexa? As in there is a sonos skill for alexa allowing you to control all sonos speakers and zones from alexa compatible devices (https://www.sonos.com/en-us/alexa-on-sonos). Which means you can now use sonos + alexa for audio assistant control.
Out of interest why are ceiling speakers a terrible idea. The obvious reasons I've heard is sound quality. I'm going for a mix myself, something like a playbar under the television and 2 ceiling rear speakers for surround sound. Then in the kitchen 4 ceiling speakers. I'm going for ceiling downstairs because of the elegance of the approach and how minimal it looks. Wall mounted speakers can mess up your options for furniture/shelving, wireless speakers need to be mounted somewhere or on top of something. So I really like ceiling speakers for these rooms. One other reason I am thinking wired ceiling + amp is that I am not tied to a specific system. If sonos become crap or someone offers something better I just replace the amp(s), if better speakers come out replace the speakers. (P.S I'll figure out upstairs/bedrooms after I live with this system for a while downstairs).
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Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't sonos now support alexa? As in there is a sonos skill for alexa allowing you to control all sonos speakers and zones from alexa compatible devices (https://www.sonos.com/en-us/alexa-on-sonos). Which means you can now use sonos + alexa for audio assistant control.
yes, alexa support sonos, so you can control sonos if you have an alexa device, but you need to have a sonos AND an alexa in each room. Unless you go for I think the smaller sonos play one, which has alexa built in, so you can use the sonos play 1 as both a music speaker and as an assitant, ie it will listen to you and you can command and control it and other devices/lights etc via voice. I beleive google assistant will be comming to it as well
However, thats only the play1, so while you can have an alexa device control all the other sonos players, you still need a sonos device + alexa/google home device in each room to do so, which is a bit overkill.
Thats why I would be looking at something like the google home max as a comparison to the sonos higher end music systems, because it is both a speaker and an assitant built into one. Two products in one.Out of interest why are ceiling speakers a terrible idea. The obvious reasons I've heard is sound quality. I'm going for a mix myself, something like a playbar under the television and 2 ceiling rear speakers for surround sound. Then in the kitchen 4 ceiling speakers. I'm going for ceiling downstairs because of the elegance of the approach and how minimal it looks. Wall mounted speakers can mess up your options for furniture/shelving, wireless speakers need to be mounted somewhere or on top of something. So I really like ceiling speakers for these rooms. One other reason I am thinking wired ceiling + amp is that I am not tied to a specific system. If sonos become crap or someone offers something better I just replace the amp(s), if better speakers come out replace the speakers. (P.S I'll figure out upstairs/bedrooms after I live with this system for a while downstairs).
Main reasons I would be against built in ceiling speakers are
1) Sound quality for two reasons, first sound radiating down is not as good, second, the speakers I find at higher volumes will tend to vibrate in the ceiling a bit.
2) Aesthetics, dont like the look of them
3) Draught:- No matter how well you try, you always get a draugth down them, now my house was a bungalow, so it was more of an issue than if it was downstairs in a two story or dormer.
4) When I built my house, I went the hole hog, put in lots of tech, some still there, some not, but the one rule I would say to anyone now, is do not build electronics into the wall of your house, or the ceiling for that matter. No matter what it is, anything electonic has a lifespan that is way shroter than bricks and mortar, and you will eventually replace it with someting else, or get rid of it. I cant count how many times I've seen "smart homes" with multi room systems and ipod docs built into the walls. How many versions of ipod docs are we at now, who even uses an ipod doc now ?
And for all the reasons I pointed out in number 4, I would use each of those as an argument acutally for wireless speaker system (or ethernet wired even), each thing in point 4 is an argument for a wireless seaker system
With respect to the point about Sonos lifespan being one of the reasons to go for your proposed setup, I would say, that Sonos is around long enough they are not gong anywhere, and also Sonos was the leader in speaker systems, lots of others followed with near identical systems, so there are lots of options for a similar type setup.
All being said, I still think the option I would go for would be google home max and google home deivces, no question. And I am a huge Sonos fans, I loved it, used it and have no hesitation saying its a great system, but at the moment, there are a few other products with an edge over them.0 -
wexfordman2 wrote: »yes, alexa support sonos, so you can control sonos if you have an alexa device, but you need to have a sonos AND an alexa in each room. Unless you go for I think the smaller sonos play one, which has alexa built in, so you can use the sonos play 1 as both a music speaker and as an assitant, ie it will listen to you and you can command and control it and other devices/lights etc via voice. I beleive google assistant will be comming to it as well
However, thats only the play1, so while you can have an alexa device control all the other sonos players, you still need a sonos device + alexa/google home device in each room to do so, which is a bit overkill.
Thats why I would be looking at something like the google home max as a comparison to the sonos higher end music systems, because it is both a speaker and an assitant built into one. Two products in one.wexfordman2 wrote: »Main reasons I would be against built in ceiling speakers are
1) Sound quality for two reasons, first sound radiating down is not as good, second, the speakers I find at higher volumes will tend to vibrate in the ceiling a bit.
2) Aesthetics, dont like the look of them
3) Draught:- No matter how well you try, you always get a draugth down them, now my house was a bungalow, so it was more of an issue than if it was downstairs in a two story or dormer.
4) When I built my house, I went the hole hog, put in lots of tech, some still there, some not, but the one rule I would say to anyone now, is do not build electronics into the wall of your house, or the ceiling for that matter. No matter what it is, anything electonic has a lifespan that is way shroter than bricks and mortar, and you will eventually replace it with someting else, or get rid of it. I cant count how many times I've seen "smart homes" with multi room systems and ipod docs built into the walls. How many versions of ipod docs are we at now, who even uses an ipod doc now ?
And for all the reasons I pointed out in number 4, I would use each of those as an argument acutally for wireless speaker system (or ethernet wired even), each thing in point 4 is an argument for a wireless seaker system
With respect to the point about Sonos lifespan being one of the reasons to go for your proposed setup, I would say, that Sonos is around long enough they are not gong anywhere, and also Sonos was the leader in speaker systems, lots of others followed with near identical systems, so there are lots of options for a similar type setup.
All being said, I still think the option I would go for would be google home max and google home deivces, no question. And I am a huge Sonos fans, I loved it, used it and have no hesitation saying its a great system, but at the moment, there are a few other products with an edge over them.
1) Agreed but at the same time high end ceiling speakers should have on par/ better performance with a goodle max? so there are pros/cons of both there.
2) I'm the opposite to you there but important for anyone considering either solution to see in person both solutions if they can. It's amazing how something you think you would like when you see it in person you can dislike
3) Thankfully won't be an issue for myself but combined with the vibrations in 1 I can imagine how annoying that would be and is also something for me to keep in mind for upstairs so thanks
4) I've heard a great way of looking at this as layers in your house and how they change. You have your base layer, walls and the like which are ultra slow moving, you should not need to change them. Then you have layers you attach to them/supplement. These layers can range from slow to fast moving. The ipod docs are great examples of fast moving layers if you attach these to slow moving like your wall example that is risky. This is the same risk as putting wireless speakers in walls is dangerous (permanently attaching fast moving to slow moving). In-ceiling speakers and cables are slow moving layers, they don't change much so putting these in the walls/ceilings is lower risk. Ipod docs are ultra fast moving layers so yeah that's pretty crazy. So I would say there is a bit more subtlety to it then saying no to electronics in fixtures. You have to think through the risk and the design choices which I'll agree most people don't have the experience to do (I'm hoping I have).
By the way up till two weeks ago I was planning to have your system (but with echo dots + sonos) but what swayed me was where would i put the speakers in the kitchen, would I need to put in new perment shelving? For the sitting, yeah I'll get better quality sound but again would now need to either fix them to walls, put in tables/shelves/mounts. So essentially these speakers would restrict me from using that space for other things.
OP by the way I 100% agree with wexfordman's logic, we want the same things but have our priorities ordered differently0 -
If your thinking of the play 1's, would be worth comparing the sound quality of this against an echoe or google home device (imho the google devices are much better assitants that the amazons).
I think if you are looking for a multi room music system AND an assistant, for the moment anything in the sonos range except the play 1's is a bit of a waste.
There are loads of wirelss speakers comming out now made by lots of vendors with both google home and/or alexa built in, we have lenovo, JBL, apple, Google, amazon just off the top of my head..
6 sonos connect amps will cost you 3k, then echoe dots will cost another say 500 euro. Then you have to purchase your speakers for the sonos connect amps, which will be another 6oo euro at least.
6 google maxs will cost you 6 x 399 dollars, and thats it (whatever that transltes to when its in the uk/eu).
I get what you are saying, and neither aproach is wrong, both will give you a great system.
The sonos play bar, looks great, I would probably get one, but have a surround sound system already (that actually I dont use much in that room).
Be carefull about the ceiling speakers in that room though, thats not going to give great surround sound. Good sound yeah, but its not really surround sound.0
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