[preddyboy]

Just getting started with all this AV malarkey, so please be kind! Thinking now I've done things in the wrong order. We just moved to a bigger place, and in the last couple of weeks I bought a TV (Panasonic GT30), an all-in-one AV receiver package to go with it (Onkyo HT-S5405), and a BD-player (Sony BDPS480B).

Now we're about to have a house-warming and I realise I want multi-room streamed music.

I have just looked at the Sonos, seems very good, I just have a few questions.

- is it friendly to the Nokia Lumia, or any other smart phone that isn't an Apple (I'm a bit anti-Apple for some unknown reason!)?
- is there any value in the Sonos Connect? If this simply allows me to use the Onkyo (budget system) to produce the sound (for nearly £300!), surely there's either a better (cheaper) way, or I may as well buy another Play 3 or 5. My TV will be connected to the router, so presumably that can pick up the music and drop it into the Onkyo? This is a little difficult at the moment as I'm still waiting for my broadband to be activated!

I think I will start with a Play 5 for the kitchen, and a Play 3 for upstairs (portable), with a Bridge. Can investigate and always add bits once I've got those. Will pop into Richer Sounds tomorrow.

Lastly, if I got an external HDD to store music on, how is this accessed by the Sonos system?? Sorry if that's a stupid question.

[therixonator]

Sonos only works on apple or Android hand held devises currently.
The connect is the best sonos unit for connecting to existing equipment. If some one has already spent loads on speakers and amp then they'll rather use that than the amps/speakers inbuilt in the other units.
You should be able to use your HDD so long as the pc it is plugged into is on. If you want a no pc solution, look into NAS drives, network storage devises.

[Joe Fernand]

Sonos control - this is the 'killer' feature with Sonos, the User interface/experience is what really matters the rest of the hardware is pretty much forgotten once you start to use the system.

My TV as a music/media player - it's advisable to use some form of screen protector that can withstand a direct hit from a remote control thrown in frustration/amazement that anything so clunky can be 'sold' as a feature!

Sonos Connect - think of it as your modern day Record Deck, Cassette Deck or CD Player, it's a Source device you plug to your Hi-Fi or AV Amp!

S5 and S3 - great for areas where you don't have an existing Hi-Fi or AV setup but not a substitute for a decent amp and set of speakers!

HDD - you simply point Sonos at the relevant Folder(s) during the setup stage, Sonos then Index's the folder(s) and whenever you go to Music Library on any of your Sonos 'Controller' devices your music library shows up.

Joe

[nacmacfeegle]

Originally Posted by Joe Fernand

-------------------

My TV as a music/media player - it's advisable to use some form of screen protector that can withstand a direct hit from a remote control thrown in frustration/amazement that anything so clunky can be 'sold' as a feature!

--------------------

Gotta agree with Joe on this.
I use Squeezeboxes at home (via Ipeng) and have used a Sonos (via the Iphone app), TBH there is not much in the interface, but Sonos is easier to set up if you are a beginner.

Both apps are very good and leagues apart from any DLNA interface, and XBMC is only a distant second to the dedicated music streaming apps.

[preddyboy]

Thanks for the replies, I was in at Richer Sounds this afternoon, and the guy put a few tracks through the S5 (curiously he said don't bother with the S3 (as S5 is so much better value), although I think I'll need one for the bedroom...), was impressed with the fullness of sound from the box.

Still can't get my head around the controller - what does this do that say the iPad app won't do? And how does the controller use something like Spotify, is the Spotify software pre-loaded or do you download to the controller?? RS had the controller using it, but he just gave me a verbal about synching music and the idea of zones. Their controller was connected to Napster.

Once broadband is up and running I think I'll be getting two S5s, bridge, possibly the controller. Might add an S3 to the mix once I've got to grips with it all, then we're getting the bathroom done and I'll start looking at ceiling speakers etc to go with it. Exciting times!

Interesting about the NAS thanks, had never heard of them - so much to learn.

EDIT - just wondering what the point of buying and utilising a NAS would be if I had limitless computerless access to something like Spotify through the controller...? Thoughts welcomed.

[graham.myers]

you only need a nas to centrally store things for access by more than one device. There are other great features of NAS but thats what it boils down to mostly. If you are only ever going to stream from the 'tinterweb then you wouldnt need one - its just for local storage.

[therixonator]

And to answer the dedicated controller question. You need to think in terms of accessability. Having the function to change something is good, but can you do it when the phone rings or the door bell goes? What if your iPhone, which is your only controller, rings whilst you're listening to music loudly? Could you operate that in 2 seconds. I know I could find my sonos remote in that time and I know exactly where the mute button is.
If you have another controller, say for the amp, then its not such a big deal. But a multifunctional controller for everything in your house can fall down when it requires multi use.
The other benefit of the CR200 is that it communicates with the mesh network. iStuff/android only communicate with the router, so if you're out of range of that you're stuffed. My phone doesn't work in the loft room but the CR200 does.

[Simpic]

Hi,

Looking for some help on how to set up the above in multiple room.

The rooms are: -

* Zone 1 - Lounge
* Zone 2 - Kitchen / Dining Room
* Zone 3 - Bathroom
* Zone 4 - Bedroom

My aims are to have Sky HD available in Zone 1 & 2, probably on multi room. XBMC in Zone 1 & 2 from seperate HTPC's, and music from the NAS via Sonos. Zone 3 & 4 will just be Sonos for the time being.

Getting music/radio/net streaming from the Sonos is easy :-) What I need help on is how to get sound out to the speakers in Zone 1 & 2 from all the sources, Sky, XBMC & Sonos.

How many inputs can the Sonos kit have? Or would it be best to have an AV Amp for each Zone?

Thanks in advance.

[therixonator]

Sonos connect, connect amp and play 5s have one line in each. The former two have RCA connecters, the later is 3.5mm jack.

Are you only planning streaming audio around zones 1&2 or video too?

[Simpic]

What do you mean by streaming video? If you mean YouTube and other net based video streaming clients then yes.

I could do this via XBMC, is it possible via Sonos as well?

[therixonator]

I mean do you want to be able to watch the same source in different rooms in your house. Are you planning on sending a video signal to multiple screens in your house? I only ask because some people just want the video source in one room, but just the audio from the same source in other rooms. That is obviously different, and easier.

[Simpic]

Ah I see.

Still having that debate at the moment re the Sky. Do we need multi room or not. XBMC is easy enough, I'll just build another HTPC and run the db from a shared mySQL instance on a server.

I have done a little investigation into one video source multi screens (Rooms). Looks like a HDMI distribution box would be required, but I think it would just be easier to have multiroom! That way if I used an AV Amp as the central unit for Zone 1 & 2 each, I could plug all the required sources in to each amp individually and have control over them that way.

My question is am I over engineering the solution by just using the Sonos as a music streamer, and the amps as the DAC's and distribution source.

This also leads to a question about remote control. If I was to have two separate Harmony RF controllers and the two Sky boxes were in the same place (Node 0) would they get confused? Trying to change the channel in the kitchen but it changes it in the lounge as well!

[wysinawyg]

Hmm, straying a little from the audio side but FWIW my thoughts:

1. The downside of two separate boxes in different rooms is the content. Do you record everything you want on both boxes (meaning two sets of deleting, setting etc.) or do you split the recordings (in which case how? can you really be certain that one room is always going to be you watching and one only the missus / kids?)

2. Two separate boxes work fine in the same location. A "global plus combiner" I believe its called sorts things out so that effectively both boxes respond to separate IR codes (as long as you put them through the combiner using a "magic eye"). We have two Sky remotes in each room and each one controls a different box with no issues over one affecting the other box (provided in the room where the boxes are you cover their IR ports and use a magic eye). Assuming whatever Harmony you get can be programmed for the different box codes it shouldn't be a problem (although I'm not sure what restrictions there might be on Harmonys).

3. HDMI distribution is the gold standard but it is still quite expensive to do properly. Going down the matrix route is obviously the best money no object option (although not too bad if you're at the stage where you can do it with in wall HDMI cables rather than over Cat5/6), but you could consider just using a splitter if you have an AV amp in Zone 1 (so you get multi room HDMI but not different things in different rooms, although it is a bit more of a faff on which see below) or just going the old fashioned coax distribution route. Coax is mono and not the best picture quality but it is cheap, rock solid and very easy given the magic eyes add the infra red signal in as well.

If you're going Sonos I'd be really tempted to just go with S5s everywhere except a main listening room. Outside of fully worked up professional macro'd setups there is a real degree to which simplicity is best. Having to swap sources / power on AV amps etc. is just going to cut back on the likelihood of you (and particularly anyone you share the house with) putting it on. There is a lot to be said for a couple of button presses on the (dedicated or smartphone) remote giving you sound without the need to worry about what settings everything else is on.

[noddy13]

Originally Posted by noddy13

Can anyone help I am looking to set up a multi-room system that will be able to play music from my wd network harddrive wirelessly preferably for £500 or less. Any suggestions would be appreciated

I finally took the plunge and bought a Play5, Connect Amp and two bridges (blowing my £500 budget well out of the water!) also looking at adding another zone in the next couple of weeks.

I have recently updated my android app to the latest 3.7 software and have just noticed that you can now connect to the mesh network with your android phone, has anyone tried this yet and does that now mean the controller is redundant?

[therixonator]

Well it certainly levels the benefit that the sonos controller was the only device that would work anywhere in range of a sonos device. I take my sonos controller up to the attic as my phone is out of range of the router. But don't have to do that anymore. Obviously if you only have idevices then you still have the same issue.

Haven't tried downloading anything yet to see if it affects streaming performance.

But the other benefit of the CR200 is you just pick it up and it works. Try turning the the volume down when the same phone you're using as a controller rings. If I didn't have a CR200 I'd be running to zone box!

BUT... £280 is a lot to pay for that!

[BiggieBig]

I've been looking into zoning my setup. I have my the following setup-

Wired network in whole house
2x ceiling speaker wire in each room
Av 5.1 setup in main room
All speakers and network come to a centralised area I.e (Study)

I need to fit ceiling speakers in the whole house but will probably do this in phases starting with kitchen.

I want to be able to create separate zones I.e bedroom, Kitchen, Hallway, reception 1, reception 2. Main 5.1 system.

I believe I can do this with sono's but seems very expensive as I would have to buy a connect for each pair of speakers.

Are there any other obvious choices

Thanks in advance

[therixonator]

The sonos route would actually be a connect amp (connects need separate amplification) for all your zones with ceiling speakers. And they're £400 I think. Ouch!

You could look at putting squeezebox touches in each room with active speakers. Not sure if there are any active ceiling speakers on the market though, have a look. Generally speaking, ceiling speakers are only good for very casual listening. But if that is what you're after then that's good!

[BiggieBig]

yes that's what I though I don't mind buying a connect amp for each zone (probably just begin with 1 or 2 anyway)
but i'd like to be able to drive more then just 2 speakers else i'm forced to buy a connect:amp for each pair of speakers.. unless I purchased a separate amplifier....

[therixonator]

What about a multi channel amp then and one Sonos connect. You can buy amps that can power 5 pairs of speakers or more. If you have speaker cable pre wired into the rooms already then the difficult part is done. You'd only be able to play one source to all zones, but you could separate in the future. You'd just need a volume remote for each room.

[BiggieBig]

so i would require an amp and a sono's connect for each Zone.
any suggestions on cheap amp then?

any other options ?

[Xstyle]

Hi all,
I have a complex multi-room question here... involving home media server, streaming, and centralised locations...
Media Serving multiple room installation

Thanks,
Xstyle

[therixonator]

Originally Posted by BiggieBig

so i would require an amp and a sono's connect for each Zone.

Only if you require different music in each room. If not, see my earlier post.

[ahmurray]

Hi all,

Hoping someone here can help me as I'm a little overwhelmed by all the choice and options available and not sure what's right for me.

We are giving our house a major makeover and as part of this I'd like the option to network music and possible video in each room from multiple sources in different rooms.

We will be installing network cabling in each room so I'd like to make use of this, although wireless in also an option (i have it in my head that wifi wont be as good as hardwired.

I'm looking for something simple, elegant, stylish and inconspicuous that is simple to set up and reliable, and won't cut out or stutter, or need endless tweaking.

The main requirements are as follows:

Play music from itunes (with playlist support) from the main PC in the study as well as from decks and other options.
Access to reliable digital / FM radio (web source OK if free from dropouts)
Ability to select source and content from anywhere in the house with cheap handsets.
Ceiling mounted speakers where possible
ability to switch to local sources (e.g. ipod or any other device) in each room and play this locally or everywhere.
Ideally send video as well as audio from the PC or Virgin Media boxes (in different rooms downstairs) to the upstairs bedrooms

I was veering down the Sonos route but it looks like this is going to be very expensive. A friend has recommended airplay/airport express but i'm a bit baffled as to what this can give me. Given that we will have hardwired cabling in each room it seems like there must be a simpler option?

I have a WD live device in the lounge cabled to the PC in the study but I'm very disappointed with it, the UI is clunky and it takes ages to access the folders containing my music and films on the PC.

Hope the above gives enough info on what I need and would really appreciate your input and advice, even if it's just some pointers to products that might suit my needs.

Thanks in advance.

Ali

[audioenthusiast]

The main streaming options I can think of are:
DLNA
Sonos
Squeezebox
Apple


DLNA is non-proprietary, and will be supported by web-enabled TVs and other AV equipment you might have. Controller apps will be available too.
But, I've never seen anything that controls it well and with a good UI. Hideously clunky and slow to navigate around. You might also find yourself restricted by what files you can play - DLNA doesn't specify that streaming devices have to support FLAC files.
DLNA does video in addition to audio.

Sonos is, as you identified, hideously expensive. That's its major drawback. It's very good at being something you can plug in, and it just works. User-friendly too. I don't know about its iTunes support though.
Play:5 and play:3 - streamer, amp and speaker. Good for an all-in-one, but not good enough for serious music listening.
Connect:amp - streamer and amp. Connect it to amy passive speakers, including ceiling speakers in your case.
Connect - streamer. Connect it to any amp and speakers, or active speakers. Including ceiling speakers for you.


Squeezebox is much cheaper than Sonos. Its units aren't as pretty to look at. It's a very attractive option if you already have a hi-fi setup in room to integrate this with, as it has some good cheap units that don't have amplifier and speakers built in. This means you could choose your own active ceiling-mounted speakers if you wish.
This is the method that I use. I run a server on my NAS, and have a few squeezeboxes around the house. I do have a controller, but usually use the free iPhone app to control it.
It's slightly less user-friendly that Sonos, but very customisable. I've found recent server updates to have greatly improved the system's speed and reliability.
I've never used it with iTunes, and don't know if there's any support at all.
Touch: Equivalent to Sonos Connect, but with colour touch screen display/control. Also takes USB storage itself to serve small libraries to other SB devices.
Duet: Equivalent to Sonos Connect.
Squeezebox Radio and the discontinued Squeezebox Boom: Equivalent to Sonos:Play devices, but amp and speakers not as good. Definitely not for serious music listening.
Connected Acoustic SRi: 3rd-party device, which is a Duet and a decent amp in the same box. Equivalent to Sonos Connect:amp.


Airplay. I've never used a system with Airplay. But being Apple, I'd expect it to work very well with other Apple products. That's all I can say about it really!


What do you mean by playing from decks and other options? Do you mean you want to have hi-fi components in one room, and share their output all over the house? If that's what you mean, you could be looking at more money than a simple streaming solution...

How extensive is your work on the house?
At the moment you seem to be looking at centralising your music, then distributing your streamers to different rooms and then in each room going to ceiling speakers.
Another way around is to centralise your sources and amplification, then run speaker cables to speakers all over the house. The centralised sources etc. would be controlled via wi-fi devices.

[ahmurray]

Hi

Thanks for your detailed reply. I guess what I meant was that most of the music most of the time will come from the PC and occasionally my mixer/decks in the same location. However, I also would like to be able to set the decks or any other source up in any room and feed the output into the local speakers or any/all other rooms in the house.

I'm not an audiophile so don't need a high end solution, just want it loud and clear, so I'm concerned that having too few amps and too many speakers hardwired would mean the sound output is too diluted and weak. Some rooms will have an existing amp and speakers, (or will be within cabling reach of one), others won't.

I will look into the Squeezebox option further, thanks. Any other suggestions welcome.

Thanks

[amcluesent]

Hope the above gives enough info on what I need and would really appreciate your input and advice, even if it's just some pointers to products that might suit my needs.

You're doing the right thing by dropping in plenty of CAT5 during the house refurb. There's advice on the forums about the best way of cabling a house back to a 'node 0' panel.

We really need a budget to give advice, although if you find Sonos expensive then a whole house AV system is likely something you'll need to build over time.

You could have a look at the Cambridge Audio Inconnito - Incognito Multi-Room Entertainment it's designed for whole-house setup with the necessary amps and in-ceiling speakers.

If you want a lo-cost entry point with multi-zone then Sonos or Squeezebox are established products. You could also have a look at the Simple Audio Roomplayer, but that's very new. The Apple system of Airport Express and Apple TV can't play different music in different rooms, at least with the current version of iTunes.

[ahmurray]

Thanks, had been looking at the Incognito solution but it doesn't seem to allow any control of source remotely, i.e. I can choose source 1 as my PC playing itunes but can't control what is playing unless I am at the PC.

Budget is flexible but around 2-3k in total.

[therixonator]

2-3k is plenty to get a sonos solution. The connect boxes have line inputs on so you could plug in your decks and stream to that room or any other. About 500 per room for sonos but it depends on what speakers you pick obviously. Can be done cheaper with squeezebox.

[rybu]

Have a look at simpleaudio.co.uk - I have the roomplayer 2. Highly recommend it, slightly biased. It is a new product, waiting for the digital out update and nas support - should be in next week or two.

What Hifi are getting a unit to test next month, as per their post on twitter it's getting deezer streaming service apparently - which looks v. Good.

Any questions please ask.

http://simpleaudio.co.uk/overview

[ahmurray]

OK. it's looking like Sonos is the best bet, but just a few questions before I go shopping:

1) why do the Sonos Connect items need a network port when it's all wireless
2) Does Sonos stream itunes music from my PC over the LAN rather than from a direct connection to the soundcard on my PC
3) can a Sonos Connect amp take inputs from more than one device in each room?
4) Can a Sonos connect device take input and output from the same device simultaneously (e.g to play music to my main lounge 5.1 system but also use this as input to play a movie all round the house
5) Does it synchronise playlists seamlessly with Itunes or do these have to be updated manually if they are altered.

Thanks in advance!